When the Captain finally returned from his meeting on Freeport 9 he had immediately called all senior staff to the briefing room, a not particularly subtle move which caused most of the ships crew to start gossiping about what might be going on.

However time was not on their side, the Corsairs would likely grow tired of the Torment taking up valuable space on their shipyard what with multiple ships on the way in need of repairs. Nor did it seem particularly likely the offer of the Order would be on the table indefinitely.
The briefing room was rather spartan in design; a long table with several built in screens at each of the chairs and a large screen at the end of the room. It connected to the bridge and the captains quarters, making it a convenient location to meet for confidential discussions.

Most of the staff had already assembled by the time Captain Perez walked into the briefing room;
Chief of Security Enzo Esteban, Head of Medical Sarah Strifer, Chief of Facility Leanard Lonari and Chief of Operations Hetty Harper.
Lucian looked around the room and asked: "Has anyone seen Mcintyre?" Barely had he spoken the words or Chief Engineer Montgomery McIntyre finally hustled into the briefing room, his belly jiggling and his cheeks flush from the effort. "Apologies Cap’n, I was in the middle of doin’ rounds to check up on me team." he gasped through ragged breath.
With a slight chuckle Lucian shook his head and reassured McIntyre that everything was fine. More importantly, now the senior staff had assembled, the meeting could finally start.

"Alright everyone, as you all know the Corsairs set up a meeting at Freeport 9 with another faction here in the Omicrons, specifically one who’d be able to finish up the repairs of the Torment." Lucian glanced around, so far no new information was given yet but it was important to make sure everyone was on the same line. "When I arrived I met with a woman going by the name of ‘Val’, she wanted to know about our history, both the ships and my own. Come to think of it, specifically my own." It hadn’t really dawned on him at the time that the focus of Vals questions had been rather odd, then again, she had said she expected his behavior as a captain to reflect upon his crew. "At any rate, eventually she revealed which organization she was representing. The Order."

Lucian let a silence fall for a moment, letting the revelation sink in to everyone present. "Mysterious blokes them Order lads, do we know anythin’ about em?” Montgomery said, having regained his composure while the Captain had spoken. Some brief murmurs followed before Enzo spoke up: "The Hellfire Legion had pretty cordial relations with the Order back before the Separatists needed to be saved, after that things soured a bit and they became a rarer sight. Information remained mostly classified though, given the Commonwealth was trying to project a legitimate, lawful air to the rest of Sirius."

"Quite so." Lucian said, adding: "This ‘Val’ described the Order as an organization out to defend Humanity from threats, both external like the Nomads." Lucian briefly glanced the room once more, letting a small silence drop to emphasize his next words. "and internal."

”Guess we know why they were branded terrorists by the houses” Hetty chuckled. "Indeed, but don’t forget as far as Liberty was concerned we were no better than terrorists either. Truth in the eye of the perceiver and whatnot" "More like truth in the eye o’ the propaganda if you ask me cap’n” chuckled Montgomery. "Be that as it may, the Corsairs are confident the Order can finalize the repairs to the sensors and, supposedly, even the cloaking device. In return, they seem to want us to work for them." Another moment of silence fell over the group before Montgomery spoke up: "Well cannae blame em for wanting our firepower at their side I suppose.” Hetty glanced at Mongomery before interjecting ”Just because they can fix up the Torment doesn't mean it's a good idea to work for them, what guarantees do they give that we'll be able to continue operating normally? That they won't split up the crew?” "As I mentioned earlier the Hellfire Legion was supposedly fairly cordial with them, I don't think they'd pull anything like that, but it wouldn't hurt to get it in writing during negotiations. I agree that splitting the crew would be a bad idea, a good chunk of the crew are just barely trained cadets, former civilians at that. They don't know how to operate on any other ship because they weren't trained for it."

Lucian couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at Enzo's words. "You realize literally everyone was a former civilian at one point or another right Enzo?" The chief of Security gave Lucian a glare akin to saying 'you smartass' but knew enough about decorum not to react. "Your concerns are all valid, if we proceed with the Order I will be sure to insist on all guarantees needed for the safety and wellbeing of our crew."
The captain then turned towards Leanard and Sarah, both of which had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the meeting. "What about you two?." Lucian inquired "Thoughts? Concerns?"

Sarah removed some hair from in front of her face and said: "More curious if anything. If we'll be dealing with alien lifeforms, hostile ones at that, me and my team will need to know how to treat wounds inflicted by them, diseases they might carry or spread. That sort of thing. Please include access to the relevant databases in the negotiations Captain."

Leanard on the other hand pondered a bit more before finally speaking up. "No objections sir, though I'll of course need to know if any additional crew comes onboard, as well as any supplies we might be receiving, or giving up, as part of these negotiations. Otherwise I won't be able to arrange the logistics in a timely manner and frankly I'm not sure how much of that we have sitting here."

Lucian nodded, valid points though he hoped the Order wouldn't be expecting them to give up what little of their own supplies they had left. "Very well, lets get to the actual vote then." he said, flicking on the console behind him as he said so. "A decision this big needs to be carried by the senior staff, it affects every last soul on this crew and I would make use of your insight into your teams opinions. As there are six of us, myself included, one of the outcomes much reach four votes for majority. In the unfortunate situation of a tie my vote will count for two, this means you all need to give it considerable thought." Each of the built in screens activated in front of senior staff, providing a way for them to cast their vote anonymously. Only two options were present:

1. Go with the Order
   
2. Explore other options
   

A silence fell over the room as one by one the senior staff and captain Perez casted their vote until finally the results were in and appeared on the screen behind Lucian. "Four votes in favor, two that prefer looking for other options." Lucian mused while looking at the screen before turning back to his senior staff. "The decision has been made, I expect you all to abide by and support it to the best of your abilities. I'll be reaching out to them tomorrow, be sure to have any other points that must be mentioned in the negotiations on my desk before then. Dismissed."