Hunter may not have been able to see Shadow's eyes, but he could pick up on enough from the other man's posture to sense a bit of pride there. Ever since his first interaction with Shadow, they had been open with one another. Hunter had entered Bering for the first time as a wide-eyed kid, far from home. Shadow had helped to show him the ropes, and to protect him, just as much as Gunda Riehl and Franz Rousse had done. He may not have been involved in combat, but Shadow had taught Hunter something much more important - the value of having someone that you could rely on, and who would back you up no matter what.
Hearing Shadow's suggestions at first broke the young Rheinlander's concentration, though, and he outright chuckled, the sound breaking the awkward acoustics of the command center and echoing off the glass panels that protected them from the vacuum of space and the asteroids of Bering. "Shadow, I think I've made it pretty clear by now, my friend," the Unioner said, stepping across the distance between them to reach out and rest his hand confidently on Shadow's shoulder. "I am no killer, and I doubt torture or a gun would be welcome tools. I only kill when I have to." Giving Shadow's shoulder a squeeze, Hunter took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he turned and withdrew back the way he came.
Stopping a few yards from Shadow, the dark-haired man began to pace back and forth. As he listened to Shadow's offer, he took in all the information he possessed in that moment. He knew that Frei had pissed off multiple Union allies and enemies. He knew that Shultsky had ordered a massacre against Marshall Station. He knew that Harmony and the Union were interlocked against one another in Bering, and might continue to simply press into one another until there was nothing left, and then they might both snap under the stress. Even when the smaller, more mobile asteroids of the field outside flickered against Shadow's shields, causing them to resonate and produce sound, he remained undistracted.
It was nearly five minutes before Hunter finished processing everything he knew, all the people who knew, everything that had come to him so far. When his dark eyes looked toward Shadow again, staring into the reflective sheen of his sunglasses, his jaw was set tight and that determination returned. This time, however, his eyes glimmered with hope. "We're going to depose Corin Frei as Arbeitsdirektor." He stalled for a moment, but kept explaining after a breath. "Showing Sirius that the Union will not allow itself to be led by a madman will give us the opportunity we need to restore the possibility of peace, Shadow. There is no other way."
Even though it had sunk into Hunter's mind already as the only choice left, he knew it might shock Shadow. Pulling off his jacket, Hunter swept it around the back of one of the empty chairs in the command center, then plopped himself rather unceremoniously into it. He smirked and crossed his arms over his chest when he looked at Shadow again. "We have planning to do, Shadow. And I need you," was all Hunter could think, even as he tried desperately to look confident and ready to commit the ultimate treason to save his people.
Shadow is not someone who initiates any kind of physical contact, yet he let Hunter touch his shoulder without any resistace and tilted his head to left and back. The only people which ever touched him are his sister and father.
"So it seems you have made up your mind. Very well."
While hunter kept silent for several minutes, Shadow sat behind his desk and ordered ship to charge cloak and jumpdrive. It took only one minute until an electric aura surrounded the ship and made it invisible to naked eye. Other than the visuall effect, there was no other way of knowing what just happened.
"We're going to depose Corin Frei as Arbeitsdirektor." - Shadow stopped looking at his screen and moved his attention to Hunter while raising eyebrows a bit with a subtle smile. "Did he just say we?". He sat back, raised his head and put his arms from each other on the desk.
"While i believe you Hunter, i'd still like to see the communication between Union, Hackers and Separatists. I need to know my enemy.
Other than that. If you want to murder him, you better get a new ship and ID.
I know where you can get this."
He took few seconds and said.
"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."
The agreement to Shadow's assertion about making up his mind slipped out Hunter's mouth before he could stop it, almost involuntarily. "Yes, Shadow, I have made up my mind. You're right," the young man responded firmly, standing again. Even though he didn't take the action itself, anyone with an imagination might put the 22-year-old in the place of a small, determined child, stomping his foot on the ground in the middle of a tantrum, unwilling to give up his stance.
Despite the glasses, when Hunter's gaze looked back at Shadow, the black-haired man was able to pick up on the changing crease in his friend's forehead where his brows lifted. The younger man chuckled, then relaxed. He was safe here, he felt safe here. He stopped, looking around at all the displays and activity of the computers, taking it in for a moment. "Then that is what we will do, Shadow. We will get those communications. I know a hacker...met her in Bering, and then again with Gunda. I will approach her privately, and ask her to help us penetrate those communications."
Again, however, Shadow seemed to want to lead all of this toward death. Hunter's natural trust in others made him dismiss the worry, though, thinking it likely a result of Shadow's birth, culture and the way he was raised, rather than an intentional attempt to drive the Rheinlander to bloodshed. "No. No killing. The Union isn't a democracy, Shadow, but it does have elections like a republic. Elections for a leader. Even a coup could be peaceful...," but even as the words came out of his mouth, disappointment filled Hunter's face and soaked into his voice like a lungful of heavy gas. "...no. It won't happen that way. I've heard Shultsky, I've heard Frei. It will never be peaceful. They'll fight back. And they will keep fighting until they regain power, or they die."
Despite his aversion to unnecessary death, and the tone of his voice, Hunter's mental logic had already been through all of these thoughts. He had rolled these very things over in his mind, over and over again. He had already made the decision that the deaths of Frei, Shultsky and anyone else who supported them would have to be an acceptable price, to preserve the larger Union, and the safety of the lives of everyone in Bering. There simply was no other choice. Shadow's final words, though, drew a genuinely warm smile from Hunter, and he met his friend's gaze - or his sunglasses at least - one more time. "I never imagined you to be such a philosopher, my friend."
When the music started, Hunter's body involuntarily jumped. It was absolutely unexpected for such a thing to happen without any command being issued - at least as far as the anxious Rheinlander was concerned. "What the...," Hunter stammered, then he just shook his head as he heard Shadow's comment. So it was intentional. He relaxed again, running his tongue over his mouth to remove the dryness from the recycled air, and then set himself down in a chair once more.
"In addition to a hacker, we're going to need allies. Combat allies. There's a pirate who's been lingering around Freeport 2 and Pacifica recently, looking for a contract with the Union. Now that those are within my realm of authority, I will reach out, but to recruit him to my ends instead. The Hackers and the Gaian Guard also were involved...maybe they would back a play if it meant peace.." As Hunter spoke, his speech became faster and faster, anxiousness and excitement overtaking the young man. Eventually, he realized what he was doing and he just shook his head, sighing and laughing. "There's a lot to do."
"...no. It won't happen that way. I've heard Shultsky, I've heard Frei. It will never be peaceful. They'll fight back. And they will keep fighting until they regain power, or they die." As Shadow was sitting behind his desk, he raised his arms to sides, lowered his head, closed his eyes, smiled while showing his sharp canine teeth and said something in a completely confused and funny nature.
"What the,.." - He made some very funny sounds from his complete misunderstanding.
Confusion is what filled him. He was not sure whether he wants to kill them or not. Which was obvious on his funny facial expressions. In the same time showing his trust to Hunter by just reacting so funnily instead of keeping a regular face and asking further questions.
"I give up." - Laughed and sat back
After the AI played the music and Hunter jumped seemingly from being suprised. Shadow smiled with joy in his face and reacted.
"He did take me back to Malta. What else did you expect? Haha."
He smiled, stood up, and walked towards Hunter. At the time, jumpdrive was ready to take him back to his home, Planet Malta.
"There're always enough humans willing to help just to fight. Es ist deine call mein freund."
Concluded in a very certain fashion as he walked and with good German accent.
"Just slow down, i've cloaked the ship and noone can see us.
Jump drive was activated in meantime aswell, i have some family business to attend to at home."
MNS-SHADOW's AI knew quite well what do to do.
"Ayeeee, here we go again."
As the end of this meeting was closing and topics were resolved, Shadow seemed a bit disappointed but he kept the smile as he accompanied his friend towards the Hangar. In there Shadow gave his hand out to hunter for the typical human handshaking. Shadow reached out to Hunter. He may not be physically affectionate, but he wanted to reassure his friend. His arm wrapped around the younger man's shoulders in a friendly, if slightly awkward, way. It lingered for only a moment and then dropped back to his side.
In the last seconds of his departure, Shadow disabled the cloak and lightened up the entire system with the jump sequence.