A Return to Form

[Thexare]

Every Don had his own approach to his work. Some employed extreme violence and the threat of the same, some wielded money as others would a gun. Some would attempt a diplomatic approach, but often would not succeed. Emilio Santini was one who favored quiet action, which rarely elevated one to his position. Caution was the order of the day, for him. Business deals, influence via patronage, and informants were what kept his operations going. And when the subtle hand failed, the silent knife succeeded. Truthfully, he hated the need to kill, but unfortunately it was often exactly that - a need. One he likened to stomping out a cinder before it becomes an inferno.

He would often learn of upstart Maltese pilots and entrepreneurs, and gained some influence over their work by sponsoring them. Get a promising pilot a better ship, set aside some unused land for a new operation, and if your man succeeds he brings you with him. Never was this more successful than with a young Kusari man, Ayumu Ishida. He arrived on Malta with a beaten-down Scimitar derivative, proved his capability by assassinating one of Emilio's enemies, and found his ship completely overhauled within three days.

From there Ishida made a name for himself in recon and, later, in managing the delicate diplomacy between Bretonia and Malta. The Ghosts of Razgriz, then Malta's most famous and well-regarded combat force, took notice and integrated his Mirage with their fighter wing as the 313th Special Operations Squadron. And through Ishida's rise, Emilio came to prominence.

Unfortunately, no matter how rich this made him, he never had the influence over Maltese culture that he wanted. He had some power, some influence, but not enough to bring about the progress he wanted. More bellicose voices always prevailed, leading Malta - inevitably, by Emilio's estimation - into civil war.

And so he left. He hid out on Cambridge for a time, doing some sufficiently-legal business to keep his wealth growing, but his thoughts always returned to home. Malta needed a leader with vision. Malta needed him.

Aboard the Anki freighter Sunrise, Emilio found his thoughts straying to history to distract from the boredom and discomfort of the trip. Of course they could have taken a more comfortable ship, like the Democritus or one of the Dorados accompanying them, but those are an obvious target for assassination. Intelligence indicated that Malta had calmed, but he knew there may well be those who would not want his return.

Reluctantly flying an old but impeccably-maintained Switchblade as escort, Tiana Santini-Ishida did not want to return to Malta. Unlike her father, she had written off the Maltese as a hopeless case, and gave them about five generations before total societal collapse. Spending time with her sister gave her a lot to think about - about slavery, the drug trade, the nature of the people of Malta. She knew Mia was far smarter than she let on, and she raised a lot of good points.

She had another concern too, that Order agent that Mia had been hanging around. Tiana wasn't entirely clear on the nature of their relationship, but it would be a problem if she couldn't get him away from the Taus. No matter how that fight ended, Mia would be heartbroken. And that was unacceptable.

The other fighters accompanying the convoy were an old CLH Shamshir flown by Ayumu Ishida and a pristine Sabre flown by Santiago Mirez. Just as with Tiana and Mia, the two were very different people, united by common ground - in this case, they had a job to do. The security of their father-in-law and adoptive father respectively was paramount. There were no other concerns. Tiana found this particular quirk of her husband's maddening. As far as the rest of the world could tell, he simply didn't have opinions. He defined himself by his work. Privately? Tiana was never sure. Sometimes he could even hide his feelings from her, though he didn't often try. Sometimes it seemed instinctive. Old habits, she figured, and she couldn't really begrudge him for it. She wasn't so different.

Their trip through the Taus was uneventful. The IMG seemed almost... run-down. Their convoys were positioned to bolt if the Maltese procession even blinked at them funny, but the typical eagerness of their escort pilots seemed to be completely gone. Perhaps it was the fake transponders, but there were only two CLH fighters remaining in operation that Tiana knew of, most had been replaced with the more modern Bayonet. One was escorting the convoy and the other was tucked away in the docking bay of the Pilgrim-class liner intentionally positioned as the head of the fleet. After all the harassment from Mirage, they had to be on alert about that fighter.

But then, the Gallic occupation couldn't be good for morale. In a way, she pitied the Miners. Their escorts were capable pilots, though a step below the Gas Miners in her estimation, but they only knew raids. That was what set them apart from the GMG: they had never known war until Gallia brought it to them.

Perhaps there would be room for business down the road. Evict Gallia, convince the Miners it's in their interest to not interdict the Outcasts, get some solid material supply for industry.

Now Mia had her thinking like a civilian. Worse, a politician.