[center][b][u]Sector Zero[/b][/u][/center]

Vates cautiously walked down the long hallway towards the light. He was in the Golden Mercenary's base now, having had little problem passing their checks. They had taken him for just another survivor who was of little threat, which to be fair, he was. As he reached the end of the corridor he was met with the stunning view of the underground city and felt a pang of irritation; [i]"How did I not know this place existed?!"[/i] he asked himself. He didn't like being in a place that he knew nothing about, and he was determined to change this.

The Golden Mercenary that was left in charge of leading Vates looked over to the man and smiled, "They all have the same typa' face when they see it for the first time." The mercenary chuckled and shook his head as he weaved through oncoming mercenaries and civilians. As he walked, he pointed other mercenaries to specific locations, continuing to perform his duties as he gave Vates a brief guide. Eventually, he stopped in front of the large room isolated from the rest of the civilians. 

"Well, Mr. Vates, the man's in here. I've gotta head back now, but don't worry, you're in good hands," he said with a smile.

"Thank you" Vates muttered but the man had already begun walking away. Straightening up his jacket and clearing his throat, Vates walked into the room he had been directed to. There was a few things going on but his focus was on the man standing over the central table looking at a map. "Hector Esteves?" he said gaining the mans attention as he took a stand on the opposite side of the table. Hector raised his head, looking up from the map he was focusing on. "Hm? Yes, yes it is. And who might you be my friend?" he said as he walked up to the man with a hand extended. "Vates. I was hoping you could shed some light on this war you have planned... and maybe I could shed some light of my own." he replied taking the mans hand. 

Hector nodded, "Ah, I see, I see, have I... have I seen you before?" he said as he raised a brow and eyed Vates curiously. "No, but I have done business with the Mercenaries before. I've sold you some information on occasion." Vates replied, failing to think of any specific piece of information he had sold. He was strangely lost for words, standing in front of what was possibly the current most powerful man in Sovereign; the polite conversation hardly seemed to reflect this. 

Hector simply nodded once more. He looked to the side and began to think for a moment while letting out a light "Hmm..." Before long, he turned back to Vates and crossed his arms, "So you want to know what exactly we've got goin on in our minds, hm? I'm thinking you're thinking that what I'm thinking is wrong. We aren't exactly at a [i]war[/i] here, Mr. Vates." Hector then turned to the other mercenaries in his room and whistled once while pointing two fingers towards the door. The mercenaries instantly left the room, closing the door allow the two to discuss in private. Hector walked back and shut down the central table's console.

"So, Mr. Vates. What exactly do you want to know?" he said as he turned back around.

Vates heart beat sped up slightly as Hector signaled to his men, but was relieved when he realised he was sending them out. "I want to know how you plan on breaking out. You've clearly got a strong force and the hearts of half the city, so whatever happens you're going to give the military a run for their money. I'm just worried about what backlash might occur if you fail. The military don't tend to let the same mistakes happen twice." he said, maintaining eye contact with Hector at all times. 

Hector chuckled softly and he smiled in acknowledgment. "I see. You are concerned at the stakes of our endeavors, right, amigo?" He then sighed, "In truth, the real one running this whole parade is mi hermano Victor. Since birth, I've known better than to doubt him. He's got a plan to blow that wall down like it was made of paper. He's bringing his own army, too, as you've heard. Since then, we've had hundreds upon hundreds of civilians flood here with their own resources and offerings. This is the first time that I feel a [i]city[/i] has gathered together. And way I see it hermano? It's at the point where fighting will sort of be a win win situation. These people know that this wall is just gonna wait us out till we rot away, so in essence, fighting the military means either euthanasia or liberty."

Hector stopped talking for a moment to collect his thoughts, "But what I really see in you is a lack of faith in the forces we have growing on the [i]inside[/i]. You think of this as a roll of dice, hm?"

"More like a deck of cards. I'm not sure you quite know what hand you have yourself." he said leaning on the table, "This city is full of innocent people. But it's also full of conduits and other sorts of bad people. Gathering them all together might work out badly regardless of whether or not you manage to achieve your goals. Still, I suppose there's little option." Hector nodded at Vates' last statement, "Si, there is no [i]other[/i] option but death. And I agree completely - harboring the hosts in an effort to unite them under our cause is extremely risky but we've done so successfully. You wanted information, hm? Well, currently, I have five fully trained and equipped squads of nothing but hosts, with many more hosts coming in. Those five that I have already? They're not just the hosts fighting for the Golden Mercenaries. No, with the trust that I've built? Until we've broken that wall, they [i]are[/i] Golden Mercenaries. And they can fight damn well too. We're teaching these hosts how to fight a soldier - they themselves must hone their abilities when it comes to fighting other hosts. So in reality, our fear for other 'evil' hosts is dying out. You gotta remember, hermano, they're still human."

Vates smiled at that last sentence and his thoughts flashed quickly back to Marley. The squads sounded impressive, but he would have to see them for himself before he had any real faith. "That they are Mr. Esteves. Well, I suppose I better show you what I have in this bag!" said Vates. He quickly removed his rucksack and started emptying it on the table, paying little regard to what was already on it. A few of his supplies rolled out which he quickly brushed to one side, leaving only a collection of rolled up maps and a couple of memory drives. "Some maps that include the locations of multiple military caches, some military patrol routes, and some other details you might find useful. These drives contain some pre-event information on the walls construction and some military personal data; I don't know how useful it'll be now though." Vates didn't give Hector a chance to reply as he quickly drew one of the maps closer, "Those military caches have some useful stuff. I've been living off a couple myself. I imagine that when the fighting starts they the military might try to reach or secure them - it might be worth keeping in mind when you plan your attack." 

Hector whistled in awe, "Wow, hermano that had much more detail than the map that Raeven secured..." Hector raised a brow and looked at Vates. "How... how exactly did you get your post-event intel? Did you have some sort of... group?" he asked curiously. This man had a lot of valuable information, and not all of it was gathered years ago. If he was alone, to be able to get that much information either meant he was with the military, or he had something else up his sleeve.

"Information was, well still is, my business. When the event occurred I managed to keep some sources open for a while. But otherwise I've simply taken what I already knew and found the rest out for myself." Vates said with a cheeky grin, "I live in the Heights District, so I'm not too far from the military. Hell, I know some of their routes just from watching them from my balcony!" Hector chuckled and nodded. "You seem like a good man, Vates. You seem concerned for the people, and the people are my priority. My responsibility, if I may. I could use someone like you on our side, you know."

"And I could do with making sure you're successful." Vates smirked, "I can handle myself in a fight, but I'm not sure how useful I'd be on the front lines"

Hector smiled and held out his hand once more, "Well, Mr. Vates, I'm glad to have you here with us then. If you decide to join the fray, let my men know and they'll have you situated immediately."