Greetings, Captain.

We will not mince words or squander time. You presently hold the honour of being the Union’s highest profile - and this term loosely, for the resource-pool is unfavourable - Maltese contact, who has no explicit or implicit loyalty to the Maltese government. According to the information you yourself have wired, and no small amount of research into your prior activities, you occupy the surprising position of remaining independent of Malta, without attracting the animosity of Malta - and with a destroyer, no less. Remarkable. Were you a Unioner, your ingenuity would bring you profit.

However, it remains fortuitous for us both that you are not. The Union is in need of an independent contractor of your particular harmony of affiliations to fill out a number of pressing assignments - and since you are, presently, the only candidate worthy of even the slightest consideration, it is unlikely that the manifest will thin in your absence.

What we see as a strategic holocaust, stands to earn you a considerable amount of assets, Captain. However, since you are something of a diplomatic neophyte I will begin cautiously, and begin with the first, least pressing, proposal:

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contract details Wrote:The Union is in need of a Maltese-born independent citizen, to imitate the role of a grey market slave catcher, marketing his haul to wealthy clients on independent trade hubs throughout the Taus,, Sigmas, and Independent Worlds, in systems the Union would have difficulty accessing discreetly. The “slaves” that we will be providing you with, are nothing less than Unioner GEIST observers, who will spy on Maltese trade traffic heading towards Rheinland, and inform us of any attempts to break cardamine to the Rhenish market by logging manifests of any Outcast-affliated shipping that docks with said outposts. This cannot be executed convincingly by the Union itself, and the task remains far too sensitive to be left to the loose lips of or Junker allies. We consider the risk of discovery, or, indeed, interception, to be low, nevertheless, all chosen stations are in systems Outcasts, or their subordinates, are known to frequent. If Maltese question you as to why you have Unioner pilots in your cargo, you are to answer with a half-truth; they are captives, recovered in Frankfurt, bound for the Slave markets. We believe this alibi will cover you.

Remember, the delivery of the agents is secondary to the need to preserve their cover (and thus, lives). If you have any reason to suspect the Maltese are on to you, we advise you to return the agents, posthaste, to the closest Unioner installation, and you will not be held accountable for the failure of the mission. Survival, after all, is half the fight. Capable intelligence operatives on this side of the law are few and far between - their loss, will be your loss. Do you understand?

You are to deliver at least one Unioner pilot, with posted evidence of their offload at each station’s commodity dealer, at the following locations:

Freeport 10, Tau 37.

Barrier Gate Station, Coronado.

Newport Station, Sigma 13.

Freeport 15, Alberta.

Luxury Liner Hawaii, Sigma 19.

Once this is done, you will receive your reward. Pilots are to be supplied by UN| representatives at pre-arranged rendezvous.

Due to the present nature of the Hessian war, we cannot justify currency when said financials could fund the construction of a brace of fighter craft or keep a family nourished. Nor do we estimate a man such as yourself would stoop to deliberate mercenary work. We will not encourage you to sell yourself for our cause, rather, we will offer a service, for a service.


If you complete this task for us, Captain Kadego, our engineers will refractor the engines of The.Shovel to be entirely compatible with the same Sleipnir class full bypass Thorium MOX-pellet based thermal rockets designed for the Union's next generation attack cruiser. Moreover, our engineers will actively assist you in the fitting, servicing, and reengineering of the Shovel’s engineering compartment to accommodate the retrofitted drives. We hear Vulkan has taken quite the interest in your vessel.

This is, of course, entirely contingent on your interest. If you wish to reject the proposal, we will understand.