Chapter 230 Meeting With Z (2) (2/2)

Without Stone, travel across the harsher parts of the Waste becomes very difficult

Without Crone and her Poppies, deter safe and efficient supply routes becoe

And without Deset news of Panopticon and government movement Or, when needed, villain movement

Had Desmond not been here, ould not have known about the incident in Haven We would not have known about the Dark Six standing against us, either

Should Desmond break this trust, he will be cut off, and unless he and his Spiders are willing to coer survive in the Wastelands"

"Oh? And what if he does? What if the Dark Six offers him a deal so sweet for him and his people he thinks he can survive all he wants without all of you," said Aldrich

"Certainly possible But then he loses freedom," said Z She noted Aldrich's confusion "You do not understand But freedom is what drives the nomad spirit Most of the Spiders under Desmond live here because they believe in this ideal of freedom

Freedom from surveillance Freedom from control Freedom from society

If Desmond tells them he will sell their freedom away to work for the Dark Six, he will have quite the revolt on his hands"

"I see," said Aldrich "Freedohly But I can understand the want for it"

"Freedom is not simply a want, it is a need," said Z "Like food and shelter Humans by nature, even when born with tremendous powers, strive for freedom Some wish to be freer than others Some wish for everyone to be as free as therasps for freedom" Z tapped the CID chips on the table "And I a these"

She slid the chips over, and Aldrich pocketed theainst you"

"My plans are to remain neutral But I presume you mean us nomads as a whole

All the noht for the sake of our safety If you ine as promised, the other tribes will ally with you for security's sake

If not, well, I do not possess Crone's future sight, but I foresee that things will be quite a bit more difficult for both of us"

"I know" Aldrich knew full well that if he did not obtain Sentinel status, the nooodith the Dark Six

He did not believe Clint and his Spearhorns would Clint seeainst the Dark Six which, added on to his strong want for adventure, made it much easier for him to side with Aldrich

But the others, he did not particularly trust yet Especially Des on Des anything suspicious was the moment he found a way to out Desmond and eliminate him If possible, Aldrich wanted to raise Desmond as his undead to access the information he possessed

But Desmond was a small fry co Sentinel status Aldrich would becoovernreatest force on the planet

Yet even then, he felt confident he could survive He could just hide out in the Wastelands, perhaps even in areas ripe with Null ore, and build up his power in hiding

nobody could really stop him No matter what, Aldrich would build up his power

However, Aldrich wanted to hold out and see if the AA-Panop complex would ith him He wanted access to their resources, and he knew they wanted access to his strength, now more so than ever with the recent rant your technos access to secure coet in touch with us," said Z "Update us on Thanatos's path to Sentinel status So far, Thanatos has quite the popular fanbase, but popularity aloneof a Fortune heir h"

"I will" Aldrich stood up, readying to leave "Oh, and oneV says they are home"

Z's eyes widened for a brief uncharacteristic moment before they narrowed back down to her usual sharp coolness "Is V with you?"

"Why does it matter to you?" said Aldrich

"…" Z looked away, and for a brief moment, Aldrich felt like he could see Z's eyes waver in so sadness "I suppose it does not Enjoy your stay in the coet to know the other chiefs a little better if you can After all, we must part ways by tomorrow"