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Niigata - A personal meeting - Shinju - 04-20-2019
Niigata - 59th Sigma star system
Taruko Ishibashi was getting ready for expected meeting aboard Niigata with, for her, valuable person, Ezrael Vertiga. This guy has proven his worth during era of Takashi, so Taruko herself doubted much would change. It's just a try after all.
Few hours later, she relocated herself to the corridor connecting hangars and drydocks, just in case Ezrael would bring lighter or heavier asset. She really didn't want to miss him, that wouldn't be the best first impression. Taruko chose a regular uniform, nothing serious as one would expect of retired guildmistress. Light blue strips on her sides decorated otherwise darker blue, almost black, uniform, having her black hair tied in ponytail style. The time was running slowly now, was it because she was nervous, as she hadn't a formal meeting like this one for years?
RE: Niigata - A personal meeting - Sombs - 04-20-2019
April 20th, 826 A.S. - Sigma-59
The Bridge was fully crewed. It was a rare occasion, especially lately. The Apahanta just had jumped to Sigma-59, remaining in the distance to not show up on the sensors while charging the cloaking device. The GMG didn't like foreign capitals in their territory, and Ezrael didn't want to provoke anything more than necessary. Noel's eyes grew big as the young boy entered the bridge, noticing Ezrael and Commander Aguilar standing at the railing of the bridge stage, looking up at the main screen. Everyone else was doing the same, taking in the view.
Niigata Star City was one of the few neutral spots the Apahanta was visiting frequently, although mostly cloaked, but every time the ship was in Sigma-59, the mood all over the ship was changing to something more positive. Something happy. A city in the stars, in a shiny blue system that often gave the impression of being peaceful and untouched by wargames.
The young Rheinlander moved next to his Captain and shared the view with him. "It's beautiful..."
"Yeah," the Captain gave back, his mind slightly absent as he stared at the Star City. "Is everything prepared?"
"The Attractive Rover is fully fueled, trading goods in the cargo bay and Sombs is waiting for you at the hangar bay already."
"And you?"
Noel turned his head, looking at the Curacaoan. "Me?"
"You're coming with me as well. I want you to explore the station a bit with Sombra. Maybe you two find something nice for the crew, or just have fun a bit. You've been on this ship for months without visiting a station. Everyone else has had their little day off already, just not you."
"I'm Rheinlandian, wouldn't that be a bad idea for me to go there?" the boy asked.
"Your english is fluent and without accent, and you don't really look like a stereotypical Rheiny. Don't worry, just enjoy the time there. If anything happens, you still have Sombra with you." He smirked at the boy. "You'll love it."
Noel first wanted to protest, but then realized he had no reason to. And no choice, given Ezrael was taking his hand already and pulled him with him to the door, to leave the bridge. Then down to the hangar bay. And then to the little Hussar, the Attractive Rover. Only now Ezrael realized that this was a bit impractical with three people in the cockpit. He sat down in his pilot seat, had Sombra on his lap and Noel squeezed himself between her and the piloting controls. It was slightly awkward. "I mean, the autopilot will suffice," Ezrael commented.
The cockpit closed and sealed itself, the autopilot took over, the hangar was cleared. The doors opened, the shields lowered, and for a short moment, only ten klicks away from Niigata, the Apahanta fell out of cloak as the Attractive Rover left the ship. And few seconds later, the battleship was invisible again while the overcrowded snub headed to the Star City.
It took only a few minutes until the Attractive Rover had landed in the public hangar section, unfar from where Taruko was waiting for her guest. The cockpit opened up, and from higher points it was well visible how stuffed it was in the cockpit before the 23 years young Noel climbed out and down the ladder, followed by Sombra, who didn't wait for Noel to leave the ladder as she slid it down. Noel managed to make a step away from the ladder just in time as the woman in her skin-tight black and blue flight suit reached the ground. She then took his hand and pulled him away from the ladder, looking up at Ezrael, who was still in the cockpit.
"Good luck with that chick!" she yelled up, "I've seen a picture of her on the neural net, she's pretty. Ring once you're done with her!"
"Have fun, you two," Ezrael merely returned, looking down at them for a moment before checking his appearance. Apahanta suit, black leather jacket, PDA in the pocket. Standard. He raked his fingers through his hair, just to make sure it didn't look weird. Then he climbed down the ladder, signaled the ship to close the cockpit and turned around. Curious about the job offer the GMG had for him, he made his way to the security checkpoint. He was expecting someone to lead him to the former guildmistress, but little did he know, she was already present and watching him.
Niigata Star City was one of the few neutral spots the Apahanta was visiting frequently, although mostly cloaked, but every time the ship was in Sigma-59, the mood all over the ship was changing to something more positive. Something happy. A city in the stars, in a shiny blue system that often gave the impression of being peaceful and untouched by wargames.
The young Rheinlander moved next to his Captain and shared the view with him. "It's beautiful..."
"Yeah," the Captain gave back, his mind slightly absent as he stared at the Star City. "Is everything prepared?"
"The Attractive Rover is fully fueled, trading goods in the cargo bay and Sombs is waiting for you at the hangar bay already."
"And you?"
Noel turned his head, looking at the Curacaoan. "Me?"
"You're coming with me as well. I want you to explore the station a bit with Sombra. Maybe you two find something nice for the crew, or just have fun a bit. You've been on this ship for months without visiting a station. Everyone else has had their little day off already, just not you."
"I'm Rheinlandian, wouldn't that be a bad idea for me to go there?" the boy asked.
"Your english is fluent and without accent, and you don't really look like a stereotypical Rheiny. Don't worry, just enjoy the time there. If anything happens, you still have Sombra with you." He smirked at the boy. "You'll love it."
Noel first wanted to protest, but then realized he had no reason to. And no choice, given Ezrael was taking his hand already and pulled him with him to the door, to leave the bridge. Then down to the hangar bay. And then to the little Hussar, the Attractive Rover. Only now Ezrael realized that this was a bit impractical with three people in the cockpit. He sat down in his pilot seat, had Sombra on his lap and Noel squeezed himself between her and the piloting controls. It was slightly awkward. "I mean, the autopilot will suffice," Ezrael commented.
The cockpit closed and sealed itself, the autopilot took over, the hangar was cleared. The doors opened, the shields lowered, and for a short moment, only ten klicks away from Niigata, the Apahanta fell out of cloak as the Attractive Rover left the ship. And few seconds later, the battleship was invisible again while the overcrowded snub headed to the Star City.
It took only a few minutes until the Attractive Rover had landed in the public hangar section, unfar from where Taruko was waiting for her guest. The cockpit opened up, and from higher points it was well visible how stuffed it was in the cockpit before the 23 years young Noel climbed out and down the ladder, followed by Sombra, who didn't wait for Noel to leave the ladder as she slid it down. Noel managed to make a step away from the ladder just in time as the woman in her skin-tight black and blue flight suit reached the ground. She then took his hand and pulled him away from the ladder, looking up at Ezrael, who was still in the cockpit.
"Good luck with that chick!" she yelled up, "I've seen a picture of her on the neural net, she's pretty. Ring once you're done with her!"
"Have fun, you two," Ezrael merely returned, looking down at them for a moment before checking his appearance. Apahanta suit, black leather jacket, PDA in the pocket. Standard. He raked his fingers through his hair, just to make sure it didn't look weird. Then he climbed down the ladder, signaled the ship to close the cockpit and turned around. Curious about the job offer the GMG had for him, he made his way to the security checkpoint. He was expecting someone to lead him to the former guildmistress, but little did he know, she was already present and watching him.
RE: Niigata - A personal meeting - Shinju - 04-20-2019
Niigata - 59th Sigma star system
Ishibashi was walking there and back in circles, trying to find out how to begins n such conversation.
"Hmmmph, what are you doing... You've hired so many people and even had diplomatic talks..." she tried to relax herself and remembered her old times in the Guild. Being a head of paramilitary gave her confidence back then, but now she was just a regular member with fruitful past. The time was passing rather quickly as soon as the, not so common in this part of the universe, ship docked. Taruko was watching this process on the screen. 3 people jumped out, one woman and two men.
She clearly recognized Ezrael, thanks to their communication, however the other two bugged her mind a little.
Apparently Ezreal hasn't noticed yet that Taruko was watching him carefully as he was approaching her. She raised her hand in order to stop him. She was a bit more smaller compared to Ezrael than she thought. "Welcome on Niigata, Vertiga-sama. I hope the journey was well and without troubles." Said Taruko and bowed down slightly. Then she gestured towards the huge metal door. "Do you prefer place like a bar or conference room for such occasion, Vertiga-sama."
RE: Niigata - A personal meeting - Sombs - 04-20-2019
The kusarian etiquette. He had forgotten about that when he thought about coming here. Bowing down in a similar way, just a bit slower as he thought that was more polite, he looked up at her again. For a woman in the mid-twenties she looked rather mature. Sombra was a head taller than her and looked more like a teenager. Maybe that was because he knew her since her teenie days.
"An honor to meet you in person, Ishibashi-sama. I hope I can meet your expectations on me." Pausing for a moment to take in the view in a rather obvious but not intrusive manner, he continued. "While I don't mind to share a bottle of wine with you, I believe professionalism demands a more secured location than a bar. Spies and information traders know exactly where to go to feed on their sources." In fact, if he ever wanted information, he would camp a bar.
"An honor to meet you in person, Ishibashi-sama. I hope I can meet your expectations on me." Pausing for a moment to take in the view in a rather obvious but not intrusive manner, he continued. "While I don't mind to share a bottle of wine with you, I believe professionalism demands a more secured location than a bar. Spies and information traders know exactly where to go to feed on their sources." In fact, if he ever wanted information, he would camp a bar.
RE: Niigata - A personal meeting - Shinju - 04-20-2019
Niigata - 59th Sigma star system
Ishibashi was pleasantry surprised by his manners, it seemed he did know how to behave in presence of Kusarian. She had it in her blood for generations, luckily nobody knew more about her. She liked his style, even his confidence when speaking. She liked that.
"One would say you are quite paranoid... But I guess it's just your own secure way how to stay low and unnoticed." Taruko couldn't really help herself and let grin slip onto her face. Then she gestured towards front door, behind them a huge hall appeared, it seemed like one of the main hubs which were connected to important sections of Niigata.
A little bit later both of them reached the conference room. There was absolutely nothing beside a huge wooden table with twenty chairs all around it and few flowers resting on the table in one long vase.
"A bottle of wine is nothing impossible to order,
if you aren't worried about something however." She said and slowly sat down just in the middle. She took a deep breath and smiled at Ezreal before she began speaking.. "So, Vertiga-sama. What do you know about 80 year war and the relics?"
RE: Niigata - A personal meeting - Sombs - 04-20-2019
Paranoid. The Order and Lane Hackers were actively hunting him, the Core was probably still rather unhappy about him being out there and even Gallia managed to create a dossier on him, although that one was probably only fed with clips of him on the neural net. Following the former guildmistress patiently, he took in the view. Niigata was one hell of a station and even though he came here rather frequently, he never got to explore everything.
When they reached the conference room, he took a seat not too far from her, however with respectable distance. "I'll admit I'm not a historian, but I believe I know enough about the 80 year war to not embarrass myself entirely. The GMG won against Rheinland, using hit and run manouvers in the crow nebula to ambush targets of opportunity, which eventually resulted in a ship graveyard in Sigma-13. However, over time the graveyard grew smaller and smaller, and while I doubt Rheinland dared to enter Sigma-13 to salvage what they lost there, I wouldn't be surprised if the Guild managed to either strike a bunch of very lucrative deals with their allies regarding rheinlandian technology and materials, or even to reclaim some of the ships to add them to their own fleet. Either that or the Junkers, Corsairs and Maltese did. In any case, someone has."
He smirked at her. "I personally hope history repeats itself in your case. Rheinland's military and economy are still in shambles from the war with Liberty, and now they push into the Sigmas again while the Guild seems to be thriving more than ever. Okinawa, 59, 21. A long list of allies, or at least enemies of your enemies that joined your efforts in Sigma-21 when the war started. And the new Benzaiten-class, and the still rather up-do-date Bishamon-class gunboat. Excellent ship, by the way, saved my life at least two times already." He leaned with an elbow on the table, supporting his head with a fist while looking at her. "Nevertheless, Miss Ishibashi, it is still a war. And it would be an absolute disaster if this one would last another eighty years. So if my little bit of assistance can help ending this war faster, in your favor, I will do what I can, within reasonable limits."
When they reached the conference room, he took a seat not too far from her, however with respectable distance. "I'll admit I'm not a historian, but I believe I know enough about the 80 year war to not embarrass myself entirely. The GMG won against Rheinland, using hit and run manouvers in the crow nebula to ambush targets of opportunity, which eventually resulted in a ship graveyard in Sigma-13. However, over time the graveyard grew smaller and smaller, and while I doubt Rheinland dared to enter Sigma-13 to salvage what they lost there, I wouldn't be surprised if the Guild managed to either strike a bunch of very lucrative deals with their allies regarding rheinlandian technology and materials, or even to reclaim some of the ships to add them to their own fleet. Either that or the Junkers, Corsairs and Maltese did. In any case, someone has."
He smirked at her. "I personally hope history repeats itself in your case. Rheinland's military and economy are still in shambles from the war with Liberty, and now they push into the Sigmas again while the Guild seems to be thriving more than ever. Okinawa, 59, 21. A long list of allies, or at least enemies of your enemies that joined your efforts in Sigma-21 when the war started. And the new Benzaiten-class, and the still rather up-do-date Bishamon-class gunboat. Excellent ship, by the way, saved my life at least two times already." He leaned with an elbow on the table, supporting his head with a fist while looking at her. "Nevertheless, Miss Ishibashi, it is still a war. And it would be an absolute disaster if this one would last another eighty years. So if my little bit of assistance can help ending this war faster, in your favor, I will do what I can, within reasonable limits."
RE: Niigata - A personal meeting - Shinju - 04-21-2019
Niigata - 59th Sigma star system
Impressive. That's how Taruko would describe Vertiga's speech, however knowledge about the war was of the common human being. Only Guild's people probably knew everything or is it the past everyone has already forgotten about? Taruko closed her eyes for a little while while thoughts were put in the good order in her head.
"You've got a basic knowledge, not really a surprise. I like that." A cheeky smirk escaped, but she had to continue in order not to sound harsh or something.
"People only know there was a war, almost nobody remembers why, who caused it, what all sides had to go through. Kruger was the first participant of the war as they entered our space and exploited our fields. The Empire needed fuel, so they had to remove us. Maybe to your surprise, it was Kruger who mostly slaughtered our people on the gas miners before they seized our stations. One of the reasons we used to pirate and murder them even after the war. I even ordered my paramilitary to follow these fools from Sigmas to Munich and Frankfurt, because they thought they were safe as sson as they crossed the border. Rheinland didn't like it, but they could do nothing about it." Taruko took a deep breath again before she continued. "We won the war thanks to the Empire's arrogance and ignorance, slaughtering Krugers in order to avenge our innocent and fallen civilians aboard Naha. That's not all however. We took the price from the Empire. Three old Battleships stood up in the Guild's lines, thanks to our great engineer Namura-sama. Namura, Daishouri and Ayakashi, these three served us for a long time and only one is still active to this day. Namura was lost to Maltese nation, when we tried to establish contact, there goes our hate towards Malta. Daishouri is nearby, guarding... However my eyes are looking to the third one, the one I used to command before. The Ayakashi. She was heavily damaged few days after my " retirement" so to say and nobody was willing to bring her back. None of these guildmasters was able to bring her back, not even Namura himself. Who knows if he is direct descendant of engineer Namura, it's not important. It's important to restore the relic of the war. I need to secure the guild's future, I believe you understand that."
"This is something I need you for. We will be looking for the spare parts, I am aware Daumann is building these ships on the Ring. I need someone who can find out what's going on in New Berlin. We won't be able to just purchase these parts during war, however there is one more plan. Recently Military invaded Honshu with several battleships. I believe they will be somewhere on the south. This is the source of the so needed parts for Ayakashi. Do YOU believe you could find where are these ships located? I would send my own scouts but the unnecessary alarm would cause them to switch locations, something we cannot afford... I am talking way too much, tell me Vertiga-sama. Can I trust you enough to give out something secret?"
RE: Niigata - A personal meeting - Sombs - 04-21-2019
The Curacaoan leaned back in his seat, chewing on his cheek, visibly thinking about something. Two jobs, one to scout the Rheinland fleet in Kusari house space, the other an investigation in New Berlin. Lost in thought, he didn't realize he was staring at Taruko's chest for a while before looking up again. "Don't share secrets with me, Ishibashi-sama. The less I know, the less I can be accused of whistleblowing should another party find out about your secrets. I'm rather paranoidic when it comes to such things, mostly because I value my life and those of my... entourage, as the gallic say."
Then he leaned forward, giving her his charming smirk. "I happen to have the means of moving around unseen, that much I can assure you. I'm certain I can use my resources to scout Honshu for you without Rheinland noticing anything. There two issues, though. First of all, I don't know the latest jump hole connections of Kusari. My asset will be required to reach Honshu either via hyperspace jump, meaning I would need precise coordinates for Honshu, or a map with of Kusari's stable jump holes. A simple route would suffice, just nothing that can be tracked, like trade lanes or jump gates. My asset would be in violation with the laws of Kusari, and I would like to prefer any trouble with the lawfuls." The tip of his tongue was licking over his lower lip for a moment, as talking made it feel like it was getting dry.
"The other issue is the nebulae in Honshu. As far as I recall it, the Crow is messing with sensor systems. If they hide in these nebulae, chances are we come dangerously close to them. They would pick up our EM radiation and know someone is watching them. It is a risky task, and I need you to be sure whether you want me to do that, knowing the risk of them might becoming aware of someone knowing their current location."
Once more he stared unfocused into the room. "As for the Rheinland part, I'm not sure. Moving through Rheinland is not too difficult, and I know the most important jump holes in that region from previous transits. If they build new ships, they do so either in Hamburg at the Alster Shipyard or in New Berlin at the Ring, which is considerably better secured than Alster. Passing by more than once there would cause suspicion, and moving my other asset there would be risky. However, the scans would be more detailed. So, my question would be, Ishibashi-sama, what could you offer as recompensation for this job?"
He eyed her for a moment, then opened his mouth again before she could. "The Order came to Sigma-21 to assist Kusari and GMG against Rheinland. I know Kusari considers them terrorists, but I don't know the Guild's stance towards them. I'm inclined to believe your relations with them are quite better. Is that true?"
Then he leaned forward, giving her his charming smirk. "I happen to have the means of moving around unseen, that much I can assure you. I'm certain I can use my resources to scout Honshu for you without Rheinland noticing anything. There two issues, though. First of all, I don't know the latest jump hole connections of Kusari. My asset will be required to reach Honshu either via hyperspace jump, meaning I would need precise coordinates for Honshu, or a map with of Kusari's stable jump holes. A simple route would suffice, just nothing that can be tracked, like trade lanes or jump gates. My asset would be in violation with the laws of Kusari, and I would like to prefer any trouble with the lawfuls." The tip of his tongue was licking over his lower lip for a moment, as talking made it feel like it was getting dry.
"The other issue is the nebulae in Honshu. As far as I recall it, the Crow is messing with sensor systems. If they hide in these nebulae, chances are we come dangerously close to them. They would pick up our EM radiation and know someone is watching them. It is a risky task, and I need you to be sure whether you want me to do that, knowing the risk of them might becoming aware of someone knowing their current location."
Once more he stared unfocused into the room. "As for the Rheinland part, I'm not sure. Moving through Rheinland is not too difficult, and I know the most important jump holes in that region from previous transits. If they build new ships, they do so either in Hamburg at the Alster Shipyard or in New Berlin at the Ring, which is considerably better secured than Alster. Passing by more than once there would cause suspicion, and moving my other asset there would be risky. However, the scans would be more detailed. So, my question would be, Ishibashi-sama, what could you offer as recompensation for this job?"
He eyed her for a moment, then opened his mouth again before she could. "The Order came to Sigma-21 to assist Kusari and GMG against Rheinland. I know Kusari considers them terrorists, but I don't know the Guild's stance towards them. I'm inclined to believe your relations with them are quite better. Is that true?"
RE: Niigata - A personal meeting - Shinju - 04-21-2019
Niigata - 59th Sigma star system
Not really a person of manners. Thought Tarujo when she noticed where his eyes were lingering, however she was just going to pretend like it hasn't happened at all.
"EM signals... That's something I forgot about, I am not really into special equipment like cloaks, so please pardon my thought. This option about Bismarcks in Honshu is now void, due to a huge risk." Taruko exhaled, while her eyes were fixed with Ezrael's. She was never good at showing right expressions, even now when she found out the adventure may be too risky. She closed her eyes for a moment and released a deep sigh.
"So Rheinland it is, however I believe I will have to contact someone else, as this task is risky for you. Not really feeling like I would mess somebody's reputation because of something precious like my mission." Crossing her arms, she leaned forward and raised her eyebrow slightly. "Vertiga-sama, you shouldn't really contradict your statements, unless you want to give me doubts about you. You aren't interested in the secrets, yet you would like to know informations which aren't available to public. We have nothing to do with them as we do not share anything in common. They hunt aliens, we extract helium and produce H-Fuel. They don't bother us, we don't bother them. Same goes basically for everyone except the known entities like Outcasts, Corsairs, Kruger and now Rheinland. Does it satisfy your curiosity?"
RE: Niigata - A personal meeting - Sombs - 04-21-2019
Chewing on his cheek again while listening to her, he kept thinking about it. On one hand, she claimed GMG and Order ignored each other mostly. On the other hand, she told him to not contradict his statements regarding not wanting to know secrets but asking about their relationship with the Order. Given the size of the Order, it was likely they had trading partners aside from the Zoners. Given how the Overwatch treated the Zoners, so he thought, maybe it was the Guild that provided H-Fuel for the Order. In any case, her admitting that the GMG is not outright hostile to the Order was enough to know. "EM radiation is usually very weak. The most powerful sensor arrays can detect suspicious concentrations of EM radiation, for example caused by cloaking devices, in a range of up to three or four clicks. Outside of nebulae, that would be easy to deal with. Scouting Honshu would be easy, the only issue would be the nebulae, which might reduce the sensor range of my asset to half. On the other hand, Miss Ishibashi, the Rheinlanders will suffer the from the same sensor disruptions if they are in the Crow. We don't need to discard the idea fully. I would just need to be extremely careful, which is what I can be."
He took a deep breath before continuing. "What would happen in the worst case? Rheinland would detect suspicious signals, maybe use cloak disruptors and they would see something highly unusual on their sensors. In the worst case, they intercept me, and I would give them one hell of a fight, which would most likely make it even easier to spot them. It would mean they would either need to strike before Kusari can react or relocate their fleets. But that is only in the worst case. I'm highly confident I can move without them noticing anything, and even if they pick up any signals, my asset could jump out faster than they could react. I personally don't believe the chance of anything going wrong is high. The chance is there, but not high." He smirked at her again. "The risk is worth it, Miss Ishibashi, and the war won't offer you many opportunities with lower risks."
He leaned back again, keeping up his smile. "All you need to do is give me a jump hole map to Honshu, preferably one that is unlikely to have been used by Rheinland. I don't want to leave subspace and collide with the rear of a Turtle."
He took a deep breath before continuing. "What would happen in the worst case? Rheinland would detect suspicious signals, maybe use cloak disruptors and they would see something highly unusual on their sensors. In the worst case, they intercept me, and I would give them one hell of a fight, which would most likely make it even easier to spot them. It would mean they would either need to strike before Kusari can react or relocate their fleets. But that is only in the worst case. I'm highly confident I can move without them noticing anything, and even if they pick up any signals, my asset could jump out faster than they could react. I personally don't believe the chance of anything going wrong is high. The chance is there, but not high." He smirked at her again. "The risk is worth it, Miss Ishibashi, and the war won't offer you many opportunities with lower risks."
He leaned back again, keeping up his smile. "All you need to do is give me a jump hole map to Honshu, preferably one that is unlikely to have been used by Rheinland. I don't want to leave subspace and collide with the rear of a Turtle."