It had been over a month since Captain Perez had been 'stationed' on the Parabellum while the Corsairs worked on the Torment together with his crew. Updates on their progress had been slow and limited at best, to the point where he suspected Captain Matteo of not intending to hold up his side of the deal. In the end however it turned out the Corsair had merely been preparing the restored state of the Torment as a surprise. Some sense of Hispanic humor perhaps, as a sign of gratitude for helping with the Parabellums engine project.
Yet now he found himself on Freeport 9, a Zoner station in what he assumed was a system even deeper in the Omicrons than the Corsair homeworld had been. Captain Matteo had set up a meeting, though had been coy about with whom. All he knew was that he was to approach the barkeep and repeat a specific phrase. Lucian sighed and followed the instructions, morbidly curious about just how deep this rabbit hole was going to go.
Freeport 9 for the longest time used to be farthest civilian outpost in Sirius. Bar played relaxing jazz music to calm the nerves, yet the tension was noticeable. Each notable group had kept to their own as invisible lines in the bar had been drawn, united only by their common disdain for the Bounty Hunters and their ilk. It seemed only those clearly marked in Order uniforms were able to mix around, with notable exception of the merc-types using this Freeport as a staging ground. He was not directed to any of them however. Deeper into the ‘Corsair’ sector, was a lonely table with whom Captain Perez was instructed to talk to by the bartender. Far enough from any enemies of The Order and any surveillance equipment they may have brought along.
“Mister Perez?” A woman asked, her accent the now ex-member of the Insurgency could not place anywhere. Appearance screamed ‘Freelancer’ which often was the best cover anyone could have had asked for, even if cliche nowadays. Freelancers went anywhere as they pleased and there was no rhyme or order to any of their actions. Tracking any larger population of them was a near impossible task. “Did you encounter any trouble on your way here?”
Lucian couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as he noticed the woman sitting at the table. It was peculiar, unlike most people nothing about her appearance particularly stood out, something which was quite rare in its own right. A Freelancer of sorts, no doubt, perhaps an intermediary from a foreign power based on her accent? It seemed unlikely the Corsairs wanted him to sit with a random Freelancer after all. With those fleeting thoughts racing through his mind Lucian sat down across the woman and nodded as she spoke. Captain Lucian Perez, yes. And I suppose that depends on how you define trouble. One moment I find myself a 'honorary guest' onboard a Corsair warship, then just as suddenly I am told I have a meeting with 'someone.'"
The captain sighed and added: "Still, I suppose it's best to focus on the present. So, who is it you represent miss..?"
She waited for him to get comfortable in the seat, before resuming the conversation. “Trouble, such as anyone following or monitoring your movements. Or more straightforward violence.” Woman offered a drink, some unknown brand alcoholic beverage substituting whatever Perez may have used to know back in the Colonies. By the looks of it, she drank any of it more to pass the time and fight the thirst rather than genuine fondness of the taste.
“Much like you, I am currently a guest. An expected one, but foreigner nonetheless. I represent a third party that your current benefactors have contacted over your current predicament. As we understand it, your current host finds the intricacies of your problems slightly above their pay grade. With no offence to their craftsmanship, naturally.” A whole lot of nothing, but at least it establishes their business relationship so far. Seems they respected their privacy and secrecy for the time being “We agreed, on condition that we have access to your pesona. We need to know what we are investing in. Investment meaning you and your endeavour’s future rather than the reason you’re in Corsair custody to begin with. We already have all the technical data we need.”
He simply nodded as she handed him a drink, though he did not partake. instead opting to keep his eyes closely on the person infront of him, looking for any sign of misdirection or falsehoods. The way she spoke seemed to indicate she, and by extention this supposed third party she was representing, thought he was a captive of the Corsairs. Lucian made a mental note of this, after all he had no idea what Matteo had discussed with this organization he was now dealing with.
Nothing quite so obvious no, the Corsairs made sure of that, not to mention my own precautions. That said, if I understand correctly you're saying that the organization you're representing is able to take care of some...'finishing touches' shall we say, that the Corsairs aren't in the mood for. And in return you want to know 'what I intend to do with it'?" Lucian couldn't hide the slightest of smirks, the factions in the Omicrons sure conducted their business differently than what he was used to. "If some information is what it'll take to get things finished up, I'm willing to amuse your benefactors request. But before we proceed, what exactly did you say your name was again?"
“Val will be sufficient for now. Short but it gives you some name to my face. Also your assumption is somewhat correct, my boss wants to know whether you are a potential friend or foe.”
She brought out a simple device, Perez could guess it served to record sound and therefore their conversation for later use. Old School but irreplaceable piece of kit and simpler than taking notes on the fly. As soon as the mechanical button gave way with a satisfying click, Miss Val resumed talking.
“It would be best to start with the beginning. Captain Lucian Perez. Member of the Liberty Insurgency… perhaps more fit would be to call you an ex-member. Unless you consider your current exile to be perhaps a temporary inconvenience. What caused you to join up in the first place? Even if you’re not a slave to your past, it can tell a lot about your potential future.“
An old school recorder, very retro but likely unhackable due to the primitive technology. "Hrmph, if you consider this 'exile' temporary I'm going to assume you're not aware of the current situation in Liberty." he scoffed. It was understandable of course, news traveled slowly outside the Houses and Liberty was likely trying to keep the specific details under wraps, still he couldn't help but feel slightly offended at Val not being aware of the Insurgency's current plight.
"I'm going to assume you mean why I first joined the Insurgency, Truth is I did because my family supported the forming of the Commonwealth. It doesn't take a genius to see Liberty is run by its corporations. Bribery or 'lobbying' is a daily occurance, there's no true freedom or democracy there. We settled well enough, but Vespucci was far from safe. Gaian and Liberty patrols caused all sorts of trouble, so I ended up joining the Hellfire Legion to help protect the system." Lucian let out a whistful sigh, looking at the roof with the slightest of smirks on his face. "Those were simpler times I suppose, we were cutting a place for ourselves one skirmish at a time." He looked back to Val, his expression now stoic at best.
“Isn’t our history based on the fact that our ancestors decided to go as far away as possible, and rebuild the very thing they left behind? Either way, your stance has been noted.”
She retorted, being curious about his opinion but nonetheless now somewhat relieved she was not dealing with some die hard fanatic. She in addition made a mental note that despite formation of the Commonwealth had been a divisive subject and caused the entire Gaian incursion to begin with, Perez remained loyal to the concept.
“Hellfire Legion. So you’re not a newer transplant from the Bering Insurgency. You have decided to stay when your former chain of command gave way to this ‘other’ outfit. Considering your anti corruption agenda, weren’t you apprehensive concerning Commonwealth - and later Insurgency’s - deals with Liberty corporations that were the very root of you picking the arms?”
With a sigh Lucian reached for the drink he was handed before, potentially spiked or not he knew this was going to be a long one either way. After taking a few sips he placed the cup back down and said; "I place no stock in ancient legends of the "Soul system" or the "Great migration" if that's what you're referring to. As for your question, no I'm not originally a Separatist, not that'd matter, we were one whole in the Insurgency, factionalism was heavily frowned on."
The Captain took another sip of the drink, mulling over her question in his head before responding: "The Commonwealth turned on the cause when they left brothers in arms out to be massacred when we could've intervened, even tried to keep the situation quiet. My crew and I only heard about the extent of it all once the Commonwealth was declared traitor by the fleet. Had we known in advance, we likely would've joined the action in Bering to bail out the Separatists."
He let out a small chuckle, it all seemed so far away in the past now when he had first become the acting captain of the Torment. Simpler times indeed. "As for the newly formed Insurgency maintaining economic ties, if they did that I can only imagine there was hope they'd lead by example, keep them on a short leash so people all across Liberty could see they didn't need to be slaves to corruption. At the end of the day though, our job was to hold the line, not ask policy questions."
“Horrible, isn’t it?” She waited for a bit, realising he might not get what she was referring to. “The drink, I mean. Couldn’t get any better right now.”
“Well. I would have thought that you carry a battleship out of hell so that it might fight another day. Regular refugees settle for cheaper and less conspicuous freighters, transports… that kind of stuff. Fighters, if alone. What about the crew? Any non-combatants aboard? They might have their own ideas as to what to do with themselves in post-insurgency life. Some may desire to turn to piracy or settle down now that immediate danger has passed.”
Captain Perez was the only thing that kept them together. They are now without a cause and discipline may start breaking soon. She had considered when was the right moment to reveal her superiors, however this information may cause him to weigh his words and choices alike which was undesirable. She reclined in her chair, giving it some time to think over.
“Did you plan only as far as relative safety” Val made a gesture with her fingers that symbolised quotation marks when she spoke of safety. Omicrons are the antithesis of safety, taking into comparison tame House space into account. “Or you have already made up yours and the crew’s future?”