A younger voice responded, Si, The ambush is very nearly ready. Our engineers even have that modified Cruise Disruptor missile you asked for built, tested, and ready to go.
Muy bueno, the first voice replied.
* * * * *
The Sabre streaked through the green clouds of Omicron Beta on its lonesome patrol. Inside the cockpit, Miguel Santos was bored. This was a quiet patrol path, the only times he ever saw action were when those conniving GMG bastards decided to test the waters.
He set his next waypoint and leaned back in his chair, idly staring at the rocks drifting past him. Yeah, he was supposed to watch out for trouble, but nothing ever happened around here. He sometimes saw things in the rocks. This one looked like the head of a flail. That one looked almost like a rabbit. This one looked like a potato. That one looked like a gunship. Wait, what?
Santos was rudely shaken from his daydream by a cruise disruptor impacting his shields. "Hola, mi hermano," a voice rasped out of Santoss comm system.
From the radioactive green fog emerged an outdated gunship and snubfighters of various configurations. It was obviously a calculated ambush. Santos pressed a button on the display, gaining visual contact. The man on sensors didnt appear too threatening, just a middle-aged Hispanic man, graying hair, and Cardamine breather. His face bore an expression, both grim and sad. "Please allow me to introduce myself," said the man. "You may call me El Consejero, because that is the only name I am giving you for the moment. I am at the helm of the gunship you are looking at, christened La Malta over forty years ago, altered and upgraded over the years to ensure she remained with the times. We are the Hispanians."
Hispanians? The name rang a very faint bell in Santos' brain. "What do you want with me?"
"Nothing more than for you to listen to what I have to say, hermano."
And if I refuse? Santos asked, suspiciously.
You wont, Consejero replied, a threat veiled behind his words.
"So speak," Santos said cautiously.
"You have chosen wisely. We were once Outcasts, amigo. We were citizens of the Nacion Maltesa, until we came to realize that the Corsairs are just as much our brethren as our fellow Maltese."
Santos let out an involuntary gasp of rage as he suddenly remembered. Traitors! His hand gripped the control column until his knuckles turned white.
"We were immediately declared enemies of the state and traitors once the Dons discovered our intentions," Consejero continued, as if reading Santos' mind. "But it is not so. The Dons, or Ministers now, and the Elders of Crete have degenerated into squabbling children, fighting over a Sirius we could easily share. If the Outcasts and Corsairs were to unite, House Hispania could rule the stars, as it was always meant to. Return to Malta, amigo, and give the Council this message. Tell them that Martino Perez has returned, and one way or another Hispania shall see the unity it was destined to have. It is only a matter of time. "
A second disruptor slammed against his hull, preventing his pursuit, as the ships turned away from him and melted away into the nebula.
* * * * *
Some hours later, a confused Santos began the Malta landing sequence, wondering what that was about.
His ship started to tilt awkwardly, and approached the surface faster than it should. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the control stick, and compensated for the lean and speed with maneuvering thrusters, managing a soft landing.
Opening the cockpit and taking a deep breath of the orange air, he climbed out and looked to see what was wrong while the computer ran a diagnostic. Something was out of place. Something did not belong. An armored disc was magnetized to his hull, about a foot in diameter with a large green button on it. What was it? Was it a bomb? He climbed back into the cockpit and canceled the diagnostic, tuning and calibrating the sensors to determine what it was.
He breathed a sigh of relief. No explosive compounds, or residue, or anything. Whatever it was, it wasnt a bomb. A bout of curiosity struck him, and his finger inched toward the green button, finally pressing it.
Beep.
The outer layers folded outward, revealing a holographic projector that immediately buzzed to life, revealing a holographic image of the same, sad old man as before.
People of Malta, the man began, my name is Martino Perez, of the exiled Hispanians movement. I come before you with a desperate message. The war started by our great great grandfathers has slain too many of our brothers and sisters. Hispania, who could have been the most powerful of all Houses, has become a squabbling bunch of children with hatred for those not in their special clique. It has weakened us, and continues to weaken us. It robs children of their parents, sisters of their brothers, and he pauses briefly for a moment, his already sad expression settling into a renewed state of melancholy, husbands of their wives.
Hermanos, what have these people died for? There is no profit in this conflict. There is no hope of gain. There are only children trying to impress their fathers by demonstrating wondrous brutality against the enemies of the past. We are locked in a stalemate that may never be broken, killing hundreds of us every day. Hundreds of our Corsair brethren die as well, fueling a perpetual cycle of blind, primitive hatred.
Take a look at Eta, at the marvelous powers of devastation we loose upon each other. Imagine those powers instead being used against the Guild Core, or any who might intrude upon Hispanian space with hostile, murderous intent. Imagine Outcast propulsion technologies and weapons blended with Corsair armor and power cores. Imagine Legates and Dreadnoughts fighting alongside each other, as House by House, our combined might conquers Sirius.
This dream is not impossible. All you need to do is put Hispanias past behind it, and look forward into the future. Corsairs once ate of human flesh, but had it been us left behind on barren Crete instead, we would have done the same. They did what they had to to survive, as we have. Those people are long dead. Their children are long dead. Let the hatred spawned from this era die as well, as it should have done centuries ago.
The ghosts of the dead haunt us still, spirits of hatred propagated between us since our ancestors first met one another in space. A bright future filled with hope, and power, awaits us all. All that must be done to realize it is to let go of the past, and let the past bury its own dead.
Heed these words, and heed them well. Hispania could rule Sirius, if we work together.
That is all. The holographic figure vanished.
Santos shivered as the mans words placed the cold hand of fear on his heart. It was not the man himself he was afraid of, but rather the terrifying thought that he might be right.
He got to work removing the disc case, to show to his superiors.
***INCOMING TRANSMISSION***
[color=#FFFF00]Comm ID -Council of Ministers, Outcast Commonwealth Target ID - Liberal movement for unity of the Hispania decendents
Backtracing communication source.... Link Enabled... Transmitting
Begin Transmission:
In regards to you illegal transmission upon Outcast frequencies, We will begin jamming your transmissions. Now then, In regards to your overly liberal message to the honorable citizens of Malta & all Outcast loyalist.
Your little speech, Refer to attachment: Uploading attachment........ Complete, Display text.....
Quote:People of Malta, the man began, my name is Martino Perez, of the exiled Hispanians movement. I come before you with a desperate message. The war started by our great great grandfathers has slain too many of our brothers and sisters. Hispania, who could have been the most powerful of all Houses, has become a squabbling bunch of children with hatred for those not in their special clique. It has weakened us, and continues to weaken us. It robs children of their parents, sisters of their brothers, and he pauses briefly for a moment, his already sad expression settling into a renewed state of melancholy, husbands of their wives.
Hermanos, what have these people died for? There is no profit in this conflict. There is no hope of gain. There are only children trying to impress their fathers by demonstrating wondrous brutality against the enemies of the past. We are locked in a stalemate that may never be broken, killing hundreds of us every day. Hundreds of our Corsair brethren die as well, fueling a perpetual cycle of blind, primitive hatred.
Take a look at Eta, at the marvelous powers of devastation we loose upon each other. Imagine those powers instead being used against the Guild Core, or any who might intrude upon Hispanian space with hostile, murderous intent. Imagine Outcast propulsion technologies and weapons blended with Corsair armor and power cores. Imagine Legates and Dreadnoughts fighting alongside each other, as House by House, our combined might conquers Sirius.
This dream is not impossible. All you need to do is put Hispanias past behind it, and look forward into the future. Corsairs once ate of human flesh, but had it been us left behind on barren Crete instead, we would have done the same. They did what they had to to survive, as we have. Those people are long dead. Their children are long dead. Let the hatred spawned from this era die as well, as it should have done centuries ago.
The ghosts of the dead haunt us still, spirits of hatred propagated between us since our ancestors first met one another in space. A bright future filled with hope, and power, awaits us all. All that must be done to realize it is to let go of the past, and let the past bury its own dead.
Heed these words, and heed them well. Hispania could rule Sirius, if we work together.
That is all.
Somehow , Our education system must have failed you. Do you not recall the history of how we came to be? The Exodus from old earth upon a sleeper ship that we to this day honor as a monument in the remembrance of our struggles? How we was abandoned by our supposed cousins to drift in space & die? The treachery they caused by sabotaging our ship?
How dare you even mention unification with these illegitimate bastards! They should be exterminated for their past & current deeds!
However, we are a reasonable group, we won't just blindly object to the farce out of hatred & rage from the past.
But tell us, what would be the benefit of the Outcast even allowing the lower human forms called Corsairs to re-unite with us?
You claim we can rule Sirius with them? HAH! we can rule Sirius with out them as well. Plans & actions taken for many a year have been in motion to do just that. Through our distribution of Cardamine & & the addiction it causes, Slowly we are gaining control over several houses through out Sirius with it's citizens hopelessly hooked on our Cardamine & needing it to survive. How I ask, could the Corsairs help in anyway with this?
They cursed their own pathetic selves the day they left us to die. For now their people starve, yet ours live in luxury. They pirate to survive, we pirate for enjoyment. They seek to harm the Guardian Spirits that have granted us great gifts & taught us many things. We honor the spirits & learn from their wisdom. Our benefit? Longer lives, Higher intelligence & superior skills. The Corsairs have developed a knack for ship building, yet fail compared to our engineering. They are barely above the level of being ancient knuckle dragging primates. What could they possibly offer us?
A reunion of the House of Hispaina? I see this as an insult to our people. Should you or your misguided followers even should think of showing your traitorous faces in Outcast Space, you will be captured & slowly tortured to death publicly for your betrayal to the Outcast People!
Take heed to this, We shall find you, we will destroy you & your followers. That you can be sure of.
Varacco de la Vega
Council of Ministers
Outcast Commonwealth
Malta End Transmission
Do not PM this account. It probably won't be seen.
"I am disappointed, but not altogether surprised. You can try to silence us by blocking our frequencies, and it will succeed in giving us a moment's annoyance before we switch to a different one.
"Yes, I do know my history. As a child, and man, I have spent much time researching many things, and I have found many errors in the inbred Maltese educational system. One such error is painting the blame for the sabotage on the Corsairs.
"I do not believe you to be stupid, instead I see you to be, as I expected, merely stubborn. You and I both know who the real culprits were. It is no secret that it was the Coalition's saboteurs aboard the Hispania that crippled it, we have all known that for a long time.
"You, Councilman, have made a mockery of the Hispania, and our common heritage. It is a shame that you are allowed to keep her, though her sorry shape does cast a reflection on what you have made of her House.
"It is long past time that the Coalition paid for their act of cruelty, and condemning Hispania's children to our current fates. Unfortunately, as long as you and your Corsair hermanos, the Elders, continue this centuries-long tantrum and refuse to work together, the Coalition is literally getting away with murder.
"Think on this, if you are able."
***********************************************************
Transmission terminated, channel still open.
Did you smack your head against the cockpit, dont you see besides the ancient history of the Hispania, we and the corsairs are enemies!?
We had much casualties, most of us already lost family to those cannibals dogs.
As the Minister tried to explain, we are different in every single way, cant you understand that?
You are not even making any sense with that history, so you are saying by the way, that the Liberty Navy should be allies with Liberty Rogues; the factions of Rheinland should all be allied... since all of them respectvely have come from the same sleeper ship.. With that kind of thought you are saying that would only be war between houses of different sleepers, right??? **laughs**
And with lack of respect that you treated our Minister, be warned you will be hunted down in Outcast space, i will do it myself if i find you.
Kaden out.
<span style="font-family:Comic Sans Ms"> Being in NY sistem all the time, means you are a lolwutt...</span>
"Senor Kaden, what you fail to realize is your own flawed logic. Aside from our ancient history, we have no need to be enemies. Look at Kusari, and what they have done. They have made amends with their most powerful disagreeing groups, and now they are winning the Tau War through this co-operation.
"I can see no favorable end to this war through military might. Maltesa and the Corsair Empire seem at every turn a match for one another. No side has made progress in the war, it has been no steps forward, and a step back for each life lost to this mindless bloodthirst.
"As for respect, I have returned more than I have received. Try to hunt me down if that is your wish. I would prefer that you spend your time searching for me than murdering your brothers from Crete."
***********************************************************
Transmission terminated, channel still open.
*Incoming Transmission*
*Encryption Level: NONE*
*Ship ID: The*
*Pilot ID: Juan* In my Storta I have many Corsair women, each I use many times a day, the men, I kill, or give to my friends to play with.
This, you say I should not do?
Madness! They are MY women.
User was banned for: Griefing others
Time left: (Permanent)
Incoming transmission.
Tracing location... unknown object in Omicron Delta.
No viruses detected.
Decrypting...
Displaying message.
***********************************************************
ID: Julio Anderez, Hispanian
***********************************************************
"Madre Maria, how long has this channel been open, anyway? I have nothing to say to you, senor Juan. You are a despicable, crude man, hombre, and I expect even telling you that was a waste of breath. My only prayer is that you do not represent what the people of Hispania have become."
***********************************************************
Transmission terminated, channel still open.