Firebrand Bar
Asean Republic, Pacific Ocean
April 12th, 437 AC
6:57 PM Local Time
"The European Coalition?" Nyx echoed Oliver's words. "The one's taking the fight to the Feds?"
Oliver nodded. "That's us," he replied.
Jay felt his heart practically sink into his chest. Already, he knew he didn't like where this was going because he knew exactly what this man wanted: to hire Paladin to fight the Federation- the very thing he had been running from for the past four years. The moment he put the pieces together, Jay made up his mind about what he planned to do.
"Look, I'm sorry, but we just finished our last contract," he explained. With each word he spoke, he felt more and guilt creep in. He knew how big this would be and how eager the others would be to take on a job of this size, and turning it down for his own reasons made him feel selfish. All the same, though, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. "We've had a long and stressful few months, so we'd rather not just jump into another contract only a few days after we finished our last one."
Oliver looked like he was about to reply, but much to Jay's dismay, Nyx was the one that spoke next. "Hang on, Samurai. I think we should at least tell the others so we can consider it." She looked back over at Oliver. "What is this job exactly? We can relay it to our boss."
Oliver shifted his stance, scratching at the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, if you don't mind, I'd rather tell them in person."
Nyx nodded and turned back to go into the bar. "Come on, follow me," she instructed.
Jay felt his heart pounding against his rib cage as Nyx lead Oliver into the bar. He knew that if Cyborg heard this proposition, it'd be all over. In fact, he'd probably accept before Oliver could finish introducing himself. At the same time, though, Jay couldn't think of anything he could do to stop him. Slowly, the realization that they were likely going to take this job started to weigh down on him, which made him feel terrified more than anything.
It didn't take long for Cyborg and the others to notice Jay and Nyx returning to the party with Oliver at their heels, and Oliver was the first to question it. "Who's this?" he asked, walking up to meet them halfway.
Oliver adjusted his tie and stood straight up. "Are you the leader of the Paladin Mercenary Corps?"
Cyborg nodded. "That I am, the name's Cyborg. Although, that wasn't really an answer to my question."
Oliver cleared his throat. "I'm the Republic of Albion's ambassador to the Asean Republic, Oliver Grimwall," he extended his hand in front of Cyborg.
"Ah, pleased to meet you, Ambassador," Cyborg replied, shaking the man's hand. "Now, what brings you here tonight?"
"I'm here to offer you a job on behalf of the European Coalition," Oliver explained. "After witnessing your capabilities firsthand during the battle here the other day, I think you'd be a good fit."
"A good fit for what?" Cyborg asked, arching one of his eyebrows. "Just what kind of job are we talking about?"
"Well, as I'm sure you're all aware, the various nations of Europe have grouped together to form the European Coalition," Oliver began. "Together, with the combined strength of the West African Concordat, we've been fighting to put an end to the Pacific Federation once and for all. With that being said, though, the Federation isn't going down without a fight, and their resistance is much stronger than we could've anticipated. That's why we're looking for the help of mercenaries like yourselves."
Suddenly, Jay got an idea to put Oliver on the spot and hopefully convince Cyborg not to take the job. "Last I remember, the European Coalition had already taken Yakutia's capital. Wouldn't that be the whole ball game right there?" he asked, crossing his arms. "Why the need for mercs all of a sudden?"
Oliver shifted all his weight to one foot. "Look, the situation is uh… complicated, to say the least," he explained. "Long story short, the Federation had more up its sleeve than we thought. Now, they're pushing us further back with every battle. I could probably explain the whole situation to you fully, but you'd have to agree to take the job first."
Cyborg shifted his eyes between Oliver and all the mercenaries in Paladin. "Would you mind if we discussed this in private?" he asked, looking back to Oliver.
Oliver nodded. "Please, go ahead. I know this isn't a decision to be made lightly, so take as much time as you need."
Cyborg led everyone in Paladin to the back of the bar, where they all circled around one another. "Well, thoughts?" he asked.
Before Jay got a chance to speak, Tux beat him to it. "Why are we even discussing this?" she asked. "After what the Federation did to Cascadia, this should be a no-brainer. I say we take the job and burn the Federation to the damn ground."
"I know some of us have strong feelings against the Feds, myself included," Cyborg said. "After all, they're the ones that massacred Stallion and I's old merc group during the Cascadian Conflict, but we have to make these decisions together. I can understand why some of you might not want to take this job, so if you have any objections, now's the time to share them."
Jay let out a heavy sigh. "I don't think we should take this job," he said plainly. "First of all, we just finished our last contract yesterday, and that was our biggest and longest-lasting contract yet. This one will almost definitely be longer, and I don't want us to overwork ourselves. More importantly, though, this is just… something else. I think we need to know what our limits are, and this definitely is beyond our limits."
"But look at what we pulled off here," Jolt pointed out. "I mean, we helped liberate an entire country. If we can do this, then surely we should be able to take the fight to the Federation."
"The Federation is on a level of its own, though," Jay insisted. "They don't screw around. Hell, just look at Cascadia. Sure, they got their independence, but they literally had to classify Presidia as an exclusion zone. I just… don't want the same thing to happen to us."
"Samurai, I know all about going against the Federation, believe me," Eagle began. "But we have to take a stand against them because if we don't, then nobody else will, and then they'll be free to do whatever the hell they want with no consequences."
Jay sighed and glanced down at the floor. He knew they were right, but he couldn't convince himself to say yes. After everything he had lost to the Federation and all the pain they caused him, he was too scared to look them in the eye again. More specifically, he was scared by the possibility that he might come face to face with Natalie again, and if that happened, he'd have no choice but to shoot her down. Even though he didn't regret leaving the Federation, he did regret leaving her, and despite what he knew she was becoming, he knew he still had feelings for her deep down.
"What's up with you and the Feds anyway?" Mustang asked. "The way you keep going on makes it sound like you have a history with 'em."
Jay froze on the spot. If he ever wanted to confess to the others about his past, this was the perfect opportunity to do so. He even opened his mouth to start forming the syllables, but in the end, he stopped himself. "I do…" he finally said. "Lost everything to 'em before I found you guys. I just don't wanna go through that again."
Cyborg put his hand on Jay's shoulder. "Listen, Samurai. I get you're scared, and rightfully so if I'm honest, but each and every one of us is here for you and each other. That's what being in Paladin is all about. No one person has to look after everyone. Save for me, of course, but that's part of my job," he added with a slight smirk. "Regardless, my point still stands. We all look out for each other, and we'll make damn sure that we don't lose anyone," he promised. "You have my word on that, and you know how much that means."
Jay looked up at Cyborg. Even though he was still feeling terrified of what was about to happen, he knew that everyone was dead set on going, and while usually, that would've only added to his fear, Cyborg's words gave him a sort of reassurance. He always was great with words, ever since he and Jay met and probably even before then. Not to mention Cyborg giving his word was the greatest reassurance he could hope for. Besides, despite his fears, he didn't want to make the others feel guilty about them taking the contract even though he was against it.
"Alright," he finally said, giving Cyborg a small smile. "I trust you."
Cyborg nodded and looked around the group. "Does anyone else have any objections?" he asked. "Because this is your last chance to get them in."
"I did, but I think you pretty much alleviated all of them," Gray admitted with a shrug. "If you guys think we can do this, then who am I to argue?"
Cyborg's small smile turned into a full-blown grin. "So it's settled then? We're all in agreement?" After waiting for a few moments and not receiving any objections, he turned around and started walking back over to Oliver. "Now, before we agree to anything, there's still one thing you haven't told us yet," he began as he stood face to face with the ambassador, towering almost half an inch over him. "And if you ask me, I think it's probably the most important question to consider when your hiring mercenaries: just how much are we getting paid for this?"
Suddenly, the sound of three beeps from a car horn went off outside, grabbing everyone's attention. Oliver looked back at all the Paladin mercs and smirked. "Speak of the devil," he said with a smirk. "If you follow me, you'll find out." Without another word, he turned around and started walking out the door of the bar.
Jay and the others followed Oliver out into the parking lot and stopped when they saw a white van. One of the rear doors was open, and a man in a suit took out a large featureless black case. As the man set it down on the ground, Oliver walked up to it and slowly opened it up. What happened next, none of the members of Paladin were prepared for. As Oliver pushed the door to the case open, it revealed that the case was filled with gold bars, hundreds of them. Every single mercenary made some kind of visible or audible reaction, and rightly so. The amount of gold in that case was worth more money than any of their other contracts, even the Asean Republic contract.
"This is… I don't know what to say," Cyborg muttered.
"Jesus, it must be something really extraordinary if it renders Cyborg of all people speechless," Mustang whispered.
"Then perhaps you might have something to say to this," Oliver said as he walked over to the closed rear door of the van and swung it open, revealing a second, identical case. The man in a suit handed Oliver a clipboard with a piece of paper and a pen on it. "So, what do you say, Paladin? Do we have a deal?" He asked, putting the clipboard in front of Cyborg, revealing the piece of paper to be a contract ready to sign.
Cyborg took the pen in his hand and quickly read over the contract. "Before I sign, I have one request to make. We've been here fighting this civil war for months now, so it'd be nice if we had a week or two to rest and resupply before we fly out."
Oliver nodded. "Done," he answered almost immediately. "We'll give you two weeks before you have to report to the Rouen Air Base in Normandy."
"Normandy?" Eagle echoed. "But that's all the way on the west coast," he pointed out. "If we're taking the fight to the Federation, shouldn't we be further east where the front lines are?"
"It's like I said. The situation is… complicated," Oliver explained. "But it'll all be explained to you when you arrive. If you choose to sign, that is." He nodded to the clipboard again.
Cyborg glanced down at the clipboard again, the pen still in his hand. He looked back at Stallion, who gave him a nod of approval. With that, he turned his attention back to the contract and signed it.