Provence is still a developing system at the edge of the Kingdom. The lack of lanes emphasizes distances between the few stellar objects filling the vastness of space around the central star. Systems such as this tend to be the boundary of lawful control and unlawful influence, the inability of the short hand of the Gallic Royal Police to reach out and extend it's grip everywhere makes this the perfect place for platforms where the sides of law can meet in relative, albeit locally enforced peace. And Monte Carlo Station happens to be one of these hubs.
Monte Carlo is a great example of a "wretched hive of scum and villainy", while the GRP tries to maintain, if not even full control, then at least moderate influence in certain sections, a gradient of lawlessness can still be experienced throughout the entirety of the station: there are areas of fully legal business and public life where lawful order is easily maintained; there are the dark corners of the station where police is usually welcomed with blaster fire and from where very few of law enforcement officers return alive; and then there is the neutral ground, bars, casinos, restaurants, pubs, privately owned businesses which either bought or earned their autonomy from both the authorities and outlaws, and which display the most colorful, and yet the most calm crowd. La Gemme d'Istres is one of these places.
La Gemme d'Istres Restaurant and Pub is more like a pub than a restaurant, although tables, chairs and other furniture are more set up for moderate or larger groups of dining people, the broad array of available drinks and not so broad array of common food still makes the place lean more toward being a pub. Code of conduct is relatively stricter, resulting in less frequent and severe bar fights than in other pubs of the station. The pleasant sight of Istres only adds to the peacefulness of the place.
La Gemme d'Istres Restaurant and Pub
Monte Carlo Station, Provence
11:30 SMT
23 Septembre, 824 AS / 740 AGS
Light crowd of people willing to have a cheap lunch filled La Gemme, about half or third of the mass usually frequenting the place at the evenings. Everything necessary was prepared for the meeting. The bartender was instructed as well, nice guy in his middle ages, tends to do small favors for a few extra credits, like directing people towards tables when they arrive. There wasn't much to do at this point, but to wait for the woman to arrive.
Florence was undeniably nervous. The constant itches on the back of her hand which she continuously scratched made that rather obvious. The way she was moving through the numerous corridors and hangars of Monte Carlo Freeport was different from the manner of walking she usually had. From a straight and self-secure attitude to an insecure and shy looking walk. She thought about turning around more than once, too often, if she was honest with herself. But all this waiting and all the fear she had built up should at least be worth it, she thought. LaFlamme probably was no man of danger, thinking back on the transmissions they exchanged, she couldn't spot a sense of threat in his manner of communicating or anything. Her worries were most likely for nothing, it would turn out to be normal talk under unusual circumstances.
After a few minutes of searching for the correct place, Florence finally faced the La Gemme d'Istres restaurant. She hesitated for a while, just looking at the sign of the building, wondering why LaFlamme would prefer this location so much, probably something personal. She opened the door with a bit of restraint. Halfway in, a smell of alcohol and meat pinched her nose, a fair amount of visitors had already entered the restaurant, some of them throwing intimidating glances at her. She quickly continued her way. "Pardon, chéri." A manly voice said behind her. Florence turned around, unsure if she would like what she'd see. Upon turning, she faced the bartender of the restaurant, which kind of made clear, that the restaurant indeed was more of a pub. The man gave her a friendly look, he probably noticed that she had never visited this place before. "Un Monsieur LaFlamme informed me about a young and unusual visitor of such a place who he awaits." He inspected Florence for a few seconds, her clean clothes, which were still rather normal for someone of her class, a green jacket, and some boots. Fitting in was all she had in mind, but it seemed like it didn't work that well. "Je pense that is you then." He nodded over her head, a staircase leading into something that looked like a basement but turned out to be a level just for LaFlamme and her. "Oui, merci." She responded quietly as she spotted the staircase and turned around. The bartender chuckled and shook his head for a moment before returning to his duties.
Florence closed the door that was in front of the staircase, she couldn't afford to be seen with LaFlamme. Her steps as she tapped down the stairs were quick but audible. The room that she found was quiet and had a fresher smell, wine, and other beverages were stored nearby, that was clear. At a lonely table in the back of the room, where he was waiting, Pierre LaFlamme. She didn't know if he noticed her already. The nervosity she felt was higher than anything as she approached him. Instead of sitting down, she simply stood in front of him, trying to get a smile on her face. "Monsieur LaFlamme, it is an honor for me." She said and stretched out her hand. Now it was a moment of testing how their manners differed. Would he shake her hand or kiss the back of it like a gentleman? She certainly didn't know what would happen, but she felt proud for taking this step.
La Gemme d'Istres Restaurant and Pub
Monte Carlo Station, Provence
11:45 SMT
23 Septembre, 824 AS / 740 AGS
He was sitting at the table facing opposite of her, she could only see the back of his head from the back of the chair. When Florence approached and greeted him, he stood up to turn around and greet her back. - Enchantée Mademoiselle. - What looked like a black haired head lit by ceiling turned out to be a lighter brown and shorter haired head. His face wasn't familiar for her either, he was not the person he communicated with over the Neural Net. He was not Pierre LaFlamme. - Je suis Arnaud Rouge, á votre service.
Quoi? - he couldn't help his cynism and a grin when seeing the woman's sudden change of expression from nervous excitement into a mixture of disappointment, surprise and distrust. - [Did you really expect to meet the leader of the Crown's greatest opposition without any security or countermeasure around him? You wouldn't be the first one to try baiting him into a trap, and I'm here to make sure you aren't the next one either.] - he explained. - [Do not worry, you can meet the General in person, if you are a good girl. Well, are you?] - he allowed himself a slight smile before sitting back down to the same table and turning completely serious.
Alors, asseyez-vous, s'il vous plaît. [And put that bracelet on your left wrist, then we can start with some initial questions.] - he motioned to both the chair on the opposite side of the table, and a bracelet on the table itself. The bracelet looked like a very simple one similar to those cheap rubber bands used for wrist decoration, although this certainly had some electronics inside them, bio sensors, and a relay to transmit data to Arnaud's WristPad.
Surprised by the fact that the man she saw there was not LaFlamme, she hastily took a step back to see the man in his full figure. She could tell right from the start that she didn't like him. Neither his facial expression nor his motions looked appealing to her as if she was something lesser than him. But now that he mentioned it, Florence realized that he was right, how could she expect it to be that easy? Although she didn't have any plans to harm him or similar, she should have expected such security measures. All she hoped was that this man would leave soon enough, though.
"A good girl?" She asked with a slightly raised voice, a bit of annoyance was audible in her voice. This subtle way of describing her as something unworthy didn't please her at all as if she was a dog who expected a treat if it behaved well enough. "I assume this is how someone like you would treat his guests." She gave him a slightly disgusted glance as she sat down in front of him, denying any look in his eyes as she touched the bracelet. It indeed didn't feel like anything special but it was obvious that she didn't receive it as a gift, they probably wanted to control and watch her in some way. Her way of sliding it over her wrist and on her wrist was a mistrustful one. Now that they didn't trust her, she started to have her doubts either, but pulling back wasn't an option. "Alléz. I don't want to spend more time with you than I need to." She said with a slight sigh while looking at the right corner over the man's shoulders. She already forgot his name, she wanted to forget his face as well the second he started to speak.
La Gemme d'Istres Restaurant and Pub
Monte Carlo Station, Provence
12:00 SMT
23 Septembre, 824 AS / 740 AGS
Nom? Florence Gabrielle Michaux Date de naissance? 20 de Décembre, 716. Travail actuel? Commandant de la Marine Royale Gauloise. Lieu de naissance? Saint-Denis, Nouveau Paris. Quand vous vous joindrez á la Marine Royale Gaulose? Il y a trois mois. - without much emotion they were exchanging short questions with short answers rapidly, which suggested Arnaud that she's not that easy to break, so he derailed a bit from the preset questions. Nouveau Paris, eh? [I guess you've born into a wealthy family.] Nom des vos parents? Gordon et Cécile Michaux. [And yes, wealth is not uncommon on New Paris.] [I bet in circles so high it is easy to forget about the reality of lower classes.] - seeing though that he couldn't bait Florence into an arguement between classes he decided to do a more harsh change of tactics and suddenly... Quand vous perdu votre virginité? - that was it. He saw his words making effect, and her emotionless stance suddenly displaying a disgusted surprise on her face full of disbelief. Quoi? [You have heard it right. Are you denying the answer?] - he asked with a slowly developing grin on his face.
Even though until now the bracelet has been displaying a constant green light as a sign of her honesty, more recently it began flickering with more yellow, probably as a result of her change in emotions. The question was too personal for her as a female, but she knew she had to answer in order to earn the trust of the Council and finally meet with LaFlamme. She had to take a few seconds to make her emotionally ready to answer any question coming her way from there on, but before she could answer this one, a third person spoke from behind her: - Ça suffit, Arnaud.
A person of average height stepped forward into the light from one of those corners of the room purposefully left dim. She immediately recognized the face, this time it was indeed Pierre LaFlamme himself, although instead of wearing his usual uniform of the Général en Chef, he was wearing a moderately elegant suit over a flightsuit, as a means to dress appropriately but be ready to leave the scene at any time necessary at the same time. Both of the other two turned towards him in slight surprise, Arnaud got up from his place while Pierre nodded towards her briefly. - Bonjour, Mademoiselle. - then he got back to his partner to have a quick exchange of not so loud words:
[Get back upstairs and make sure we are safe. Gules is a splendid person, but I trust your awareness more.] [Did I overdo it?] Non, [you acted yourself very well.] - both men understood the sarcasm in his tone and smile. Eh, merci. - with a half-smile Arnaud left towards the stairs while Pierre turned back to greet Florence a bit more appropriately. Enchantée, Commandant Michaux, et excusez-moi [for this less pleasant introduction.] - he extended his hand towards her, although not in a position to receive a proper handshake, rather the palm facing more upwards than sideways.
Florence stared at LaFlamme for a bit, realizing that this was indeed the man she wanted to talk to. She didn't imagine him having a charming voice like he did. She tried to open her mouth in an attempt to let out a silent greet but stopped herself midways. She gently put her right hand in his palm, it was visible how she was shaking a bit, and even blushing when his lips touched the back of her hand. A chill ran down her spine, she couldn't quite understand why it was so unbelievable for her to be here right now when it was just what she planned. She felt so small right now, and yet so important. Being in front of the biggest enemy of the crown wasn't an everyday thing to do for a royal navy officer, no matter what rank. She stared him in his eyes for a while until she decided to stop seeming like she was about to pass out and instead concentrate on her purpose. "M-Monsieur LaFlamme, c'est un honneur..." She gathered with a highly nervous voice and lowered her hand again. The back of it felt like it was tickling a little.
La Gemme d'Istres Restaurant and Pub
Monte Carlo Station, Provence
12:10 SMT
23 Septembre, 824 AS / 740 AGS
Alors. - Pierre sat down and began speaking. - Dans votre message [you wrote, that you are interested in the other side of the coin. That encompasses plenty of various subjects ranging from distant or recent history, through our methods and goals, to even the people's opinion of us. There are a lot of things the people of Gallia should know the objective truth about. Where shall we start], Mademoiselle? - he asked Florence.
She blinked a few times and then inhaled heavily through her nose while straightening her back, as if she was collecting some confidence."Well, un peu d'informacion about... everything. Nothing trustful but blank information. What is the Council?" She asked and leaned forward onto the table again. It was exciting to be about to hear information about the Council that didn't include the word 'traitor' every second sentence it was mentioned. Florence thought that LaFlamme must find this question rather confusing but he would most likely know her reason to ask something like this considering he and his group were the main target for such accusations.
La Gemme d'Istres Restaurant and Pub
Monte Carlo Station, Provence
12:15 SMT
23 Septembre, 824 AS / 740 AGS
While the question itself was simple, the subject was far more complex. - Le Conseil Gaulois de Liberation et Unité Nationale est un organisation revolutionnaire et paramilitaire, nous nous battaions contre d'opression du roi et de la couronne, pour la peuple gaulois. [Our experiences have shown that under the absolute autocratic regime of the king the people of Gallia either obey or suffer, becoming effectively enslaved to the Crown's and the aristocracy's will. All this going as far as to force the entire nation into an utterly pointless war, consuming resources which could instead feed the poor, and sending hundred thousands, if not millions to death over ideals long dead. On the other hand, thanks to the Kingdom's "diplomacy", half of Sirius supports us against the GRN, while The Council is still at a numerical disadvantage and is having to resort to guerilla tactics, changing it is only a matter of time.] - he stopped for a moment to gather more of his thought as well as to let Florence digest the information and ask further questions should she have any.
"Hmm..." She sunk into thoughts for a second, playing scenarios in her head about what LaFlamme said. His words didn't surprise her, though. It was far more normal and somewhat relatable than she expected. SHe stared into the empty corner of the room for a few seconds before another point came up in her head. "Monsieur LaFlamme, Gallia has enjoyed a high standard regarding its economic values over the time, though. The methods Gallia is using seem to have made us powerful." She said a little convinced. The point he raised about poverty got somewhat stuck in her head, though. The thoughts of her past on the street somehow clung into her mind right now and distracted her a little.
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