Phoenix Phire

"Feeling abandoned Nix?" Jun Li gave him a pat on the back.

The three ferrets stopped at Glory long enough to get cleaned up and eat. Nix made them some clothes to wear and even got Dalton to make them some shoes. After that, they said goodbye and took the portal out. They did tell him their names. The striped one was called Amb, the chubby one was Tofo and the first one Nix had met was called Po.

Nix shrugged. "Probably have a home somewhere. They were tough little guys, brave as hell too."

/Inferno: Semmi: Well... It didn't take long. All 36 guilds have agreed. The guilds here in Colonial who were holding back are all making the move in three days.

/Inferno: Nix: A mass exodus? Is that a coincidence?

/Inferno: Semmi: I suggested it would inconvenient if we don't get them all done at the same time.

/Inferno: Jun Li: Once they leave, Resolute will be the only remaining Upper-Tier Guild that is capable of crossing the bridge. The rest of the Upper-Tiers aren't very strong.

******************

[3 days later in the Sun-Valley on the Su'Dhassi continent of Phai]

[Assassinate]

Gideon has assassinated Gato the Slayer.

"Drop anything good Gid?" Bellevue, the guild's primary healer was also a notorious moocher. The words, 'I don't want it" didn't exist for her.

Gideon sighed as he examined the drops. "Just crap Bells, go ahead and salvage what you want." He stepped away from the corpse. One of his scouts had found the mob earlier in the day. There was some hope that Salamander would finally have some luck in the New World.

[A Contract has been offered. Nix will register the Salamander Guild in Parliament in exchange for the permanent acquisition of your Guild votes. Do you agree?]

Gideon stared at the message for a moment before replying. "Yes."

[The Salamander Guild is being registered in Parliament with you as the Guild Leader. Do you accept this appointment? Note: You are responsible for the 100 million Credit fee]

"Yes."

[One hundred million credits have been deducted from your account and paid to Parliament.]

Oasis System Message: Oasis welcomes Salamander to the New World.

Guild Chat is enabled.

Personal Messaging is enabled.

Three mandatory Guild raids are available.

Guild Raid: Terror of the Dark.

Guild Raid: Hold the Line.

Guild: Raid: Building the Guild Hall.

/Salamander: Soju: What? We are in?

/Salamander: Miki: THANK You GIDEON!

/Salamander: Gideon: Back in business folks.

*********************

Nix was whistling when he finally left the Registrar's Office. They had finalized all the contracts at the same time. Oasis had been bombarded with the new guild welcoming messages.

Shae squeezed his hand. "He didn't look happy."

Nix grinned. The Ain'Dhassi who helped him was the same one as before. His stern manner had grown even frostier when presented with 36 registrations.

Semmi was working at one of the desks when Nix and Shae walked in. She was looking at the votes. "We now have 75 votes Nix. That's more than 2 out of the 3 races."

Nix moved to the big desk that was centered on the window. He noticed a plague that said Guild Leader Nix had been added to the desktop. "This your doing Sem."

The blonde gave him a mischevious smile. "Maybe."

Soft lips pressed into the back of his neck, reminding him that Shae was still there. "You don't have to stay Shae. I'm going to read through some of the dockets"

Shae grabbed a chair from the nearby desk and pulled it close to his. "Don't mind me, just going to watch for a bit."

Nix nodded, "we meeting Fajii at the market?"

"Yep, in two hours." She leaned her head against him and watched as he navigated through the governing menu.

Nix found the docket menu relatively quickly. The title of the docket was followed by the amount of time left until the voting deadline expired. He selected one that was expiring in a few hours.

[3 year limit on war prisoners: 2.5 hours: 3rd Time Rule]

Summary: Taking prisoners during raids, sea battles and times of war is a long-standing tradition. This proposal seeks to limit the time in which these prisoners can be held captive. If approved, all prisoners that have fulfilled the 3-year obligation will be released immediately.

[Approving Opinion: Serai Del Tali]

[Dissenting Opinion: Tura Raine Xai]

Nix activated the Approving Opinion and a moment later the face of an Ain'Dhassi female appeared on his hud. It was obviously a recording.

[Serai Del Tali]

"We need to set a limit on the amount of time that prisoners can be held in captivity. Too many of our Oasis citizens have become lifetime slaves because war and greed. The Ain'Dhassi are targeted frequently because of our precious metal mines. Simple miners are taken away in raids and never see their families again. Please help me in my fight to change this tragic and abhorrent practice."

"Sounds reasonable." He glanced over at Semmi, "know what the 3rd time rule is?"

Semmi looked over from her desk. "Just like it sounds. It's the limit on proposing dockets. If a docket is voted down 3 times, it can never be presented again."

"I see." Nix clicked on the Dissenting Opinion and the image of Tura Raine filled his hud.

[Tura Raine Xai]

The taking of prisoners as part of War and Conquest is a long-standing Oasis Tradition. The Ain'Dhassi would have you believe that they are above such things, but the reality is that their warships and raiding parties are just active as the other Oasis races. When you take part in a raid, the results are permanent whether it's death or captivity. The truth of this matter is that half of all Ain'Dhassi raids end in failure. This is due to their own incompetence as warriors. Vote this proposal down for the 3rd time, so we can finally move on to more important matters.

Nix leaned back in his chair, soft hair brushing against his shoulder reminded him that Shae was still there. 'What do you think? Taking part in raids and then complaining about the results?"

Shae shrugged. "Salamanders are too powerful to move about in large groups."

Nix laughed and clicked on the name of Serai Del Tali. "True. I want to see what she says."

A pale woman with white hair and crystal blue eyes stared at Nix through his hud. Her pointed ears were adorned with white stones that glittered brightly. "May I help you, sir?"

"I'm Inferno Guild Leader Nix. I have some questions about your docket." Nix liked her right away, the tone of her voice was respectful, not cold or arrogant like he was expecting.

"I'm Del Tali. I will answer any question you have Guild Leader Nix."

"Just call me Nix. I read both opinions on this docket. What answer would you give to the point that your raids aren't very successful? You seem to be taking part but don't want to bear the long term consequences."

"We are taking part and our raids are very ineffectual. Three years ago we lost nearly half of our fighters in the Mere Stone War. Those lost fighters were all elites. This is the reason for our 'ineffectual raids.' "

Nix watched her face for any signs of nervousness or duality. "I'm not familiar with Mere Stone."

"The Mere stone was new at the time. An easily mined stone that can enhance armor and spells. At that time the only known source was the Ain'Dhassi territory. We selfishly decided to keep it for ourselves. The other Dhassi races invaded and for several weeks a horrible war was waged." Del's voice sounded strained, like someone who was trying to stay composed.

"I'm assuming the Ain'Dhassi lost this war?"

Del nodded. "A large island off of our Southern Icecap was taken over by the Fir'Dhassi. The war may have continued, but other deposits of Mere Stone were found in the Fir'Dhassi and Su'Dhassi territories."

"I see. That's all the questions I have." Nix cut the communication and leaned back in his seat. He clicked on the docket vote count.

[Approve: 96 Dissent: 126]

He stared at the screen for a long time before finally clicking on the vote icon.

[Cast 75 votes for Approve?]

"Yes."