Renault and Lenix sat together letting the various sounds and sights of the conference wash over them but caring about little of it. The NCR had declared war on the Legion, what seemed like dozens of new delegates have shown up, and now Renault spotted a middle-aged woman carefully skirting a brawl that had broken out between the NCR's body double and someone he couldn't identify. He could also tell that he had upset one of the very strange diplomats, one of the cultists of Ug-Qualtoth. The man was clearly angry with him, though Renault wasn't sure why. Renault was also very interested in a woman only wearing tape covering her extremities looking like she had just walked out of a prewar model magazine.

   Both men were interested in the war declaration as it meant the Angels of War would be able to sell far more weaponry than they did in the arms race that was created by the Treaty of Goodsprings. Such a power vacuum did little to stabilize a region and their fat profit margins had shown that.
"Incoming, three o'clock." Renault whispered to the physically older, yet technically younger commander beside him.
A discreet look told Lenix everything he needed to know.
"Miss Angela Riviera, governor of New Austin. Ally."
Renault pulled a small brown flask out of the chest pocket of his trench coat and opened it, letting the scent of two hundred year old Russian vodka wash over him. This was far better than any alcohol that he'd ever had from after the war that killed the human race.0. He had kept this flask, a gift from his mother upon entering the USMC back before the war on his person most of his adult life. He took a sip and let a smile wash over his face. He would need his flask to get through this meeting but he knew he had to ration what little vodka he had left as he had drained nearly a third of it during the last war before the Treaty of Goodsprings allowed him to try to settle down. 

   "I'm governor Riviera of New Austin." The woman's skin was a soft light brown and her hair was straight but it hung strangely on one side, as if something was missing. Her posture was different than most of the people in here, instead of the high and mighty of the politicians that made up most of the people in the room she carried herself like a soldier.She held out her hand to shake, "Texas wants you to come talk business with the Keys. With the unstable situation in the west we're thinking it'd be best of we made sure our relationship was firm." 

   Both men stood and shook her hand, First Lenix, then Renault. The two men looked at each other and silently argued which one had to entertain the diplomats. While they were good allies, neither man was much for conversation. Both believed in the word of the sword more than the word of the pen. Lenix rolled his eyes after a moment and stood to follow Miss Riviera back to where he saw the other Texan delegates speaking to a Keys delegate. Lenix hoped his compatriot wouldn't find a way to get into trouble while he was gone as was generally the case. Last time he left the pre-war veteran alone he ended up blowing up a weapons warehouse while he was still inside. 

   Lenix took a deep breath as he stepped past the brawl on the floor, resisting the urge to pull the offenders apart and teach them both how to fight properly the hard way. The NCR's double was on top of some woman and hitting her in the face while a steel chopstick stuck out of his shoulder. Lenix turned away once he was no longer within punching distance and started towards the other delegates. 

   "Friends! What a nice day for a war don't you think?" He enthusiastically shook the hand of every delegate in the small cluster from Texas and the Keys while faking a bright smile that widely split his weathered face. He looked towards the Texan delegates and says,
"Our relations with the Confederation of Free Texan States are as strong and firm as ever, inseparable allies I'd say. We had your back in the last war and you've had ours ever since and we think it would be in our best interest for us to continue this policy.

   Meanwhile, Renault was bored. Really bored. He wanted to get drunk and do things he would later regret, but business came first. He pulled a small piece of paper out of his back pocket and wrote 'Guns for hire, terms negotiable' on it and set it on the table pointed towards the center of the table. He tapped his fingers on the nice wood as he whittled away the seconds until he had something interesting to do.