He stifled a laugh, and given the formality of things and the subject in play it was quite the rude thing to do. Almost uncharacteristic, as if a veil parted. "Spoken like a true hypocrite." His amusement made way for a calculating coldness.
"You don't just want to delay Liberty's efforts. You want us to delay it long enough until you are in a position to act." This time he smiled but it was devoid of any warmth or friendliness. "I assume all the risk and liability given that it's my people maintaining the blockade over Sudbury. You on the other hand want to only assume a material expense before no doubt recouping on investment. By which point, and if your little plan succeeds, everyone else in Ontario will be too diminished to really prevent." That smile of his extended upwards and out further, revealing genuine amusement that peaked with the reveal of flawless teeth.
But then his eyes narrowed and that brief spell of pleasantness went with it, not that it was intended to be such a thing at all. "Talk terms and give me concrete incentives to work with. You'd be a fool to believe that I would entertain any other scenario other than certainty that our sacrifices today will ensure victory in the longterm."
And just like that it was the Director's turn again.
Cobra's refreshing bluntness brought the beginnings of a genuine smile to Siegfried's lips - one quickly quashed in favor of the practiced urbane half-grin.
"I think we both know that I have neither the reach to take nor the manpower to keep Sudbury alone for any appreciable length of time. Even if, as you say, we sat back and waited for all parties involved to be ground down through attrition, it is only a matter of some trivial timescale before Liberty digs deep into its bottomless pockets to begin it all again - this time, with far less opposition. Keeping them at bay is likely the best we'll get - and only if we do not waste time and resources by holding back.
I will not deny that we also want what Sudbury holds - but what little access there is to be had exists only while it is contested, and even for that, we will need cooperation."
Kai took another moment for a sip of his drink.
"Material supplies, arms, ships, and scientific advisors are already a given - enough to keep your guns, ships, and people fed, and to help establish a joint research venture to process any artifacts we may uncover - but those are means to our ends. What would you want out of this? I'm sure you would not have agreed to meet unless there was something we could provide that you already had in mind."
This time he was quiet, if only for a few seconds. "No advisors, at least not on our doorstep. Too much potential for sabotage and I don't have the patience to babysit your eggheaded associates. Embed them on Freeport 53 and we'll coordinate that way. Supplies and ships can be delivered through appropriate fronts, and for the latter I want the full CTE aerospace catalogue with spares." This sounded non-negotiable and likely was for a variety of reasons both political and otherwise.
There was just one more consideration left that he hadn't addressed. "What I want is for that construction ship sitting near the gate to go up in flames. Liberty has deep pockets and even deeper reserves of manpower, but the corporations lack the spine to repeatedly stare down certain death. And right now that den of cattle is the only thing truly sustaining this operation. If it's destroyed then our entrenched positions in the system become unassailable for the LSF taskforce. They'd be cut off and at our mercy."
His enunciation of that last word implied that there was going to be nothing of the sort.
