A Voice from the Dark (MT)

A rather young Enclave soldier finally meets with them after about an hour. He's quick to apologise for the delay. "We are curious as to why you all have recognised a group of terrorist as their own nation?" Obviously, he hasn't seen the interview.

Dylan and Michael watch this soldier for a moment before Dylan just shakes his head. "I think you need to see something first. You believe what you're saying, that much is certain." He pulls out a datapad and cues up the video feed from the interview and hands it over to the soldier.

The initial reaction is skepticism. This fades into uncertainty, then finally in to shock. Yeah, he hadn't seen it before or even heard about it.

"Censorship will do that," mumbles Bertinelli, out of earshot.

(OOC: Sela? Any response you want to make to the fact that the soldier is seeing the information for the first time?)

(OOC: Nothing really, no.)

(OOC: Okie.)

Dylan nods slightly. "Yeah, I thought you hadn't seen it. Otherwise, you'd have known that they were not terrorists." He glances to the others there at the meeting, then back to the Enclave soldier. "What we want is simple. Leave them be."

The soldier is silent for a moment, then presses a hand to his ear. Finally, he shakes his head. "We can't do that unless you can provide a compelling reason that we should." He looks at Dylan, then the others. He's getting his words put in his mouth for him.

Dylan frowns, then sighs. "How about we don't..."

Michael clears his throat loudly in order to interrupt Dylan. "I believe what Dylan is trying to say is that the trade agreement we have expires next month. Rather conveniently too. You guys lay off of New Vegas and the agreement gets extended. Otherwise, you won't be getting more power armor from us. When what you have breaks or gets old, you won't be able to replace it. Not from us anyway."

Dylan looks a little irritated at being interrupted, but he does nod in agreement with Michael. "I'm sure these others can provide a compelling reason as well. Maybe they won't..."

Michael elbows Dylan sharply to shut him up. Yeah, Dylan is a bit irritated with the Enclave.

"I think it's already been laid out what the United Municipalities will do if New Vegas is provoked."

"My interests are primarily humanitarian. The Swiss government will not intervene militarily unless attacked."

The soldier is looking more at Dylan with a frown. The message was well received. He places a hand to his ear, then nods at something. "If New Vegas is willing to allow our soldiers free access there, then we will not make any further attempts to integrate them into the Enclave."

Dylan tilts his head slightly, then shakes his head. "You see, the problem here is that you're just a lackey. You don't have the power to negotiate. That lies with the voice in your ear. That's the person I want to be speaking with."

Michael glances to the others, then to the soldier. "I'd have to agree with Dylan here. While we can negotiate, and don't think we don't have people in New Vegas as well, we are not authorised to negotiate through someone like this. We speak face to face with someone who can make decisions or there will be no deals. You can attack New Vegas and we will likely surround the place with troops of our own with orders to keep you out. I seriously doubt that whomever is on the other side of that earpiece wants to go up against forces that can probably...."

Now it's Dylan's turn to elbow Michael. Well, that's what Shein gets for sending two people who are not trained diplomats.

(OOC: Time to pull out the robotic body, eh?)

"If the Enclave leaves New Vegas be, we are willing to open trade further within both nations. There will be changes with currency, of course. There is too much potential for counterfeiting with bottle caps."

(OOC: Nope. Remember, the Legion wasn't wiped out completely. Did some research on the history of the Legion to decide what their ultimate fate was in this timeline. I made up my mind and based on their history, it makes sense.)

Dylan and Michael look at each other, clearly having some kind of silent conversation before they both shrug. They remain silent though.

The soldier looks to Bertinelli. "Caps aren't the only currency we have. When we integrated another group, they had their own currency. President Eden allowed them to continue using it. I'm sure that currency will work for trading." He looks back to Dylan and Michael, a little nervous about them. "The primary negotiator was held up. I got sent to start..."

"Then we'll wait." Dylan looks at the soldier for a moment. "Hmm. I guess it was rather unexpected and not enough time." He glances at the others. "It'll be another half hour at the earliest."

The soldier actually looks a little surprised. He hadn't picked up on the cues earlier that Dylan is a telepath. He doesn't comment though.

About forty-five minutes later a Vertibird lands near the negotiations site. Five individuals leave the Vertibird and head toward the group. All five are dressed differently from the other Enclave soldiers. Some of the Enclave soldiers disappear rather quickly. Others just don't seem to care.

Anyone who's done some reading on ancient civilizations would recognise the uniforms as replicas of Roman soldiers. Well, at least four of them. The fifth is someone far more important. The four others aren't letting even Enclave soldiers get close to him.

The odd one out is the one that seems to take charge, dismissing the young soldier. Apparently he's the one to talk to.

(OOC: Ahh, yes, the Swiss will like Legion money. In fact, that's probably going to be the only money they will accept.)

Looking a little puzzled but simultaneously amused, Bertinelli greets the one who seems to be in charge. "Salus EGO sum Procer Raphael Bertinelli. EGO animadverto ut vos vestio in ratio of meus ancessour."

Translated:
"Salutations. I am Prince Raphael Bertinelli. I see that you dress in the manner of my ancestors."

(OOC: I have no idea how accurate the Latin translation is. Is this Legate Lanius or Caesar?)

Major Aden looks rather perplexed, but he doesn't really care to speak until the leader of the troops says anything.

(OOC: I figured the Swiss would appreciate it. As to who it is, read on.)

The differently dressed man looks at Bertinelli with a small smile before unrolling a map of what was the southwestern United States. "Ex uno disce omnes." He nods slightly, more to himself. He glances to the others. "I am called only Caesar." Yes, he uses the proper Latin pronunciation. "I came here because I was asked to do so by President Eden." By his slight hissing of the name, he doesn't like the Enclave. Probably some bad blood there.

Dylan and Michael either have no knowledge of Roman history, or they just don't care. They seem rather indifferent. "Right. I'm assuming you have complete authority over this then?" Dylan asks.

"Yes." Caesar barely glances at Dylan. "And I'm well aware that the two of you may have some kind of ability to sway these negotiations. Eden's briefing was fairly thorough. Therefore, I'd appreciate it if you two would shut up and let me deal with the one individual that has been educated." Yeah, it's a low blow.

Dylan and Michael just stare at Caesar for a moment before Michael shakes it off. "Right, well, we're also the ones who have people in New Vegas and can get responses pretty quickly." He and Dylan, however, just move off to the side. They're not leaving though.

"What exactly does New Vegas want? I'm well aware they wish their independence. That much is established. Certainly that's not all they want." Caesar seems to be speaking directly to Bertinelli. Well, he did speak Latin, thus gaining respect.

(OOC: Translation: Literal: From one person learn all persons. Figurative: From one we can judge the rest.)

Major Aden decides to keep quiet until something directly related to the United Municipalities comes up. Best let the most respected diplomat speak unless he needs to say anything, since the interests of Hew mostly fall in line with that of the Swiss.

"From the impression I got from the interview, I would say not having Lake Mead irradiated would be part of their wishes. For anything else they want, you would have to ask them. I am only a mediator attempting to resolve things peacefully."

"Done. Anything else?" Caesar glances at the map again, but only briefly.

Dylan smirks a little. "We could take this to a more neutral location if all parties are willing."

Caesar actually looks a little surprised before falling back into an almost emotionless mask. "I would have no objections to this." He glances at the others.

Dylan types something into the datapad and shows it to Bertinelli and Aden. The message reads: Please agree. There are eyes and ears everywhere here.

"If you have no objections, Caesar, then perhaps Rome, if you are wiling to make the trip? The royal family of Italy will gladly host these talks."

"Yes, that sounds like an excellent place to hold these talks."

Caesar seems a little suspicious of the written message, but nods. "That would be agreeable, though tell me, are there any computer systems there connected to ones here?"

Dylan just shakes his head slightly at something and shows Caesar what he'd typed out. It seems to satisfy the suspicion. "We do have a transport. The trip would take only as long as walking to it and finding the exact location where we would need to go."

Michael just looks at Dylan. Dylan turns his head to look back.

"Oh, and getting clearance." Dylan adds. "It can be a bit disconcerting to have a ship show up out of nowhere the first time."

Michael just nods.

Caesar looks between Dylan and Michael. "I could swear that the two of you just had a silent conversation."

Dylan nods. "We did." He doesn't go into it. Nor does Caesar ask for further details.

"I don't believe so but it shouldn't take too long to set up." He pulls out a cellphone and begins typing. A short while later, he says, "We have clearance." He shows them the coordinates for the airport.

When they arrive, there will be another four Rocket Reds awaiting them, as well as Swiss Air Force Captain Nathaniel Adams, more commonly known to the public as Captain Atom. From there, they will make the trip to the Palazzo del Quirinale in one of the newest models of hover limousines.

(OOC: http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/77/491287-captain_atom_kevin_maguire02_super.jpg)

Once they're on the transport and Dylan makes a comment about the transport being secure, Caesar explains something that he'd just said. "I don't want a computer link. Eden seems to be able to tap into any computer that's connected to Raven Rock. It's how he knows things. I don't want him to know anything about this until it's over."

Dylan barely nods. "You see, this is why I got sent. Emperor Darson doesn't trust Eden. We both figured that Michael and I would be able to force a settlement. Doesn't look like we're going to have to force anything." He smirks.

Michael had taken the controls and within a few minutes, the landscape changed from the wastelands to the Italian airport.

Caesar did bring along two of his guards.

Now this would likely be fairly unusual. Three guys in Rome, dressed as ancient Romans, almost perfect replicas of ancient Romans.

As they walk to the transport, Bertinelli speaks, "Ah, yes, then I would object, too. Alton Janus would have my head if I allowed for such a security breach." After a brief pause, he explains, "My chief of intelligence."

Adams, hovering over the limo, escorts them to the palace, located on the tallest of Rome's seven hills. There, they are greeted with by a slightly snarky butler who points Caesar and his guards to the bathhouse. Reacting quickly, Bertinelli suggests that they do the talks there, ordering the butler to bring in some food and wine.

(OOC: If there isn't a bathhouse in the palace IRL, it'll have been a recent addition or something.)

Caesar just looks at the snarky butler with a raised brow. He's aware that Italian is common here, but he also knows Latin is a dead language. Not many know it. In any case, he doesn't really care if the butler knows it or not. He just smiles and speaks softly. "Utinam barbari spatium proprium tuum invadant." It's an old curse in Latin.

Dylan can't help it. He just laughs. Even Michael seems amused. They probably both agree with Caesar.

Once they're in the bathhouse and settled, Caesar speaks again, though this time in English. "To make a long story short, the Legion will rebel against the Enclave soon. That's why I wanted to negotiate this. Anyone completely loyal to the Enclave would have fought hard to allow New Vegas next to nothing. I, on the other hand, want them to get much more than they'd likely think to ask for."

Dylan smiles faintly. "In other words, now that the wicked bitch is dead, you have no reason to remain with the Enclave."

Caesar nods. "Precisely."

(OOC: Translation: May barbarians invade your personal space.)

"Fair enough. So, what else will you concede to New Vegas?"

The butler replies with the German equivalent of, "Up yours, too."

"The loss of a pair of power ring wielders will do that."