"Ah yes, Omicron-80 is the Sirian designation for the system... I was schooled in the core worlds, we used the names given by our own explorers when they found the systems. Please accept my apologies; it is difficult to remember to use names other than what I grew up with.
"As for the other people who operate in the system... we and the Royal Navy are by far the most prominent presences in the system, though the Unione Corse maintain a base in the Sarre, up here. They give us shelter if we miscalculate the Navy's patrol routes and end up in a firefight, and now and then they find something of use to use for trade- usually pilfered from the IDF transports we miss on their way to the Metz.
"Speaking of IDF, the traffic from the jumphole to Burgundy to the Royalist base cluster around Moselle is significant. Shippers and their escorts, mostly, the dignitaries have learned to do their business by proxy. We catch food from the transports on their way out, as well as some of the other supplies that they take on their way back in. Unfortunately, the presence of that vulture yard Lixheim means we don't get a lot of repair supplies, so we get most of those from Marne.
"Is that enough detail, or should I continue?"
"You rob these transports?" Before Collette could answer, she waved her hand dismissively. "We'll deal with that later. We cannot bring supplies through Omicron-80. The Outcasts-" she spat this word - "control it and the neighbouring Omicron Aplha system. We would have to find another route. Continue."
"Before we continue, I would like to address your concern, actually. Rob? Yes. We do. Marne is not exactly an agricultural world. People are starving there, I might even say it's worse than it was when the Royalists ran it. Quillan is worse, though at least it isn't so crowded. The worlds Council controls simply do not have the capabilities to feed everyone, and so we steal from the Royalists. The nobles eat like pigs, this I know from experience... if every other food shipment never arrives, even the soldiers will still be eating far better than the average worker on Marne. Things have gotten a bit better since the Zoners started bringing supplies in, but they'd rather bring in neon or supplies for the war effort. Makes more money, which seems to be all they care about.
"We steal food because if we didn't, we'd be dead. The same applies to the other things we take, just not quite as directly... part of the reason we reached out to you was so that we might not be stretched so thinly.
"Ethical behavior is a luxury we do not have. Had we not chosen to act a century ago, applying lethal force to draw the King's hand, you and I would not be having this discussion- Council would have waned and faded, and the armada would continue its buildup unhindered. Had we not chosen to steal, we would have starved, or run out of ships, or fuel, and been destroyed. You and I would not be having this discussion. Had we left Royalist production centers intact simply because some people there were simply following orders, we would be overwhelmed with ships and men, and destroyed. You and I would not be having this discussion.
"Do you understand? It would be nice that we did not have to resort to such methods, yes. But what is ideal falls before what is necessary. We do what must be done. Is that a problem?"
During Collette's explanation, the Coalition marines flanking Vicenta began to edge quietly away. They could see what was coming by the rapid drop in temperature and the hardening of their Commander's face.
"In the Coalition," she said icily, "someone who displayed such sheer stupidity as you would be immediately executed."
Her fist came down on the map with a loud BANG, sending the tiny battleship flying. "IDIOTA!" she screamed, rising to her feet and glowering at Collette. "What must be done is not what you are doing! You must not destroy these transports, these factories. What you must do is inspire them to join your cause! You must spark a revolution! What use is a destroyed transport, a smashed factory? Nothing! A debris field, a pile of rubble! Useless! Lives wasted, machinery destroyed! But every transport, every factory, every city whose workers are inspired by your cause, who rise up and throw off their shackles, adds another transport, another factory, another city to your movement! They will live and they will work and they will die, but they will live and work and die in YOUR name!"
Xiao Bei, flustered, attempted to defuse the situation. "What my Commissar-Commander is trying to say-" He was cut off by the click of a revolver pressed against his temple. "One more word, Bei, and I find a new assistant."
Bei took the hint and shut up very quickly.
Before Collette could respond, Vicenta was into her tirade again. "What your 'lethal force' does is make the people fear you! And before you try to tell me that's a good thing - the only people who should FEAR you are the people in POWER! The King! The Crown! The Royal Family! The bourgoisie! They should wake up in the middle of the night screaming at the thought of you! Their souls should be choked with terror at the very mention of your name! But the commoners, the civilians, the proletariat. They should love you. They should respect you. They should be tripping over themselves to join you! And this will not happen if you KILL THEM! Your goal should be to have all the workers of Gallia unite, rally behind your flag and slaughter the capitalist pigs who have had their boots on the workers' necks for centuries! THEY WILL NOT RALLY BEHIND YOUR FLAG IF IT IS STAINED WITH THEIR BLOOD AND THE BLOOD OF THEIR CHILDREN!"
Bei, by this time, was practically sobbing. All that carefully-crafted diplomacy, out the window...
Vicenta raged on. "Oh, it makes you feel powerful to be the demon in the dark, the boogeyman that makes everyone look over their shouders and think 'when are the big bad Maquis gonna blow up another preschool', but it DOES NOT HELP YOU! You know who it helps? It helps the Police! The Navy! The King! Because it makes YOU the BAD GUYS! It gives the bourgoisie a scapegoat to point at and say, 'There! They are responsible for your suffering, your death, your sadness! Hate them, not us!' You get the reputation you earn, and you have earned the reputation of murderers! As long as the people see you as murderers, they will never, ever rise up in your name!"
Her incandescent fury faded to cold contempt. "And until you realise this, until you wake up and find how stupid you've been and decide to follow my advice, then there can be no embassy, no cooperation and no alliance between the Coalition and the Maquis. Bei - we are leaving. Anyone who tries to stop us will wish they hadn't." And with that, she left the room, Bei and the marines hurrying after her.