Zhu smiled. He nodded off to the side, and a muted voice could be heard speaking into a comlink. Focusing his attention back on the screen, he replied. "My forces are being commanded to cease fire as well, only to strike in self-defense. As long as you hold to the ceasefire, we will as well. Forgive me if I do not go farther than that; I have a limited trust of your control over your assault droids.

"With that settled, we must meet somewhere to negotiate. A neutral place would be best. I believe that, while I cannot trust Mr. Hunt, you are a man of honor, Commodore." The president started sputtering, and Zhu turned his attention in that direction. "Contrary to your opinion, Mr. Hunt, I actually do believe in what I fight for." Returning his gaze to Lucerne's face, he said, "I believe I can trust you well enough to hold the meeting on your flagship. I will, of course, be bringing a small honor guard with me, as honor demands. The Imperial commanders will also be asked to join the negotiations, as they now have a stake in the matter as well. Is this acceptable, Commodore?"


On the front lines


"Cease fire! Cease fire!"

The command rang down the line. Amazement ran through the ranks as the Paladins and Freedom Fighters slowly lowered their weapons. The Paladins were incapable of such emotions as amazement and perhaps even suspicion, but they acted suspicious nonetheless. So did their human counterparts.

Sergeant Maximus Gracus lowered his weapon slowly as the Paladin that had been bending over him stood and stepped backwards. Only seconds before, the charging droid had sent him flying backwards, the had stood over him and pointed its rail gun in his face. Then it had inexpliably lowered its weapon.

Word drifted down the ranks quickly that a ceasefire had been obtained. Apparently both sides had decided that negotiations might do better than bloodshed. Maximus was glad. His life had been spared. It was something for which to be grateful. He just hoped General Zhu and his Imperial masters would be able to obtain a fair treatment of the Freedom Fighters and their allies.

That takes some guts; coming onto an enemy warship with thousands of potentially hostile people who know the environment, whereas he does not, and have the ship’s security systems at their whim. If Zhu has one thing, it is courage. If he had morality as well, he would make an excellent Confederate officer. I might even try to win him over, but he apparently he doesn’t, which is a shame.

Corise nodded. “It is. I will have a conference room made available for us immediately. I am suggesting that the meeting start in an hour from now. Partly because I imagine that yourself and Mr. Hunt will take some time to transit from groundside to the Audacieuse. Will that be acceptable?”

The younger Lucerne quickly glanced out of the side of his eye, sending the flight control officer scrambling to ready a shuttle for President Hunt. On his other side, his ship’s XO had overheard the conversation and was already getting the conference room ready. As soon as this conversation is over and everyone is getting off on their shuttles, I’m going to make sure we have some good food for the conference. Who knows, maybe even break open a bottle of Cambrian wine for the occasion.

Zhu considered the Commodore's timetable. "Better make it two hours," he replied. "We of the Freedom Fighters are not as advanced as the Confederation, and we require time to prepare a shuttle." In truth, the Freedom Fighters were fairly technologically advanced, due to their alliance with the Imperials. But he wanted time to put together the best team possible to arrive on the Contegorian flagship. He wanted a show of force. It would perhaps awe the Confederation, and would certainly awe President Hunt, who seemed to think of his men as backwards hicks. And it was a position of power from which to negotiate.

With the Commodore's assent, Zhu said, "Commodore, I thank you for your graciousness. I will see you in two hours. Hunt, I must admit that I hope you fall dead and rot before our meeting. But in lieu of my wish coming true, I'll see you as well." Before the outraged president could respond, Zhu flicked off the communications system.

Selere stepped forward from where he had sat, observing the proceedings. "That last comment was a bit much," he said.

Zhu chuckled. "It was the truth, though," he replied. "And I've always found the truth to be most disconcerting to my opponents. Particularly that opponent."

Selere rubbed his head. "Perhaps you're right. Now, all that remains is to choose an honor guard and your chief negotiators."

Zhu cocked his head. "Any recommendations?" he asked. "Of course, you and Commander Lomax will be accompanying me. I'd also like one commando from each of your squadrons - two, actually. Captain Tribek will come as well, with four of his men as escorts. I've been receiving reports, and I want Corporal Jinato and Sergeant Gracus as well - they exhibited remarkable courage and skill on the battlefield today. Any others?"

Selere thought for a moment. "Captain McCain, for certain, and at least one of his men. Your armored commander should be there. I'll bring Erol Brin and Lori Kast, my unarmed combat specialist and my assassin. They will protect us better than a squad of stormtroopers. Lomax?"

"Dari Croft and Kyle vin Ordin, Sir. The two pilots who were shot down earlier and captured that prisoner."

"Very well." Selere turned back to Zhu. "I would suggest pulling Jinato's entire squad, as well as a few men from Gracus's line, as the rest of the honor guard. Jinato, Gracus, McCain, and nine others. Then Lomax, me, and our men, Tribek and his men brings the honor guard to twenty-three. Add two more of your choice. That won't be enough to worry them, and it adequately shows your status. Fair enough?"

Zhu nodded. "Sounds good to me. Let's get it organized and get up there."

Audacieuse, Confederation Flagship

Corise glanced at his chrono. “We have an hour to the meeting starts. How are the preparations coming along, Captain?”

“We’ve reserved the diplomatic conference room and its enclosing suites.”

The Kashan man raised an eyebrow. “The suites?”

“Well,” shrugged the captain, “we’re really not sure how many people they’re bringing. They said an honour guard. But how big is an honour guard? Confederate standard is four. It was said that the Emperor’s was forty. We really have no idea. And if they do bring that many people, as does President Hunt or the Imperials, there’s no way we’re going to squeeze them all in there. That room was designed for 24 people, not the potential 160. If they have a lot of extra guards, they can hang out in the suite with the wet bars.”

Corise nodded. “Probably a good idea. I would hope that we all wouldn’t be that pretentious. But you never know about those Imperial types about their choices. Some are ludicrously grandiose, some are rather sparse but efficient.”

“Sir?”

“I meant that the Emperor had to have forty royal guards for his honour guard. Those are rather grandiose troopers in appearance and numbers. Whereas I wouldn’t be surprised if some Imperial Intelligence officer came with two men, but those two men combined had probably killed or assassinated over a hundred people.”

“Ah. I hope you don’t mind, but I did break out a stock of Cambrian wine from your quarters.”

Corise nodded. “That’s fine. Which vintage?”

“I think the two years before the first Battle of Yavin.”

“That’s fairly potent then. We might have to careful about our consumption. We don’t need a bunch of drunk people arguing around a ceasefire. There is lighter fare out too, yes?”

“Yes sir. Churbian Brandy and Abrax Cognoc.”

“I meant food. It’s probably good you brought those out as well,” stated the younger Lucerne.

“Ah, yes sir. We have those too. I think the galley crew might be putting on the finishing touches on a snack platter, actually.”
Corise mutedly shook his head. “Are we going over the top on this?”

“Perhaps, but can it hurt? I’d rather overrespect someone in a negiogation than show disrespect them and tick them off.”

Corise nodded. “That’s true. How is the reception in the hangar bay coming along?”

The captain blinked. “It’s nothing exactly unusual for us. I mean, naturally there will be more sailors in it than normal because of many of the troopers still being groundside. It should still be rather grand. Everyone will be ready.”

“President Hunt will be onboard in a half-hour. The others should be coming a half-hour later. When he gets onboard, send him directly to the conference room.”

“And keep him waiting for a half-hour?” questioned the captain.

“Keep him entertained. Put on that holo show he was so fond of watching before,” ordered the Commodore, “I don’t want him or Zhu somehow screwing up everything between our soldiers, his soldiers, the Imperial soldiers, and whoever the warlord brought when they all arrive onboard.”

“Yes sir.”

Corise sighed. “Now all we have to do is wait.”

The Audacieuse. Supposedly the finest ship in the Confederation fleet. It was strange to see such a magnificant ship surrounded by the debris of what had at one time been another Pegasus-class Destroyer and an Eternal Advance Star Destroyer. But such were the consequences of war.

Racen Selere and Max Lomax sat in the pilot and co-pilot seats of the shuttle. They threaded their way through the debris carefully. This meeting wouldn't take too long, they hoped.

Beside them, in full stealth mode, flew two four TIE Phantoms. A little ways away, another shuttle left the bay of the Visectus along with its customary four fighter escort. Before them lay the Pegasus Star Destroyer they were to board.

Zhu had ended up not being able to decide on the other two members of the honor guard, so each Imperial squadron commander brought one more along. Max brought his sister, Renée Lomax, his second-in-command and his electroncs expert. Selere had chosen his infiltration specialist, Absk Fleetfire. These two, with the rest of the honor guard, filled the shuttle behind them.

The shuttle docked in the hangar bay. Selere noticed that President Hunt had already arrived. They waited to disembark, though, until Captain Tribek had also docked. Tribek exited first, along with his escort, and moved to the bottom of Zhu's shuttle. The ramp lowered, the Imperials marching out first, followed by Zhu and his men. Tribek took the rear position as the 25-man honor guard and General Zhu strode up to the waiting officer.

It seemed that Commodore Lucerne had not come to greet them himself. But Zhu was not going to argue proper protocol...yet. The time for that would come. The officer that greeted them escorted them to the conference room. President Hunt, Commodore Lucerne, and several others were already inside.

It was obvious that the entire honor guard would not fit in the room. Zhu, Selere, Tribek, and Lomax each were allowed a two-soldier escort, which would even the sides in the room with twelve per interest. Zhu took Jinato and Gracus, Selere chose Brin and Kast, Lomax chose Renée and Croft, and Tribek was assigned vin Ordin and Fleetfire. The twelve entered the room and took seats on one side of the table.

Food and drink had been laid out, but the pleasantries didn't manage to suppress all the hostilities in the room. Hunt and Zhu glared at each other across the table. Gracus and Jinato looked ready to spit on the president and his men. The Imperials, though, were amiable.

It was Selere that broke the ice. Seeing the bottle of Cambrian wine, he said, "Pulled out all the stops, eh? Very nice. So, hundred creds says I can drink any one of you pussies under the table."

Unfortunately for Selere's bank account, no one took him up on the offer. Introductions were made. Selere sized up the opponents. Hunt was passionate, but he was stupid. His aides were toadies, not worth a second glance. Commodore Lucerne, though...well, there was a man to watch out for. He was probably more than a match for Zhu by himself. Selere, though, would be right there to help out.

Zhu spoke up. "So, Commodore. I think it's about time we started negotiations."

Hunt blurted out, "Here's my terms of surrender. First..."

Zhu cut him off. "Hunt, I wasn't speaking to you. And I'm not here to surrender. We're negotiating a peace treaty, not a surrender document. So don't interrupt, and let the intelligent people in the room talk, OK?"

While Hunt turned red and began to sputter, Zhu turned back to Lucerne. "As I was saying, Commodore, let's begin negotiations. But first, I want to know if you know our plight, or if you've just heard what the fool on the other end of the table has told you."

Corise observed the interaction between Hunt and Zhu. No lost love between those two. If Hunt was a military man, I’d think I’d like to through the two of them into a pit and watch them duel. He sighed. Too bad he isn’t.

"As I was saying, Commodore, let's begin negotiations. But first, I want to know if you know our plight, or if you've just heard what the fool on the other end of the table has told you."

The younger Lucerne shifted slightly in his seat. “I can’t say that I do know your plight, at least from your perspective. I’ve only seen the governmental reports and a few articles in the newspaper. So tell me, what is your plight?”

This could be interesting. Perhaps worthy of investigation. Perhaps Hunt did so some things wrong. But it could also be a bunch of lies and biases. I suppose that it’s no the actual words he says that will be important, but how he says it. That alone will speak volumes on the man.

Zhu smiled. "Rather than speak myself, Commodore, I would like for two of my men to tell you their stories. It will give you more insight into our suffering than I could. Remember, though, each of my men has a similar story. This is Corporal Chang Jinato and Sergeant Maximus Gracus. Gentlemen, if you will, please relate your reasons for joining the Freedom Fighters."

Chang, being more impetuous than his colleague, spoke first. "I was born on Valinor, a native of the planet. My parents ran a thriving mine; we had some of the best land around. Our only mistake was to stake a claim right next to the governmentally-subsidized mining corporation's claims. The corporation decided it wanted our land. So it tried to buy it. We wouldn't sell. My parents had worked that land for nearly sixty years, and their parents before them, and so on down the line. We were not about to give it up.

"I was eighteen at the time, and I still believed in the goodness of man and the justness of our government. What happened next changed all that. The mining corporation, deciding that my parents' land was simply too kriffing good to pass up, send hired thugs to our house. I was in town buying supplies at the time, so I missed the corporation's form of justice. When I returned," he said as his eyes teared up a bit, "both my parents were dead. Their throats were slit. There was another man dead, as well; my dad had mananged to take one down with him. He carried on him five hundred credits, transferred to him from the corporation that morning."

His voice hardened as he continued. "I took the case to the Valinorian courts, but it never even went to trial. They simply said that there wasn't enough evidence to convict the scumbags who murdered my family. By this time, the corporation had set up shop, since I had no claim to my home as I was still a minor by Valinorian law. When the court stated its refusal, I stood and told them all that they were a lying pack of no-good, kriffing heartless worms that had no other desire than to grease their kriffing pockets with the blood money of murderers. Then I walked out, vowing to avenge my parents' deaths and to dispose of the corrupt government that let their murderers walk free."

He sat, his tale finished. Hunt sputtered, "I...I never heard of such a thing. Of course, justice will be done in your situation...It must have gotten...I mean..."

Zhu stared at him. "I have another who wishes to tell his tale, Hunt, if you'll sit and shut that big hole in your face."

Hunt, surprisingly, sat. All eyes were on Maximus Gracus. He leaned back in his chair and began to speak. "I, unlike Corporal Jinato, am not a native Valinorian, as I'm sure you can tell by my speech. I moved to the planet a little over two years ago, hearing that there was money to be made in the mining business. I'd been a bit down on my luck recently, having lost nearly everything in a sabaac game, so I decided to try mining. Seemed a good, honest business, pretty safe, not too much risk.

"What I didn't realize was that it was impossible for a small mining business to get started on Valinor. A much larger mining corporation began using terror tactics on me, wrecking my mining equipment, destroying my droids, sniping at my house, collapsing tunnels. Everything I tried failed at the hands of the corporation.

"Then, once I had once again lost everything, I petitioned the government for a subsidy. It was denied. I petitioned for an investigation. It also was denied. After several more such petitions, exploiting every loophole I could find, I began an investigation myself."

At this, Hunt rose, face red, and said, "You can't trust anything this terrorist says..."

Lucerne glared at him this time. "Sit down, President Hunt. This man has at least the right to speak in the negotiations."

Hunt sat, simmering. Gracus continued, "I found that there were several of our esteemed elected officials were tacitly supporting the corporation's actions. In return, money was being channeled into their personal accounts. One of these representitives was Senator Hunt. That'd be your brother, Mr. President. I guess corruption runs in the family, eh?"

He turned back to the table. "So, realizing I was not going to change anything from a legal standpoint, I embraced the words General Zhu uttered as one of his purpose statements. 'The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.' So I joined the Freedom Fighters, and have been fighting our corrupt system ever since."

This is going to be tricky.

“Gentlemen, your stories are very passionate, and I see how strongly you believe in your cause. When President Hunt visited the Confederation, I heard similarly strong and passionate stories showing how much the warlords and criminals were hurting the common populace and the economy. Based simply on stories, I cannot tell which one of your sides is right. But this I know: it’s highly unlikely that either of your sides will ever get along on Valinor. Perhaps the government did exert injustices on your people Zhu, but do you think they will ever be willing or even able to repay them all for what they’ve done? Likewise, I’m sure President Hunt here will attest that there is no way to properly make reparations for the damages and lives lost caused by your freedom fighters.”

The Commodore paused for a second.

“In light of this, I think it would be best if we could come up with a mutual solution of the separating of your two peoples…”

Hunt started to rise, but Zhu beat him to it. His face red with anger, he pointed his finger at Lucerne and Hunt alternately. "Do not attempt to blame me for the deaths caused by the warlords! Unlike me, many of them have no morals, no sense of decency. President Hunt, while you were hunting down my people like dogs, I was fighting the other warlords in an attempt to bring order back to Valinor! Warlord Hrag surrendered to me only a week ago; his men are no longer allowed to loot, pillage, and murder. In the one incident where my men were involved in such an attack, I had them hunted down and swiftly executed them! Ask Corporal Jinato - he was the one who caught them!

"I will not be blamed for actions I and my men did not commit! We have done nothing more than attempt to overthrow a tyrannical and corrupt government! I will not have the actions of Warlord Hrag and the others thrust upon me!"

He sat, still red-faced, as Hunt started in. "Commodore, these men are subject to the laws of Valinor. They must be made to follow those laws! Whether they like it or not, they are traitors to the government, and the law is very clear. Every one of them must be executed so that order may be maintained!"

Zhu yelled across the table, "You would execute us for doing what is right?"

Hunt replied, "There is no justification for rebelling against the duly elected government!"

It was then that Selere stepped in. "Both of you, sit and shut up. I believe Commodore Lucerne is correct." Zhu looked at him in shock. "In fact, I think I can guarantee seperation, with the Confederation's help." Corise cocked his head to one side. Selere continued. "When I entered the system as an advisor to General Zhu, I studied the area surrounding it as well. There is a small planet not far from here - Echbatahn - that is similar in conditions to Valinor. As it is obvious that neither party here will give way to the other, I suggest that the Contegorian Confederation and the Empire work together to move General Zhu and his people to Echbatahn, which is currently only sparsely inhabited. We then give them enough aid to get mines running, and they can run themselves as they see fit. Then those who wish to live under the tyranny of President Hunt may continue to do so."

"I think Mr. Selere is correct in his appraisal," stated the Confederate officer, looking at Zhu and Hunt, "I suggest you sit down, gentlemen."

The archenemies relunctantly sat down. Corise sighed. Extremes are always difficult to work with, unless you’re similarly minded. The Kashan man folded his arms and leaned back.

“The Confederate Navy is willing to help transport your men to Echtabahn. There should be plenty of room onboard our ships to transfer your men in a couple of short trips. If my Imperial colleague agrees to help with this, I think we could even manage to do it one, mass exodus…”

He focused his attention on the two Valinorian natives, now sitting down on their chairs.

“I respect you both for your dedication to your ideals and standards. However, I believe that those are like arrows. Too stiff and rigid, and they’ll be off target when fired. Too loose and flexible, and they’ll bend in flight and fall far short of the target. The key to an excellent arrow is to have the correct mixture of those properties. Gentlemen, I think yours are of the first type right now. Let me ask you this, can either of you think of any better solution?”

President Hunt quickly opened his mouth and shut it. Zhu simply shook his head. The Commodore turned and faced the Imperials.

“Would you be willing to help ferry Zhu’s men to Echtabahn?”