Samuel stepped forward, cowboy hat in hand but black hoodie pulled up to partially conceal his head. Still looking young though the lines around his eyes and his stubbled jaul meant he was at least in his early 30s.
He grinned and raised his free hand in greeting.
"Hi. Brother Edgar mentioned that I might be of use to ya'll. Didn't say how but oh well..."

In reply to Samuel Gibson (msg # 8):

Brother Edgar laughed.

"Oh, don't be modest! Samuel here is a Junker, and a resident of Junkyard. I'm sure he's got skills and equipment Simon can use. The Junkers are well-represented between the Chamber and the locals under Doc Schwartz. Samuel's an independent. No one owns him.

"And don't worry, he's not one of the Gonzers you might have heard of. Or maybe not."

 Rowan nods
" Welcome If brother Edgar speaks for you then that is enough for now."
"The rest is for another time".

Rowan turns her attention back to Simon and what is happening

Peter looked the new Junker over that Brother Edgar was gently pushing their way. He then gave a small shrug. "I trust Brother Edgar, so like Rowan said..." He held out his hand to Samuel. "I am Peter Firecrow."

In reply to Peter Firecrow (msg # 11):

Jane still kept an eye out for anything that might be going down, but did manage to nod in the newcomer's direction.  She would greet him a bit more later but if the others accepted him then that was good enough for her...for now.

"Nice meet you Peter. " Samuel said with a grin and a quick handshake.
"Let's get the meet and greet over with after this... I am sure ya'll have some interesting tales to tell."

In reply to Samuel Gibson (msg # 13):

The meet and greet in the ballroom went well. There were no fights, but the Old Ways shaman didn't seem to like the Junkers, there was a road ganger or two that was getting dirty looks from some of the community reps.

After an hour or so of talking and meeting, they moved to a conference room.

In reply to The Marshall (msg # 14):

Ike Turner, the mayor of Junkyard, got up an made a quick speech.

"People, you know who I am, what I want. We all stand for different things, some of our visions of the future are compatible, some might take some... compromise. But one thing is for sure, if we don't cooperate, then Throckmorton and the Combine will be in charge. Lucky he don't seem interested in dividing and conquering, allying with one faction, group or community to pit us against one another. But we all know any alliance with the Combine will end with them in charge. That's why we gotta work with one another, make common cause."

Peter made sure he stayed far away from the Old Wayers. He didn't want to cause any...complications. He listened to Ike speak and gave a small nod. He wasn't sure he trusted the man, but what he said was true enough thus far.

In reply to Peter Firecrow (msg # 16):

Simon got up to speak. "I don't have much to say. The Templars will be there for this fight. For a long time I didn't like the way Junkyard cooperated and sheltered scum like the bike and road gangs. I thought it was a mistake for Ike to try and cultivate scumbags as allies. Because they couldn't be trusted when push came to shove. They'd just as like to cut a deal with Throckmorton and join the Combine. In the mean time, Ike keepin' Junkyard neutral meant a lot of good people got raped, robbed and killed by his "friends" out on the roads."

In reply to Simon (msg # 17):

Not expecting to have his past policies attacked, Ike's eyes narrowed.

In reply to Simon (msg # 17):

The Doomsayer smiled at Simon's words, as he'd thought the "hands off" policy of Junkyard was foolish and misguided!

Dakota, the pistol artist, watched the doors instead of the speaker.

Peter's eyes widened. He thought they were here to talk about joining forces against the Combine, but Simon seemed to be taking the opportunity to rake Junkyard's policies over the proverbial coals as it were. Peter kept a slow scan of the room and then the exits going during the conversation.

Smoker struggled to stay awake. All talk and no sensible discussion as to what they ought to do next.

Jane moved a little bit around to get a better advantage if anything went down.  Junkyard was essential for many survival but her assignment this time was for Simon and he was right.  Many people perished outside of Junkyard.  She just hoped he wouldn't totally alienate the people in here and they couldn't come back for support or resupply if needed.

Rowan softly from the rear, but loud enough for the room to hear
"In the past is death just as the present".
"To change the circle we must, forget the pasts mistakes".
"Step on to spiral of hope and aim for the future."
"Joined as one we can became far stronger than our individual parts"

"...But, I am glad to see you have, ah, cleaned house. Before, gangs were welcome in Junkyard's neutral zone. Outside they could do what they wanted. Then that changed.

"You took over the gangs, Ike, very efficiently too, I might add. Keep your enemies close! I don't see how it could have been any other way. They were unreliable as allies and even as neutrals they'd be as likely to ally with the Combine to save their own skins."

Simon finally smiled.

"Yes. I think you have what it takes, Mr. Mayor, to forge an alliance and keep it focused on the Combine and defeating Throckmorton. You have my support. Let's get to work."

Smoker might have been bored at the interplay, but everyone else was paying attention. After all, they were deciding their future! If nothing else, the lack of quality TV and internet porn had caused people to be starved for entertainment, wherever it could be found!

Most of the independent delegates, those from the small towns and non-marauding gangs, clapped and some whooped. The delegates from the other major factions, like the Junkers of the Chamber and Junkyard, the Sky Pirates, Oil Towners, etc., seemed impressed.

In reply to The Marshall (msg # 26):

Sighing with relief, Brother Edgar looked a little more hopeful this meeting would end on a productive note. He clapped. "Hear, hear!"

Smoker jerked awake at all the cheering.

Peter gave a little smirk and nod when Simon was done talking and things broke into clapping and more. For a man with not much to say, he sure said a lot. But he seems to have brought everyone around a bit it looks like.

He stayed seated, clapping a little, but focusing on keeping his eyes open.

In reply to Peter Firecrow (msg # 29):

Jane didn't clap but kept her eyes open.  It wasn't that she disagreed with Simon but she felt that it was up to them and if she clapped or didn't clap it didn't make a difference in that outcome.  So she just kept her eyes open for any disturbances caused by people who might object more strongly.

Samuel sat back and tried to pay attention to the meeting, but his focus kept drifting off to the blueprints and schematics in his all binder.
He wondered if he should build a recorder... maybe make it smart enough to get what the blue helps everyone is going on about.
And at that he began to sketch out a design.

The few minutes of speechifying were over.

All the delegates got down to the necessary (but boring) part of figuring how they could work together. There were details of who would be in command, what resources could be contributed, how many fighters could be mustered, air and ground vehicles available. The Junkers were put in charge of the logistical aspects.