El Capitano. What a cheerful guy. His happy demeanor and his colorful clothes, ready for an OS&C liner trip, deviated considerably from the shadowy characters present in the reunion, to Alarcón’s eyes.
“I was wondering when the important ones were going to show up! It is good to see you in these circumstances.“ Audaz laughed softly, not sure if he wanted to be sarcastic or just blatantly ironic with him. “As a matter of fact, I thought you were annihilated in the battle of Delta! Remember that one? Some pissed off nomads attacking outposts near Planet Nauru. You charged to them like a real Ranseur captain! Oh well, you are a real one, after all...To be honest, my ship’s bridge crew were thinking “¡¿Qué está haciendo este hombre?!”, including myself, but you certainly gave us an edge to victory. Gracias por eso. It really is a welcome sight to see you alive; I guess the damage was not that severe in the MNS-Loco, after we lost you in the void. ”
Alarcón touched his own ears, as if he was verifying that they did not suffer some damage due to the man’s voice. Capitano’s intervention served to Audaz well in the end, bringing good memories about battles in his thoughts. He continued to speak with him and those nearby:
“About the Cardamine trade: Some weeks ago, Cardamine demand exploded in Liberty. The benefits were such, that even our brethren were involved in its direct and frenzy distribution. Hyperspace Starfleet dispatched some lesser members in that task, too. We made substantial profit on it, and more importantly, we pushed forward the spreading of the Orange Dream greatly. We should discuss this further, with Amelia and the other guests.”
Audaz expected the response of the general crowd and Alexandra Amelia, to continue the meeting properly, in the conference hall.
MNS-Loco's El Capitano giggles at the little ones ignorance "Ah bambino - you counted our toying with those pets as fights? That is muy cute!" El Capitano, The Orange Hammer himself briefly recalls Loco's Omicron Delta exploits "If it's not too scary for you bambino before your bedtime, perhaps you can ask Alexandra of how we did against the cute animals! Loco and her Sarissa taking down 5 Ish'tars, fun passtime por supuesto" El capitano laughs ruckously and demands high fives from the puzzled people around him as he slowly makes his way to The Outcasts. He then spots Amelia, amused by the pequeña Alarcón sad demand for praise for some rudimental trading to Liberty. The big shot Outcasts usually let the The Rogues, Junkers and others handle distribution in Liberty on it's last leg - El capitano can't stop feeling amusement at someone gloating over taking over the job the lesser factions present at Ames should be doing for The Outcasts in the first place . "Speak of the devil! How the hell are ya mi señora! Don't tell me you called us all here just to make us listen to little bambino here gloat about some trading? Let's cut the mie*da and skip to why you really called us all here por favor!"
Audaz, amused by the Capitano’s hilarious response, replied almost laughing uncontrollably:
“Well, those pets crashed your ship and probably most of your crew; we did not send rescue parties due to your seeming certain destruction. I guess you were most than lucky out there. By the way, 5 Ish’tars? Why so few? After you were taken out of action, we obliterated those aliens continuously, at least a couple of waves more, after your “heroic” attempt to cripple a single ship. It was an amazing entertainment, indeed. Good target practice.”
After the answer, he put a lightly serious face with regarding the trading:
“Additionally, this “mie*da” about Cardamine trade is one of the main points to discuss for today. What were you doing to spread the Orange Dream during this time? You should already know by now this fortuitous event, but you did nothing, don’t you? As I said, Maltese were involved in it; independent ones, from our group and others, including Hispania Imperial itself. Let me remind you that this “some trading” keeps the Outcast general economy flowing and, ultimately, advances towards the fulfillment of the Orange Dream.”
Alarcón concluded assertively:
“Your mockery in this matter is pathetic and disrespectful to all Outcasts and allies. Watch out your tongue, Capitano. You are sharing your thoughts with those who make those trading routes, here.”
Audaz shrugged and smiled upon Amelia, waiting for her to talk.
With no one really having any objections, it was finally time to get things started.
"Well then, let's proceed to the conference hall, shall we ? Oh, and one more thing, everything said inside there will be confidental, though I assume I don't have to elaborate on such a trivial thing."
As she started to move out, she didn't pay much attention whether the others were following her or not, at best they'd catch up when they saw it fit. The Ortegas and Sibila were on her side, along with Leoz, she took the opportunity to tell her mind to them while the others were far enough not to hear them.
"First part's done, and no one died yet, impressive, isn't it ? Now comes the hard part though, I hope I can rely on you to help me keep things in order."
Soon after the Hispania Imperial representatives arrived at the conference hall. The room was suprisingly well prepared, even for Outcast standards. The chairs were placed in the usual circle way, it didn't really matter who sit where, there were no symbolic seats or tables that showed any kind of superiority or alike compared to the rest. It was prepared this way in confidence of their alliance.
Documents, detailing various subjects on the tables, along with refreshments, everything was well prepared. The Hispania Imperial representatives sat down on the seats that are facing the conference entrance door directly, waiting for everyone else to take their seats, and get started.
El Capitano follows the other outcasts into the conference room looks around and takes a seat near the door "Ay Dios mío you, look at that spread! You really do mean business! " He says, wide eyed, the room looking like an Orbital Spa and Cruise executive conference room rather than a criminal lair. After sitting down he grabs a couple Taquitos with one hand, and starts sifting through the documents with the other. In his excitement he doesn't even notice that he got separated from the other Outcasts, who seem to be engaged in a quiet conversation with each other...Once again El Capitano is heard and seen by all, but besides his stellar reckless MNS-Loco command gets left out of the top level decision making due to his abrasiveness.
Zane enters the conference room as one of the last people and sits down. During this whole time he hasn't said a word to anyone. He observes the bizzare cacophony of characters that blend together in a mismatched hodgepodge.
Zane does enjoy flying under the radar just as he planned, but he can't but stop noticing the inevitable cliques being formed between the groups - especially the rival pack's seemingly personal knowledge of The Outcast hostess. The same hostess that left a weak impression when trying to command the room - if any type of person could be manipulated it would be her.
Zane sits apathetically in his chair, thinking over his decision to lead The Raiders alone and start from scratch. The Liberty Raiders' successess are uneniable, they have left a strong impression on many, yet it has been flair without consistent substance. Zane thinks back at the struggle to establish supppliers, to not get ripped off and convince the Outcasts and Junkers to give him a good price instead of the other packs. It often felt like pissing against the wind, and Zane realized it will take him years to build the contacts as a complete newcomer to Liberty itself.
Yes. Maybe going it a lone isn't the greatest idea. Maybe Zane can use this meeting not just for silent observation, but to actually make allies. Lost in hat thought he looks to his left. The ageing rogue is sitting there much like Zane just observing - Zane pauses briefly and then decides to act.
He silently hisses to get the ageing Rogue's attention Pierce, is it? The only Rogue who bested me on The Sicario board?
I am Kato, Zane Kato, you probably don't know me but I must say your feat was most impressive.
Finally after the long awaiting Amelia invited the leaders of the Cartels, Packs and Chrysanthemums to the Conference room. Pierce breathed with ease, took the booze that almost none took, and entered the room.
[CONFERENCE ROOM, AMES, KEPLER]
In the Conference room, he put the booze under his seat, took another bottle of Frankfurt's dark, and start observing what will happen soon. He knows that this amount of the different packs and cartels will make his day. Pierce assured it when the other Rogue starts making compliments to the old dog. Something about the feats or like that. "Navy these days lost all their standards and skills. No wonder why they lose even to the old Rogue like me. Pierce pointed at his booze box with the various drinks to Zane. If ya want something to drink from my booze box, take it and find yourself a seat. "
Valdez quietly observed from a distance as the chubby Outcast captain in the OS&C flowery shirt displayed how little he really took this would-be conference seriously. A little part of her was envious. If this was happening five or ten years ago it could have been her just waltzing into the meeting dressed equally out of place and floundering it proudly. The woman let out a reminiscent sigh and smiled slightly. Life is surely better when one is much younger and free of responsibilities and obligations. And then there was the much bigger part of her that actually empathized with senora Amelia regarding managing this kindergarten of dangerous criminals. That and the relief that it wasn't her job to do it anyways.
When the gracious and impressively patient hostess finally motioned everyone to follow into the conference, Eliza quickly did so. In a rather expedite she found herself a seat on the table to the side of the Hispania Imperial hosts which had taken the most optimal seats to overlook the entrance to the conference hall. Valdez turned her head at Amelia to get her attention. "My condolences that you have to manage this circus. Not many dare to gather most of Liberty's lowlife in the same room. Even less so for a serious meeting." the auburn haired Outcast said quietly with a sympathetic smile before turning her attention back to the rest of the conference table.
Ashwood in comparison to Hemlocke was rather enthusiastic about the meeting, moving infront of the Hellhound who followed casually behind toward the meeting room, seems Fuze was nowhere in sight as of yet, perhaps late, perhaps dead. Montes could only hope for the latter. The two entered the conference room not long after Amelia called the rest to the meeting.
Strangely, Ashwood was the one that sat down, Hemlocke preferring to stand behind her, well aware of what it visualized, but he didn't care, preferring ability to move quickly over delusions of stature and rank, his crimson gaze slowly moving over the room to see those gathered in a different light. His gaze stopped on Valdez, as if sizing her up, before giving a subtle nod, more to himself, before his eyes cast over Amelia. Professional capacity wasn't Hemlocke's strong suit, if that wasn't obvious enough from his casual attire and stance, though he didn't much enjoy fashion shows. His left hand rested on the back of Ashwood's seat. Despite this, he does not gossip or whisper in private, simply waiting for his moment to speak.
Alexandra was quickly checking through the paperwork to check if everything has been prepared, then her attention was caught by Eliza Valdez, one of the famous representatives of the Maltese Legion.
"Señorita Valdez, a pleasure to have you with us, I hope the lack of introductory pleasantries aren't much of an issue for you. Frankly handling this 'circus' as you said kinda forces my hand when it comes to time management. Nevertheless, I'm glad the Legion considers this meeting important enough to send you to represent them. Let's hope this won't turn into a mass-shooting."
She started looking around, noticing that not everyone arrived yet, thus she decided to wait for a bit longer before starting.
The first documents found on the tables were labelled as "Latest cardamine trade charts in Liberty", along with footage of Rochester's condition, hinting towards the very first topic to be discussed.