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A Nest of Vipers
A Gallic Royal Enclave Story

Battleship Lance Royale
Orbit of planet Bordeaux, Aquitaine
15 September 742 A.G.S. (826 A.S.)

Only one dim light illuminated a heavy round table of dark Gaian wood in the briefing room. Conservation of energy was still a concern, to minimize fuel expenses and wear and tear of the powerplant. Even the air felt sparse, like in the mountains, with oxygen replenishers not operating at full power. In this environment, uncozy to civilians, but usual to military officers, a colonel of the Gallic Royal Intelligence sat at the table. He was accompanied by a red-haired woman wearing a similar uniform, but with commandant insignia.

— "I've just received report from Coste," the woman said. "Evreux and Lausanne are firmly under our control. No retaliation from the Gallic Navy."

— "Tres bien," the colonel replied. "What about the meeting?"

— "I've sent word to command of other groups. Those who agreed to your offer will arrive soon. But I heard concerns that you won't be able to convince them to work with us."

— "Leave that to me," the colonel waved his subordinate off. "It's all about playing our cards right. Inform lieutenant... I mean, commandant Inkura, that some dignitaries are coming to his ship."

— "Of course," the woman pressed a couple of buttons. The previously-sealed doors to the briefing room hissed and moved to the sides, letting in some more air and just a little bit more of emergency lighting from the corridor. In its current state, the room was uncomfortable already, but it was about to become a whole lot worse.

In the waiting hall outside of the briefing room, several individuals are seated, awaiting permission to enter. One of these individuals is checking his PDA, when the door to the briefing room opens.

"Well, suppose it's time lads," the man shrugs hesitantly, rises from his seat and enters the room. "Man, kind of dark in here." He scans his surroundings and notices the two uniformed high rank officers. "Oh, pardon my manners. Bonjour madam, bonjour monsieur. While you might recognize me from my profile and portfolio, but it is only proper etiquette to formally introduce myself to my new superiors." The man politely bows and rises back up and salutes.

"My name is Roger Casement, Ex-Molly and recent addition Lieutenent of the Gallic Royal Enclave logistics division. Pleased to make your acquaintances."

"Now, I am well aware that there are several other people that are invited to this meeting, but at the moment it appears to be just the three of us. If the neither of you mind, I shall seat myself at the designated bronze officer ranks seating. Should you have and questions for me or requests, I am more then willing to give answers and co-operate if possible. If you do not have any questions or requests, then I shall hold my silence until I am told and required to speak or speak openly in debate amongst ourselves."

Roger walks towards the bronze officer seats and sits himself down, awaiting for whatever happens next.

The woman turned her head towards the arriving lieutenant and replied with a heavy Gallic accent: "Bonjour, monsieur Casement. I'm Commandant Adelaide Gauthier, and this is Colonel Saint-Just. Please, take your seat; we're awaiting more people to join us. Your work will be important in the months to come."

Louis' shuttle arrived quickly at the Lance Royale, guarded by dozens of fighter escorts.
After the docking, everything went quickly, the amiral and his personal security left the ship and were guided by the Lance Royale's security to the conference room.
His guards took place at the left and right section of the door, but stayed out of the room itself.
He entered the room and bowed shortly.

"Bonjour. I am amiral Louis Clement. Former contre-amiral of the Marine Royale Gauloise,
and commandant of the Die and Soleil Royal battlegroup.
My informants have told me the remaining forces of his majesty, King Charles, gather in this system.
As you surely know, the war is still going on out there, so I have no time to waste.
But if it pays out for my people, I'll wait and listen what you've got to say."

After he made the announcement, he took a closer look at the other 3 participants.
One was a Bretonian, which immdeiately reminded Louis of the countless other defectors who served him.
All of them became traitors, once Planet Leeds came under siege.
After staring at the Bretonian for a few seconds, he looked at the other people in the room:
A middle-aged man who he'd never seen before.
Since he didn't know him, Louis didn't pay him any attention. As soon as he saw madame Gauthier however, he couldn't supress a slight smile.

"I am sure we can have a fruitful cooperation in the future. May I take a seat?"

Both the man and the woman stood up as a ranking Naval officer entered the room. It was only fair to follow the protocol, not to mention that the admiral could become a valuable ally in the future. Being the one addressed, Adelaide replied in a professional manner:

"Bonjour, amiral. I'm Commandant Adelaide Gauthier of Escadron XXII, and this is my commanding officer, colonel Maximilian Saint-Just. Please, take a seat. What we've got to say is for the benefit of everyone aboard this ship."

Adelaide wouldn't sit until the Amiral did. The colonel, however, remained standing. He leaned on the hands with his table, a smirk crossing his lips briefly. "Welcome, amiral. We're waiting for two more ranking officers to begin. A few most trusted capitaines may join us as well, but if they're late for whatever reason, we'll begin without them."

Jean-Pierre was thinking about the past while flying in the armored transport to the meeting aboard the Battleship Lance Royale. He thought of the traitors, who had left behind the glorious forces at the front and bowed to the Republicans.

Jean-Pierre gets angry every time he thinks of the command of the Marine who flew back to Gallia. Those who betrayed their values. Who broke their oath. Who betrayed the Roi. He took a deep breath.

De Fournier was about to arrive in the hangar of the glorious ship. Jean-Pierre had chosen his finest Uniform, that is usually intended to be worn when having an audience with the Royal Court or the Roi himself. He left the armored transport. Passing many soldiers, he finally reached the room, the others were waiting in.

"Bonsoir mon Colonel, mademoiselle Gauthier, I am sorry if I am late. We had to clean the skies, filthy Bretonian pigs crossed our way." He grinned and saluted to Louis. "Mon Amiral! Good to see everyone here. May I take a seat, gentlemen?"

Rose-Marie boarded an Aurochs Freighter-shuttle from her flagship, Battleship Dutertre, just as the ship was preparing for checks on Issodun Drydock. The Aurochs fired cruise engines and took flight to Lance Royale.

She was calm, calculating and always thinking her next move. She tidied her hair on the way and a couple of minutes later, Aurochs' pilot would report to her. Some hissings heard, doors opened and closed, air cycled and finally Dumont set foot upon the Lance Royale...

She marched in a fast pace to the room where others been waiting. "Bonsoir, mademoiselle Gauthier, mon Amiral and... Contre-Amiral de Fournier. I believe we have not met. May I take a seat?"

With more an more people entering the room, the smile on the face of the colonel became more obvious for a moment: "Mesdames, mesieurs, welcome! Please, take your seats, we'll be commencing now. Others may join us as we go." After everyone would take their seats, the colonel would throw a quick glance across the room, before proceeding: "We're all busy people, so I'll keep this brief. The Enclave is a mess right now. Director-Regent d'Avignon may have the power, but it is us and other ranking officers who'll be the staple of that power."

The colonel half-turned to the audience, taking a step after step around the table towards commandant Gauthier, who sat closest to him: "That gives us opportunities, but also challenges. Some people will be eager to fill the void in command, to carry that burden and enjoy its benefits. This could lead to... conflicts of interest." He stopped a couple of steps away from Gauthier's seat. "We've called this meeting to avoid conflicts, or minimize them. If we were to join our forces, we could become one of the major players in the future Kingdom that is the Enclave. That would also discourage other people from casting us aside as irrelevant."

The man turned around, now taking a step after step towards his own seat, by which he'd stand, leaning on the table again. "There are also more urgent concerns and reasons for joining forces," he turned his face to the red-haired woman: "Commandant Gauthier." With that, he took a seat, and the woman stood up. Behind her, a screen flickered to life, showing the map of Hebrides and neighboring systems. The commandant started her speech, in a professional manner, devoid of almost any emotion:

"By our projections, Bretonia will be recovering from the blow we dealt for at least half a year. Liberty will not keep itself vulnerable by moving more and more battlegroups away from home. Gallia will be too busy figuring out who should be in charge. But after that, the situation will deteriorate. Bretonia will be rebuilding her fleets and eager for revenge. If the Gallic Republic prevails, Council fleets will join with the forces still in Gallia. We'd end up with two Houses, their fleets rebuilt, and at least one of them very keen on crushing us."

She looked around the room to see what impression her speech was making. Then she continued: "The only way to avoid that is joining our forces and focusing on infrastructure. We'll desperately need another shipyard to maintain all our fleets, and active exploitation of resources in the Hebrides..."

The Colonel raised his hands in a halting gesture: "Merci, Ade. I think we all understand the implications." As the woman took her seat, Saint-Just continued: "What I propose is joining forces into one entity, that would focus on preserving what we have, multiplying it, and putting it to good use. The Enclave Defense Authority, if you will. I've invited you here to offer you be a part of it. That's pretty much it. I'd like to hear your opinions."

Louis listened carefully to the speech of madame Gauthier, seemingly interested in her words. When the colonel finished, Louis started to speak:

"Commandant Gauthier, that is indeed a very difficult situation we're seeing us in.
However, I am sure the commands of the remaining forces have allready made plans which would lead us out of this crisis."

He looked around the table, wondering who of those "commanders" would be actually capable of making such plans.

"Colonel Saint-Just, what you are proposing is certainly the right path for our small new nation.
But every movement needs a leader. While we have a political leader, she can only do so much. We'd need a military leader.
This leader, should have experience and qualifications.
Are you proposing to put yourself as leader of this "Enclave Defense Authority"? And if so, what makes you the best choice?
And why would we put ourselves under your rule?"

He remained still for some time, only staring at the colonel, his eyes full of doubt and mistrust.

As when everyone had arrived and made it's first impression after the Commandant and Colonel made their speech, Roger decided he had evaluate everyone to make sure he understands, with just who and what kind of people he will be working with from now on. He doesn't really want to end up at the wrong side of a gun if he can avoid it.

Amiral Louis Clement, who was eyeing him for some reason. He doesn't know what to think of him just yet, but he knows he shouldn't get on his bad side. Jean-Pierre, who he already dislikes simply of how loosely he goes about shooting his ex-country man, even if he was aware of his own hypocrisy since recent. Rose-Maire, hasn't said much so far, but still seems good so far. Colonel Saint-Just seemed like the type for straight business without half measures, could be very dangerous but there is good business potential.

And then Commadant Adelaide Gauthier... Supposedly, the king, his word is ALWAYS through the Commadant. Meaning that she gave the order to purge Leeds and potentially Belfast. But despite his hatred for this woman already, her behaviour intrigued Roger. Why is she behaving so robotic? He couldn't help but feel confused, scared, yet still empathetic at the same time... But for now, there was something more pressing currently, the situation the Enclave was in at the moment, and Roger decided to wait for the Colonel's response.

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