ZA - Security Conference at Sparta, Omicron 74

[arvg]

Katz, sitting back in his chair rose fluidly, sliding a hand into a pocket he walked forward a step, looking pensive.

"Forgive me for this but I must ask why are you giving ground to the Corsairs?" He shook his head, his cold eyes sweeping over the delegation.

"The very way of life that the Zoners have enjoyed is under systematic assualt, Freeport one, the treaty of Bethlehem, the Baffin blockade..." he stared right at the Outcast representatives. "The Interdiction wing under Admiral Stuart, Eyrie... the list goes on and on and on... and each time what has been the result?"

He shook his head, "Zoner capitulation."

He let the words sink in a moment before he took a deep sigh, "My forces have helped defend Freeport 11, Freeport 1, Freeport 6... providing steel for you in your time of need. But this... this surrender of the Omicrons... this crumbling of your resolve... no sir. I will not sit by and be silent in the face of this. You have to either give up entirely, pack it all in and go traipsing back to House Space and pick out condos on Manhattan... or you draw a line in the sand and say here and no further!"

He walked back to his chair, "Just because you are neutral doesn't mean you can't give a bully a black eye to get him to stop picking on you."

---

[Neurus]

Ramirez listened to the discussions about the future of theta and of omicron 74.. He knew that if the Corsairs gains control of Theta the front towards Alpha will be weak, and they can rush the Sigmas as well as Eta..

He sighed and listened at the So called Premiere of the Revolution, he had seen some images and communiques of the man, but never thought he'd ever be this close to him.. He grinned as he considered on taking a steel string and strangle the man, shook the fantasy off his mind.

He was correct..

"Giving ground to the Corsair barbarians is not the best course of action, neither is withdrawing from Theta and 74.. That's just going to give them more reason to continue their rampage throughout sirius.."

Set shook his head..

He looks at Barilla to see his reaction to this..

Then looks at the premiere.

"I sort of agree with Mr Katz over here.. He does have a point, giving up is not an idea.. And you should make a stand, no matter what.. And the Outcasts.. Well, we'l fight our enemies none the less.. "

Smiles and blows a puff of fragrant smoke from his mouth..

[arvg]

"And there you have it," Katz gestured across the room. "The one thing that should shake the whole of Sirius... myself and my counterpart in the Outcasts agree on something."

He sank back into his seat.

"There is a shape of things to come, it could be ugly... or it could be beautiful... but there can be no doubt, it must be strong."

---

[Tommeh]

Young Admiral observed discussion among fellow Zoner and Coalition Premiere with Outcast representative throwing in his opinion aswell, he was waiting right moment to speak out. Not many high ranking members of Order reach such an important position, Commanding Admiral of Primary Fleet aswell as High Command member, but he was given his duty, and there was no doubt will he perform it right.

As Premiere Katz finished, it was moment for Osborne to say his part.
He stood up, glanced around room a bit and started:
Well, true is Corsairs's arrogancy and lust for power has grown a lot lately.
We have been close allies for long time, but people do change, we had several cases of their pirating actions against our supply convoys, even when they knew their finish line. That would be one of the main reasons of our current relation with them, they are not the same Corsairs with which we allied many years ago.

But going against Zoners, biting the hand that feeded them so long.....something needs to be done.
Jack looked down, paused a bit...
Do tell me fellow Zoner, would your mens be ready to stood up against them? How much battle experience do you have? Would you be willing to risk more of your pilots, which wil happen no doubt....a little paused was made again...
But most important question is....would nation of Outcasts, Coalition and Gas Miners be willing to aid you in that battle?

A silence reigned over the whole room, many people were suprised by Admiral's words and open talk.

Make no mistakes brothers, Corsairs can and will deliver swift strike against their foes.
But I am not quite sure would Order be able to open yet another war front, especially with Corsairs, you are our most valuable ally, but decision would be hard to make.

So please, Mr Ferguson, share with us your opinion and knowledge, would Zoners be capable of replacing neutrality with war fronts? How many of you would be ready to follow that actually.
Because once it starts, there is no coming back....

Jack finished his speech with those words...took a ice cold sip of water, and sit back, waiting for reactions.
He was suprised by his own words, not many times he felt such freedom to speak out.

---

[Yuveraj Khan]

"The League of Non-Declared Houses," Katz murmured leaning closer to Mendel. "This could get interesting..."

Mendel returned with a nod, trying to gauge the crowds around him, fumbling for a cigarette and lighting it. The whole place was a tinderbox, capable of exploding if the wrong thing were said at the wrong time.

He wondered how many rounds from his pistol it would take to kill Ramirez...

---

[Neurus]

As the Order admiral spoke, Ramirez was wondering if he had forgotten to lock the cells on the fifth deck, he shrugged off the thoughts and concentrated on the speech of the Order admiral.

But the admiral had a valid point, would the Zoners take up the sword and strike back?

After the man was finished..

Ramirez spoke

"So.. How come there is atleast two delegates of the Zoner's missing?

The OSI and Taz both left..

Why? Because they would be safe?"

Set shook his head

"So it would be.. What? The Consortium and the.. "

Looks at Ryodan of the Enclave

"Virulian Enclave?"

Set shrugged again and chuckled..

"So, do you plan on fighting this fight at all, or do you intend for the Outcasts, The Order and the others here to help you against the Corsairs? Well, let me tell you, the Outcasts will fight Corsairs no matter what..

But the fact remains that allot of the others here are and have been our enemies as well, perhaps not as.. Badly as the Corsair scum, but they are not exactly friendly with us, and we with them.."

He looked Directly at Ferguson

"What do you expect of these talks? A joint alliance?!"

Ramirez laughed a little and then sat down again..

"The Gas Miners Guild, the Independent miners, the Revolutionaries and the 'Defenders of humanity' " last comment was aimed at the Order Admiral.

"All of which we have had... 'Problems' with.. "

Set shrugs and sits down..

"This is nothing but a powder keg ready to blow.. So better explain to us all what it is that we are here for..."

[Thexare]

Escher was quiet throughout the meeting, carefully observing the Coalition representatives in the event that he needed to quickly disarm someone. But it appeared that the Outcasts were putting the meeting at greater risk.

"If I may," he interjected, standing up at the end of Minister Ramirez's statement. "Most of you don't know me. I'm Escher, Taskmaster of the Vagrant Raiders. I am here because the Zoners have been a great help to us in various ways, without asking anything in return except that we follow their laws. I believe they have granted you all that same privilege." He paused after that basic statement of fact. "We also all share a hatred of the Corsairs for various reasons... perhaps not as extreme in one case, but your men have issues with the Corsairs nonetheless," he said, looking directly at the Order representatives. Their fault, really. They brought it up.

"I believe that this meeting has been called to ask for our support... as a matter of honor, repaying those who have aided us," he explained, looking toward the Coalition and Gas Miners Guild representatives. "And as a matter of war, hurting those who have made themselves our enemies. If the Corsairs win, we all lose whether we help the Zoners or not. Refuelling points, supplies, medicine, things many of us cannot operate without. And they will have a stronger power base to use to attack us." A harsher tone than the one he usually used, directed at the Outcasts, who likely wouldn't respond to an appeal to honor. "We all have our differences, but right now more important is what we share. One enemy. One threat to a valued business partner and ally. One chance - perhaps the only chance in our lifetime - to strike a decisive blow against the Corsairs."

Escher's wrist beeped, and he looked down for just a moment.

Code red cancelled. - MR

So much for Hessian support. A good thing I didn't waste my own time, he thought to himself, shaking his head and cutting off the dim display.

"Just a message from one of my men. Nothing terribly important. I will give the Zoners a chance to make their case, but... I don't think I need to tell you that if you hide while we fight off your enemies for you, your destroyers will no longer have fangs. The threat of a Jinkusu will be meaningless."

[Barricade]

Orley looked down on the huge round conference table they were all sitting at.
Many things, the Summit paper listed were striking to him.
He finally raised a hand, waiting for the others' attention.

"Hello everyone, I thought I would let some of you state their positions, before I come out with mine."

Looking at Ferguson, "First of all, we can't let it happen, the Corsairs take over Theta.
That is not only important for you, fellow Zoner...", he looked at all the others now, "it is important to all of us I don't need to describe precisely what is meant here."

"As Fleet Admiral Osborne already said, the Corsairs have changed.
I don't know exactly what drove them to some of their recent decisions which have been made, but I fear
some of the Elders have become power-hungry."

He paused for a few seconds.

"I am sure, Mr.Ramirez over here can confirm that.", he said while nodding to the addressed person.

"Again, I can only repeat what Admiral Osborne said:
Are you ready to open this front ?
Because once it's done, there is only one option for us, and that is pushing them back to where they belong,
Omicron Gamma."

He took a deep breath, not losing a bit of his determination.

"Even if the Order has many people and systems to watch, I think we will throw in what we have to support
everyone, who fights alongside the Zoners.

---

[lousal]

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[Vape]

Kell watched Ferguson stand up and make his speech, while listening, Kell gestured to Matthias and leaned his head closer to the commander's helmet

"Prepare for operation, Code BASTION" He whispered

Matthias nodded, and as he did so, Ferguson finished his speech, at that moment, Kell interjected

"If I may Mr. Ferguson, what you intend to do would leave several valuable resources in potential Corsair hands, now if i am hearing this correctly, Freeport 9 has already fallen to the hut'uuns." Kell spoke. "This system, however is much more valuable, considering the Livadia shipyards, and Corinth Research station specifically" He continued.

"I originally came here to discuss a possible operational response to Gallia, that however will have to wait, as there are more pressing matters"

Kell paused as he let it sink in, then opened his mouth to finish

"I have a proposal and a request combined, I as Second in Command of the Order Wedjat, offer our resources to defend Corinth and the system of Omicron-74" He declared.

Kell watched the delegates briefly as they waited for the "but"

"My request is that we be allowed to setup a base at Corinth" He finished.

Sat back down to await an answer

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