Hmm.

Fascinating, indeed. If you happen upon any more like this, send one to Ganes at the Halcyon for me.

My dear, I trust your judgement but I must implore you to reconsider your approach from all angles. While the Corsairs have thrived in harsh conditions, I wouldn't necessarily call their approach to engineering remarkable or outstanding in any particular way. Even with the limited first hand experience I had back in the day, I hadn't found their approach to weapon design to match a high level of efficacy. Nevermind their nature as untrustworthy, deceitful and dangerous, or that their core economic standing point involves the destruction and distribution of sites and artifacts that have a rather high scientific value.

Weaponry is my business. You know that. It's almost insulting that you wouldn't invite me along for such a project. Or people more closely aligned to your past attempt at garnering assistance from Rheinland, with access to hefty hardware like the Hessians.

A questionable choice, but I admire your intention to better understand the fundamentals of your enemy.

Just tell me how I can help, and make sure you stick that thing behind appropriate containment measures.

There it is. Your overinflated ego. Your pride, blinding you. This is me considering all angles, Hunt. You /know/ me. You know my utter disdain for these cretinous fools.

But I know better, I have studied their history, their remains. I have interrogated, and seen, that despite all odds against them, that they still persue creative solutions - working with what little they have, to achieve stronger outcomes. Your work is too... heavy. Too much consumption. I need their minimalism.

Nononono. I will make arrangements, he will come to assist me in a time of need, and he will provide to me what we need. Allies are a must for what is to come. Of course, I am not going to give them a weapon on a free platter. And even then, their prototypes will not be the same as ours.

Don't you dare be callous. Hold some respect for what we are handling. We are dealing with history, the very notion of knowledge. They are not lesser things. It is something to be respected and handled with care. Respect.

You have some audacity in believing yourself to be the greatest solution out there, Leviathan. You may be family, but don't you dare overstep your boundaries with this reckless and ungracious attitude. I know the risks I am taking. Show some respect for the fragile samples we have. There is beauty in the alien, and I am disappointed you treat it no more than dirt in the ground..

Sapphire, my dear. Do not mistake my tone for anything more than cordial, or my cordiality for weakness.

My 'ego' has nothing to do with it. I'm fully aware of your own opinions on their kind which is precisely why I'm surprised by you. The nature of my concern comes from the possibility of even remotely empowering them in the slightest. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but it seems that working with outsiders in this capacity hasn't had the greatest track record for us. These kinds of 'allies' are united by opportunistic nature at best, and that is a fragile relationship to hold onto.

I know you, probably better than anybody. I know that you'll find a way to make it work regardless of what challenges lay ahead. Insurmountable odds have never stopped you. Don't mistake my words for an attempt at doubting your ability.

I doubt them. I doubt their ability. Their trustworthiness. How many more times must we take a knife to the back? There is danger in trusting people beyond the walls of our own home. Always was, and never has it been more prevalent than the time I've spent watching your back. I know that you know this and I needn't warn you of that, either.

I also know that you know I am not a boisterous or prideful person. I'm as pragmatic as I can be. I'm not the solution to everything, but I am woefully underutilized in your projects. Projects we once worked on together, a long time ago. The only pride I take is in the life we share, and it's kept mostly to myself. But here you sit with a project that my particular skillset is as applicable as it could ever be, and you're turning to them? Of course I'd take insult to that. We're supposed to be a team.

You also know what the tools I built are for. What my work has always been. The weight and cost of my work is dependent upon the needs of the task at hand. I've been doing this kind of work for a very long time.

Don't think for a second that I'm overstepping my bounds, or being reckless by calling out flaws I'm noticing here. I know the realities of the work we do. I held the same title as you. Shaped much of the past, just as you. I've been at your side for a long time, and it's ridiculous that you'd think so little of me or even assume that I don't hold you in the highest of regards.

Even if I do, despite my absolute belief in you and your ability - I have doubts about this approach. I have doubts about trusting the Corsairs, which you already know. I wouldn't be doing my part if I didn't try and see the picture through the same lens as you. If I didn't express those doubts and ensure that those plans are as solid as they could possibly be.

And yes, there is 'beauty' in them. There's beauty in chaos, too. There's beauty in everything. There's beauty in you. It's still dangerous. It should still be quarantined accordingly, and studied to avoid adverse side effects. Of course these samples must be treated with care, and with caution. I'm not advocating for them to be thrown around or mistreated. I'm advocating for procedure.

I'm not some brute who has forgotten their station or the purpose of our work. Or who the enemy is.

Those Aliens - They'll get my respect when they no longer endanger you, my family or the people who follow us.

There are better ways to do this. There are better allies to rely on. You can listen to my counsel, or dismiss it. I wouldn't bring them up if I didn't believe there was another option, that doesn't risk widening the control of a problem and further endangering the AI.

Whatever you decide, I'll still stand with you and give you my support.

That is just the ugly truth to life, Leviathan. We have to do things we do not like, in order to strengthen ourselves.


All of them? Heh. No. Only a certain few. A few to push a certain notion that we need.

Do you hear yourself? The contradictions? Humanity as a whole is threatening us. What makes it any different? Have you forgotten who has tried snatching our children? The Nomads haven't tried, not yet. And I would never let them try.

No-No. You simply do not hold the foresight as I do, you fear of repeating mistakes. We don't have to do the same steps again. Our allies are overburdened, and they are predictable to our enemies. We need a surprise. New opportunities.

I have no intention of endangering the AI, but it seems like the Corsairs are desiring to approach regardless. I don't blame them. The Core is trouble. We can perhaps get them on neutral grounds as they were previously with Gammu, but this is a thin effort. We'll see. I have been trying, and I will. Whether you like it or not.

Do not think I am the fool here. Time is flowing. Do not get swept up in the old ways. Yes. Outsiders are brutish, and plain. But I need their terror, their cruelty, for our plans to move forward.

Raven. I have never once believed you to be a fool. Never once believed you to be naïve, or reckless in any regard. You are one of the most cunning, capable and wise people I know. You're brave, you adapt. I believe in you. I always have. I always will, but I would be a mindless, nodding drone if I didn't speak my mind when I see a problem arise. Blind loyalty is worthless.

You never needed my approval for this, and I'm not going to stop you if you believe this is what's necessary to accomplish your goal. You know I stand with you.

But approve I do not.

Repetition versus avoiding the same mistakes of the past are precisely how we have survived as long as we did. There are necessary evils. I'm not arguing the realities of the universe or getting philosophical with you about it. We'll be here for hours. There are holes in this plot, that are too big to ignore. Holes others will point out in greater detail than I if this goes somewhere. The wider Technocracy's opinion on the Corsairs is almost as low as our own, and there are some who've advocated for ending the minor ceasefire agreement in favor of re-committing to the Hessians altogether.

There's a resource network currently being built up with like-minded parties, and if this in any way compromises or jeopardizes those efforts, we'll lose the Omegas and Omicrons altogether. We have a tangible opportunity to strengthen our people and gain access to Skagen. Is that worth the risk to you, over them?

This 'necessary evil' isn't one I believe is needed for the future ahead. It isn't something I see as strengthening ourselves by giving our enemies an opportunity at cooperation. Especially now when we've already received promised support from those supposed 'overburdened' allies. Your analysis is a bit out of touch with the current state of affairs in the local area. They're more than willing and capable to fill the gap of manpower for what's to come. My assets are in position. My people are everywhere. The Core have moved their major offensive force out of the area.

There has never been a more opportune moment to move.

The only way I'd ever let The Corsairs near this operation is if they intend to fall on their swords and soften The Core up at the cost of their lives. A cost they will not like unless a high price is paid. You and I both know that no deal can be struck that won't result in them seeking to plant their banner as the new rulers of Gammu and its occupants. It might not happen immediately, but it will happen. Their desire to dominate far outweighs their willingness to see reason.

And their honor? It isn't worth its weight in the trinkets they pilfer from DK sites. I saw first-hand what honorable arrangements get you. If you are not one of them, you are beneath them.

I plan ahead. Years ahead. I analyze everything, often multiple times to cover every perspective. When I can't, I adapt. Even still I am struggling to see a future in which this type of cooperation will yield anything but an emboldened Empire planting their flag on the corpses of the people we set out to liberate in the first place. That reality is a possibility of any party we try and involve, but for them in particular? That's close to their homeland. The wider Empire will not care what deals we strike. We are not their people, and we are not subject to their rule.

Nor will we ever be.

And yeah, outsiders can't be trusted. None of them can. Not even the Guild. To look at a group we know beyond the shadow of a doubt is fundamentally against the ideals of our movement and decide that they've got more to offer than the years upon years of repertoire we've build in the area? I'm going to question it, every step of the way. The opportunity you see is fleeting in my eyes. I see only a path to future disaster on this route, Choosing this necessary evil is still picking evil to win the day. Giving them ANY opportunity to encroach on that territory and not simply using them as throw-away muscle is a risk I wouldn't take in a thousand years. Not after they burned my people out of the Omegas before we fell in with you.

Do not allow yourself to become consumed by this ill-conceived notion that the objectively worst 'necessary' evil is the be-all-end-all of this. If 'perhaps' and 'maybes' are the only guarantees you'll get from their involvement, then it isn't involvement that is worth the risk. I don't think you'll find wider support for this, either. The AI have already questioned why we have let them enter Pi without difficulty. They don't feel safe, nor do they trust a people they've had open conflict in the past with to keep their word.

Neither should you.

I still think this is a mistake. I don't see what you see in them. I don't see the need for their resources, or their engineering capabilities when there are objectively better, safer and more palpable options than working with their kind. This is jeopardizing the integrity and sanctity of our work by allowing not just outsiders - but Corsairs even any kind of remote access to your work seems contradictory to safeguarding such knowledge from dangerous parties.

They don't deserve a prototype. They do not deserve to touch this project. The necessity of this approach is called into question.

Working with them will only lead us further to ruin.