Winston decided to let the crowd thin out first, before himself going through the scan. Having no weapons to speak of, he was let through quickly and without issue. He decided to take Holliday up on his offer, positioning himself near the table and looking over the available snacks. His strategic location allowed him easy access anything that seemed of interest, and it was an advantage he used to great effect. He continued to scan the room, taking mental notes of people in attendance. His attention was largely focused on groups that seemed to be the biggest troublemakers. Trouble was not exactly what he was looking forward to, but if anything interesting was going to happen here, they'd be the ones to cause it.
Megaera observed the room. So far none of them was particularly interesting to her. She ignored Voncloud for now and picked up another apple from which she took a bite. The man in the black robes that was near the Coalition people stood out the most to her and she made her way over to them, while taking another bite from the apple.
William didn't much like the look of some of the people coming through the door. He considered removing his legal regalia but decided against it since his Bretonian Merchant Navy uniform was beneath and he cursed himself for not thinking through his attire to be more discreet. Still, he was formally dressed for the occasion and when the time for talking arrived, everyone would know who he was, what he wore wouldn't make any difference.
The good doctor had spoken, making it clear that they should wait for more guests to arrive. This was something William was more than willing to do, even though the number of unfriendly guests grew. He reminded himself of the parallels between this meeting and the trial he had conducted against George Hall, who was now a dead hero. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, he shifted in his seat. He spotted the Royal guards of Bretonia near the door, along with the other half of the two man delegation from Bretonia. Thinking it was far safer there than on his own, he gathered his papers and case and wandered over to them, nearly colliding with a rather unhappy looking Corsair girl in a dark cloak who had recently arrived. Apologies my dear. He said with a strong Rheinlandic accent as he wandered past, coming up the the young lieutenant in charge of the detachment handing him his identification papers.
William Frederick Volker Steiner, here at the behest of the Intelligence Service on the behalf of Bretonia. I believe my Papers are in order? The officer reviewed his paper work while Steiner looked around the room to see who had come. Corsairs, Cretians , freelancers, Zoners, Hessians, a few Core members, the Church of Sirius, Order, Coalition members and officers even a gaian or two had shown up. Being surrounded by so many people who's groups had long historic grudges against Bretonia served only to remind him that these negotiations were very unlikely to succeed, even with the best intentions.
All in order sir The officer said, giving his papers back, which William accepted, before sitting down at another table close by, reading more documents pertaining to the summit that he was required to understand, although it became apparent to him that emotion was very likely to override logic in this debate and he was having a difficult time coming up with a plan on how to get around that possibility.Lord give me strength..he said as he continued reading.
The Antarctica entered the orbit of planet Gran Canaria and Alessa stood in her rooms, looking for a suitable dress. She decided to take a white conservative blazer, which would make her appear elegant, but also professional.
The blinking light signaled her that her personal vessel was ready for launching towards Tombstone Estate.
She was already pretty late, however this allowed Alessa to notice the sheer variety of spaceships orbiting the planet. "Oh, John, I hope these people know what the basics of being human are." Alessa silently spoke to herself.
Passing these ships made her feel very insecure and strange. Order, Coalition, Bretonians, Core, Gammu and others resting at a single place.
Same as the orbit, the landing and parking area were filled with several vessels and persons. Alessa took a deep sigh and made her way through the airlock. First of all she wanted to say hello to John. It was in fact the best side-effect she could imagine, even for such a tragic event.
However, she was aware that she can't just fall into his arms and kiss him. They decided to keep their relationship silent and secret till there is the right time for a reveal. Moving through the people she just nodded anyone friendly she passed towards the entry which had a security protocol installed.
Surprisingly a short alarm appeared while Alessa got through the scanner. Raising an eyebrow she smiled at the security guy and said. "I will just walk through the scanner once again." She turned around and finally checked in with clearance while babbling to herself. "Sensetive adjustments"
Entering the lodge Alessa was surprised how different a place can look when there are a couple people instead of only two.
She observed the room watching out for John and noticed the tasty, well prepared snacks and drinks. Some people already spoke towards eachother while having a drink. A hand touched her shoulder and smoothly turned her around. There was John, standing in a robe that made him look very official and important. Both were professionals and just friendly smiled and shook hands. There was only a slight touch on John chest and the glance of their eyes that could signifed a closer relation. "Hello Doctor Holliday." Alessa just spoke in very warm tone.
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The sight of Alessa made Doc feel warm. It had been too long since they had embraced but now wasn't the time. "Professor Samson, it is good to see you again. Taking a quick look around, he softly whispered in her ear, "You have idea." He then stood back straight and motioned to the tables, "Do enjoy the food that my daughter prepared and have a drink." Pouring himself a seltzer, Doc made his way to the front of the room where a podium stood. Looking out, he began to wonder just what he had gotten himself into. He had no idea that this many people would be interested let alone attend. Emiko was busy keeping food on the tables while one of his men stood by the door. It was time to call things to order. He would back brief any late arrivals.
"Good day to all of you and welcome to my home," he began. "I want to by thanking my lovely daughter, Emiko, for coming home to provide you with some food."
She would do no more than smile to her father.
"But I want to thank all of you for caring enough to come here. We have representatives from all of the major powers in and around Omega 49 as well as the Bretonians." He placed his hands on either side of the podium as he scanned back and forth over all present to acknowledge everyone.
"For many of you, I am sure this is not easy," he continued. "Decades of tensions are within these walls held in check by only minutes of restraint. I would say that is a huge compliment to you all. With many of you I have both differed and agreed but have done each respectfully. I believe that we can do that here and now without resorting to violence. Tombstone was built as a house of peace in research and medicine and it continues to do both. I hope that today we can come to a peaceful resolve and who knows, some old rivalries may find some resolve as well."
"Now for the reason I called this conference. To make a long story short, I returned home several days ago only to find a Bretonian battleship in our system. To say that I was shocked is an understatement. I took it upon myself to investigate and eventually dock on the ship. I gave them what I had left in H-fuel and oxygen in my transport and shared a drink and a few hands of cards with some of the crew. It was then that I learned of the ships intent in the system as evidenced by this recording."
"To establish an Armed Forces presence in Omega 49 and to annex Gran Canaria." He then looked towards the Bretonian delegation with a look of respect. "Respectfully, I find this a very wreckless idea. Why? As with no fire zones around Freeports, we keep this system as no fire as possible. When foreign warships enter those spaces and loiter, they often attract unwanted attention. I see the same thing here. Gallic patrols have been spotted in Dublin. That said, they will no doubt find their way here and to see their enemy in our home system will no doubt bring unwanted attention. While I personally have no tensions with the Gallic Royals as I am sure some here do not either, we do not want to find ourselves caught in a conflict or dragged into one that is not of our doing. This brings me to my next point.
He then puts up a copy of the Port Jackson Treaty signed many years before. "This is the only copy of this document that I have but it is genuine."
Port Jackson Treaty
1. The Port Jackson settlement, and surrounding area of 80 square kilometers, shall be leased from the Council of Zoners (hereafter referred to as the Council) for a period of not less than 10 (ten) years, during which time it shall be under the administration of Borderworld Exports (hereafter referred to as Bowex).
2. Throughout the duration of the aforementioned lease, Bowex transport vessels, and Bowex-owned escorts of bomber-class or smaller, shall be permitted passage through the Omega-49 system for the purpose of carrying refugees and necessary supplies (excluding heavy weapons) to the Port Jackson settlement, and that Bowex shall be permitted to defend said transports in the event that they come under hostile action.
3. The United Kingdom of Bretonia shall not call into dispute the Council's sovereignty over either the Omega-49 system or Planet Gran Canaria, nor will vessels of the Royal Bretonian Armed Forces enter the Omega-49 system without the express approval of the Council.
4. Bowex shall initially pay a sum of 100 million Sirius Standard Credits to the Council, and pay a sum of 30 million Sirius Standard Credits on a Monthly basis as payment for use of the aforementioned parcel of land.
5. The above agreement will be subject to renegotiation and renewal every 10 (ten) years from the date it becomes active.
6. Boderworld Exports, their Agents, and the Bretonian Crown will rescind and relinquish all claims and filings with the Sirius Astronomical Union regarding the name "Planet Sydney", and will henceforth recognize and acknowledge the Planet's rightful name of "Planet Gran Canaria".
Signed
X - Council of Zoners
X - Bowex Board of Directors, On behalf of the Bretonian Crown
"Granted, there is no more Zoner council but I have heard of no requests to enter the system. Currently, the Omicron Supply Industries are legal administrators of the system. Gentlemen, the presence of that ship is, in my opinion, a violation of line three of this agreement. Mind you, I have consistently and will continue to provide medical care to the many Bretonians of Port Jackson."
He leaned back a bit and softly smiled as he spoke of his next bit, "Many of those people came as refugee children, children whose trust that I earned over the years, often took as my own and watched them grow up. If it is them that you are concerned with, do not be. My people will look after them until the last one is repatriated home. Out of respect and safety not just for them but for us all, I would ask that that ship leave our space. My fear and that of others here is that it will attract the unwanted presence of the Gallic fleet. Gran Canaria is a largely peaceful, solemn world and we desire to keep it that way. Mind you, Sirs, that this is not an attack on Bretonia. What this is is a presentation of some fact and some genuine concern."
Taking a sip of his seltzer, he continued in addressing the others. "I am sure others here would just assume occupy our world in order to protect it. Others still, no doubt, will keep ships in the area for the same reason. I personally fear the Zoner population again being caught in the middle, being forced to pick sides and being vilified for either doing or not doing so. If any one of you had to sign as many death certificates and inform many a parent, spouse or child of a loved one who will not be coming home, you may think differently. It is the one part of my job that I hate more than any other."
He began scanning the room as he was looking for the delegation from Omicron Supply Industries. He hadn't seen him yet. "Hm, Mr. Mendes must not be here yet."
He then looked back to the Bretonian delegation. "I will give you a chance to respond and I will ask the others to give you the respect to do so."
"Pardon me, Doctor Holliday, but this recording seems a bit weird," Paige Hale, the representant of the gran canaria-based Hot Gear company, a short woman in a blue dress said. "Why would the Bretonians openly tell a Zoner that Bretonia is going to annex Gran Canaria? Don't you htink this is kind of weird, to just tell the local population that they are about to bring this battlegroup to the planet to take over the many colonies down there? Isn't that kind of... ridiculous?
Could it be that they allowed themselves to perform a prank on you? Or is it possible that this recording is showing conveniently crafted evidence without much backing? How reliable is this evidence?"
William stood, after listening to what the Doctor had said. As the Legal mind of the Bretonian delegation, he had the right ahead of the permanent secretary, even though he would have much preferred it if the secretary had spoken first. Still he had little choice and walked to a position in the room where most if not all could see and hear him and began with an introduction that was coloured by a clear and strong Rheinlandic accent.
Ladies and Gentlemen, my name William Frederick Volker Steiner of the University of Cambridge school of Laws here at the behest of the Bretonian Intelligence Service and a representative of the Bretonian Crown on this matter. I must first thank you, Doctor, for allowing us to speak. He paused, aiming to collect his thoughts before continuing I am afraid I cannot get to all of your points at once, that task lies with my fellow representative but I can address the Port Jackson treaty. As you have mentioned sir, the Confederation of Freeports no longer exists, and there has been no clear successor, as far as Bretonian Law is concerned the Omicron Supply Industries group is not the Legal administrators of this system and planet. The treaty was signed by the Confederation, they have ceased to exist, as such with one signatory now dissolved, the treaty of Port Jackson becomes void under Bretonian Law.
Again, he paused to find the proper words, choosing them as carefully as possible. I realize this may come as a shock to many of you. I am aware that most, if not all of you, are unhappy with this turn of events, but that is the Law ladies and Gentlemen. Were we so inclined to enforce our will upon you and your people, we would not be here today. We are willing to talk, but let there be no doubt in everyone's mind. Under the Laws of Bretonia, according to the Crown and parliament, the Treaty of Port Jackson, while once binding, is no longer an active or enforceable Legal document and therefore, I ask you all not to get caught up on the fact that it has been broken, since the document became void first. Although I do see how this would make little difference to people in your positions.
He stopped talking, making it clear that he was done. He did not return to the guards, instead standing dead still in the middle of the room looking at the Doctor, awaiting the outrage that was likely to follow.
Not having noticed how the Kusarian woman slapped some other woman who she probably thought was talking - or for whatever other reason - Miss Hale had listened to the Bretonian representant while leaned against the wall.
"So, because Mister VonCloud announced the dissolvement of the Confederation of Freeports, Bretonia sends in a battlegroup to talk? Why was there no previous communique from the Bretonian Government to the inhabitants of Gran Canaria's colonies? What does this mean for the non-bretonian colonies on this planet? And do you realize that this argument is an open invitation to the Corsairs, the Coalition, the Mollys and the Red Hessians to do the same as Bretonia seems to do?"
"You forget one thing. This place is not subject to Bretonian law. A treaty can not be disbanded one sided at will just because one party is no longer present to defend itself. Nor does it mean the remaining party can have this place for the taking. You make claims that are not present on the article Doc just showed us. You do understand that all you just said should have been included in the document to have any legal consequences to this treaty. Some paragraph on what to do if one party ceases to exist. But there is none. Also I see a clear successor."
She points at Doc Holliday.
"I recognise the sovereignity of this Zoner community."
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