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Priscilla     By sheer coincidence, both the Watch and Concord have managed to simultaneously agree to get two completely different Prospekt splinters into the same room with the exact same third subfaction, necessitating a simultaneous negotiation between three parties just about completely by surprise. Neither side had communicated their intent to each other. In fact, only the First Militia themselves are aware of the fact they'll be dealing at a three-way table today. This couldn't possibly go wrong.

    There's not really much to it. A meeting is a meeting, and doesn't have a huge background of adventurous context. The island isn't exactly fancy (not anymore) so the secure meeting takes place in what is basically a concrete bunker, closed and walled off, without windows or exits that aren't at least one layer of corridor away. People can be easily screened coming in, and there's no way for snipers or similar to get a shot from outside, ensuring a decent level of security.

    A single room, with a single table, and an overhead lamp not unlike a police room, makes for a dour and no-nonsense setting. Only one rep of the First Militia are present, as specified that each group gets one. He wears a grey pseudo-military uniform and cap, probably modified from a Garit armed forces one taken during the rebellion, with the patches and insignia ripped out and replaced with the Militia's personal coat of arms and rank badges. The representative of New Terra being brought, by comparison, is wearing mostly earth tone homespun clothes clearly spun locally from the green side of the island, looking at once rustic and slightly combat ready with his boots and harness. The Jade Survivor rep is significantly more motley, wearing a mismatched outfit of pilfered clothes, with outsized jeans and a billowing hoodie pinched tight at the sleeves and ankles by rolls of tape that keep them sufficient for climbing and scavenging, something like what a freerunner would do. He even has a little bit of chalk dust still left on his palms.

    All three of them look incredibly tense with each other, and the air of hostility can be lost on no one. This could be a short negotiation.
Kyoko Takada     Kyoko Takada wasn't even certain that they'd get anyone from New Terra in here, after how understandably paranoid they sounded. This is already a victory of sorts, if only it doesn't result in people coming to blows for stupid reasons. She's been in enough meetings to not entirely discount the possibility, and is under no illusions as to whether the representatives were able to leave their egos at the door. For her part, the addition of a third party, and the external factional representatives who brought that about, isn't exactly a welcome complication.
    Unlike certain other people, she doesn't carry weapons in the first place. If she gets hurt out here, as previously established, it's August's fault. (She suspects that he can never really be "unarmed," which makes his protection doubly welcome in such circumstances.) Her tools of the trade are with her, electronics thin, modern, and subtle, and supplemented by her magic. She's already recording, the virtual lens bright and visible over her shoulder, floating around with her, a rotating red circle taking the place of a blinking red light.
    She coughs. The addition of more people is going to make this hard to moderate, if only because it'll be harder to declare any given person as a moderator. "Shall we begin with introductions?" she looks toward the Jade Survivor rep. Who is this joker?
Count Kord     Kord is here. His presence is to stand at the edge of the room with his arms crossed. He picked a spot where he would have at least some vantage over most of the gathering, because he isn't particularly inclined to get someone sneaking up on him during all of this. He doesn't trust everyone here, especially because they have reason to not trust him.

    He might not be very useful for negotiation purposes. His intent here was clear for the others in the group: He is here in case one party or another decided violence was the best solution to get what they want, whereupon he would make that cease being an attractive option.

    He has a bird on his shoulder, a crow-like creature called a Murkrow. It makes soft, hoarse cooing noises, occasionally fidgeting in place and puffing up her feathers to appear more intimidating to those looking at her.
August Kohler August is 'unarmed' in the sense that the only 'weapon' he has is a mirrored bracelet, and none of the Prospekt are aware of what he can do. The redhead is dressed 'nice', in that he's in a button-up and a coat instead of some shitty bulk hoodie, but there's that same dour expression on his face he usually defaults to. With Kyoko recording and moderating, August is standing to the side, not far from her. He's not speaking, yet, instead gauging the mood. He has too much on his mind to start communications or carefully word things.
Azure Armature Earlier, a week ago nearly, after the cataclysmic raid upon the Black Diamond's hardpoint, one operative from the Watch had interrogated one jackhole from the Diamond's, and extracted a location for a bolthouse where materiel -- and personell -- had been stashed away, including the ostensible leader of the faction.

After a goodly amount of Tactical Espionage Action, Azure Armature (under the nom de guerre "Blue") had darted or shot the guards, tagged the resources for the First Militia, and secured the leader.

Where he had gone to all this time probably boils down to 'in a box somewhere after a good CQC'ing', but those who had wished to visit some form of vengeance or questioning on the mysterious patron of the Black Diamonds now get a chance to...

As he is kicked into the room roughly, face clearly showing signs of 'rough handling'. Behind him, carrying a Suspiciously AK-47 magitek rifle (clearly lifted from the locals) is the tactical drab and poncho-wearing "Blue", who rifle butts the leader of the Diamons once, extending a foot to stand on his back as he rests on his hands and feet in the austere and tense meeting room.

"I was told there was a meeting. I have brought the last of the interested local parties." She notes in a flat, businesslike tone, as if dragging someone into a room, beaten, at gunpoint is the most normal thing to do at diplomacy.

"Feel free to question him at your leisure."
Captain Flint Flint and Silver are here, and they are a study in opposites. Silver looks as though he'd be literally anywhere else if he could, his eyes constantly shifting from one person to the next. He leans uneasily on his crutch.

     Flint, on the other hand, stands straight up, making eye contact with each of the Prospekt representatives each and every time he has to address them. Neither pirate is seated at the table, but of the two, Flint seems more the authority. Suitable to the image he conveys, Flint is the first of the two to speak up. "A lot of effort went into getting the three of you to sit at this table," he says. "Perhaps in the future, there might be more meetings like this, with more than three voices." The captain gives a casual shrug. "That's up to you. And, regardless of what any of you may think... so is the success of this meeting."

     "There's anger between the three of you," the captain continues. "Anger over your differences." A look is given to the New Terra representative, and to the Jade Survivor. "Or what happened after the revolution." Those seafoam eyes give the Militia officer a discerning look. "Before we discuss anything, all of you need to understand that the world out there--" He points towards a shuttered window. "Doesn't give a fuck about you or your in-fighting, unless they can monetize it."

     "The moment they think it's profitable, they'll invent a reason to invade or exploit you. I come from a place very much like Garit. It's been razed to the ground twice, with no response from the people who claim to be its protectors--yet they're more than happy to continue bleeding the land and the people dry. If you want to avoid that fate, then you need to seriously re-examine your quarrels with one another and lay them to rest. The sooner you do, the sooner you demonstrate you will not be exploited or bullied."

     And, as if on cue, Azure Armature brings another 'interested' party--the head of the beligerrent Black Diamonds. Flint turns to face the sound of the disruption, looking disdainfully down at the new arrival. "And here's your chance to do it," says the captain.
Starbound Flotilla "This is the worst of all possible timelines."
"I dunno, I really like it."
"Hopeful. Please try not to worry too much, Moonfin..."
"I like Biteblade, and I'm still worried."
"Aye, worried that Bitey won't be able to ignite a profitable war."
"Floran isss bessst at negotiation!"

    What are Biteblade's schemes here? Presumably, with her almost regal tribal outfit, lush with stylishly colorful plant matter and various body-paints, she still has some form of angle for approaching the diplomatic table. Her angle is simple: She doesn't expect more than one alliance to come out of this, and she's here to make sure that Terra Nova comes out of this without having an alliance with any party that could be opposing to her chosen party, the Underfolk.

    Captain Flint is the one taking the helm in these negotiations, and so she'll be standing by and letting him handle that, intending to jump right into the fray the moment she sights what she needs to leap into the emotional fray. For now, though, she has the Black Diamond guy to check out. "Heyyyy! Isss leaderguy from place Floran burned down!" She says, happily. "Hiiii, thanksss for meal!" She says to Azure Armature, clapping her hands together and rubbing them hungrily in an excited excited way. No, Biteblade, stop. "Floran did wanna negotiate Underfolk integrationsss!"

    Then she turns right on the man himself and says, "Hi there. I need to get some business done with you. I'm the one who blew up that Black Diamond facility with my Challenger tank. The Underfolk need free population and soldiers, and you have the biggest source I can take without making a lot of people unhappy. What's your position?" Presumably he has some justifications, desires, and other suchlike that Biteblade can aggressively DIPLOMACY-FIGHT aside Flint's attempts at unification.
Kushiko When it comes to negotiation, at least presently the Tenno isn't much for this part of it; others are moire skilled with their words, so she can devote herself, at the very least to the nominal task of security not just for herself, but for the others who are here. Watch and Concord alike.

There /was/ the notion of dealing with the Black Diamond's leader after she, the members of the Flotilla, Kord and others had basically cratered into their main base prior. Even if she had a face on her Mag Warframe, it would be stone cold neutral as the leader of the Black Diamonds is given the entrance they so richly deserve. And with the Floran's words, there's little more she needs to do save be quietly menacing. Appropriately, the figure here is as still as a statue; presumably unarmed with no visible weapon shown on her person. But then again, she /is/ the weapon, in more ways than one. For what it's worth, she does much to give the impression of being a construct herself. Her position is unobtrusive but able to act on a moment's notice.

Hopefully, it won't be needed. At least Biteblade was sticking to business first, dinner later.
Priscilla     Flint has a good lead in. Frankly, none of the pale, bald, and genuinely pretty big and tough-looking demihumans in the room are educated or diplomatic types, and so going much further 'above brow' of what his take is would be wasted. Just by looking at their faces, anyone can judge that they understand direct, level, and somewhat self-righteously angry. That's probably the attitude of most people on the island at this point. At least the living ones.

    "Yeah we're pretty fuckin' sure of that." the Jade Survivor says bitterly, where the First Militia lets out a dry half of a single "ha" and adds "Anyone who isn't stupid is aware of it. That's why the First Militia exists, as an unbroken tradition from the heroes of the revolution, standing ready to defend the rights of the people again when-" "Oh /stuff it/" the New Terra representative immediately and roughly interrupts. "There ain't going to be nothing left to defend after your type has had the run of it. They'll be walking all over a buncha starving idiots chewin' on their guns." "Or an enclave of inbred hicks who wouldn't know which end of a rifle to point away from themselves. In either case, whose fault would it be?" comes the snappy retort. "Probably 'at you' you self-righteous fuck, like everyone else has been polishing up to do since you started jacking off into your jackboots. Another brand of fucking fascists. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss." the Jade Survivor spits. This is already going very well.

    Azure Armature plopping big ol' 'Big D' in front of the gathering is what breaks up the squabble. Seeing the sociopath responsible for leading the savage cult of personality that has been terrorizing the island for short term hedonistic gain, beaten black and blue and half-conscious, tied up, dragged in, and dumped, makes a heavily impactful impression. The Jade whispers what is clearly the local equivalent of "Jesus Christ" followed by "they weren't fuckin' around." Terra simply nods slowly and appreciatively, in that stoic 'down south' way. The Militiaman laughs, slowly golf clapping at the gang leader's expense, who can do little more than growl at the treatment.

    "If that's what you do for fun, then I would ask why it wouldn't be you rallying the army here. Or leading it onto the shores." the Militiaman opens bluntly and honestly. "Who are all of you people? Special ops? Who sent you? Half of you don't even look like you know the other half."

    Nobody in the room sounds like they've heard of a 'Challenger tank', but at least the Survivor seems to know about the raid. "Right, yeah. That's why there were all the smoke and explosions. Shit was loud as all hell. Had guys crowding up on the roof to try and get a look with the 'nocs. That was /you/?" The New Terra guy mostly focuses in on the actual content of what Biteblade has said, narrowing his more canny gaze. "Underfolk? How is it they came to have any say at this table? Don't nobody give two hoots about what those kind are doing scrabblin' around in the sewers. Nobody uses the damn sewers anymore anyways. The hell do they want?"
August Kohler Well, that's a bad start. August looks like he's about to move in to break it up, when Azure drags in the leader of the Black Diamonds. He whistles, surprised, before approaching closer to the table to answer the question asked of them. "August Kohler, of the Watch. I'm not from this world. I'm sure you've seen the big ass gates that just appeared one day, right? Garit was looking for assistance from elites on the other side to throw you all in cuffs and back into the mines. We stepped in to prevent that." August folds his hands together, wearing gloves. He doesn't move to identify any others as Watch, instead continuing.

"Now, here's how I figure it. The First Militia has combat skill. New Terra knows agriculture, and that keeps you fed. The Jade Survivors know the city and how to survive in an urban environment. The Underfolk...know sewers, can probably do sanitation. The Black Diamonds..." August had to basically improvise for the Underfolk, but the Black Diamond leader just has him staring his head at the guy and shrugging. "Whatever. Either way, you're going to have the best chance at survival together. If you're split up, you're lacking in different points. I want to best help you work together. So what do each of you want, and what will it take for you to work with the others?"
Captain Flint When the Militiaman asks who he is, Flint responds simply. "I'm a man who keeps what is his, and fears no one." says Flint. "The three of you could be, too."

     He pauses, waiting for August to explain, then continues, putting it bluntly--the Prospekt seem to prefer that. "Lodestone should be included, too. You don't want to seem profitable to attack, the former dependents of your resources are very arrogant. With Lodestone included, you could gradually outpace the ability of outside attack by foreign powers."
Starbound Flotilla     Biteblade stops hassling the Black Diamond man, and now turns to focus on the New Terra one. She dramatically crosses her arms and assumes a wide, powerful stance, in that way that implies that the absence of tattered flags and propaganda wall-scrawls behind them is something fundamentally wrong with the universe. "I am Biteblade, the Fifth Captain of the Starbound Flotilla, Partner of the Concord, and I will become Greenfinger to those Underfolk." She says. "Power, comfort, clean water -- I know how to provide that to them, and they've taken it. Feasts, joy, hunts, everything that could make someone happy. Care because you," She points to the New Terra man. "Have food to survive, and you," The Militia man. "Have arms to defend yourself, and you," The Survivor. "Have all the space and organization, but none of you have what I have." She jabs a thumb at herself. "Vitality. Joy. Feasts, comfort, entertainment! That's what I've given to them."

    "I'm here to see if I can secure integrating the Black Diamonds to give them better population, and then to see if I can at least get trade agreements with New Terra. Captain Flint's negotiations take first priority, and then I'll try to secure my own."

    Just to make it seem a little more unified, despite the fact that Biteblade could just possibly wind up at cross purposes if Flint maneuvers this unification effort in a way that locks Biteblade out of her goal. She is at least mostly right, though, in that her primary goal has been the fundamental alteration of the Underfolk atmosphere to one where people feel like they're having fun and no longer stressing out about the day-to-day in some bleak sense. And if she knows tribal dynamics at all... "Fun" is a hell of an economic export.
Kushiko Until their attention is adequately seized for one reason or another, Kushiko has nothing to say. But with the Diamond leader's mere presence alone quells and unites their focus, it's a bit easier to have a word in edgewise. And given what the Militiaman says, it's a fair question to be certain. Her voice is that bizarre, presenceless thing, no voice that comes from the Warframe, but emanating from her. At least it's fair to assess it's origin being from the technorganic golem.

<"Interested parties."> she begins. Part of this is something she'll leave to Captain Flint and Biteblade on the Concord side, given their respective leads into the rest of the groups as is. She does not necessarily recognize 'Hibiki' or that aspect of her being in the Watch--though with enough talking, she might well be able to confirm her voice from times on other frequencies. August is another matter altogether to put it mildly, as is Azure--for her, these are unknowns, or at least 'not known enough' in some regards.

<"Fun, though it may have been to exterminate as many of them as we possibly could and then some for their inclinations..."> She falls quiet for a moment, given what August has said. She doesn't necessarily dislike them, though they remind her a little too much sometimes of the Red Veil, as useful as that kind of zealousness could be. <"The Black Diamonds will likely end here as a group, decimated as they already have been. With them out of the way, there will be the potential for finding a balance that all of you have been without for too long. You must look to your future. Some of us here like myself are very good at that."> Her head bobs slightly towards some of the others.

<"As to who I am, you may refer to us as Kushiko of the Concord. It is, however, as the Captain says as well. As Biteblade says."> Seems there's enough implication to the Survivors as well that she was there, albeit in a relatively more 'subtle' fashion. <"There are those who are content to let you slowly disintegrate and destroy yourselves. You can be better than that.">
Count Kord     "I'm here because your former masters thought the Concord was going to come here and solve their problems for them."

    Kord's derisive tone is clearly directed at Garit. He indicates the Black Diamond leader with one raised forefinger. "I took exception to them. Filth that prey on their own don't deserve anything less than the pain of a boot on their throat. Biteblade was not alone in that." And then he crosses his arms and looks back to the Militiaman that inquired that of them.

    "What I want out of all of this will amount to nothing, so long as all of you are slinging insults and curses across a table as if you weren't all stuck on the same damn island, with the same damn problems. There's a world out there that wants what you have, and further more than that which will fight them to get it."

    "None of you will get to use it to grow stronger if you end up killing each other for saying something the other didn't like."
Azure Armature Azure adjusts her scarf up around her neck, grinding her heel into the back of 'Big D' as he growls as if to forcibly shove away his very 'resistance' to his conquered state. "You can call me 'Blue'. Contacts of mine put me at the dispatch of the local group - the First Militia - and outlined mission parameters."

She shrugs. "I believe that the people work together to direct champions towards areas of need. It is a useful arrangement."

"The stability of the city and the removal of dissident elements are my current objectives. A unified coalition for prosperity is within expectated outcomes." She offers, a bit more warmth in her tone as she describes 'unified coalitions'.

"As for disruptive elements, immediate and decisive action is only natural." She notes, shoving her foot down one final time to make sure Big D kissed the ground (not hard enough to do any further damage) before removing her foot and stepping back.

"This is my show of competency in those objectives. As for the terms..." She shrugs, gesturing towards Biteblade. "Basic necessities and logistics should be your core concern, as..." There's a squint, Azure's optics whirring near-imperceptibly as she tries to decide what to call the Floran.

"'My Colleague' has placed to the fore." She finishes.

August's suggestion to work together also gains tacit approval and a slight curteous nod.
Kyoko Takada     Kyoko doesn't speak loudly, but moves her fingers slightly, letting her magic take care of most of the task of quietly typing into a communicator hooked up to a Watch network, and reading back the response from August and Azure as she looks at this "Black Diamond" leader. Aloud, she says, "Oh, good."
    She watches Flint as he talks, only occasionally looking over to Silver to note that contrast. She's not totally sure what his stance is, here, but overall it seems like they're about on the same page... probably? Biteblade is a hell of a lot harder to understand, especially with the sudden change in speech patterns. She cross-references a note between that and what "Blue" told her of recent, independent action, adding another note--digitally, not mentally--about "The Underfolk."
    Her hope for introductions are dashed, her plea for information ignored, though other information regarding the various relationships here does come to light. Even more rudely, they ask /her/ for her credentials, as August provides for his own part. "Hibiki, independent analyst, consultant and concerned party regarding the same issue as Mr. Kohler mentions. I discovered the matter of Garit's request and shared the information to more safely approach the island." That may be an inaccurate statement, but it doesn't matter, as no one has any reason to question who it was that first found out what. She resists the urge to sigh. She starts pulling up a few records, sorting out some thoughts and getting a little historical perspective, and then she starts to speak.
    "Nobody trusts anybody else to be the leader. Obviously. Believe it or not, this is an old problem, not one invented by your situation here. But you don't need to really put your trust in each other. All you have to do is agree on a fair distribution of power. Make sure that everyone has some way to get their voice heard when decisions are getting made. If everyone has a line to the top, and everyone can see what the top is doing, then you don't have trust people not to cause problems--you only need to know that when a problem does happen, everyone will know what happened, and everyone will want it fixed.
    "What I'm saying is, you'll all going to get taken over by outside forces if you don't work together, but you don't have to have one guy in the lead to make that work. You're each here to represent a different group. The people you're here for trust you to carry their will, and you'll answer to them if you screw that up. That's 'a republic.' If you could decide on one person to represent everyone, we wouldn't be here. Since you can't decide on one person, decide on three, or six. Let those guys argue over what should be done, understanding that if you don't do /anything/ you'll all fall together. And believe me, nobody here is strong enough to take on the world all on their own."
Priscilla     Somewhat atypically, it's actually the gruff representative of the farming sub-nation that takes to the pitch first, and seems to have something to say right off the bat. "New Terra has no desire to see more people die. You mighta noticed that from us folk keeping to ourselves and not runnin' around the island waving guns. We have the land to support them alright, but we're not handing it over. We're not gonna tolerate being 'annexed' or 'commandeered'. It's ours fair and square, and we know what we're doing it. If your people want food, they'll trade for it, like civilized folk. We'll sell it to any folk that put in honest work to earn it, not having someone crackin' the whip and tellin' us how to grow it and how to portion it. End of story."

    The Militiaman immediately scoffs at this, folding his fingers and looking at him quite severely. "Ridiculous. The Prospekt of Garit /paying/ our own to keep territory for the good of us all. Why are you special? Why does New Terra deserve to be constantly /bribed/ to support their fellow Prospekt when we need to be as united as possible to stand against foreign powers who would take our land from us?" The Survivor actually butts in on the side of Terra, in an unlikely way. "Because, you coattail clingin' asshole, your 'heroes' you're so bent on kissin' ass for stood for /not being jerked around and exploited for free/. You want to trade with the outside at a fair rate? You trade with everyone else on the island for a fair rate, you fuckin' clown."

    "And that means we should spend what we can manage, pleasing the egos of the tight-fisted savages who've decided they own a third of the island our ancestors fought and bled and died for? Then who would be pulling the strings, hm? And you have the balls to call us power hungry. The continued prosperity of /our species/ should be reward enough, working for a common good." he replies. "Yeah and runnin' around under the heels of the men with all the guns just for bein' told 'trust us, we know what's best' sure sounds like a real good recipe for ensurin' everyone gets a fair shake, right? Let the people decide what they're owed for their labour and let the people who know how to do more than kill each other decide what's best for their work."

    "Then who do you propose will actually protect you? If you expect the First Militia, those who have already fought for /your/ freedom, to stand the shores, bleed for your safety, and then /pay you off/ so that we can even can continue to fight /for/ you, without lifting a finger in defense of your sovereign homeland, then I should have you run down in the fields. How, precisely, do you expect men and women who have devoted themselves to military exercise to defend you, to find anything to 'trade'? Is their service not enough compensation for you? If it is, then what would be the point in stubbornly insisting of a laughable independence within an independence?"
Priscilla     "Look, you jackbooted jackasses have the mines." the Survivor begins, who is summarily interrupted. "Oh, and now you expect us to fight /and/ mine at your pleasure?" "Let me finish you fucknugget. A retarded four year old could tell you that doesn't work. Look, my people don't want no slice of Garit for our own or some kinda little nation. My people just wanna see the next goddamn sunrise without a boot on their necks or a gun at their heads. There ain't nothing in the city worth turf anyways. /Someone/ has to do it if you want to /get/ to the step with trading overseas anyways, so if you shitheads want a little economy on this hole, what does it matter?"

    "We have good people who would take an honest job in a heartbeat. Lodestone is full of nutcases who know how to get those machines, the /real/ ones, up and running. Probably. Those poor sods in the sewers would probably kill for work and somewhere to live that don't involve eating rats or whatever they do. We work. They work. You work. Real countries have some shit they call 'jobs' and 'armies' y'know. You envision a future where the Prospekt ain't slaves? Treat the others like they ain't."

    Very suddenly, when the subject of Black Diamond comes up, he seamlessly transitions into a further push without skipping a beat, all of a sudden the sharpest tack in the room. "'sides, there's a whole group of fuckin' savages who haven't done an honest day in their lives hiding out without their big dog to let them carry out their sick little wasteland fantasies. They got nowhere to go. They get on board or get rooted out one by one. You wanna boss someone around? They've earned it. Conscript 'em for all I give a shit. They're fuckin' sociopaths anyways. If you can get'em to follow orders then hand 'em back their guns and put the rest on shifts."

    This seems to be one point that everyone immediately agrees with, for all their mutual hatred of the massive gang that has run roughshod over the island for all this time. The New Terra representative nods slowly in newfound silent appreciation, while the Militiaman strokes his chin in contemplation. "I can't say I like the idea of something that sounds suspiciously class-based. We'd have to assess the actual manpower anyone can promise. I laugh at this deal if the 'people' I end up with are a little gaggle of malnourished simpletons and violent nutjobs who couldn't make a dent in a project if they tried. /If/ there looks to be usable manpower enough to support your idea of some half-baked division of labour, well, we'll see."

    New Terra speaks up. "'course that leaves Lodestone. I ain't too happy to think of anyone going back down there to swing pickaxes at exploding crystals sixteen hours a day. Not again. 'sides, even if you train them, gumbies in uniforms and rifles aren't going to be much of a real first line if a serious navy parks on the shores you know. You want manpower, you want machines. End of story again. That's what civilized folk do to get things done, including if you want enough food past the next twenty years when even our boys can't put enough duct tape on the ploughs to keep them running."
August Kohler August listens intently to the back and forth. While some of it causes him to grimace, he overall finds their suggestions pretty good. "Alright, I can agree with that. So the job is to find and deal with the Black Diamonds one way or another, and then locate Lodestone and bring them in on this. On the subject of Black Diamond, I want to firmly suggest that they're not treated as slaves and instead as actual workers with pay who can live and be fed, and possibly have the chance to eventually stop mining. Pay off being psychopaths down the line. I think you're all in agreement with that, but I want to confirm that." August waits several moments for some sort of confirmation of something similar, before stepping back. "That's all from me."
Kyoko Takada     "Just... don't force any of those guys to work or you'll wind up somewhere like where you started. Just disarming them will bring them to work on their own, when they can't get food any other way. If honest work is the only way to stay alive, then people will do honest work." Kyoko says. "And maybe think twice before trusting people you're calling sociopaths to hold guns, even if *now* they seem to be following orders."
Starbound Flotilla     +_+

    "About those mines." Biteblade says, her eyes suddenly shining for a moment. "I come from an orgnization of mining experts. As long as we can get the machines from Lodestone, as long as you can accept a division of labor that gives people access to the mines to work them fairly, and as long as you let us have the population from Black Diamond -- who I'm /sure/ will be happy to take some of what I have to give -- then I can guarantee that I can make the conditions safe and painless." She speaks with both utmost confidence and absolute determination, making a strong show of having firm terms. If they're right about the Underfolk wanting to have a chance to integrate with the broader community, then this might be their chance, but she's already decided that she's going to make sure they grow strong and become no sort of exploited class. "The Underfolk aren't desperate right now, but they'd be willing under the sort of conditions I could give." Which are just objectively better than a sewer, really.
Kushiko Kushiko has to desperately resist the compulsion to call the First Militia rep a self-important pile of Kubrow fecal matter in as many words. Given the Survivor's response, she's saved from needing to express as much throughout the exchanges. On the other hand, there's a few valid points to be made by the Militiaman; everyone's trying to hold on to their own piece. And it comes down to a very simple notion, her frame's lighting flickering as she speaks.

<"You're afraid. All of you. For good reason, you've been afraid. Be it because of him and his ilk,"> she gestures towards the Black Diamond's leader, <"Or because of what might be. You're clinging desperately to what is because of the possibility that it may be lost. Your past glories have earned you much, but past glories only amount to so much. Strength, power, all of it must be cultivated and kept honed. Nothing worth doing starts out in a way that absolutely everyone is happy with. But if all of you can find a way to let go...">

She sighs quietly. Resonance bleeding through and the girl's voice a little plainer. <"A Council. Agreed upon representatives. Someone to look out for those who's only concern is their day to day living, or the protection of others."> She pauses for a moment.

<"This isn't the only deal to be made here. When this deal, any deal is made, it's not just to be made and then walked away from. Work to make sure everyone finds some kind of satisfaction, even if it's not all at once. Sometimes a short term sacrifice makes for a long term gain.">

As August and Kyoko make useful points as well, she adds, <"Finding the remnants of Black Diamond should not be too hard. It's likely they're going to be interested in listening, but each of them should be worked with individually. Time consuming, but it would do well to see who are truly interested in working with others as opposed to those who simply want the chance to kill for fun.">

That's about all she has to say at least, the diodes on her suit ceasing their flicker.
Azure Armature "I would prefer the groups of this city to come to an agreement about sharing power and responsibility, as citizens of a city. You ask yourselves 'what have we to lose' and 'what if this goes wrong', which are useful thoughts to inform, but not necessarily useful thoughts to make decisions on."

"You, the farmers." Azure raises a hand. "If the Militia comes into your fields and jackboots your crops, you will have nothing to eat yourselves. A fear, but also a reality, if the fractious nature of your squabbles continue."

"The underpeople have had an injection of good things, but will it last? Will the resources dwindle and there be nothing but scraps left? Will they rise up, and be a hungry threat to the Militia?"

"Think of what can be accomplsihed together. Resources to be tapped, safety to be ensured, a quality of life to be met. Soldiers who are fed, who have homes, and have discipline, those are well-drilled weapons. Farmers who are protected, who have faith in their tomorrows, have security in their representation, those are well-producing hands. People who ask 'what will you do to me if I do not' are suspicious, are covetous, are unstable. Citizens who ask 'I will call you brother and render unto you what I can, expecting you to do the same', those will be the content ones."

Her hand falls. "Lean times and hardships will come. Alliances will be tested. Factions will form, and fractures created. You cannot think of all that and go 'it is not worth it'."

Azure crosses her arms, canting her expression up incrementally. "Thinking about the worst cases or the un-mitigateable concerns is pointless outside of planning. Save for the lean times, and reinforce for the hardships. Build strong alliances that weather storms. Plan for your factions, and welcome their concerns. Mend the cracks that form in your unity, and fret not on the appearances of them."

"Any tool will grow dull and worn with use. Act with mind to sharpen the useful thing, not discard it for lack of lustre."

Azure's expression falls. "Or do nothing, and see which group consumes the others in a feeding frenzy of mutual destruction. Either way, the conflict will end."
Captain Flint When the Black Diamond speaks up, Flint levels an analytical gaze towards him, his brow furrowing. He doesn't say anything on the matter, just turns around, considers that new development, and offers a rebuttal to New Terra's assertion.

     "Sovereignty is a fair demand," says Flint to the Terra Nova representative. "And there are systems of government which could easily provide it to every person at this table, fairly. Payment for your labor is also a fair demand. But before you dismiss what the Militia has to say, think of the benefits you'll receive from mutual cooperation. Surely you have needs. The rest of the Prospekt can meet them--from each, according to his ability, to each, according to his need." Flint pauses, giving a brief glance towards Azure Armature before returning his attention to the New Terra representative. "If everyone's /agrees/ their needs are provided for, what need is there for 'compensation?' Especially with the budding entertainment district Biteblade mentioned. Would you really still ask for compensation if both necessities and even luxuries..." A gesture towards Biteblade, not even turning to face her--his eyes are locked on the New Terra rep's. "...were provided to you in terms you considered fair?" By the time he's finished, he's leaning on the table, eyes afire with excitement for this possible vision of the future. Then, that fire dims, and he leans away, taking a step back.

     "You'd be free to walk out of this deal, if that offer is unattractive to you." He nods towards Count Kord. "But, in addition to the assertion from our talented friend," a nod to Azure Armature, "You should know that my colleague here has the means and the resources to teach the rest of the Prospekt how to farm, should you refuse--which would rather obviate the need for trade. New Terra would, of course, remain an independently run nation, and would have to deal with other world powers on its own." He lets the silence after his sentence fill in the blank on that one.
Count Kord     "And I would do it without even a second thought. Everyone needs to eat, after all."

    Kord might sound a little smug about that, as he emphasizes what Flint is saying here.

    "There's plenty of land on this island to grow it that doesn't belong to you."
Azure Armature "Cities - this city, even - are beings. They have needs, and demands, and products. Perhaps yours does not speak to you, but it has needs all the same. It shelters you, provides for you, and gives you purpose. You should be ready to take care of your city, as patriots, as citizens."

Azure shrugs. "Civic duty is one of the utmost responsibilities of brother-citizens. If you take care of each other, and your city, you can be happy and live well."
Priscilla     Overall, it's a lot to take in. The three members at the table have too much input, and too much food for thought, to go about shooting back replies and retorts to it. They look a significant shade of sullen at much of it, and only one of them really seems to have the background necessary to vaguely understand the finer differences between the economic divides being pushed at them, but there seems to be at least some common consensus.

    "Some kind of leadership is a necessity, and if enough of us new people of Garit decide that they want their sovereignty, fine. A collective delegation is inevitable. Unavoidable. At the least, a literal delegation; tasks delegated to different departments within the whole." says the Militia rep. The other just grunt with begrudging agreement. "The exact shape of this leadership isn't something within the scope of what we can discuss in this meeting. Not between only three people, and not within a clear idea of the development of a unified population to come. The others must be brought into the fold." Another pair of grunts, more 'not able to say anything against it' than much else.

    "Much as I hate those pricks, I couldn't use another Prospekt as a slave. Not now." the Survivor intones. "Enough of them are fuckin' psychos that I'd see 'em gunned down in the streets no problem. They're probably going to resist anyways. Resort to banditry. Assholes. They're going to be a problem and they get wiped out." "Well said." comes the approving, if almost sarcastic, reply from the Militia rep. "But any man who thinks he ought to shape up with the second chance he's been given should be given that second chance." concludes the New Terra member. "Nobody's going to like them, that's for sure. It'll be tough for them to fit in no matter what. There's a good number of them I'd like to break their teeth in, I'll tell you what. If they have the smarts to recognize that their time is up, and they have to grow up or get out, I have no quarrel with the army making honest men out of them."

    "So what, we're lookin' at a division of regular workin' people, fightin' people, and farming people?" the Survivor says. "Eggheads too, probably, if the Lodestone wackos get on board. I don't know nothin' about economics or whatever, but if you're gonna trade what you can give for what you need, then that's basically all there is to it, yeah? Trade off rocks to keep the lights on for a place to live. Trade off whatever grows in the fields for the shit to keep the beasts and looters off 'em. Fuckin' simple."

    "The restoration of the city will be a very long-term project." the Militiaman asserts. "But not only a worthwhile one, but an inevitable one. People will need places to live, and the non-functional husks of opulent apartments leave them sleeping on cold, gilded floors. It will take experts, mined resources, and a degree of manpower that likely won't exist in the population for at least several years to come. Still . . ."

    "Look, these theories are nice at all, but we've got nothing until you see how many of those folk you can track down and convince any of this hare-brained nonsense is a good idea. Then I'll entertain any actual planning, if you can call it that. Those 'tech happy nutcases need to be tracked down, and I want those trigger happy goons /found/ and either /civilized/ or /dead/, or else I ain't telling my folks to give nothing to no-one."

    "What about that freak?" the Survivor asks, pointing at 'Big D', who appears to be unconscious at this point. "Hand him over to the jackboots." asserts the Terra rep, without hesitation. "Considerin' all he's done, he's earned a short drop and a sudden stop. Good for morale." This, all three seem to heartily agree upon.