A man stood in a corner, dressed finely in Civilian Clothes. A gray suit, though a bit ruffled, showed that he was clearly a professional. He did not cut corners, he did not enjoy small talk, he had a purpose in this hub of both the scum of Rheinland and those who only wished to serve it.
The time was 3:47am, New Berlin Standard Time. This man did not expect a response for several hours, but that is how he enjoyed making large deals. It allowed for onlookers to be shocked and exchange their fears and beliefs while a second party debated on what should be done.
In the corner was a small booth, used to communicate with other stations throughout Rheinland and the Bordering Worlds. It was old, of that there was no doubt, but it still functioned to the best of it's abilities. Hopefully it was still capable of calling through the Lightyears required for this message.
The man clicked a few buttons, and began his message. Nearly no one knew of this number, for good reason, and it had taken the man quite a bit of time to find it.
Transmission Streaming....
Origin: Kreuzberg Depot
Subject: A Meeting
To: Pacifica Command Center
"Greetings, Unioners, you keep this channel quite a secret. For good reason, I would assume. I am Johann Steinlaufer, Representative of the Landwirtrechtbewegung. It would appear that your plights and cries have been ignored by our Chancellor and the Berliners just as ours have. At this, I would like to offer you a friendship.
The LWB will not, however, negotiate solely over radio communication. We offer a meeting here, at Kreuzberg, a neutral ground. We have already gone through the process of renting a large room, and setup the necessary furnishing for negotiations. If we do not meet within seventy-two hours of your receiving this message, we will assume that you are disinterested, and abandon the prospect.
I will await your response with great anticipation."
Transmission Lost...
The man stood clicked a few buttons to end the transmission and stood from the device. He brushed his graying temples and walked away from the machine, towards a hall that had several doors on it's walls, much like a hotel.
<Kreuzberg Message System>
Subject: Diplomatic Meetings aboard Kreuzberg
Sender: Christopher Thorn, Junker's Union
"It has come to my attention that the LWB and Unioners are seeking to hold a diplomatic meeting on Kreuzberg Depot. Before, During, and After this meeting, the Junker's Union will have guards positioned both onboard the station and flying tight patrols in Kreuzberg Space.
We expect this meeting to go smoothly, our guards exist for the protection of the station and it's residents. Any hostilities onboard Kreuzberg will not be tolerated, nor will any attacks from without directed at disrupting this meeting.
Junker stations are home to all, so long as they abide our rules and cause no trouble. I hope this meeting goes well for all parties involved.
Union out."
**Pacifica Base, Bering System**
"About time."
Eyeing the blinking light, Herr Metzger ceased pacing the command center's unforgiving metal floor, reached for his keyboard, and entered the code that would project the message onto a waiting screen. Depositing his ponderous bulk in the adjacent moth-eaten swivel chair, Herr Metzger began to read..
Herr Metzger grunted, satisfied, sat up from his slouch, and conjured up the keyboard once more. As tensed and alert as it's possible to be for a man of Stefan Metzger's size to be, the Unioner scanned Johann Steinlaufer's message once more before he struck the first key.
Transmission Streaming....
Origin: Pacifica Command Center
Subject: Took you long enough..
To: Kreuzberg Depot
"Herr Steinlaufer. Delighted. It's about time you found the Pacifica line.
Confused? The man that tipped you off aboard Yanagi; Herr Lutz? Remember? I do hope he wasn't too obvious; he's quite the Eagle pilot, but not really suited to intrigue.
Come, now, don't be surprised; surely you didn't believe that only the LWB wanted to .. renegotiate our relationship? The Rheinland Union has attentively watched as the LWB came under new leadership.. we like what we see. Of course, we of all people shouldn't be talking; the Unioners have collectively suffered greatly over the past two decades. All I mean is that we believe you and your confederates, Herr Steinlaufer, to be men of reason and sense; we, too, believe the time is right to embrace the future, and we, too, wanted a meeting of this sort.
But I ramble; forgive me. We are of course overjoyed that you traced our secret line, we're glad to see a promising start to a hopefully promising new relationship, and we accept your offer with the greatest pleasure. I will be present and will be conducting our share of the talks; I will in all likelihood bring several of my best and brightest to ensure the Unioners are duly represented. As a show of faith, we'll disarm ourselves; we certainly hope something constructive will come of this meeting. Bring weapons as you please, Herr Steinlaufer; trust is unfortunately so often not mutual.
Pleasure to have spoken.. well, "spoken".. with you; between you and me, it's about time we settle our differences.
-Union Representative Stefan Metzger
Transmission Lost....
The room that the LWB had rented for diplomatic purposes could easily be described as spartan. It was conspicuously missing the wall adornments of most "hotels," and the tables, chairs, and beds were quite basic, being hardly more than metal slabs covered with cloth, and a mattress in the case of the bed.
Johann sat at the table sifting through papers, signing reports, and other such things necessary to keeping up with the LWB's diplomatic troubles. Normally, the LWB hadn't many troubles, and the lawfuls mainly left them alone, being sympathetic to their plight, but after the call for a renewed fight by Johann's predecessor, a crackdown on the LWB's activities soon followed.
A bell toned, there was a visitor. One of the two LWB Johann had brought with him looked at the video screen which showed what the surveillance camera saw while the other looked through the manual eye-hole in the door. It was the Junker's Union guard that had been stationed outside the room along with the Unioner Stefan Metzger. Johann signaled to let them in.
Stefan and his men walked into the room, followed by the Junker's Union guard. Johann signaled for him to leave, and he did so. Stefan sat down at the table, while his three men shook hands with Johann's.
"Ah, Herr Metzger I would assume? A pleasure. I am happy to see that the Unioners share our concerns about the direction der Kanzler and his predecessors have lead the House. I am, however, quite concerned as to this 'Herr Lutz,' as our pilots do not stray into Sigma-13. We have no business there....
But, on to the main point, how we can help each other, aside from mutual military assistance.
The LWB has always had logistical problems with repairing our ships, especially our flagship, the Erste Ernte. Over the years, our glorious flagship, the first gift we received from the Hessians, has taken beatings from any enemy that would dare threaten the LWB's home in the Ostnebel. It is quite damaged, and our menial knowledge of ship work prohibits us from repairing it to the best of it's abilities. Our Eagles and Odins are also battered and beaten from combat with the increasingly active RM. Any insight on how to better repair these ships would be more than appreciated. We would like to request some expert help for this endeavor, as it would increase our effectiveness by a countless amount.
In return for your help with our ships, we would like to offer you a chance to shake your dependence on the Zoners. The WVS, though still mainly controlled by Synth Foods, has made great breakthroughs on the planet due partly to our assistance. This has given us a surplus of food supplies with which to give to you. This should increase your surplus of credits a great amount, as we know the Zoners like to charge a lot of credits to those who they know need their goods. We can, however, help you solve this problem.
Does this sound reasonable?"
Johann then leaned back in his chair, confident that he had succeeded in making a good presentation, and folded his hands.
Before Stefan could react, one of the LWB men nudged Johann's shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Johann nodded sullenly, and stood.
"Herr Metzger, I apologize for this inconvenience, but Kreuzberg may no longer be a safe and neutral zone to continue negotiations for the LWB. In order to continue these negotiations, we will have to move to Freeport 2. I hope this is not much of a problem to you, and that it does not impede our conversation.
I will undergo the same customs as I had here, and I will meet you there. Until then, auf wiedersehen, Herr Metzger."
Johann walked out of the room, hardly awaiting a response, and hoped he had not looked like too much of a fool at this, or that this meeting was a waste of time. Hopefully the Unioners would receive the message from the Hessians as the LWB had and act the same way.
**Freeport 2, Bering System**
Metzger reclined his elephantine bulk in one of the Freeport's conference room's plush, well-upholstered rotating chairs and idly shuffled through some notes he'd retrieved from his gleaming suitcase under the oak-panelled conference table. A faint smirk tugged at his lips as his definitive response to Steinlaufer's initial proposal - made on Kreuzberg prior to the Junker's Union's disintegration and subsequent loss of local security - crystallized in his mind.
Straightening himself, he stared at Steinlaufer with a confident, aware look in his eyes and launched into his proposal.
"Herr Steinlaufer. How ironic that we should be discussing independence from Zoners here, eh?
Undoubtedly, we have the professional capacity to repair your ships, up to and including the Erste Ernte - a fine ship with an honorable tradition of combat. However, to be entirely frank, our primary base - the scenic and beautiful Pacifica - lacks mooring clamps as well as a berth sufficiently large to harbor anything larger than a gunboat for extended periods of time. We wouldn't be able to effectively overhaul your flagship.
However, never fear - we do, in fact, have a location that could in all likelihood securely keep the Erste Ernte during repairs. We have a base that, despite.. lacking.. Unioner solidarity in recent years, has always been kept secret from the prying eyes of the puppet Rheinwehr - Heilbronn. We'd be willing to grant you entry into Mackenzie - our most well-guarded system - for the purpose of such repairs. Jokes aside, this is quite a serious concession; I hope you understand what we're offering you.
In return, we gratefully accept your offer of economic independence from the Zoners. Frankly, just this has been a millstone about the Unioner neck for decades now. However, we require slightly more assistance than mere economic support; we'd like a little more overt assistance, as well.
You see, Herr Steinlaufer - due to the recent Rheinland/Liberty trade embargo, our previous method of sustaining ourselves, aside from Diamond smuggling - hijacking traders in Hudson and Bering - has been crippled. Traders no longer pass through the systems from which we base ourselves, and activity at Pacifica, aesthetically appealing though it may be, has reached an all-time low. To counter this, Unioners have begun to displace themselves from our erstwhile home in the Border Worlds and have spread throughout Rheinland proper to a greater degree than before for the purposes of piracy and profit. As having to exit Rheinland merely to repair and resupply after piracy and battles is an odious and dull task, and as we'd like to maintain a more.. flexible.. presence in the House itself, we'd hereby like to formally request docking rights on your Stuttgart base - Darmstadt, correct? - and permission to restock there, as well as permission to consolidate there should our men be beaten back at some point."
Stefan clasped his hands under his chin and studied his counterpart as he finished speaking.
Johann looked intently at his Unioner counterpart. Though he might want a the best coexistence for the two Rheinland factions, Johann was unsure that he could deliver on such a promise. No doubt access to the Mackenzie system was a great boon, though perhaps unneeded with the LWB's own Saar, but unbridled access to Darmstadt might strain the already limited coffers of the LWB a bit too much.
"I'm sorry, Herr Metzger, first for the abrupt disruption of our meeting, and now for this development, however, we cannot freely allow Unioner ships to indefinitely use Darmstadt as a safe haven. Though docking rights in themselves are not a problem, and I assumed that they were included in the mutual military cooperation I had mentioned earlier, the fact that we cannot sustain Unioner forces for a long period of time, however, is a problem. Unioner ships using Darmstadt as a temporary safe haven is not a problem, however we simply do not have the economic or material capacity to sustain Unioner raiding and pirating vessels in Darmstadt for prolonged periods of time. Hopefully economic freedom from the Zoners might bring enough surplus money into your organization to where you can operate more freely.
Onto the matter of Die Erste Ernte. We simply require several engineers and technicians to sustain her when she reaches dry-dock in Saar, at our own Eindhoven Station, where our facilities are also capable of repairing Die Ernte. Our technicians are inexperienced, Herr Metzger, and that is what we wish to solve. Hopefully this can be far less costly to the both of us, rather than the before proposed solution to this problem, and far less dangerous as well, as the Jump Holes become rather unstable when moving large craft and even more-so when those craft are damaged."
Johann wondered about how the Unioners would react to this. Hopefully they would not think that the LWB was trying to take advantage of them in any way. Unbridled use of Darmstadt, however, was simply not possible. Docking rights were one thing, but basing raiding parties on a regular basis our of Darmstadt is a completely different matter. It simply could not be done in the LWB's current situation.
Albert unfolded a document as his LWB counterpart was deeply pondering over the details and possible outcomes of an agreement they might come to with the Unioners side.
"Gentlemen, these are the initial terms of Alster Union for a conciliation with the LWB. The terms submitted here might be altered in time depending on the circumstances."
- Unioners will be tutoring the engineering staff of LWB with weekly scheduled programs, organized on Freeport II.
- LWB will be granted with access to land on Pacifica for the sole purposes of refueling, reloading the required armaments and departing the base as quickly as they could in order not to abuse the space trafficking of other pilots in return of LWB letting us use Darmstadt with the same conditions.
- LWB will be let into Mackenzie with the sole purpose of reaching Bering when they need. In the condition of any problem arising within the drydocks, engineering squads and heavy lifters might be dispatched from Heilbronn in order to aid the required processes. In return, Alster Union demand to use Saar as a quick and safe passage to Stuttgart system. Landing on the stations in Saar and Mackenzie systems without prior consent is out of question.
- Alster Union would like to look forward to strenghtening the bonds with LWB both on diplomatical, economical and technological affairs. Therefore we offer the exchanging of weaponization technologies of both sides within a limited quantity, which might be decided in a private meeting, for the purposes of military manoeuvres and R&D progresses.
The spokesman reclined back on his seat after sprouting the terms of Alster Union and began to wait for the response of LWB side.
Johann looked intently at the document.
"Why was this not brought up before? This is almost exactly what we were striving for." Johann thought.
"Herr Metzger, Albert, these terms are more than agreeable. Should we sign to it, or is an agreement between two men enough?"
Albert motioned to a signature, and so Johann signed the document at hand. A deal was struck, after a struggle with the Junkers, and another negotiator showing his face. More than a worthy deal, this was, and Johann only hoped that the Unioners wouldn't be disappointed.
Metzger snapped out of his deep reverie and vaguely nodded.