Sorry for the long wait. I should be updating this more often, though, so that's a plus!
Jack sighed. He’d leave New Carthage soon enough. He looked around. Everything looked so calm. However, Jack knew that the calm often came before the storm. He wanted revenge, yes, but his revenge was not the only storm that, deep down, he felt was coming. Unbidden, an ancient saying appeared in his head. The End will start at dawn. Why was he thinking about that? But he knew that answer… something was coming. The problem was that Jack wasn’t sure what.
Jack decided not to think about that right now. He needed to be completely focused on negotiations with the New Carthaginian government. Thankfully, Marcus had agreed to come with, so he wasn’t deciding everything alone.
New Tyre was a large city. Jack saw numerous buildings, including a few that touched the sky. He and Marcus headed toward the city’s center. That was where the governmental buildings were.
The two men entered the Nova Roman Embassy when the sun was at its high point in the sky (local noon). Thankfully, a few New Carthaginian diplomats were already there, so they could start the negotiations immediately.
“So,” Jack began, “let’s get these negotiations started.”
“First of all, we need to know whether all of the fleet is requesting asylum,” one of the New Carthaginian diplomats said.
“Not permanently,” Jack answered. “Some of the refugees want to stay on New Carthage, but the entire fleet does need to resupply here.”
“I see,” the other New Carthaginian diplomat commented. “Will you be staying here? Or will your… companion?”
“I won’t,” Jack replied. “I’m not sure about whether or not my companion will. Marcus?”
“I’ll be staying here,” Marcus said. “I like this planet. And, yes, I have been here before.”
“Okay, then,” Jack commented. “I suppose that means that I should let you negotiate the permanent asylum situation, then?”
“That’d be preferable, yes,” the first New Carthaginian diplomat interjected. “However, we’d prefer if you were also present for this, as you could then tell some of your refugees our terms. Informing your people will go quicker if they’re being told by two people.”
Jack blinked. That was a logical point. However, there were some things that he wasn’t being told. However, he kept these thoughts to himself and agreed with a simple “okay”.
“Can we take a lunch break?” the first New Carthaginian diplomat asked. “Presumably, your time in space meant that you didn’t have much actual food, and we’re hungry.”
“Sure,” Jack agreed. After all, he was hungry, and the time not spent negotiating allowed him time to think over his situation right now.
Jack decided that he’d only interject his opinions if he had to. Marcus was more than capable of negotiating himself - and he was actually staying on New Carthage. Jack wondered where the New Carthaginian Provisional Government had space that refugees could live in. He wasn’t very familiar with this planet, so listening into the conversation would give him information. And information was always useful.
As Jack ate, he wondered how it had come to this, but he knew. Nova Roma had always been doomed. He had managed to do something about it, of course, but he still felt that he hadn’t done enough. He sighed. What was done was done. He couldn’t change the past - not even the Ancients could change the past, and they were almost omnipotent. He’d have to make sure that Nova Roma’s legacy survived.
He finished eating and re-entered the negotiating room. Now was the time to get information. He really hoped that the refugee fleet didn’t do anything to provoke the locals. Of course, he knew that that was extraordinarily unlikely, but one could never be too careful. He needed to account for all possibilities.
“So,” Marcus began. “First of all, where are the members of the fleet that are staying on this planet, well, staying?”
The two New Carthaginian shared a conspiratorial glance. Yep, they definitely knew something that Jack - and, likely, Marcus didn’t.
“We have a continent that is almost untouched by human presence,” the second New Carthaginian diplomat said. “The few buildings that were there directly belonged to the Nova Roman government, which is now destroyed - if what you say is accurate.”
“It is,” Marcus assured. “Nova Roma burned, and its empire died with it. But they didn’t get all of the Nova Romans - we still live. Hopefully, the gods have not - and will not - forsaken us as they did our decadent kin.”
“By the way, what are your names?” Jack asked while facepalming. He really should’ve asked that earlier. He should have asked that question when the meeting started but whatever. He also knew for a fact that he hadn’t introduced himself or Marcus. He’d been so busy with dealing with the refugee fleet that he had completely forgotten about introductions.
There was silence for a long while. “Oh,” the first New Carthaginian diplomat realized. “Nobody has introduced themselves here yet. Sorry. My name is Hannibal.”
“And I’m Hasdrubal,” the other New Carthaginian diplomat said. “What are your names?”
“My name is Jack,” Jack said. “My… companion over here is Marcus.”
“Oh,” Hannibal said. “Well, let’s get on with negotiations, shall we?”
“Yes,” Marcus responded. “Where is this continent you speak of? I’ve been to this planet before, but I’m not really familiar with it. Is it near the interstellar spaceport?”
“Only somewhat,” Hasdrubal commented. “The interstellar spaceport is on an extremely large island that is right next to the continent that we are offering you.”
“I see,” Marcus mused. “That sounds good, but what is this continent called? Given that I am staying here - even if Jack over here isn’t - I would like to know what the name of my new home is.”
“That’s perfectly reasonable,” Hannibal replied. “The continent is called New Sidon. It is a rather large continent, but we have enough land from the rest of the planet to live on, so we let the Nova Romans build their settlements there.”
“Of course,” Hasdrubal interjected. “They didn’t need much land, as you were pretty hands-off rulers, then.”
“That makes sense,” Marcus responded. “I don’t see any problems with this deal. Jack, do you?”
“No,” Jack replied.
“Great,” Hannibal said. “In that case, we can go get some dinner. We were negotiating here for a while, even if it didn’t seem like it.”
