Arden sighed as he looked up at the bar. He had been talking to Admiral Horner and Mister Swann for far too long with far too little progress. Per Marshal Raynor's orders they had insisted that the Terrans would not support any of the House militaries no matter how righteous their cause. If they had some tech the upcoming 4th Succession war would be assured, if they had active involvement it would be a rout.
He unbuttoned his uniform as he walked into Joey Ray's III. Everyone there gave him a glance that made his MDI body guards twitch but didn't give him any pause. Back when he was on field duty in the AFFS it was the same look every merc gave someone who came into their bar. When he sat down, waved to the bartender with two fingers up, and waited for his drink, everyone at the bar nodded and went back to their drinks.
As he downed his drink and waved another hand at the bartender for a proper glass and ice he thought about what else he could have done to convince them. He wasn't Hanse coming up with plans within plans or Quintus who could give a military analysis as quickly a he breathed but they still sent him on this mission. They might have picked someone better for the job but he would do the best he could while he was there.
The bartender walked over with his drink and mirroring him on the other side of the bar was a somewhat older, grease and sweat stained Terran in a white shirt and equipment vest coming to sit down beside him.
"I hope this seat wasn't save for one of the fine fellows behind you," he drawled out in the twang common to most Terrans as his bodyguards gave a large twitch.
"No, as much as they might want to after following me around they are still on duty," he joked before he took a long pull from his glass.
"Heh, I've had a friend or two say the same about me. But what has a newcomer like you hitting the bar so hard?"
Arden didn't think that the man was Terran intelligence; they had no way of knowing that he would come to this bar so it would be blind luck if he were. Even if he were it wasn't as if his reason for being here was a secret by any means and anything sensitive could be kept vague. "Oh nothing much, just some friends giving me impossible missions that may or may not effect my whole nation. You know, the usual for a soldier."
"HAH!" he barked out before taking a sip of his own. "Son, I wish I could tell you it gets easier but that would be a lie." Arden started wondering who this Terran was to tell him that. "But tell me, why should we help one of y'all over the other. Its not like you could accuse them of something that you haven't done yourselves?"
Arden leveled his gaze at the Terran who just kept looking forward in the bar sipping his drink. He was insulted by the accusation, he was not the same as Liao's or the snakes but he took a deep breath and told him. "Because we try to be better. We know how bad things were, we've seen how low humanity can go, and we don't ever want to go back to that. But them... there are lines you don't cross, and each day they've crossed every single one."
Arden had said that unflinchingly while staring down this Terran and for the first time he put down his glass and turned to really look at Arden. His gaze made Arden feel the same way that Katrina Steiner's did all those years ago after Argyle. Like he was being looked through.
Eventually the Terran smirked through his short beard, huffed, and turned back to the bar and his drink. "Well, I doubt the bigwigs would be willing to sell you boys any of the fanciest toys but I've got a little pull around here and I think I can put in a good word for yah."
Arden tipped his glass towards the Terran in a small salute, "Very kind of you stranger." He laughed a bit at the thought of it but he felt a bit better after convincing someone.