Constellation 1, Bill Wagner's private executive shuttle, touches down in the landing bay of Starflier Base. The flight was long since the pilot did not take the trade lanes. Safety and comfort was priority over speed. That's not too much of a hardship with the comforts of luxury and lavish. Not too much though - after Planet Metz, Mr. Wagner has downsized considerably. But still, a man of liability is surely deserving of some treats.
Bill is accompanied by much of his administrative staff. He's also accompanied by Mr. Hank Rover himself. Mr. Wagner had second thoughts bringing him along for such an important meeting with his business partners. But, Mr. Rover did haul most of the cargo to Starflier Base on behalf of ConEx. He is deserving of this tour of the facilities.
The passengers are slow to disembark, however. The toxic cloud in the Kepler system means that the ship must be run through a decontamination routine. It's a monotonous task that even Mr. Wagner himself is familiar with, for he himself runs freight through the virulent space.
At last, the crew are given approval to exit the craft. The hatch opens with Bill being the first one to exit the craft. He and his team, including Rachel Snyder and Hank Rover, approach the awaiting Mr. Leon Vicci.
"Mr Leon, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. This is Rachel Snyder, my administrative officer, and Hank Rover. He's very good at flying", Mr. Wagner grins.
"Pleasure to meet you all. Welcome to Starfier Base, the home station of the Starfliers and a hub of hyperspace research and development. I understand Albert has spoken to you a few times since I was away, I only just got back so some things may be new to me as well! Makes for an interesting tour. Oh, it's just Leon."
Leon motions for the party to head onwards. The NX-01 and Pulsar held high by docking clamps, casting a shadow on the door leading further into the home of the Starfliers. Once inside, the Constellation Express visitors gasp as a massive corridor greets them. Large windows occupy the left wall, on the other side showing the doom and gloom that is the Dark Matter Storm. In the distance, curving to the right to match the station's circular construction.
"Welcome to the main corridor, it's essentially a giant circle. Even I haven't had the chance to walk the full loop yet! You'll find a lot of locked doors on this deck, as this walkway is mainly used to get from one place to another. We're eagerly waiting for the storm to pass so we can enjoy the Kepler System at it's best."
One hallway juts out perpendicular to the hallway, leading towards the center structure of the station. With no door or archway, the hallway seamlessly leads into a dome-like room. Six elevators spaced evenly along the walls with accompanying interactive displays light up the spartan area.
"To be honest, I only know how to get to the cafeteria and a handful of other places. Albert went above and beyond restructuring this place, and I have you guys to thank for making that happen. All in favor of getting some food?"
Bill and his team are in admiration and awe as they tour Starflier Base. The base is impressive from the outside, but Bill is shocked by just how massive and in depth the inside of the station is. The structure resembles that of a maze rather than a station. The staff, crew, and engineers hustle and bustle about as if they have been walking the hallways since they were children. There is a lot of work being done on the station. Bill feels proud to be part of that.
"Food food! Mr. Wagner, I hope they dun got some slushies!", Hank Rover chirps.
Bill snaps out of his observant mode and looks at Hank. "Huh, food? Sure, yea. We can go eat some food. Lets go eat!", Bill smiles.
The team walks the endless corridors of the station. Luckily, Mr. Vicci does indeed know his way to the cafeteria. Nobody more so than Mr. Rover, for he has a bottomless pit of a stomach!
The cafeteria is a large and open room. It needs to be for the hustle and bustle of the crew and engineers on board the station. Their schedules are tight and busy; efficiency is a high priority! Bill is glad that Mr. Vicci also shares his knowledge in a proper diet for a working crew. There are foods that are rich in vitamins, high caloric for labor crews, to-go packs for pilots or guests passing through, snack foods for anybody looking for a tasty treat, and cuisine foods for casual environments like Bill and his team enjoy.
Hank grabs a tray with haste and is bustling about from aisle to aisle. Rachel glances at him and shakes her head with a giggle. The man appears to have been starving for months despite being a plump and large man.
Bill and Leon chat as they gather their food. Hank is the first to sit, despite having the most food. Rachel sits across from him and attempts to engage him in conversation. Hank, however, is busy devouring his food. Rachel, oddly, cannot help but giggle as he messily eats his food.
"Yes, we have many contracts that are simply waiting since we don't have the pilots to fly the ships. However, so that you know, you and your organization are a priority for Constellation Express. You are our friends and you have our commitment to your organization's success", Bill announces to Leon.
The two lift their cups and clash them together in a toast.
"The Omicrons are proving to be a maze, however. It took nearly a week for us to find our way to Kadesh Orbital... the Zoner er... Phoenix group out that way. So many of those anomalies and jump holes to fly into. Had to stop at nearly every Freeport to ask for directions. Met a few contacts", Bill smirks as he takes a bite of some vegetables.
"Our storage tanks can always use a refill, and I can trust you guys to keep that up. Thanks for the support."
After a cup of coffee, with a brief refill at the dispenser, Leon remembers that he has to learn the way to the server rooms. Since the servers are the sole reason the station exists, Leon makes a mental note to go make sure they're safe and running smoothly. The talk of star maps and charting of the Omicrons reminds him that the Starfliers own charts of the systems aren't exactly complete yet.
"As you saw when we were leaving the open docking area, our charting vessel Pulsar was in plain view. That Kali-Class has done it's fair share of charting jobs of various systems so far. The Omicron systems section of our database is a little spotty, but over time we will build upon it. The Freeports know us well for the brief times we have been there."
Leon chuckles a bit then sips more coffee.
"You said before that you're after more pilots? We do have a tradesman who ferries goods back and forth. You can always contact him to help out. His name is Rex Baker, he's always looking for more work. You didn't see his ship in the docking bay as he's constantly flying around. Excuse me."
Leon leaves the group to put his mug into the automatic cleaner, then returns.
"The only other place I know how to get to are the research labs. Well, we're going to see what the researchers are up to through a window. Albert tells me they're working on important stuff so we can't exactly walk through the labs today. How does that sound?"
"'Portant stuff? Do yalls gots them float'n jellyfish thangs in thar?", Hank Rover beams.
Rachel chuckles and Bill rubs his hand to his face.
"Certainly, Mr. Vicci. A tour of your research facilities will be very entertaining. I understand if not all of your research is for show, but it is interesting to see what is in development and to know what may potentially be of benefit to we traders", Bill nods.
As the group make their way to the research section of the base, Bill and Leon continue to chat. Bill keeps a sharp eye on Hank, however. But it seems Rachel is fond of the role of babysitter.
"You said about star charts, Mr. Vicci. Our pilots had issues and still have issues navigating the Omicrons, Taus, and Omegas. Perhaps we could come to some kind of arrangement to obtain this information.", Bill inquires.
The two are distracted as Hank looks through the window at a nearby cargo ship flying by. It looks like a ship belonging to Kusari. The Starfliers are conduct business all through Sirius, after all.
"And yes, periodic shipments to this installation will continue so long as we are friends," Bill smiles with a nod.
"By all means, send either myself or Halpert a message. We'll service any charting requests in the Omicrons, Taus and Omegas. Just remember, we don't fly in all the Omicrons. Those alien bastards possibly have a home somewhere out there and I don't intend on finding out where it is. It's bad enough having some cruiser out here in Kepler firing at us. On a lighter note, feel free to continue your regular shipments of much needed resources."
The group reforms at the same door they entered from and proceeds back to the elevator, this time going further down towards the lower ring of the station. With a swipe of a keycard, the elevators green light the journey to the research labs.
"Beyond these doors isn't exactly public space, but anything you see or hear from outside the labs themselves should be okay, as long as you're with me. We'll only go so far today, got to keep certain assets hidden. I'm sure you understand."
Once the elevator lands on the requested floor, a similar hallway is presented to the group. When everyone reaches the intersection, they meet a walkway with an even tighter curve than the last. Smaller windows don the outside wall, showing very little of the chaotic storm on the other side. The inside wall has very few doors, each one labelled to indicate what kind of research is taking place behind it. Between each door is a long uninterrupted pane of glass, allowing the group to see all the teams doing their jobs. With each door the group passes, Leon holds to explain the departments purpose.
"This installation started with a couple hundred civilians, all curious about the technology and theory of Jump Drives. Our main goal back then was to store hyperspace data onto our servers, since the NX-01's memory banks couldn't hold all of the data by itself. Since then, we have developed into a giant structure capable of hyperspace research, development. Now with larger databanks and a crew of around 800."
The group passes a giant sliding door labelled "Research and Testing".
"Suppose the name says it all, this department is all about researching jump drives, beacons, matrixes and all things hyperspace related. Amongst all of our equipment, we managed to build a simulation system to test if the jump drives we produce can be used efficiently and without fail, under many sets of conditions. All thanks to Albert. Here, see? The display on the far end of that room gives us feedback on the simulations."
The Constellation guests observe the display load a test, and after a minute or two a list gets generated with a mix of green and red results. Inside every red block says "Fail" and inside the green, "Pass". Leon becomes a little nervous when he sees this particular test showing a little more red than green. A double door called "Production Facility" comes into view.
"When it comes to putting research into practice, our scientists work with a small set of engineers to produce Jump Drives. As of right now, we have only ever made one. Albert thought it was a good idea to give it away at the time, still have to have a word with him about that. Otherwise, we'd showcase it here as our first piece of equipment produced. I have to stress that we aren't in any position to create and sell these drives. The R&D department is for Starflier use only."
Trying to balance being a good tour guide and lying was hard for Leon. The Technocracy did invest quite a bit of money into the growth of the station. As much as Constellation Express did help in the construction of the base itself, Keeper Revenant is to thank for the backend growth of the station. The last few rooms housed research departments that had to be reconstructed to allow Technocracy scientists to work. Keeping in line with the agreement he signed, Leon holds everyone up right before a noticeable archway in the hallway.
"Past this point is where things start getting complicated. Proprietary information, secrets, you know the deal. Gotta write up NDAs and such if we crossed this archway. So to save myself the hassle, this is where we'll turn back round. While we walk back, has anyone got any questions?"
Bill is naive to a lot of the politics outside of Liberty. However, he's always had an acute sense of people. He can't tell what happened, but he senses a tone shift in Leon. Seeing as he and his team are aboard his home outside of house space, Bill decides it's best not to question it. He runs a shipping company, not an investigations committee.
When asked for any questions, Bill has been pondering something.
"Yes, Mr. Vicci. Constellation Express has a strong partnership with Nebula Shipping Express from Cambridge. They also fabricate jump drives along with other items. It is clear that you are investing a lot of time, money, and effort in the development of your jump drives. What is unique about your drives? What 'niche' are you trying to exploit out of your technologies over the rest of Sirius?", Bill inquires. His tone is that of a potentially interested business partner looking to seize an opportunity through mutual benefit.
At this point, Leon's knowledge of points of interest were exhausted. His office was the last spot the group hasn't seen yet, however it's not that much of a spot to walk through. Bill's inquiry sets off mental alarms, Starflier Base is not constructed to be a marketplace.
"Nebula Shipping Express? They sound familiar, I'm sure we've been in contact previously. A few independent shops around SIrius fabricate some useful hardware to sell, I'll add Nebula to my list of places to visit."
The group backtracks all the way back to the cafeteria. At this time, different teams were in the middle of being relieved, so many more crew members were racing around to resume the work of the previous researchers.
"Rex has come up with a term for how we transform a standard vessel into a Starflier. He calls it the Starflier Treatment. This is where the vessel it stripped of it's weapon mounts and is outfitted with hyperspace matrixes, thicker armour and a heavy countermeasure ejector. Like I stated before, the R&D department is for Starflier use only, all hardware we produce gets installed into our own vessels. Our niche is that with our departments and funding, we'll have the opportunity to create pieces of technology that rival and overshadow what's currently on the market. For example, I'd get the researchers to try develop a more efficient survey matrix for the NX-01. This would theoretically reduce our turnaround time for survey jobs."
The group sits down at the same table as last time.
"I have to be firm here, the technology we have may be the same as what Nebula produces, but we aren't selling any of it. What happens inside this stations walls is the kind of self-improvement that will lead to us operating extremely high and valuable levels of tech. We're not quite there... yet."
Bill chuckles when he hears about the Starflier Treatment. The Starlifers have their uses for stripping a ship of offensive capabilities, but such an act is so foreign for the common transporter.
"You'll never see a ConEx ship receive the Starflier Treatment, hah! But I'm sure with the sensitive arrays and scanners on board, weapons can cause issues and error in processing. Or, I could be completely wrong." , Bill replies.
Bill senses that his questioning and the tour is brushing against the edge of Starflier secrecy. All have secrets, of course. Bill is respectful of this.
They return to the cafeteria. Hank and his bottomless pit of a stomach plops down next to the group with yet another tray of food. He begins devouring the food as if he has not eaten in days.
Rachel is slightly distracted by this. in a pleasing way. But something Leon says sparks an opportunity.
"You are not there yet, Mr. Vicci. But ConEx is confident in your organization's ability TO get there. This visit here is to take a further step forward in our commitment to serving your supply needs. We are your partner and friend!", Rachel smiles.
Bill nods. "I support this claim, Mr. Vicci. We are committed to the exploration and charting of the stars but lack the expertise and equipment that you and your organization have. But, we can supply it to our best abilities.", Bill adds.
"Heardy, ain't yer 'gun ask'm 'bout dem star charts?", Hank asks, food spitting out of his mouth as he speaks.
Rachel grins at Hank while Bill silently sighs. "Well, and that too. Our recent contracts took us out into deep space. The Omicrons and the Omegas. Our transports took much longer than they should have since we didn't have the various hyper lanes and jump holes charted. Perhaps we can strike a deal?", Bill asks. He takes a sip of his water, his eyes remaining constant at Mr. Vicci.
Leon nods along to Bill's words. His understanding of signal interference was almost non-existent. Though, a thought did cross his mind as both Albert and Burton were on site, they could have answered questions and queries relating to their respective fields. The last couple days were full of catching up with communications and research milestones. Mostly consisting of what Albert had achieved with the list Leon left behind. One such project was the retrofitting of the NX-01 with Deep Space Engineering. Leon's mind wanders on the topic before the words "Omicrons and the Omegas" snap him back to the conversation.
"I'm listening, what kind of deal?"