The Serpentia, the Outcast Battleship was escorted by a wing of the Asesino's, 10 by number and all piloting Sabres, the ships glided trough the nebula in Theta, ahead of the Serpentia, to make sure no.. Corsair ships where active in the system.
The com officer reported
"Sir, the 32nd wing reports no enemy targets in system.. Should we plot a course to the freeport?"
Set Ramirez sat in a big command chair, ornamented with different treasures, such as blood diamonds and also some golden skulls, made by a craftsman in his possession.
Next to him stood three lightly dressed female slaves, each with a tray of exotic drinks and fruits, Set grabbed a goblet made of Platinum and drank from the content.
A moment later he spat out the contents, he stood up in rage and stared at the woman that carried the goblet in question.
"Poisoning me.. "
She looked terrified, and she went down on her knees, her hands clasped in prayer and she muttered something about 'mercy' and that she 'was afraid'..
He back hand slapped her onto the deck plating and then had two very large men carry the screaming woman out of the bridge, the other two women showed no emotions at all.
He looked at the com officer and said
"Tell the wing to escort us there, then break off and land on the Freeport, we will make the trip on our own"
The com officer spoke into his mic attached to his head piece.
Set took a grape from one of the trays and ate it with pleasure..
A couple of minutes later, they approached the jump hole to Omicron-74..
The Nav Officer spoke up
"The Serpentia is ready to jump.. Sir."
Set was drinking from a crystal glass, something that reminded one of blood, but was of course nothing else but wine, he nodded and said
"Well.. Go ahead.."
And stared at the officer as if the man was stupid..
The Battleship jumped into the Zoner Guard system, and as soon as they where picked up on scanners they where asked to send confirmation of their invitation..
Set sent a text based communique from his chair's computer, shortly followed by a response that the Serpentia was to follow the zoner fighters to the meeting.
They traveled across the system to Sparta, barely going trough without hitting the mine field..
Set stood up as he saw the different kinds of vessels present, a wide smile forming..
"Send word to the hangar deck to prepare my shuttle for flight.."
The XO, a large dark skinned man saluted and gavethe command..
Set Ramirez's shuttle left the Serpentia's hangar moments afterwards and docked with Sparta.
He was shown into the room where the conference was to be held, wearing a dark grey uniform with a logo of the Syndicate on the arm, he stood and awaited for the others.
The deep grey hulk of the MNS Fantasia II silently coursed away from the jumphole; it slid past several automated weapons platforms, their turrets conspicuously failing to track, and began to angle itself towards the Freeport when Ammiraglio Barilla decided to announce the ship's presence.
"Lieutenant Cagliatta, hail the Freeport and inform them of our presence. We will return to our standard configuration shortly."
The lieutenant quickly punched several commands into his port wall console and quietly spoke into his headset. "They acknowledge, sir. A Destroyer escort will arrive shortly."
Barilla nodded. "Understood." Turning to the brown-haired woman in the Executive Officer's chair on his right side he nodded. "Director Bonello, at your discretion."
"As you wish," She assented politely. "Lieutenant Aretto, bring this vessel out of Stealth. Engineering, you may return the drive system to unmasked rotational frequencies."
All over the vessel dark hull plating popped off of viewports, setting a previously dark patch of space aflow with white lines of light as heat sinks, previously engaged and submerged beneath the hull to absorb and cloak any of the massive vessel's emissions, were brought forth from their thickly armored cavities and extended fanlike radiators into space. The faint red glow across the massive dreadnought's engine section expanded until it burned a bright blue, the healthy orbit of light particles coursing around the rapidly spinning singularity encased within the robust Neutronium framework.
Across the automated sectors of the 74 Defense Grid, all manner of alarms went off as turrets rapidly started to track before being hastily deactivated by the officers of the Freeport.
"We'll take a shuttle the rest of the way." Barilla told Sarah. "Hold down the fort, my dear. This will be a good day indeed."
Quote:Quick comment - we thought that Panzer was the Leader, Swift. -Agmen
X was sitting down in the comfortable seat. It was made of a pseudo-leather which had become popular in the last two years in the Houses. He gripped a crystal glass of ice cold water in his right hand. He did not feel it's stinging touch through his glove. He felt numb.
His plans were shriveling around him. Of course he had planned for this event. He knew the weak points, and he knew how it came to this. Everything was planned, but it was not the plan he wanted. He squeezed his glass too hard in frustration and broke it.
It made little noise, but those who were part of his group saw it. Elizabeth Boehme had already made her way to the door; she knew they were not leaving, but she felt she needed space, especially from X. The spymaster's eyes could not be seen, but it still could be discerned as to where he was looking. His face focused intently on Gabriel Caudill and X was sure the head of Omicron Supply Industries felt it.
The Admiral then quickly moved, flanked by his bodyguards near the front to James Ferguson, head of the Zoner Consortium. Kenanoel stayed in her seat playing with her electronic notes. While a cleaning droid made a well-timed noisy racket in it's effort to pick up all the broken shards of crystal, X whispered into Ferguson's ear.
Guild Master Taro Katsuo suspiciously observed the representatives entering the room, thinking to himself What an odd gathering. I wonder what the Zoners meant with discussing "various matters of great importance for our two organisations"... They forgot to mention that these ragtag groups would be invited... He noticed Sebastien LaHoue sitting nearby, respectfully greeting the man with a slight nod.
When all of a sudden, Taro saw the Outcast delegates entering the conference room. He stood up raising his left hand and yelled out in protest "What's the meaning of this?! Why are the Maltese present here? I demand an explanation!" He remained standing, waiting for someone to answer back.
Minister Ramirez was indeed in a good mood when the other minister arrived, he nodded at Barilla and was just to talk with the man when the Gas miner Guild master shouted in protest.
Mr Ramirez chuckled slightly at the Guild master's outburst..
"Now now mister.. No need for a scene.. We are all here, for the same reason"
A wide smile crossed his face as he looked at the Zoner delegates.
Taro Katsuo turned his head towards the Zoner delegates "And exactly -why- are we here? Someone failed to specify what this meeting is about! I would have much more carefully considered your invitation had I known the Maltese would be here!" Taro turned back to the Outcast, giving him a stern glare.
Ramirez sighed and looked at the Guild Master with pity, he picked up a stick like thing and lit it with a old fashioned match, a vanilla scent filled the surrounding area.
"We are here because the Zoners asked us to come.. I believe it had to do with the Corsair's recent... 'Attacks'.. And we are here to see if we can help them.. And here I thought 'you' in the guild where their allies?
No but seriously, we aren't here to cause trouble.. So, I'd suggest we put our differences aside and listen to the Zoners.. Alright? Guild Master.."
Ramirez sat down at a seat and looked at the Guild master..
Taro Katsuo bowed in front Ferguson before seating again, still bothered by the unpleasant surprise of the Maltese presence.
He heard Ferguson out, contemplating for a moment and asked the Zoner "So... where do you intend to go? Gran Canaria in Omega-49?" He paused for a moment, only to glare at the Outcasts with nothing but contempt in his eyes "What's to stop the Corsairs from pursuing you there, only to start this process all over again. I wouldn't be surprised if they claimed Omega-49 as part of their own space, just like they're trying to do with Omicron Theta and 74."
Taro leaned back in his chair, waiting to hear what the Zoners had to say, and surveyed the room for any reactions he had managed to draw out from the delegates.
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