Corpo Age

Chapter 59: Negotiating with the Clans

“Those are warriors of the wasteland like us, follow our lead, city-dwellers,” said Jamie.

“Very well, Vin here will coordinate with your people,” I said before I exited the call.

I became a spectator as my security team sprang into action at Vin’s command. There wasn’t a whole lot I could do while in the car.

Vin, who was beside me, occasionally yelled out commands as he conversed with his counterpart in the Bush Clan.

From what the sensors were telling me, we had our adversaries half-encircled and the turrets of our Vanguards began laying down fire. Even the wasteland’s sandstorms couldn’t completely silence the sound of large-caliber gunfire.

I only flinched away from the sensors when bullets landed squarely on our Vanguard, accompanied by the sound of them being deflected. Our driver quickly veered off to dodge away from the attack, and the sound of gunfire only intensified.

After a few more minutes of combat, I could tell we were on the winning side. We transitioned to chasing down our foes, which didn’t last too long as we had sustained some damage ourselves and it was never a good idea to chase wastelanders out here.

“How bad is it?” I asked once we seemed to be in the clear.

“A few injured, and two cars with flat tires. We’ll need a couple of minutes to get them patched up,” Vin replied.

“They lost an entire dune buggy, but their remaining forces are unharmed.”

“I see. I’ll go speak with them while you take charge of the repairs.”

He nodded, but we both remained seated next to each other as we carried out our work remotely. I reconnected to the call with the Bush Clan.

“Envoy Jamie, now that it is over, can you explain why other wastelanders are attacking us in your territory?”

“...I assure you we have no part in this.”

“Then why—”

“Apologies Mr. Halls. It may be better for you to ask our leader. Our political situation isn’t something I care to share.”

So they were real wastelanders. Crossing off the possibility of imposters.

“Find…Hopefully, we aren’t too far off from your clan?”

“It should be another hour from here.”

“Very well, I will let you know once we are ready to depart.”

It took fifteen minutes before we resumed our journey. Everyone was visibly more tense after the attack, once bit twice shy.

After a lot of driving through nothing but sand, we soon arrived in a valley where the sandstorms didn’t reach. Like with the Wells Clan, a small town appeared on the horizon.

The first thing that caught my eye was the structures they lived in. Unlike the Wells Clan, they lived in large tents, as I had initially expected when I first visited the Wells Clan. Judging from the size of this settlement, they were similar in size and numbers.

When we disembarked, we could easily tell Jamie and his party were in a foul mood, no doubt because of their losses in the encounter. They still completed their duty wordlessly and finished their job when they guided me to a larger tent where their leader was.

There were two guards outside the tent who politely stopped us outside.

“Halt, please leave your weapons outside if you wish to enter.”

I nodded to Vin, who reluctantly passed his weapons to the guard beside him while I did the same. Only the two of us went in, leaving our team outside.

We were then led into the tent, where we found a small old woman sitting on a rocking chair. She looked to be over ninety, at an age it wouldn’t be surprising for her to pass on peacefully any day. She had her eyes closed as she continued to rock her chair as we approached.

“Rollo, friend of the Wells Clan, is it?” She said in a raspy voice.

“Yes, and this is Vin,” He nodded at his introduction. “We have come with a request for your clan.”

“Welcome to our clan, Rollo and Vin. I am Kelsey, the leader of the Bush Clan. I know that your corporation is flourishing, transporting things through the Wells Clan territory. Is that what you have come for?”

“Yes, then I’ll be direct about it. I wish to have a similar arrangement with your clan.”

She paused her rocking chair and fell silent.

Just as I was getting worried she fell asleep, she spoke out as if reading my mind, “Don’t worry, I’m awake. I’m blind, not senile. Your request is a difficult one to accept, indeed.”

“We’re willing to help you out in any way we can. There must be something people from the city like us could help with.”

“No, that is not the issue. As much as I hate to admit, we who reside in the wasteland have our own political squabblings. The attack on your way here wasn’t a coincidence.”

“You mean there’s wastelanders who are trying to prevent us from establishing relations?”

She resumed rocking her chair with a smile on her face, “I’m glad you’re quick on the uptake. That is indeed the case. The clans around the area have heard of your dealings with the Wells Clan, and we have become more divided than before.”

“...I presume you are of the same faction as the Wells Clan?”

“Yes, the Bush Clan I lead is of the same faction as the Wells Clan, of course. That is why they have introduced us to you. We share the belief that it is best for us to find ways to co-exist with you city-dwellers despite knowing many of you are… not amendable to diplomacy with us. The faction that attacked you is part of the ones who would like to remain at arms with the corporations and all city-dwellers.”

“Are you guys the majority? What other factions are there?” I couldn’t help but be a little anxious at the possibility that the majority of wastelanders were against building a relationship with me.

“Calm yourself. It isn’t as bad as you think. We’re mostly even with the faction that has attacked you. The majority of other clans have remained neutral, choosing to take a wait-and-see approach or simply not caring.”

The thought of removing the opposition briefly crossed my mind, but I doubt that would help my case at all. I should stay away from that corpo, cold, calculated way of thinking.

“I see…So the best way to resolve this is if I convince more clans to take our side?”

The old woman, Kelsey, smiled and nodded as she continued to rock her seat.

“Very well, I’ll go meet with these neutral clans then. I would appreciate it if you could introduce me.”

“It was my intention to do so. The clans aren’t far away, as many of them congregate around the ruins of Las Vegas. I will have Jamie escort you to the closest one. What happens next will be up to you.”

“...and they all wanted the same thing, weapons,” I explained to everyone on the call.

“There’s no way we can supply them with weapons, Rollo. The other corps will sniff it out in no time and they’ll be on our asses,” Leo immediately retorted.

“I know…There are not many things we can trade them without setting off serious flags.”

“How about leaking info to them on other convoys that carry the weapons they want?” Claire suggested.

“No, the corps aren’t stupid. With the quantity we’re looking at, they’ll sniff it out, just the same,” Leo replied.

“...How about trading them food?” I proposed.

“That would be fine…but would they agree to the deal with just food? I don’t think it’s valuable enough to make them budge.”

“What if we included household electronics and building supplies? I’m sure wastelanders would all appreciate having access to better power generators and other conveniences.”

“That could…work. It’ll depend on how your negotiations with them go.”

The next morning, we set off straight for the Bush Clan after we picked up some samples of what we would offer the wasteland clans. The clans we met didn’t trust us enough to leave us the locators to find their camp.

Each of the clans we had spoken to left a small delegation at the Bush Clan to await my response to their conditions.

Trekking across the wasteland was a boring journey, as always. It took almost three hours for us to reach the Bush Clan settlement. Several dune buggies led our convoy in, and I soon spotted Jamie approach when we disembarked in the clearing where they made us park.

“Welcome back, Rollo. I take it you have a reply to what the clans have requested of you?”

“Yes, I’m hoping it will satisfy the clans. Can you guide me to them?”

“Of course, we have already alerted them. They should be gathering by the tent over there.”

Jamie led me to an enormous tent that could easily fit a few dozen people. Inside were three groups of wastelanders congregating within their own circle. They each wore a rugged cloak fit for traversing the wastelands and had clothing with patterns unique to their clan underneath.

“Please wait one moment to allow the envoys from the Bates Clan to arrive,” Jamie said, as he led me to a seat.

I got seated on a bundle of carpets with Vin and Thorne, then took a look around. The envoys were lying down with a pipe in hand. It wasn’t lit, and they simply fidgeted it around. I passed the time in my optics by reading a novel I had downloaded. By the time I almost finished reading a chapter, the last attendees arrived.

Jamie signaled me with a glance, and I got up and went before the representatives of the four clans.

“Thank you all for waiting for my response. I have come to a conclusion—”

“No need to pleasantries. Let us hear it,” One of the latecomers said.

“Very well, I regret to inform you all that we will not be able to supply any weapons to you. If we did, the other corporations would destroy us for doing so in no time.”

The four groups swiftly devolved into whispering amongst themselves, so I gave it some time for them to digest.

“Although we cannot supply you with weapons, we have a counter-offer. We would like to offer you various supplies, including food, household electronics, and the raw materials we have access to. We have brought a detailed list and samples of what we can offer.”

At my cue, Vin came forth, placed some samples down, and handed out pamphlets to the audience. It was expensive procuring physical paper as it was more of a luxury item in the city, but all the wastelanders I’ve seen continued to use it, so they may have a source I don’t know of.

The mutterings among each group grew once more before a member of the clan that all wore star-patterned clothing spoke out.

“I will have to consult with my clan leader first. Allow me a few moments to do so.”

The other envoys all nodded in agreement, and an intermission inevitably occurred.

It seems like they have mastered some form of long-distance communication across the wastelands I don’t know about. I wonder how many more secrets they have?

After a thirty-minute break, our meeting resumed. The man who had last spoken was the first to respond.

“Our leader tentatively agrees to your proposal. We’ll need to discuss the amount you will offer and set up frameworks for subsequent trades first, but we believe that is negotiable.”

“Our clan plans to do the same as well.”

“As does our clan.”

One after the other, the envoys agreed to my proposal.

Great, now for the final one.

All eyes were drawn to the Bates Clan, who were the final ones that had yet to answer. Feeling everyone’s gaze, the leader of their group stepped forth.

“Your clan leaders must be blind! I can’t believe you would associate with these city-dwellers for the sake of some cheap comforts!”