To Talk; Negotiations (Nova)

[Auric]

Compromise
I want things this way; you want things that way. Let's compromise and none of us be happy.

Negotiations. It's not a term I'm all too keen with... I've usually got a minimum rate -- my clients make me that minimum offer and I choose whether or not to take them up on it. I say no, they up the price or go on their merry way. Someone with my professional status has standards... some would see it as pride but for me it's just the status quo. Or bottom line -- or whatever term you want to call it... as long as you don't call it pride. The difference in how I choose to do things apart from other mercenaries is having others what I'm wanting to do, what I'm capable of and for how much I'd do it. When you're in my position you can't really afford to compromise any of your set integrities. Not that I've really had to... people know of my worth and with that came a great sense of respect.

Still, you should know that it's my services that are for hire; not my morality. That's the key divider between me and my competition... it's why I prefer being called a "Hero for Hire".

---

He wasn't above assassination. Or dirty work. Or stealing, sabotage... you name it. The question always was, who was he doing it for? In his time on Cocoon he'd always kept things rather simple. Defeating dangerous marks or thinning out large monster incursions or training some Guardian Corps hopefuls... all of those were his usual gigs... that, and working for some corporations for harmless white collar stuff but never did he work for the Sanctum doing dirty jobs. He wasn't the kind of guy who was keen on letting the wrong types of people having something over others without some other form of incentive. Still, it depends on who asks... what for, and who his client was.

In this case, the call he'd received was someone representing a very high up Sanctum official. Mind you he'd only received word recently that Cid had returned to Cocoon to assume his role as Primarch so Auric naturally knew that Raines would fundamentally be at the very head of whatever form of government they'd taken on. So after pressing for more information and threatening to hang up the phone, he eventually got what information he needed to know. Cid Raines personally wanted him to work with his government, no doubt doing what he always did best and help out in matters concerning the "defense forces". The person on the phone was rather insistent that Auric take the job once he'd found out... too bad dropping a name wasn't enough to make him say yes.

Oh no. If he was going to go back to Cocoon and contribute to whatever they had going on there they'd have to sweeten the deal first. So after five minutes making it clear that whatever price the caller was offering was nowhere near enough and finally hearing that Auric's list of requests didn't stop at a certain number of gil, they finally got to the level where someone would be flown in to discuss those concerns with Auric. Someone who would be briefed and cleared to authorize whatever accommodations the hero for hire might have had in mind.

At least, that's what he could tell. He knew for a fact that they really wanted him to sign on. To what extent he could have a guess... he'd been on very good terms with Cid in their encounter at Rabanastre, and the man himself had seen how capable Auric was in defusing even the most volatile of situations and dragging out a peaceful outcome. Still, they'd be sending someone to "negotiate the terms of agreement"... which was no doubt a formality. He knew for sure that whoever they were going to send would be ready to give him absolutely anything he wanted to bring him in to even the slightest degree of aid. He could tell from the tone of the caller that he was wording it carefully so as to hope that Auric himself wouldn't know that.

Too bad.

So now, here we was... at Balamb Garden. He'd stayed here and given good instructions as to how the person he was to meet was going to find him. One "Ouranus Nova" would be the one to speak on the Sanctum's behalf... this person would be the one to "negotiate" with Auric and present his list of requests to the Primarch when they got back. He was in a class room, dressed in his SeeD uniform, speaking as an Instructor to advanced students looking for extra credits. But the majority of this class was made up of current SeeD -- some were veterans and others were new but their skill was obvious. He was here to help them all in understanding more about setting the terms of a contract including how best to bring out the most pay one could get from a client. When to take it or when to walk away and yet make the client want to hire you even more.

He paced across the room, pointing out to students who had questions and answering what questions they may have had; he'd really taken to the spirit of being an instructor when he eventually leaned back against the instructor's desk. That was until they'd received a knock on the door. "Come in!" he called out, taking a guess as to who it was.

Rarely was he ever wrong.

[Ouranus Nova]

"Okay Nova...you can do this..."

Officially she was still in training under Rosch. This was relatively new to her, and at the very least she did look somewhat more professional. Adorning a PSICOM uniform, she felt like she was more with the ranks of the PSICOM now than what she had normally felt when she was travelling around. She felt a sense of being a part of something more. Though she did miss Alexandria, she still felt a stronger connection now to her new home. Hopefully she could be able to see Alexandria again once more once the monsters were no longer there.

But for now she had a mission to complete and at the moment she couldn't help but feel anxious. This was the first kind of diplomatic mission that she ever was given. For Ouranus, this was more uncharted waters than anything. She was always taught how to use a weapon and be ready to charge into battle. However, having to deal with an actual person in the ways of diplomacy was giving her butterflies in her stomach. She wasn't sure what kind of person this one was. Though she knew there was a type of decorum and protocol. But she wasn't given much in the ways of understanding about who this person was. Hopefully this one will not immediately pull a weapon out on her person. Her footsteps lightly hit the ground, looking around at the rather strange structure that the meeting was being held. The curiousity of the building had brought little ease to the silver haired PSICOM in training, but still she was very anxious.

Stepping in front of the door, she knocked on the door. However, only to jerk back instinctively from a man saying to come in. She seemed to be in her own little world as she took a deep breath and exhaled. After steeling herself, she opened the door (albeit with some difficulty coupled with a few silent curses) before it finally gave way and let her in. "Good day sir," she said while giving him a respectful salute. A salute seemed to be a logical thing to do, she didn't know what rank he was so it was best to err on the side of caution.

[Auric]

Negotiation was all about power. Each party goes to the table with something the other wants -- the power goes to the one who recognizes the worth of what it is they're willing to trade. It comes down to what you're willing to give to get what you want. It didn't matter what you were selling -- a product, a service... but your negotiation skills come into play when you could get the most out of what the other person has to offer. When you've got a good relationship and you can expect much more varied business you can drop your rates or offer discounts because you've built an understanding that you need one another to thrive. A buyer knows the supplier can deliver and the supplier knows that their stock will be bought.

But with services came varied complications. What you trade for isn't some object you can buy then treat with as you will -- you were hiring someone out because of what they could do for you. In Auric's case, his clients came to him specifically with their problems and fully confident he was the first choice to take care of it. And if he wasn't the first choice then he was the only choice. Cid Raines was at the top of the chain of command... if Auric was one of the people who was considered for the same position then by logic they were essentially hiring out another person of same worth. It wasn't that Cid had been a better candidate but Auric had resigned -- which made their decision that much easier.

That was his worth -- worse, Auric knew it.

All the SeeD and the students got to their feet and awaited Auric to address them. "Ah, Miss Nova." he spoke, more in confirmation that she indeed was the one he'd been waiting for. Getting off the table and standing straight he maintained a more disciplined disposition before turning to the students and SeeD. "Everyone, we have a guest." he hinted, knowing he didn't have to bother telling them... oh, they knew what to do. Balamb Garden trained their people better than the incompetent folk over on Cocoon. But all the SeeD and students alike present in the room returned the salute, their own version distinctly different from the one the young female had offered Auric. He knew she was simply showing him respect... her PSICOM uniform bore no markings on it though so he could immediately tell she didn't hold a rank. Either a cadet or someone's assistant, not that he'd of treated her otherwise.

Still, he had changed things up by putting the focus on her as well. After all, most people who come to a negotiation expect a certain etiquette. You didn't have to follow those preconceptions, however and this example was a very good one he could show his class. No doubt Nova must have expected it all to occur in a quiet room or somewhere with a little more privacy. Doing it in public would have been fine but Auric was taking it a step further... a little theatricality on his part; and yet oddly so subtle. Oddly at the start of the lesson he'd been talking about conventions and how to know when it was a good idea to break them to empower your side. "Thank you for coming, Miss Nova." he greeted her and hoping she had the decency to step forth and shake his hand. "Please," he insisted, gesturing to the seat at the opposite end of a square table sitting at the front of the room. "take a seat. I hope you don't mind my multi-tasking." he smiled as he drew upon an electronic pad.

He turned to his class, still standing with shorter members trying to get a better view by getting up on their toes and peering over other students' shoulders. "Class, please be seated. Today all of you will have the privilege of observing a negotiation first hand." he lectured, instructing them on what it was that he wanted them to do. "You may take notes, but I remind you that Article 17 stanza 3 of 'Contractual Obligations' applies in this case and that whatever specifics you hear regarding both terms, conditions and parties involved does not leave this room. I ask that if you have any questions you leave them to the end and please refrain from interrupting." he finished before turning towards the no doubt waiting woman.

"I'm sorry, Miss Nova. I'm Auric Silas as you're no doubt aware. Just for the record could I ask that you recap what your understanding of this meeting is?"

[Ouranus Nova]

"Wait a minute...everyone? Guest?"

As Ouranus stepped through the door, she looked around at the various faces in the crowd. Already she was starting to feel a little bit concerned. She thought this was going to be an one on one meeting. That was something she would have expected. However, dealing with an audience, let alone students, was something that in her mind had thrown her for a loop. However, she didn't show any sign on her face except for being relatively surprised about there being other people in this building. From the look of things, she thought it was some kind of combat center. But by the way that he was acting, she was actually in a school. Her golden eyes look around, studying the structure in general as she slowly made her way to the hero for hire.

Smiling respectively, she took her seat in front of the man. However, not before she bowed respectively to him. "Good day to you Auric." She then put the file on the table as she spoke to him. "I know you do have experience with the Guardian Corps. And in fact you have been considered as a mercenary. I have been brought here by my superior Lieutenant colonel Rosch to arrange a fair proposition." She looked around at the sea of faces, studying everything around her carefully before speaking. "I noticed that a lot of these students have different types of clothing than I have seen yet in my travels. More than likely they are from another world. Well, in any case even if we are all from different worlds, I sincerely wish that there is a chance we can make a deal that can make all parties happy."

She had a genuine smile on her face. She never was one to lie to other people because her mother always told her to be careful with people who hide behind masks. From what she can see, he doesn't seem to be hiding anything from her. "I know you probably might not have love for Cocoon, but even so until something is understood about what happened we cannot afford to be separated. We have to work together to find out the cause of this." She then softly tapped her finger on the table when she made her decision to make the first move. "And before you ask, I am not from Cocoon. In fact, I am from the kingdom of Alexandria." She had hoped that this would show that even someone that wasn't even from Auric's own world could do what is necessary to ensure the safety of the world.

[Auric]

Auric. PSICOM. You could never put the two words in the same sentence without it holding some level of disdain -- he never would have accepted working with them. Cid Raines himself even had his men open fire on PSICOM troops, all just to save the lives of civilians. Civilians. The very same people who were ousted and killed in the name of the greater good. To anyone who would have cared, PSICOM stood for Public Safety and Intelligence Command; but to the people who had survived the Purge? That name was rubbish. In Auric's own mind he had the perfect title for their little acronym.

Psychotic Sanctum Initiative for Cumulative Oppressive Massacres.

But things were supposed to be different right now -- and in the end most things were. But when he'd been in Cocoon at the start of this catastrophe, he could believe his own level of disgust at how little Yaag Rosch's posture had changed -- that crap about public safety was just the sugar on top of the behemoth-sized chocobo dung. But you know, Auric saw more ways that this could have been interpreted -- all of which could have easily been used to leverage his side of this negotiation. But from what he could tell of the woman's nature, she wasn't a skilled negotiator -- her face may have hidden her surprise to the change of scenario very well but a person's physical features weren't the greatest indicators of emotion -- the brief second of where she had been at the door to the point at which she entered the room held more information about her behavior.

And normally it would take someone incredibly sharp to see the difference. But Auric? He was worse -- he was intuitive, not that the Sanctum would ever come to know. He had come to this school and learned their alphabet within the span of two minutes, watched the way they walked and how they saluted with quick observations as to the architecture, technology and their use of magic and immediately comprehended their entire culture. As if that weren't enough, she spoke more than she needed to and by doing so had inadvertently displayed more about herself when she'd tried to clear up signs of negativity or hostility that in all honesty wasn't even there. After all, the fact that they were even having this conversation or the very gesture of him having picked up when the Sanctum had made a call was proof enough that he was willing to work with them. Like he had quite a few times in the past.

I could probably thank her though, she sure saved me the trouble of probing for emotional stimuli. he mused, taking a seat himself as he his fingers moved lightly over the electronic pad, accessing his notes. "That's not something that would matter to me, Miss Nova." he smiled before looking up, a slightly smile as he indicated his sincerity. "I'm no racist, unlike certain organizations." he continued, putting his point forth that her distracting from his question really held little merit. In fact, it was just more information he could have just turned around and played. Still, he wasn't sure if she may have picked up on what he'd really just said -- even though she was an Alexandrian it didn't matter; what with the way the people of Cocoon acted towards the mere mention of Pulse.

But that was beside the point. And her understanding of him quitting the Guardian Corps had very little to do with what he thought of the Sanctum or even PSICOM at all. For arguments sake, he could have just as easily played to the idea that he was just in it for the gil; and Sanctum records probably would have back him up on that. After all, the greatest testimony for an organization you might be working with is... well, the organization you might be working with. "Charmed." he commented, catching glimpse of someone shaking their head as to the young woman's attempts at taking some high ground of working together for the good of all. Auric wasn't one to buy it -- and though this fact may not have been as obvious on his face, his class knew. After all, he'd already told them to keep in mind that when they were being hired that the cause they fought for wasn't their own. No doubt global affairs may have involved them; but the administration of Garden didn't sign on with any of the no doubt numerous factions of driven ideals. This was for a reason.

"I've been to Alexandria, Miss Nova." he stated casually then went on to say the next thing with the same tone. "Every guard I met... well, to be to the point, tried to kill me." he shared this fact with her, a raised brow as some students covered their mouthes trying to suppress the urge to laugh at their guest... perhaps, she'd not done her homework? They were informed of the situation as it was over there -- but she had good intentions; a simple pity that it took more than mentioning facts to change someone's allegedly sour disposition. But he smiled softly to the woman -- he didn't hold her responsible for any troubles nor was he out to embarrass her but he'd simply brought it about to cause an awkward moment then swiftly defuse it so as to endear the other person to him.

"Ah, one last thing we need to straighten out before speaking about prices and services -- you say you were brought here by your superior, Lieutenant Colonel Rosch? Forgive me for reiterating one of the non-negotiable terms I'd set with the representative on the phone, but could you verify that the only one other than yourself to hear of what we discuss will be the man whom these terms are intended for?" he put forth, his fingers curling as the electronic pad under his fingers temporarily powered down, for if she so much as spoke a word of their discussion to anyone other than Cid Raines, all of this would have been a moot point -- he'd said it ambiguously so as to see whether she knew what he meant. Clients weren't the only ones who valued privacy.

But more than that, this was about professionalism.

[Ouranus Nova]

She really didn't say it, but she was thinking of something similar when it came to the meanings of race. She had thought of the black mages of Alexandria: a race of beings forged from within the mist. They had been considered more like weapons than living people, to be used like any sword and pointed at a place to be devastated. She knew her father was considerably against their treatment. If anything, he was more vocal about it than her mother. Everything had a right to exist, including the new life the people of Alexandria had brought forth into the world. To him they were not monsters, they were people just like Ouranus.

When he referred about the guards trying to kill him, she simply looked at the table as she spoke. "It isn't the guards that are the problem. It's when the people change." She saw first hand what happened to the people of Alexandria when they were altered by the Mist. She saw how dangerous they got. How they almost were filled with an unnatural bloodlust to destroy any person that would be in their striking distance. These were the people Ouranus had seen, the ones she fought off to prevent them from harming her brothers and sisters, the ones that who's blood stained the family's blade. She looked at her family's sword for a moment, deep in thought for a moment as she listened to the various people that had now was bearing witness to their meeting. At the time she didn't even seem to notice anyone around her, only the one in front of her was the only voice she could hear clearly.

Eventually she snapped out of it as she looked at the man again. He wanted to know that the only one privy to their conversation would be Cid Raines. Nodding her head, she then spoke once again. "Yes, I was ordered to deliver the results of this meeting directly to Cid Raines in person," she said while maintaining her calm expression. Though Rosch was her superior, she knew her orders: the arrangement must be delivered to Cid and must remain in her hands until it was delivered.

[Auric]

Auric was telling the truth -- he really wasn't a racist. He could see the differences between each race but never held it against them. Sure, Cocoon lacked that same innate toughness that Pulsians would have grown up with but in the end it's what you had to expect of an insular society. But that was the inevitable truth of his own world -- Pulsians, other than Aurelis, were practically extinct and yet i the mean while the people of Cocoon still feared them. In their one thousand years of peaceful life the slightest hint of Pulse would have sent them into a panic -- it was both irrational, tiring and stupid. It was difficult to really feel any pity in that case... and what was worse was that the same person who'd ordered the Purge was still doing it after things had gotten all weird.

Hell, it may not have been the reason why he left but it was the reason why he was glad to leave. But when she stared at the table at his mention of every guard wanting to kill him, he knew instantly that the issue was a taboo for her... naturally he knew of what had gone down there at the start of the Calamity; on top of the rumours, the situation had been explained to him. And he always imagined what it would have been like had Cocoon experienced the same thing -- the kind of world it was, he knew for a fact that PSICOM would have just moved in and massacred its entire populace. It must have been why Miss Nova had joined up with them --- he could bet she must have to do her best to contribute and learn about another faction.

Or she could have just wanted to leave her living nightmare, he didn't know.

Still, they needed to get business underway, and he wasn't going to comment further on her homeland... although he got the feeling she was just covering up the actions of the guard; not that it was necessary. She verified for him that her orders were to take it straight to the Primarch... he'd tried dodge the use of the name Cid Raines as it was technically to be taken to whoever held office. It was the real deal breaker -- had she mentioned anything otherwise their conversation would have been over and he'd of sent her on her way to get the orders and authorization before even considering having another discussion. "That's good to hear. Let's start with what I'll need to do the job. I understand that Cid wants me to command a unit of the Sanctum's best complete with support staff. Unless there was anything else to add, my first request is that the military branch I will operate under is the Guardian Corps and my unit be given autonomy."

[Ouranus Nova]

"..."

Ouranus didn't really say much, but she had been thinking about the arrangements that he had been making. He wanted to be a part of the Guardian corps again. It was logical enough, especially since he had his start with. If you are going to be working in something, then it was logical to be somewhere you are familiar in. But as he asked for autonomy, this is what had given her some concern. It wasn't about the history of the Pulse and Cocoon that she was going with, it was simple logic to her. Her mind went back to her father as they stared up in the stars. He told her about how in some cases those with power could always use it for the ways of good. However, if it is unchecked there is a strong chance of corruption. Even the greatest saints with the best intentions could fall and become even worse than a true villian. That was what she had been concerned with. Though she wasn't sure what kind of person he was, she cannot risk the possibility of innocent people regardless of who they were or where they came from getting hurt.

Tapping her finger on the table again, she looked up at him again as she spoke. The nervousness now was gone from her eyes. She had been thinking like her father: using her words instead of her blade. "The first part for the Guardian Corps is acceptable. However, autonomy is out of the question. I do not know where you do come from, but I have to think about the well being of those under the command of the Corps." She remembered how Rosch told her how even though the PSICOM are more worldly, the Guardian Corps keep the well being of the city in general. "In this day and age, I think that we shouldn't be cut off from each other. If such a group exists, there should be a liason for your team and the Primearch. You can choose the liason if you wish, but we should have the lines of communication open."

[Auric]

There was always a good reason why Auric did things. His judgement could never be put into question -- if it were, then his status as an elite mercenary would have been non-existent. Being the kind of guy people come to for combat solutions you don't outline a plan then pay a guy like Auric a ridiculous amount to get it done. If that was the case then they could have found their own most talented soldier and that would have been enough. When you hire Auric you weren't paying for the services of a soldier-for-hire, you were renting that person; his skills, his experience, his judgement and sometimes his weaponry as well. They all come in the same pack -- you choose not to pick the package then you may as well start looking for somebody else because in all honesty you're not making full use of your money.

And considering how much his starting price with the Sanctum military was going to be, you really couldn't drive his prices up by placing restrictions... negotiating aggressively, if done well, might bring you a short hand advantage but each point you place in your favor worked against you down the track. Such was the current case... the difference being that Auric had spent too much time doing "negotiation" that he knew how to swing things his way. "I come from Cocoon, Miss Nova. I am not altogether aware as to your experience but given the amount of possibilities, you haven't spent long observing our form of warfare." he pointed, no doubt putting her on the spot as instead of speaking generally like most people would, he brought her judgement into question.

He had been speaking about these things when lecturing the other SeeD in the room. Some were taking notes as to how it progressed, others tried first to comprehend how Auric was playing his cards. You needed to understand the position you were in -- you couldn't argue from a stance that no longer applied to you otherwise you'd introduce a new dynamic to the table. The calamity was still a fresh event -- her own joining up with them, then, couldn't have happened any sooner then that given how she'd come from a different world entirely. And he knew for a fact that being from Alexandria, they'd have fought battles much differently to how they would have on Cocoon; where as in Alexandria you were threatened by the reach of someone's blade, on Cocoon you were threatened by whether or not your enemy could see you. Firearms and heavy armaments tended to have that effect on the battlefield.

And consider, it may have come off as an off-handed message but Auric didn't mention his time in Alexandria as a joke -- nor did he do it on a whim. What he had so cleverly done was putting forth the idea that his presence here after having been confronted by the Alexandrian military was indicative of their own impotence. How their standard of military doctrine was very limited. Any military man on Cocoon would have known for a fact that there was always a military aspect that went over your head -- PSICOM always operated in secrecy, conversely the Guardian Corp's Wide Area Response Brigade had full autonomy as to its own movements. Auric's time as a shock trooper was quite the same -- their real only restriction was that wherever the Cavalry was stationed, they'd be elsewhere.

"Independence shouldn't be confused with interdependence, Miss Nova. I am making these requests to better do what is required of me. Limiting me in that regard wouldn't work in the Sanctum's benefit. I will report directly to the man in charge; no one else. A liaison with other military branches might part of the support staff but my unit's size will be small so as to fulfill our purpose; we will be proactive rather than reactive." he explained, describing how, once he'd been given command of his team, they'd be performing pre-emptive operations. After all, why wait for a problem to be on your door step before striking? He supposed that was a large difference as to how they did things... in Alexandria, he understood how outside of open warfare their military was stationed in garrisons and posts. It wasn't an altogether bad defensive posture but for large masses of land it wasn't a feasible idea. Alexandria? Well, it was a city-state.

"If the technical details are difficult to comprehend, then Cid may have my unit as a special team within his own division of the Guardian Corps." he suggested... which, may have sounded like a compromise and was exactly what Nova had wanted but in reality was precisely what Auric was aiming for. Functionally, it was the same thing. He didn't know if this was the case, but from his read on her he doubted she knew of the differences within the divisions. The Guardian Corp's average soldier was far more competent than PSICOM's... as was their elite. In terms of military might the Guardian Corp's Homeguard was on par in terms of military hardware but to top it off the Homeguard was also host to the best of the best...and in terms of military size, a Brigadier General rank hinted that the Wide Area Response Brigade was much larger in comparison to PSICOM; Yaag Rosch's rank being that of Lieutenant-Colonel.

"If that is agreeable... then my second request is that my unit receive the best hardware available with a large surplus of spares. We're a strike team, so we won't be needing any heavy armor or large airships and we'll be operating with very little support... but it's important that what we're well equipped to handle our missions."

[Ouranus Nova]

"You're right, my time in Cocoon is limited, but it is not about the warfare I am concerned with. It's about the possibility of corruption."

Her gaze remained steady as she looked at the man. She was not a resident of Cocoon, that much is certain. However, the requests that she had been hearing of him were giving off multiple signs of alarm. But even if the style of combat was different, the fact was this: whether one person or a small group controls a considerable amount of power, there is going to be problems. Someone is going to do something crazy, something that should never be done. She didn't know if it was going to be Auric or not, but even if it wasn't him, she would never take that risk. She wanted to have every assurance that no innocent blood was shed.

As she looked at the table again, she then spoke again. "I know you believe that I am more along the lines of being backwater, but there is something you should be aware of," she said as her golden gaze never broke from his eyes. "I have seen the final result of corruption from our previous queen." She then took what seemed to be a pen and held it in the air. "Imagine if you will a knight riding a horse and that knight was streaking through the air. Now imagine that knight hurling a spear into a great fortress, and obliterating it from the face of the planet." As she said that, the pen went down with a crash as she then looked at the table. "The next thing I want you to consider is a great worm with a massive maw and a hunger to match consuming everything in its wake. And last, I want you to consider a dragon. And not just any dragon, a dragon with such a destructive force that ravaged my kingdom."

After finishing, she simply took a deep breath and exhaled. "So you see, it's not about who is more advanced. It's about being accountable to someone so there is little chance for corruption. So yes, you could be a part of Cid's squad, but still there must be open lines of communication. I stress this because it is not about you that I am thinking about. I am thinking about the innocent people that you will be watching over. I may not know much about Cocoon, but I do know that the Guardian Corp are responsible for the well being of the people of the city. I need more than promises that no innocent people get caught in the crossfire and become collateral damage. However, in the ways of technology, you will have to talk about that with Cid since you share that knowledge with him." Though corruption is universal, it was technology that was her achilles' heel. She was learning about it granted, but to give such a request would be dangerous. She wouldn't know what she would be agreeing to, so she had to have someone who had the knowledge give the word because for all she knew she could authorize technology that would be as equally devastating to the likes of the dragon Bahamut.

[Auric]

Sob story, sob story, sob story. Most people had the good decency to keep quiet with their ineptitudes... where most people would feel bad for what Ouranus Nova had just revealed, Auric could only smell guilt and fear. And from the air in the room he could tell the many SeeD and advanced students must have felt a great deal of disgust -- he doubted Nova would know why... but Auric did. Having been here for a little while now he'd studied up on their history -- the history of this realm. How many years ago an entire continent was wiped clean of all life.... and how ever since, sorceresses had come into power and waged countless wars with many orphans left in their wake. Garden was a place where war orphans came to find home... and while not everyone in the room had the same history, he knew for a fact that most had become SeeDs to take up the duty of knocking off sorceresses who'd gone off the rails. In the mean while they took jobs as mercenaries for training when that time would come again.

Nova had no idea how much of a crybaby she sounded. Poorly thinking that the difference in technology was the sole divider -- no, that wasn't the case. Esthar, a technologically advanced continent was ravaged by the Lunar Cry -- an eye in the sky that descended upon them to drop all the most aggressive monsters from the moon into a heavily populated area. A hidden city whose numbers were in the hundred millions. And Auric? What had he seen? He'd seen an entire town busy from a festival season purged and with a word massacred all because of the orders of a single man. The man who was her superior -- Yaag Rosch. Did she know? Of course not. It was as doubtful as was her intelligence... but an emotionally driven individual wasn't prone to reason.

Or empathy. "Miss Nova -- save your sob story for someone who cares." he remarked, shrugging it all off with a single thought. He'd instructed his students not to get caught up taking sides... how being a mercenary that did jobs to support an underlying nobler goal required a level of impartiality. His hand covered the audio receiver of his electronic tablet, he'd been recording this conversation -- did so out of habit and encouraged his pupils to do the same... it had happened before when his employers tried to screw him over so they didn't need to pay him. Keeping a record makes sure the dealing's on the record and official so that he had leverage to use against more dishonest types.

"Before you speak out again, might I remind you of your professional duties." he stated, his hand still covering the tablet as the recorder paused in its function. He nodded down to his hand to make sure she understood. When he looked to her and appraised her once more to check for cues of understanding, he lifted his hand, the timer for the recorder resumed as did its function and his students studied the many things Auric was doing to proceed with negotiations. After all, spend too much time deviating away from the deal and all you get is a sour disposition and a lot of wasted time. "Miss Nova, your roll here is as a negotiator. I'm not particularly picky as to whom the Sanctum sends but they sent you. In most circumstances such an action would be considered an insult."


He leaned back into his seat, analyzing how blatantly transparent the woman opposite him was. She really wasn't much of a negotiator... an Alexandrian woman working for PSICOM told him she was both a fool but perhaps a good intentioned warrior. It was only natural she was poor in getting things into her way... like some brigand who made excuses as to why they couldn't allow things she'd given him a sob story when he'd requested autonomy and made up some bullshit when it came to light weaponry. Which begged the question -- just what the hell was she here for, any way? Auric knew the answer to that. They'd sent someone like her in the hopes that she was smart enough to smile and nod rather than stutter or offer more than Auric would have no doubt asked... being the kind of hero he was on Cocoon most soldiers would have thrown whatever they could in his favor.

That might have driven the entire Sanctum bankrupt.

"To reiterate, the role I will perform is as Commander for the Guardian Corps as an off-shoot of the Cavalry, designation GC-WARB. I will lead a team of an elite strike force composed of men and women personally selected by myself from all other branches of Sanctum military with full autonomy answering only to the current Primarch, Cid Raines. We will be equipped with the best light weaponry and armor the Sanctum can provide in abundant surplus." he continued, shaking his head at Nova's foolishness. Auric was considering just sending her home with a long list of terms he could easily dictate if she wasn't willing to negotiate... if she so much as brought up her sob story Auric got the feeling that Cid Raines would cringe. But he wasn't so cruel -- and he knew for sure that if Cid didn't give her a verbal nightmare then Yaag Rosch would have done something about her failure. Auric didn't know the man on a personal level but he knew enough that the guy was at least very efficient and on-the-job.

"Was there anything else regarding my role you wished to discuss, Miss Nova?" he asked, knowing he was putting her on the spot. Failure was not acceptable... she had best wise up soon or the fool notions in her head of this "chance of corruption" nonsense would mean that this would all be a waste of time. And she would go home... and Cid would send someone else to negotiate only for their side of the table to be further disadvantaged.

[Ouranus Nova]

"It's kind of funny..."

Ouranus seemed to have a calm expression on her face as she was pretty much ripped apart by the mercenary as she tapped as she then looked around at the various faces of the mercenaries. "Though being prepared is one thing, you know that I cannot make such a promise for technology. I know my limits sir and I know that technology is better left to your people's judgement." She then looked at the table again, seemingly in deep thought as she then spoke softly. "As to my place, in any place there are two different paths: what is wanted of us and what is needed. The want here is to ensure this meeting is a success. However, the need is to make sure people are not harmed."

She then looked around at the faces of the people in the room as she spoke again. "What you call a sob story, I see as a possibility of things to come. The mist that took my kingdom could easily fall on Cocoon." She then simply shrugged as she then looked to the people around her. "And the Mist in general cannot be stopped. I wouldn't even really be surprised that it is still being generated right now. We could even be sitting right on top of a vein of Mist and if it goes off we could be seeing a bloodbath very soon because it doesn't just change people it also attracts monsters at a much greater rate. But that is beside the point, the need here is to be sure that your team doesn't go insane and start butchering people. So I think the team will be decided on not just on ability of combat, but also stability of the mind. They must be able to take the pressure." She then looked around again as she then spoke. "I have learned things about this new world during my understanding about what is going on. There are things that your team would need to get ready for because if those influences are apparent too and you're not ready for them, then would you be willing to send these people to an early grave?"

She seemed to continue to speak with a tone that held a calm but seriousness as she focused on him. "I understand you will be the leader of your group, so if anything that befalls them will be on no one but you. So it is only logical to have an open mind about everything around you. This kind of leads me to an interesting thought: among these students here, who would you trust with your life?"

[Cid Raines]

(when all is said and done, i will be free, and when i'm gone, you can't depend on me. in time you'll see you stand alone into our own.)
__________________________________________________x

“despite not being asked, i would trust a medic with my life. a warrior may decide that you’re better off dead, a healer may decide to help you live.”

a smooth voice came from the doorway, a tall man dressed in his usual garb of white and black standing in front of the door. he had entered mostly unnoticed, without invitation from the instructor in this room, more from another authority once positions had been realised. students turned their heads to look at the dark haired man as he started speaking, a smile playing on the man’s lips as he fixed his pale gaze on the two people at the front of the room – ouranus and auric.

auric would perhaps recognise a change in his appearance – the cut on his left cheek ending just at his jaw bone. ouranus, however, wouldn’t. she had never met the primarch of cocoon in person, and perhaps hadn’t seen any images of the leader of cocoon, the head of the sanctum. he stayed where he stood, eyes fixing on the new soldier of PSICOM. yaag rosch had recruited her personally, apparently, and despite being a rookie she had been sent to negotiate with auric silas – a man who would definitely make sure he got what he want, it seemed.

“should you wonder who i am, primarch cid raines,” he said, more for the students than anything. “i thought it would be best for me to discuss terms with instructor auric,” cid raines spoke the rank auric held carefully, making sure he didn’t get it wrong, “miss nova, i wish of you to stay.”

cid narrowed his eyes slightly. he hadn’t slept much during the night. two hours, roughly. the rest of his sleep had been plagued by darkened thoughts, stress, and nightmares. he was tired, but awake too, due to the caffeine he had been drinking only earlier that day. he already felt more awake, however, why did he get the feeling that he would start laughing like a retard soon enough or start having a mental breakdown?

(auric gave me permission to invade enter the thread.)

[Auric]

"No, miss Nova. Your inexperience is very apparent." Auric said tiredly. Throughout her babble he had really begun to want a drink. Just a sip of water to wet his throat -- speaking with her was evidently a waste of his time. She was clearly lacking as far as intellect was concerned -- her experiences were what passed as mediocrity in the grand scale of things. Auric had been around. He'd traveled, done jobs here and there and any moron who knew what a mercenary had to do would understand that they were among the people who always experienced the uglier side of things. "I tried to remind you once already of your professional obligations. You refused to heed my advice and instead try to lecture me using your sob story for reference." Auric continued on, shaking his head.

He was very curious as to why the Sanctum had sent her to come and waste his time. He had half a mind to just blow her off and send her home to explain how her angst issues and lack of maturity had led to her own failure.... it would have been fun, actually, to see how those events would unfold. "Many things are possible, miss Nova. I could have destroyed what was left of your people. I could of caged them and turned Alexandria into a giant circus and it's possible I might do so tomorrow just out of spite." he scoffed, having dropped all tone of formality -- he wasn't even taking this seriously anymore. Why should he? The woman thought she knew something about the world when it was obvious she didn't... her sob story was well-known but the fact that no one was appalled should have told her that no one actually cared. Why? Because things were rough all over... bitching about any single incident showed that you were lacking in the very stuff people needed you to have.

And then came some dribble about how the mist couldn't be stopped. Hah. As if she'd tried hard everything -- he could only imagine how archaic her methods at halting the fog-like shroud would have been... the hilarious image of a white-haired woman swinging hair sword at the air trying to cut it to her gathering her friends and collectively trying to inhale the stuff in hopes that it could be stemmed by quickly trying to breathe it in. Still, he knew from his words he wasn't being sensitive at all for Nova's feelings... truthfully, he was actually at a giant advantage because she really wasn't doing anything other than mouthing off -- her tone was irrelevant. He had always discussed with his class on the benefits of seeing through the bullshit -- so to speak.

He raised his hand to stop his class from standing as Cid stepped into the room. He'd tried to get his rank but got it wrong, though from the structure of his sentence it was correct given context. His rank was actually that of an A-rank SeeD... or Elite SeeD as most on campus would come to know them by... but the title of instructor was more indicative of his role. He had his instructor's license, after all... not all SeeD were qualified to help in bringing up the the others. "Well, this is awkward." he commented as he got on his feet briefly to acknowledge the Primarch's presence -- gesturing to the other side of the relatively small table, one of the students had quickly gone and gotten another seat.

"I was beginning to think the Sanctum wasn't serious in it its offer." Auric being so cunning and yet so subtle about it was almost sinful; a true guilt trip wasn't about spouting some historic blah blah, but rather playing against another person's predisposition of not wanting to offend or cause you inconvenience. "Or was this your idea of a joke? You've got an odd sense of humor Primarch Raines." he nodded in Nova's direction, hinting at how he wasn't really taking her very seriously before shaking his head. He turned and supported the man's introduction by verifying their thoughts to be true. "I'm sure you're all familiar with Primarch Raines' role as Commander-in-chief of Cocoon's armed forces and head of their political body."

He took his seat. It was already obvious that things weren't going well on Nova's end... she'd inadvertently piled leverage on Auric's side of the table and at the same time almost persuaded him to flatly say no. Truth be told, smiling and nodding would have played out better for them but now that Cid the man himself was here they weren't exactly in a position to blab excuses. Still, to avoid wasting time... they weren't about to start over. "Why don't you make an offer this time? I've made my requests and so far miss Nova here hasn't been in the least bit co-operative." Auric proposed as he leaned back in his chair, his body language broadcasting a lack of patience... while mentally he was far from tired for the sake of negotiation you had to make your position clear.

Their first offer had better been damn good. And hell, Nova apologizing would have been a fine start.

Well, actually, that would be more for entertainment but...

[Cid Raines]

(when all is said and done, i will be free, and when i'm gone, you can't depend on me. in time you'll see you stand alone into our own.)
__________________________________________________x

he nodded in quick thanks at the student who had moved seats so that cid was able to take a seat, and he sat down slowly, sitting straight with eyes directly fixed on auric. a smile and a look of apology were on his face when the hero for hire said that he had an odd sense of humour. he answered bluntly with, “i was half-unconscious when issuing colonel rosch with a request to send a soldier to negotiate with you.” and that was true. half knocked out from lack of sleep, half from lack of energy, he didn’t specify anything for the soldier to need. it was a mistake, so even the primarch of cocoon made them.

“i am willing to comply with your wishes. it was more of what i had in mind, too,” cid’s eyes closed slightly as he raised a hand to his face, finger resting on his lower lip as he reached back, trying to remember what auric had said – he knew because, well, there was an earpiece on ouranus. it was now standard for PSICOM soldiers as well as guardian corps soldiers. cid also held an earpiece on his right ear, hidden behind his black hair. “gaining soldiers for the guardian corps is my first priority, and autonomy will be given, though any missions i ask of you and your sub-division to do must be followed at all times. i am saying that i would prefer you to be the leader of a special group under the wide-area response brigade.”

equipment. how to explain this to the man. if he knew about the siege of eden – remembered as his suicide in cid’s mind – which was more than likely, he would remember that the military of cocoon was mostly destroyed, however during the primarch’s absence in life, rosch had taken control over cocoon while waiting like a loyal dog for his master’s return.

“your unit will be issued the best light equipment we can offer until supplies are not limited, then your requested spares will be given to you.” he look back towards auric with narrowed pale optics, willing him to understand about the sanctum’s military being sparse in supplies until the equipment developers had finished producing new technology for cocoon.

“and then there is the request that you do not put every elite man and woman there is in sanctum in your unit. other divisions need them,” cid paused lightly before giving a light tone to his voice. “and i hope you won’t be forcing soldiers into your sub-division.”