Rennac Faintheart

The Endless Game

Edit: moving post to struggle

The Endless Game

'Right on cue' thought the Wolkar, knowing this would be just what he needed. He listened intently, surprised when the Master of Others voted against the cooperative. When Xilanthis addressed him again he smiled and turned to Hitharis with a smile. "I am grateful for your confidence Master Hitharis, though this coordinated effort would also have an added benefit. It would give my time to fight side-by-side with one of your own soldiers, to learn how our styles of combat can complement and strengthen the other when we work together in the future. This also incidentally follows a tradition of my people, the bonding of two battle-brothers on the hunt. So long as your representative is capable and will not draw unwanted attention to give us away, this will prove to be a better option for all than simply sending me out solo. Besides, since these Reapers also partially work under the Master of Eyes, they would have the best idea of how Klith operates. However, I recommend caution in who you pick. We have yet to learn who assisted Klith's escape and whether or not they are among your military forces. I would recommend giving this duty to a new, yet capable recruit. Someone who has great skill, yet was not under the authority of the Master of Eyes until after Klith was removed from power. This will minimize the odds of a potential traitor being assigned to Klith's capture. I am sure your men are skilled and loyal, but with a target this potentially dangerous neither the Wolkar nor the Master Council can take any unnecessary risks in his apprehension."

The Endless Game

Rennac nodded at the information, surprised by the insight Xilanthis had concerning his predecessor. "Hmm. Shad-noir is a good place to start nonetheless. If Klith is to get supplies from underground, it will have gone through the planet's shipping fronts or be carried by a smuggler based there." Then came the part he expected, knowing that there would be concern about his offer to front the money needed to head to the hypothetical meet to buy the intelligence. Then came Karasis's sneering retort, a scowl coming across the wollar's muzzle. "As much faith as I have in your soldier's ability to fight, this is no battlefield we are going to. This is a hunt. This will require discretion and stealth, even moreso than usual considering the sensitivity of this mission. A standard rank and file soldier will be too easy to spot and would give us away instantly, giving Klith time to recognize us and escape before we can locate him. Whoever is chosen must be able to track down the target, be skilled and quiet in a fight, and be able to keep his head low enough not to be fingered as a hostile on sight. Anything less will be dead weight."

The Endless Game

Rennac's posture eased ever so slightly, almost inperceptible to the civilian masters though those like the master of eyes and war would notice it. The wolkar feigned a few moments of pondering, deciding mostly on a course of action. "Very well, since the maority of the council is indeed in favor of keeping this a diplomatic mission, I will treat it as such. Fortunately I have already had time to ponder on how best to achieve our goal of ending this is quietly as possible." He placed a small holo transmitter on his desk and pressed activated a projection of the the former master of eyes as well as some basic details and description. "Given the information we have on the target we know he is on the run, has had assistance in his escape, had access to considerably high grade tools for his escape, and will also need the support of the underworld or a government power to be kept hidden in the long term. Most importantly, he has Litharian military secrets which he could trade for said money and protection." On a thought the holo-emitter changed to the image of a well known and infamous city-planet. "Shad-noir is the most likely location for such an auction to be held. If nothing else, we can at least find information about the deal on the planet. If Klith is smart, he'll remain in a secured location until it comes time for the deal. With so many potentially high profile buyers, he would not risk offending them by not showing up to the auction or swap-meet. As usual, there will likely be a buy in to get access to the auction. I have the authority of the council to cover this expense from our treasury. This will also make Klith believe I am there to legitimately buy this information, rather than hunt him. The odds of this gambit working will also be dependant on the public belief that our negotiations are indeed proceeding poorly and war may be likely. To this end I propose the Master of Eyes works in conjunction with the Wolkar Information Service to spread rumors of political discontent. This will give the Klith the impression that the Wolkar are seeking a means to determine the potential hostile intent of your country. The previous meeting will be enough truth to make that falsehood believable. Any objections?" He turned to all in attendance EXCEPT for Krasis, knowing he would just sputter out racist comments as opposed to any legitimate points.

The Endless Game

Rennac strode into teh room once more, his pleasant demeanor from before gone as a scowl replaced it. His helm was always within reach this time, hand never leaving it as if he were constantly on guard and ready for the possibility of violence. His tone was curt and to the point. "Given the debacle at our previous meeting, I would like to clear up a misunderstanding. I was meeting with you before ONLY as an envoy of the Wolkar pack collective, and therefore was not entitled to represent the mecenary guild at that time. Since Master Krasis has stated this is no longer a matter of diplomacy, I had to inform the Alpha Council as well as the guild of the change of plans. Now, I can represent both here today. Now then, lets get on with this so we can end this nasty business quickly." A subtle nod toward the Master of Eyes served as both the signal to resume the briefing as well as a signal to inform him of hsi act. He was already mapping out the hunt in his mind, his main plan to be to make the public believe the negotiations were rocky at best and seem like they could fall through quickly. Since this target was a spy master, it was likely that he would be less eager to reveal himself to one who was having positive results in peace talks with those who wanted him dead. He had to put on the act so that the guards present would think any sort of alliance or positive relation would be impossible and would spread that belief to others. With a bit of data manipulation on the end of the Wolkar galactic net station, it could easily be spread to wherever Klith was hiding.

The Endless Game

Rennac nodded with the plan, figuring this method would strengthen ties more, though it would be playing things a bit dangerously. Overall it did make sense why the master of eyes wanted to manipulate events in such a way. "Mhm. You should also avoid anyone who has loyalty to Krasis over the council as a whole. As it stands I wouldn't put it past him to have one of his men try to kill me during the hunt or even hiring a non guild merc to try and assassinate me. For all his talk of honor he was more than ready to kill an unarmed diplomat. Plus, it looks much better for the tabloids not to read 'Wolkar-Litharian taskforce fight one another!' As for the whole demonized impression, I thus far only have a demonized impression of one of you. Its the fact that one person is the head of your military that worries me." He paused seeing the extended hand, tentatively grasping it and giving a firm shake.

The Endless Game

Rennac listened to Xilanthis with intent, glad to hear the master of war was certainly in the minority. It did raise a question or two about how their system worked if one could block all progress despite the majority working against them. "Truth be told this only became a job because of Karasis. I was in full support of this being a diplomatic endeavor from the beginning. I still hope it is possible, though if Karasis is any indication of how the rest of your people believe any lasting relations may be a lost cause. Still, if you believe this will offer some chance of success, I would be a poor envoy if I did not pursue this option. I'll go for it. I do ask that someone capable be assigned as my shadow for this one. This will be no hunt for a greenhorn."

The Endless Game

Rennac eyed the master of eyes warily, hesitating before accepting the fruit and having it sampled with his suits medical probe to scan for toxins. He was not going to hide that his trust was highly damaged after that disaster of a diplomatic negotiation. "No worries about that. Most of my kind practically live in our armor. Speaking of, you may as well look these over." He handed the forms to the Master of eyes, his tone impassive. "The first is the physical form to process your bounty on Klith so I can actually act to represent the guild since I was unable to before. The second is a list of guidelines concerning regulations for using the guild. I made sure to underline how attacking or otherwise detaining a guild worker without legal provocation is cause for the person or government to be blacklisted for a period no less than ffty years. At this point its going to take a hell of a lot to make me reconsider my current proposal to cease any diplomatic ties between the Wolkar and your people, just as a heads up."

The Endless Game

Rennac was about finished with dealing with this biggot. He already planned to have the Lithorians not only blacklisted on their diplomatic channels but also have them blacklisted from the guild. This biggot was risking war the moment he called his guards after the wolkar had simply laid out the options available to them since he was not there representing the guild but solely as an ambassador of the Alpha Council. If news of his detainment had reached Ferran, it would mean certain war. When a member of the pack is taken, the entire pack rallies to free them. He quickly stood and readied himself for a potential conflict, his armor hissing as it moved. "This is no insult. I am not here under the authority of the guild, therefore I cannot just accept your job without the bounty being formally posted and processed. I am here strictly as a diplomatic envoy. Unless it concerns the ties between our nations, my hands are tied." His tone was as professional as it came, ready to fight his way out if it seemed to be neccesary. Thankfully however, it looked like it might not be needed as the Master of Eyes seemed to take control. The Wolkar could only hope he was more stable than his counterpart, or else he would need to put his jetpack to use. Once he got back to his quarters he opened up his portable terminal and printed the necessary forms. If these bozos wouldn't negotiate with him as a diplomat, they would need to fill out the necessary forms to hire him through the guild. He also notified the Sirius about the situation should the Masters be rash enough to imprison or kill him and start war.

The Endless Game

Rennac's smile was replaced with a scowl as the Master of War spoke once more, the Litharian's words biting into his patience. "I do ask for the Council's forgiveness, but I was brought here under the understanding this was a mission of diplomacy. If this is nothing more than a bounty posting, then I am afraid you have contacted us through the improper forum. Normally I would be required to instruct you to contact the guild through the proper channels to post your bounty and to go through the standard process of hunters gaining the notification and coming here. Though, of course, they would have to willingly accept upon receiving the notice and come here of their own volition and I cannot guarantee they would approach this hunt with the same... discretion as you would likely prefer. However, you technically have not done the proper paperwork to post the bounty, and this Klith could be a potential threat to my own people should he set his sights on Ferran. According to guild charter, the penalty for seeking jobs outside of the guild is to be permanently banned from the guild and denied all resources from the guild. That leaves three options. The first is that I direct you to filing out the proper forms and have the guild send out the bulletin to all available hunters, though that will be far more messy. I can accept the job but refuse payment, though the Wolkar diplomatic corps will likely turn down future requests and just redirect your inquiries to the guild since, as the Master of war pointed out, your only interest in the Wolkar is as mercenaries. The third option on the table is that we revisit my previous proposal and the payment for recovering the traitor Klith before he reveals anymore of your government's secrets will be promises of future talks between our people. There is no guarantee needed of any alliance or even a trade agreement for that matter. We could do something as small as setting up an exchange rate between our nation's currencies." The Wolkar paused and let that sink in, allowing the council to mull over his words as well as the point he made of the lessened relations between their people. In all but one of those scenarios, they suffer consequences whether they be long or short term. The Wolkar was not being deceitful but merely following legal and diplomatic protocol, though that would hardly stop the Master of War from running his mouth. If anything, his experience with this group thus far was enough to possibly close diplomatic channels in his mind, his impression of them being very closed minded and intolerant of others which was a direct contrast to how the Wolkar approached those of other races.