Good afternoon:

This is the second time we have tried to contact the Administration of Planet Pygar and Corfu Base. From what I have heard, it's Phoenix who is in charge of both enclaves, so this time I will address your organization directly to avoid missed signals.

First of all, I would like to greet you cordially and introduce myself properly. I represent the diplomatic corps of the New Covenant Church, a religious cult currently located on Planet Pygar. A few years ago our congregation was established in Gran Canaria, but we had to move to Theta after the bretonian invasion. Anyway, it's a long sad story and I don't want to bore you, so let's get down to business.

When we arrived here we built a settlement for ourselves. Part of it is on the surface, protected by two large biodomes that we were able to bring with us from Gran Canaria, and another part goes into a complex of underground caves, not too large, but at this time it was enough to house the barely 1.500 followers of our Faith who were able to come on our ships. However, 6 years have passed since all that, and in that time we have been blessed with new members of our community. Some citizens of Pygar, mostly exiles from Gran Canaria, have converted to our Faith, and have joined our settlement. In other cases, it has been former brothers of ours who lived with us in Gran Canaria, and who could not leave at the time, who have finally managed to move here to join us. And, of course, there have also been quite a few births. The fact is that at this moment we are about to reach a population of 11.000 people, and it is clear that we urgently need more space.

Our Holy Church would like to request from the Administration of Planet Pygar, a permit to expand the size of our settlement. Our idea is to import heavy machinery to excavate new underground galleries, and bring another four biodomes to expand the exterior. We also wish to build three additional spacecraft hangars, with their respective landing platforms.

Likewise, we also have a request for the Corfu Base Administration. Many members of our congregation work on the station, and cannot return to the planet till the weekend. They are deeply religious people, and they need to have some kind of consecrated place nearby where they can pray at least once a day. This is why we are requesting permission to establish a small chapel dedicated to Deux in Corfu Base. It wouldn't have to be anything big, or excessively spacious, it would be enough to hold 30 or 40 people and an altar. An ordained cleric would move there permanently with two acolytes, who would be responsible for maintenance as well as performing the Sacred Rites.

Lastly, our Church would like to acquire a Corvo-class Explorer ship. We know that they can be purchased through Corfu Base services, but we would like to know the availability of said vessel at this time.

Please don't hesitate to ask me any questions you may have about the requests made. I will be happy to answer them diligently.

Deux be with you.

Good morning Administrator Voncloud:

Before anything, I want to thank you for your quick response. I also want to thank you the permissions granted, in the name of His Holiness and the entire community.

The side room at the station will be more than enough for our needs. We will take care, as I said, of the maintenance, what includes the placement and removal of the altar and the chairs, and cleaning the room once used.

About the expansion permit for our settlement, we will really greatly improve the quality of life of our settlers. We will begin the works as soon as our transports bring the machinery and materials.

As for the Corvo, it's very satisfying to hear about its availability. We will soon request the acquisition of one.

Having said that, I think it's possible that some things about who we are were misunderstanded in my last message, due to the lack of explanations in it. In my undoubtedly imprudent desire of not to bore you with specific details of our congregation, it is likely that I have omitted information without which this communication would have caused you some alarm. That is why I am going to give you how many clarifications you deserved to have received from the beginning. You may not be interested in them, but I feel compelled to do so.

• Firstly, I see that you're uncomfortable or concerned because I've referred to us as a cult. The word "cult" has several meanings. One of them is equivalent to "sect." The other meaning is, simply, "a system of religious veneration and devotion directed towards a particular figure or object", wich is the definition of any religion, and of course I was referring to the second meaning of the word. The truth is that it had never happened to me, since the founding of this Church, that no one had interpreted that word in that sense, because sects don't usually refer to themselves as sects, but if I had imagined it I would have used another one. I can only say that I am sorry for causing that misunderstanding and causing you concern, and from now on, I will refer to our congregation with another word.
  
  Religion, church, religious congregation, group of believers, people with a common faith... Words define people much less than their actions, so use whatever word you want. Consider us, if you wish, zoners who share the same religious creed and who live in peace. People who have faith are no better than those who don't. Faith does not change or define people, it only gives some answers to those who have many questions. After all, each person searches for the meaning of life as they want, or as they can, and to us, that meaning is given to us by what we believe, that's all. We aren't different from other people.
  
  What I would like you to be clear about, Administrator Voncloud, is that the people who group together in the New Covenant Church are not religious fanatics, so you shouldn't expect this type of attitudes from us. We're not that kind of people that forces anyone to believe what they don't want to believe, or to live where or with who don't want to live. We've believers in our Church who live on their own, outside our settlement, and I'm not only just talking about Pygar, but the rest of Sirius.
  
  Now, I will summarize you, in a few words, what our Church believes, essentially, so that you have an idea of what our thinking is. If you know what we think, perhaps your concern will dissipate to some extent. Please don't think I'm trying to convert you, or preach to you. You don't need to cover your ears.
  
  *the man on the screen smiles friendly, amused with his own joke, and then continues talking*
  
  Our beliefs are very old, and come from even before our ancestors left the Earth, and they have been passed down from generation to generation over time, from family to family among the ancient believers. However, since the departure of Mankind from Earth, there had never been a Church that embraced these beliefs, until 13 years ago, when it was finally founded.
  
  We believe that there is an ancient entity which we venerate, Deux Machina, that exists before all and is eternal. This entity gave the first humans the Sacred Gift of knowledge to make tools and machines. It also promotes peace and harmonious coexistence among all humans, because, according to the message it transmitted to our ancestors, only unity among Mandkind will allow us to face the xeno threat that will come from the depths of space, and that now we believe that they are those entities called Nomads. Therefore, our Sacred Mandate simply expresses to us that we must seek, by all means, peace among the largest possible part of human beings, so that us, united, can protect ourselves against the supreme threat.
  
  As you can see, or at least in the theoretical part, ours is not a Faith that can endanger any peaceful human. Rather the complete opposite.
  

• Having clarified this point, I would like to apologize for something that you have very correctly pointed out. I've to agree with you that it might seem strange we have not contacted you, or anybody, in these 6 years since we have been here, and I must personally take the blame for this, given that I'm the head of diplomacy in our Church. However, allow me to explain the nature of the internal problems we have had during the last few years, that have isolated us from the rest.
  
  When we arrived on Planet Pygar, our previous leader, Pontiff Paolus LXIV, was at the head of the congregation. He was a man which was very brilliant in the beginnings of our Church, but he became very ill and psychologically destroyed, by the horrors he suffered during the war, not only because of the bretonian invasion, but for even longer, when the Corsair and the Coalition fought for Gran Canaria. Even while in Gran Canaria, this poor man's mental state caused him an uncontrollable feeling of fear that made him increasingly isolate our congregation little by little, restricting our relationship with other communities. This happened until our arrival to Pygar, when he finally passed away a few months after we settled. After that, the election of a new Pontiff was very complicated, with very conflicting thoughts existing in our community, which almost ended up destroying us completely. I will only tell you that it took us more than 3 years to reach a consensus to elect who is our current leader. Currently our new Pontiff, His Holiness Gregorius XCVII, has opted for total opening, again. Personally, I think it is the right option, because if we do not relate to other people, how could we enact the unity between humans that we believe in?.
  
  In short, the actions of our previous Pontiff and the internal problems to elect a new one left us in a state so bad, both economically and socially, that has kept us very busy for the last 3 years, rebuilding ourselves almost from the beginning. I know is not a sufficient excuse for having remained silent for so long, and as I say, I take personal responsibility for this deplorable diplomatic error, but I ask that you keep all of these issues in mind when judging my actions, or lack thereof.
  

I hope that these explanations, although long, have helped you know a little better who we are, and what we do, and that this has reduced your alarm a little. Of course, and as I myself have said, words don't define us, but our actions, so I imagine that you will be waiting to see if we are a problem or not. I can tell you that we will not be, but over time you will be able to see it for yourself.

Regarding the prohibition of preaching in Pygar outside our settlement, I understand that it is an acceptable condition, given the current circumstances, and it also doesn't harm us, because until now we have not done it. You have a reasonable concern that a religious congregation that you haven't heard of before, can be brainwashing the citizens of the planet, causing altercations, and that sort of thing, and you must take measures to prevent it, because it is your responsibility. It's something I understand and respect, and I guarantee you that we will fulfill your conditions. We'll not preach actively in Corfu, or in the planet, except within the limits of our settlement, nor will we do so with workers from outside our community who may come to collaborate in the expansion work.

However, we cannot prevent other citizens of Pygar from voluntarily coming to our settlement and asking us whatever they want, or interacting with us as they wish. We'll not deny entry or exit to anyone in our settlement, we don't live in a fortress. Likewise, we'll not restrict access to the Corfu chapel to anyone who, I repeat, freely, wants to stop by, even if it is out of mere curiosity. We're now a totally open community and we're not going to close our doors in anyone's face, or isolate ourselves again. We have nothing to hide from anyone.

I humbly ask you to understand that by saying this I'm not trying to challenge your authority, it would never cross my mind, we don't want problems with anyone. I simply hope that you can understand that we have no right, nor the intention, to tell anyone what they should believe, where they should live, or where they can go. That is precisely what sects do, and we are not a sect. You have my truly word that we'll not try to convert anyone by force. I don't even know how to do that, but we've never done it, so we're not going to start now.

I want to thank you once again for the trust you have placed in us by accepting our requests, despite our, my, unforgivable diplomatic mistakes. I remain at your disposal for anything you may need, and if at any time your Administration needs something we can help with, do not hesitate to contact me. We like to be useful.

And, of course, you or any member of your Administration can stop by our settlement to take a look, or stay with us as long as you want. You don't need to warn us, come whenever you want and you will be welcome.

Deux be with you.