Union of Independent Worlds Faction RP thread

[NVA]

Andrew de Moray looked over the scene before him.  He hated what had become of the Lyran state.  Too many clan vessels in this system for his taste.  Still, he had a mission.  He stepped off the dropship to meet the awaiting party.

"I am General Andrew de Moray of the Star League Defense Force.  Thank you for seeing me."

[Cannonshop]

Ezra viewed the scenery with suspicion. This could be what the other Castes did when Warriors did not watch. Dark Caste could be anywhere! 'Snap out of it already, this is not your planet!', he had to force himself to look at Miranda and try to not be grumpy. It was her idea and in his mind, pleasing her would get him advantages in regards of their deal.

Miranda's legs flashed from beneath an asymmetrical skirt that rode her walk in a way that was...distracting.  Her blouse was designed in a similar way-when stationary, very modest, but as she moved...

"I do have a question." he started. "What is it?" she smiled. "That Cab Driver was not as amicable as most people I dealt with here. Does he not like money? I would not like it." he asked her candidly.

There were drinks to get, in this atmosphere, it would be wise to keep oneself fresh, he mused, while waiting on her reaction.

"It is the area." Miranda said, "Lots of immigrants from the Inner Sphere around, some of them do not like Clanners-either that, or you did not tip him enough."  she laughed, a musical sound, as a bucket arrived, filled with ice, and bottles of a rich, aromatic brew.  Miranda took one bottle out, sliced a lime with a small knife, and laid some salt across her palm, "Try the Pulque, it's good here."

"What is Pulque?" Ezra asked.

"It is like beer, but instead of hopps, it uses Soharo juice-the salt knocks some of the bite off, and the limes taste sweeter when you have had a pull of it."  she told him, adding "It is a little bit like an alcoholic sports-drink, the Soharo juice is rich in minerals your body sweats out, and the alcohol ends up being a delivery system instead of a leaching compound."

[Cannonshop]

Andrew de Moray looked over the scene before him.  He hated what had become of the Lyran state.  Too many clan vessels in this system for his taste.  Still, he had a mission.  He stepped off the dropship to meet the awaiting party.

"I am General Andrew de Moray of the Star League Defense Force.  Thank you for seeing me."

"I'm Maggie Dora, Foreign ministry, and this is Chuck Vanh, he's the guy currently sitting in charge of the Defense oversight committee."  Magritte Dora said, "Debbie-er, the Archduchess, is currently up to her ears-"

Vanh cleared his throat, and Magritte stopped.

"General." Charles Vanh was wearing the prosthetic arm today-it was a plastic and cables arrangement that wasn't that useful.  "Sorry about your people on Kowloon." He added, "I tried my damnedest to avoid bloodshed with that, and truth be told I didn't even really want to see them leave-but if I did not make a good show for the Clanners, they'd be dead and I'd be short a city... so, what can we do for the Star League Defense Force today?"

[Marlin]

Ezra viewed the scenery with suspicion. This could be what the other Castes did when Warriors did not watch. Dark Caste could be anywhere! 'Snap out of it already, this is not your planet!', he had to force himself to look at Miranda and try to not be grumpy. It was her idea and in his mind, pleasing her would get him advantages in regards of their deal.

Miranda's legs flashed from beneath an asymmetrical skirt that rode her walk in a way that was...distracting.  Her blouse was designed in a similar way-when stationary, very modest, but as she moved...

"I do have a question." he started. "What is it?" she smiled. "That Cab Driver was not as amicable as most people I dealt with here. Does he not like money? I would not like it." he asked her candidly.

There were drinks to get, in this atmosphere, it would be wise to keep oneself fresh, he mused, while waiting on her reaction.

"It is the area." Miranda said, "Lots of immigrants from the Inner Sphere around, some of them do not like Clanners-either that, or you did not tip him enough."  she laughed, a musical sound, as a bucket arrived, filled with ice, and bottles of a rich, aromatic brew.  Miranda took one bottle out, sliced a lime with a small knife, and laid some salt across her palm, "Try the Pulque, it's good here."

"What is Pulque?" Ezra asked.

"It is like beer, but instead of hopps, it uses Soharo juice-the salt knocks some of the bite off, and the limes taste sweeter when you have had a pull of it."  she told him, adding "It is a little bit like an alcoholic sports-drink, the Soharo juice is rich in minerals your body sweats out, and the alcohol ends up being a delivery system instead of a leaching compound."

Following her advice, he drank one of these. Weird method of drinking at all, but he could not deny that it was interesting of taste. The climate herein made him thirsty. Also he had a vague remembrance of the meaning of 'tip', but to no avail. "What does 'tip' mean, then? I never had to pay anything so far, so you might explain to me. Customs of your people interest me, as I will have to stay here. With you." He tried a smile at her.
She liked him, that was quite obvious, but what to make of it?

[Cannonshop]

Ezra viewed the scenery with suspicion. This could be what the other Castes did when Warriors did not watch. Dark Caste could be anywhere! 'Snap out of it already, this is not your planet!', he had to force himself to look at Miranda and try to not be grumpy. It was her idea and in his mind, pleasing her would get him advantages in regards of their deal.

Miranda's legs flashed from beneath an asymmetrical skirt that rode her walk in a way that was...distracting.  Her blouse was designed in a similar way-when stationary, very modest, but as she moved...

"I do have a question." he started. "What is it?" she smiled. "That Cab Driver was not as amicable as most people I dealt with here. Does he not like money? I would not like it." he asked her candidly.

There were drinks to get, in this atmosphere, it would be wise to keep oneself fresh, he mused, while waiting on her reaction.

"It is the area." Miranda said, "Lots of immigrants from the Inner Sphere around, some of them do not like Clanners-either that, or you did not tip him enough."  she laughed, a musical sound, as a bucket arrived, filled with ice, and bottles of a rich, aromatic brew.  Miranda took one bottle out, sliced a lime with a small knife, and laid some salt across her palm, "Try the Pulque, it's good here."

"What is Pulque?" Ezra asked.

"It is like beer, but instead of hopps, it uses Soharo juice-the salt knocks some of the bite off, and the limes taste sweeter when you have had a pull of it."  she told him, adding "It is a little bit like an alcoholic sports-drink, the Soharo juice is rich in minerals your body sweats out, and the alcohol ends up being a delivery system instead of a leaching compound."

Following her advice, he drank one of these. Weird method of drinking at all, but he could not deny that it was interesting of taste. The climate herein made him thirsty. Also he had a vague remembrance of the meaning of 'tip', but to no avail. "What does 'tip' mean, then? I never had to pay anything so far, so you might explain to me. Customs of your people interest me, as I will have to stay here. With you." He tried a smile at her.
She liked him, that was quite obvious, but what to make of it?

Miranda's laugh seemed to cut the noise of the room. "A 'tip' is how someone who isn't paid well manages to eat-service jobs do not pay a living wage, most of the time-so it is customary, when you recieve good service from a waitress, barman, cab-driver or the like, to pass a small gratuity-think of it as a 'bonus'...or perhaps another way to put it, is that while they may work for a service, most of their income is decided by how well the customer feels they have performed...and unlike official pay from their employer-of-record, tips are not taxed.  the way it works, is that if the service is poor, well...the service-provider stays poor. If it is good to excellent, you tip them a small percentage, depending on how well they did their job-usually at the conclusion,  it is kind of complex, and you have to be very observant sometimes, to see how much, or whether, to give that small extra."

She nodded to an overloaded waitress-"She works so hard, because she gets more for working harder-now, see the Ginger-girl?"  she nodded to another barmaid, this one talking idly with another staffer, "She does not work so hard-they both get the minimum from the Club, but Sherri, who is fast, competent, and does not neglect her customers? she will probably take home as much in 'tips' tonight as Ginger there will make this week from the Club-owner's purse..." here Miranda paused, "Of course, Ginger there, she will probably find some horny customer and let him take her home for the evening, where she will exchange a different kind of services to make up for her poor showing on the floor tonight."

[Marlin]

Ezra nodded understandingly, but it seemed quite complex. Taxes as well. He knew the people on their worlds had to give up parts of their earnings to keep the system they lived in afloat, but why complicate things further with tips?

The two waitresses were good examples of this system. But the special services.. he had heard about this concept, and more sickening, that some "Warriors" even took part in this. Now he felt a bad taste in his mouth and gulped his drink away.

But Mirandas laughter was delighting. Which brought him to his next question:
"Miranda, are you enjoying yourself?"

[Cannonshop]

Ezra nodded understandingly, but it seemed quite complex. Taxes as well. He knew the people on their worlds had to give up parts of their earnings to keep the system they lived in afloat, but why complicate things further with tips?

The two waitresses were good examples of this system. But the special services.. he had heard about this concept, and more sickening, that some "Warriors" even took part in this. Now he felt a bad taste in his mouth and gulped his drink away.

But Mirandas laughter was delighting. Which brought him to his next question:
"Miranda, are you enjoying yourself?"

She nodded, "I am."  she put her drink down, "It is good to be among people who are not dying." she announced, "at least, not dying TODAY...though I AM going to drag you out of the booth when I'm ready to, and make you dance with me."

[Marlin]

'Oh no! Not again.'

Ezra put up a brave front. Perhaps she did like him to dance with him once more. All to make her approachable to any deals. Not that Ezra felt really bad, but these civilian situations took him off guard and he could not prepare for this. Tips were one example, dancing another. And given what happened at the last party..

So he just smiled and ordered another drink for them, at least he had some moneys, thanks to his Tech, who gave it to him before. "Sherri, we want another one of this, and a Naranjijuice for me as well." It was warm in here.

[Cannonshop]

The music ended, and there was a short pause.  Miranda tugged on Ezra's shoulder- "Look, the headline act." she told him.
On the stage, there were more instruments, and someone adjusted the microphone stand down.

The band came out, and helped finish setting up.  Their short hair was almost as dead a giveaway as the military precision they showed during the sound-check.

Finally, the stage lights rose, and a man rolled out, riding a wheelchair that looked antique.

Notably, the wild-haired young people, instead of the blase' that one would expect, applauded with the older people in the room.

"Good Evening, I'm John Troward, and this is my band."  the cripple in the wheelchair said, "Third Squad, take a bow."

Miranda leaned close to Ezra, "Johnny was on Kwangchowwang,' she whispered, "They had to build a ramp to the stage for him."

"Tonight, we're going to play a really OLD song-found it in an archive in New Seoul back in '55, but it dates back to the twentieth century, it's got a pretty good beat, so come on out and bring your honeys..."

She grabbed Ezra's arm, "Come on."
Steely Dan - Don't Take Me Alive (With Lyrics)

[Cannonshop]

Congress Hall, 1400 Hours Local time, Arluna...

Deb sat down, and looked at the schedule for the fiftieth time today.  "They will be arriving soon, Archduchess."  Gloria reassured her. 

"You made sure they all got the messages, right?" Debbie asked.

Gloria nodded, "Yes'm..."

[Daemonknight]

Congress Hall, 1402 Hours Local, Arluna

saKhan Brian Pryde entered the room followed closely by Archon Robert Kelswa-Steiner, wearing an unadorned LCAF officer's dress uniform, bereft of even rank insignia.

Bowing to Debbie, Robert was the first to speak.

"An honor to meet you, Archduchess. I must thank you and the saKhan for giving me sanctuary from the Association's coup." saKhan Pryde smiled at Debbie as she returned Robert's bow.

"Are the others not yet arrived? I was hoping that we could move this foreward quickly..."

[Marlin]

OOC: I assume I shall discontinue the clubbing. We can take that up again if you wish.
And OOC EDIT: should we not assume that all are attending and only take those into account that explicitly do not want to come here?

The active approach of course would be much better, but it also drags this out too much, due to perhaps OOC issues.

IC
1356 hours local time, Arluna

"Can we get this done faster?", Ezra mumbled to the security officer. He would be late.

Whatever it was, that dude took his time. Perhaps it was for the Suicide? Checking his ID for the third time, finally he let him through, Ezra gave him an angry look. He knew what he would have done, had he been no diplomat..

but now he hastened to the Hall.

Arriving 1405.

Once breathing in and out heavily, finally he entered.

Who was that? Were the rumors true? "Archduchess, saKhan, I was held up," he said matter-of-factly. He nodded shortly to all attending and looked for his seat. To be diplomat was so new to him, still.
Finally he sat and could think of yesterday. It was really nice. If one discounted that he still had no chance to talk to Miranda about the deal.. 'Patience.'  

He prepared for the discussion now.

[Cannonshop]

Deb nodded to Robert, "Robert Steiner, Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth, this is Ezra, the ilChi of the Ice Hellions-I suspect some of your men are acquainted with his of late...Funnily enough, that is a major part of what we are here to discuss."

The paintings-or rather, the clear blas-plas covering the paintings in the room, shifted to status-boards, and the wooden surface of the central table revealed itself to be a powerful holodisplay disguised as furniture.

The Inner Sphere filled the centre of the room, with zones of space color-washed, showing a three-dimensional map.

"There are two problems, an' I figure we can address 'em both tonight-or at least, define the problems tonight, so that they CAN be addressed."  she said, "The first, is the Arc Royal problem-the problem that has overtaken the Lyrans, destroyed a stable government, and is driven by some of the most devious and fanatical lunatics in known space."

The zone controlled-or claimed, by the Arc Royal government flashed dark red.  "The second, is the dog's dinner the Star Adders have made of...well, everything they've touched since Charlemagne collected a third of the extant Lyran Commonwealth's worlds on the strength of his name alone."

She turned to Brian Pryde, "SaKhan Pryde, what was the exact wording of the Grand Council's declaratoin of war against the Terrans, and why is it that I've been watching the Clans go out of their way-with the exception of the Ice Hellions, to avoid combat with the Terrans?"  she paused, "In particular, the nearest Clan forces to Terra should be..."

she highlit the rimward border of the 'Star Adder' zone, "..somewhere down here-launching attacks-or at least raiding.  Why is the Star Adder touman allowing itself to bog up here..." she highlit the zone on the 'coventry line' "...particularly with the deal that Stan N'Buta claims to have cut on your behalf with the Arkies?  Does not the ilKhan set objectives and command all of the Clans equally?  If the Adders are having a Leaguer problem, would it not make sense to threaten the Leaguers where they LIVE instead of letting them fight a war by remote?  And Robert, didn't y'all allow the Hegemony to garrison worlds near Freedom-I seem to recall a fair amount of traffic on that?"

She paused, "Seems t'me, the Clans have a problem decidin' who they want t'fight, and where they OUGHT t'fight-and it seems t'me thet y'all could stage a better, stronger offensive on someone else's land, than in y'alls own back-yards, a principle goin' back t' the twentieth cent'ry 'bout thet-defense is stronger, but rarely wins decisively if the offense has enough capacity to make up their losses."

She walked around the table, "The Free Worlds has reason t' hate the Terries more'n anyone else-even th' Clans don' have as recent, or as deep, a reason t'hate 'em, AH have a reason NOT t' have the war this close to mah borders-bad 'nough Ah have the Redshirt Tharkan Martyrs gang this close t'me-a condition which ah do NOT lahk one bit-they ah, as Robert found out, decietful kinslaying sons of bitches every one of 'em, an' worse, they lured men to be ambushed with a false cry for he'p, I am given t' understan' your fleet units did not know those men weren't invaders, ilChi Ezra?"

she crossed her arms, "Which loops back, really-Ah could understan' a lack of strategic unity-daddy was on th' line when they pushed the Falcons off Coventry...but what Ah can NOT fathom, an' y'all may please enlaght'n me on this, is how, with a third of the Commonwealth declarin' for Clan governance, an' with the other two-thirds negotiatin' for an armistice and withdrawal from the war-in part due to the perfidy of the Terries, AND with the Free Worlders offerin' safe-conduct, the Clans as a whole, and your Star Adder Colleagues in partic'lar, have not so much as sent a recon-ship to determine where the Terries have their forward forces deployed?"

She fixed Brian, and Ezra, and Robert, with a sphinx-stare, and Robert was reminded of Elizabeth Ngo's mannerisms when that late worthy was about to make a threat or an offer to someone she was displeased with... "Do I need to send MY ships to find out where they are, if I do, are you-or the Grand Council of the Clans, going to do anything at all with the information?  Do I need to risk my people so that you can take the war away from MY doorstep?"

[Daemonknight]

Robert's hand balled into a fist, and he made to stand up, but his anger was instantly quelled by the raised hand next to him. He sat down without comment, but stared daggers at the Archduchess.

saKhan Pryde was the picture of calm. He allowed a slight grin to play across his face as he spoke.

"Archduchess, perhaps since you know so well the job description of ilKhan, you would like to take the job? Lead the Clans against the Terrans, and obliterate them in a single, sweeping campaign? We should leave right now so that you may challenege Diana." He allowed his smile to drop as he glanced at the Hellion officer, who seemed somewhat offended by the saKhan's glib tone. He continued in a much more serious tone.

"The fact of the matter is, no one Clan could hope to even penetrate the outer defenses of the Hegemony. Safe-Conduct is all well and good, but without the proper forces, it matters not that you can arrive at your destination. Even were the entire Touman of the Jade Falcons and Ice Hellions brought against the Hegemony, we would likly annihilate ourselves on their guns. The Clans must be united in their offensive, and at the moment, many Clans have other objectives, such as securing their own borders. The Falcons have ever been on the frontlines of the conflict, and only recently have our worlds become even close to being considered 'secure' in the military sense. The Snow Ravens move to join the Ghost Bears in their Dominion. The Adders try to defend their bloated realm against the depredations of the Free Worlds Leauge, who I dare say, have shown about twice the tactical sense, and three times the honor. That will be dealt with in its own way.

I believe this meeting was called to discuss the Arc Royal issue, and the campaign against the Hegemony. As to the first, I would hear what my erstwhile brethern of the Ice Hellions have planned, before I divulge my own strategy."

[Marlin]

Ezra nodded to Robert as he was introduced to him. No smile could be seen, though, although he tried to look neutral.

'Interesting options for the Falcons.'

When Deb spoke he looked onto the map, which he already knew it looked like and then had to put his forehead into his hand. His language was only bearable with strong will. 'She can do better..'

"Your question, Archduchess, is a valid one. I am not involved in this operation but I would think that the fleet did not know about this. As far as I can see, the Clan forces were not even needed to destroy that group on Arc Royal. And as to your further questions as the noble saKhan has already.. tried to explain: the ilKhan and the Grand Council both have lost much power over the last years. Too many Clans were lost and some Clans got mighty..

The ilKhan does not hold the power to reign in straying Clans and that might be part of the problem. The other is indeed the need of secure power bases for the assault on the Terran scum. My last report contained bad news for my Clan too, it seems Odessa is more heavily defended than assumed, Terran and fSLDF forces beat back my Clan and inflicted heavy losses." he frowned.

"However, our next strike will be more decisive as my Khans try to gather a multi-Clan force again as was done against Wolfsbaum, where the Traitors could make off. At least the station was captured.

Now, the focus of the Adders on their worlds is understandable. What is not is, that they are losing trials en-masse. I think that the ilKhan would be well placed to mediate between the two factions as this war is increasing in cost and time, time we would need to gather on the shores of the Terran entity. saKhan Pryde told you what I must underline, we are not as strong as the Abomination." Now he looked quite bad mooded. "Without the Naval strength of the Ravens, we risk all. They were the key over Sudeten and will be again when we meet the Terrans. You say Arc Royal must fall. Would it not lead us from the path against the Terrans again, something which you already disapproved, Archduchess? Not that I do not understand your concerns about them."