Saying Daniel was furious was an understatement of the century.
He barged into the Elders office and everyone got out of his way when they saw how angry he was.
The door flew open and Theo saw that it was Daniel who was in rage.
-What the hell were you all thinking.
The mercenary roared.
-What do you mean and what made you so angry?
Surprised elder asked.
-After all the work we did, you idiots sent a fleet after them and now we are back to square one.
All that effort went down the drain.
-Calm down Daniel and explain what happened?
Daniel took a deep breath.
-The pardon was approved and we only had to wait for Tommy and his crew to accept the terms,but two days ago they were attacked by 59 noble ships which they managed to destroy but before that they opened communications and someone told them that nobles ordered them to capture or destroy them despite the pardon.
He said very fast.
-Tommy contacted us today and told my wife that all bets are off and you all signed your death sentences with this stunt.
So congratulations,now there is no way to stop them from targeting you all.
Not to mention that the emperor is waiting for their reply and I won't lie to him.
-I didn't know anything about it so it had to be someone else that sent them secretly.
-It doesn't matter if you knew or not what matters is that this was our only chance to end this without spilling blood.
I really don't know how you guys will explain this his majesty but that's not my problem anymore,I did what you asked me to do and with any luck it would be over in a few days but now there is no chance in hell that they will believe you again.
Since you all want to die so badly then that's your choice I won't interfere in this matter any more.
Daniel turned to the door but The Elder stopped him.
-Wait. We still need your help in this matter,you are our only way of communication with them.
-Do you really think that you can still salvage this situation?
-I don't know but i certainly want to try.
-Then you better have one hell of a plan because all good will you had went down with that fleet.
Daniel said still angry at this whole situation.
-First thing first, we need to inform the emperor of what happened.
-Have fun with that, the emperor will be furious when he hears about it,there is an invasion on the way and now he will hear that almost 60 ships were destroyed and the deal he wanted with the exiles got sabotaged in the process.
-That's why i want to propose contacting them with the emperor and all the heads of the families present and try to convince them that this was just a misunderstanding.
I know they won't believe nobility but the emperor is a different matter with his majesty's help we might still have a chance to reach an agreement.
-I will give you a chance to talk to them but this is the last time i'm helping you with this.
In two days he will contact us and that's all the time you have to convince everyone to help you.
I don't know how you want to persuade Tommy and the rest and I don't care this is your problem to fix.
And don't even think about using Helen to persuade him or you will have to answer to my team.
With that said Daniel left.
After the mercenary left,the first thing Theo did was to contact the emperor and inform him of the situation.
Just as Daniel predicted the emperor was not happy and wanted the guilty party found and executed.
He was pacified only when he heard that it was still possible to proceed with the arrangement so the emperor agreed to his plan.
The rest of the nobility weren't too happy when they heard the news and also agreed to participate,they also wanted to find the culprit behind this attack as this destroyed their chance to get rid of the problem.
Two days later they waited in the meeting chamber for the exiles to make contact.
They waited for a few hours because they didn't know the exact time the call would come.
-Finally the communication officer reported the incoming call.
When the Image of Tommy showed up on the main screen Daniel was the first to speak.
-Hi Tommy it's good to see you.
-Hi bossman it's good to see you too but what's with the audience?
Tommy asked, seeing around a dozen people sitting around a table.
-His majesty the emperor and all leaders of noble families would like to renew the offer they gave you previously.
Daniel said already knowing that there is only one answer to that proposition.
-You have got to be joking right now.
Tomy said not believing that Daniel even proposed this.
-Captain if you would just hear me out.
The elder spoke.
-Speak but know that nobody on my ship trusts nobles anymore.
Tommy informed him with a cold voice.
-The attack on you wasn't ordered by any one present here,on the contrary we all want to resolve this conflict without any more violence.
-That's odd,Admiral Litvinenko told me the opposite story,he claimed that he was ordered by the heads of the noble families to capture or destroy us disregarding the parole.
-Then he must have been misinformed because none of us knew about it until Daniel informed me.
The elder was sweating while speaking, he felt the emperor's gaze on his back.
-Where is the admiral at this time?
-Dead along with his whole fleet.
Tommy asked without even a shred of emotion in his voice.
They all knew that this man did not leave survivors.
-Then could you reconsider our proposition, and I assure you that this time there won't be any more incidents.
-You are too late old man, if that fleet didn't attack us then this would all be over by now.
We wanted to add only one condition to the deal and it stated that the nobles couldn't attack us in any way after we came back.
But even if what you say is true and it was someone else who sent that fleet it just shows that you can't even guarantee our safety and we won't take the risk.
We already left the imperial space so there is nothing you can offer us.
Tommy stated the position of his crew.
-Then will you say that my word is also worth nothing to you?
The emperor asked.
-Your majesty you can pardon us but just as the heads of the noble families can't guarantee that we will be safe neither can you.
And according to the agreement we didn't even have the time to agree to, that would be something required for us.
-Then am I to presume that you will attack the nobility in revenge?
The emperor asked, surprised by what he heard.
-I personally have some conflicts with the Henderson family and they will get what's coming to them.
Some of my crew have a grudge against the other families so yes we will come after them.
-Why can't you just let it go? Like you said, you are already out of the empire so the nobles can't harm you, and there is an invasion coming to our borders so I need the noble families power to stop it.
The emperor couldn't believe that he had to ask some mercenary for mercy for the nobles.
-Your majesty,when they hunted my sister i restrained myself and didn't fight back unless i had no other choice, I didn't want to offend them more than i had to and thanks to that my best friend is dead and my sister was used to heal some noble brat and she to almost died.
I was tortured and sent into exile where I was drugged with a forbidden drug.
Now you want me to show mercy to the people who took everything from me and sent me to hell.
Not to mention that they will probably try to kill me if they get the chance.
-Is there really no way to reconcile?
The emperor asked, already knowing the answer.
-Your majesty, I wanted to abandon my revenge for the sake of my crew and what did I get in return?
-But your sister is alive and you escaped. Why can't you just forgive my family?We did all of this to save my daughter and I have no doubt that you would do the same for your sister if you were in the same situation.
Arnold Henderson said, trying to reason with Tommy.
-That's where you're wrong.I would never do something like what you did to us.
My sister would rather die herself than take another's life so that she could survive and let me assure you that you didn't save your daughter,at most you bought her some more time and on that note tell Eric that I will thank him for the treatment he gave me.
Tommy said with a voice so cold that everyone felt the chill running down their spines.
-Calm down please, we all know that you have every reason to be angry but please just listen to what we are trying to say.
Liliane tried to calm the storm.
-And what is that?
Tommy asked.
-We want to offer you a deal; you will be pardoned and we all will make sure that no one from the noble families will ever bother you again and all we want in return is that you will not attack us in any way.
She offered but deep down she knew that he wouldn't take that deal.
-You see there is one problem with this deal and its that i can't trust you.Furthermore you can't guarantee anything to anyone and the proof is that fleet we destroyed,i can believe you that it wasn't any of the heads of families who sent them but that only means that you have no control over your own people.
Tommy explained and she couldn't refute any of his words.
-This is a waste of time.Daniel i will contact you again later.
Saying that he disconnected.
-Well it was worth a try.
Daniel said after Tommy disconnected.
-Is there really no way to make him trust us and consider our deal?
The Elder asked.
-There is only one person who he will listen to but she's in a coma and according to Jenny she won't wake up any time soon.
Daniel answered.
-That's right we still have his sister….
Eduardo started but was cut off
-You don't have anyone! Helen is under my protection and if you wish to die faster then Jenny will be happy to tear you limb from limb if you so much as think about using her as a bargaining chip.
Do you know how hard it was to stop my men from killing the Henderson family?
Everyone went quiet after his words.