Encrypted transmission to: The owners of the "Object Unknown" - Omicron Lost

[Johnathan Nox Carter]

Greetings, to whomever may receive this message.

This is Agent Sentinel, speaking on behalf of the Colonial Republic. I will admit, you've managed to raise a few eyebrows. And that doesn't happen often within the C.I.S.
But, to make it short, we'd like to know who are you and what are your reasons for constructing an installation that seems to be linked to the old Colonial Depot in the orbit of Planet Moros, Omicron Lost.

Depending on your answer, if there will be one, this discussion may proceed towards either beneficial or less desirable results. I'll be waiting.

Sentinel, signing off.

---

[Stoner_Steve]

A human reaching out to us, how fascinating, activate the recorders.

///Starting Transmission///
//Relay: Frost Station//
/Relay: Freeport 11/
Start:

Hello Agent Sentinel.

Before we begin, you use the word "old" in the sense that this wreak of a station was some how serviceable on a moments notice. It was not, the proper term you should be using is abandoned. Your abandoned station was taken control of by myself and a few close, friends. The purpose is quite simple, there is a fairly steady supply of iridium that we have been mining for our own purpose. But perhaps I should introduce myself. My name is Fred and I handle base defense.

Now a better question is who are you? Also you should explain why you sent a cruiser class vessel to verbally harass our support craft in orbit of the planet, not exactly the best foot forward eh?

Fred

///End Transmission///

---

[Johnathan Nox Carter]

Mister... Fred.

First of all, I assumed I made it rather clear. I currently speak for the Colonial Republic. If you do not know of what I speak, then perhaps you've been out of the loop more than most, but i'm guessing that's possible since you've settled in the Omicrons. You could, however, access the Neural Network for information about the Republic.

Secondly, the position you claim to have is quite intriguing. If your purpose was merely the collection of Iridium, would it not be easier to construct your installation within the proximity of the Iridium fields of Omicron Delta? But, rhetorical questions aside, what we truly wish to know is why did you make use of our installation? Moreover, considering this is a violation of Colonial property, are you willing to work with us towards a resolution?

As for the cruiser you encountered, whereas the vessel and it's crew is not part of the Republic, but of the former fleet, the Vanguard, we still consider them to be quite reliable. That being said, should you not comply with our terms, we will support their actions which will focus on your base becoming a target.

I hope, however, we can continue with a peaceful discussion.

Sentinel, out.

---

[|nfrared]

Prepare an aesthetically pleasing prion host for manual lobe control

***Begin Transmission***

Greetings, my name is Deidre Shard and I am the administrator of Frost Station. I must say that while I did expect to hear from you at some stage, the delay in your contacting me pleases me somewhat. It means that the position of Frost Station was well chosen.

Please excuse Fred, he is simply passionate about his role in my operation. As Defence Officer it is his duty to attend to security matters.

As we have told you, we are Iridium miners, or at least we are trying to be. Preliminary ground crews have found deposits on the surface of Planet Moros, exposed perhaps by deep tectonic movement or planetary event. Even now these samples are undergoing analysis. We wish to maintain a depot in orbit of Moros and continue our work in peace, nothing more, nothing less. We thought perhaps we can could come to an arrangement where we could maintain this harmony, however as we have already had Order vessels launching full scale attacks against us we are now doubting this. We have scrambled our IFF transponders, as this seems to confuse Nomads. We seek no enemies and have no intentions of making any, however it seems less and less likely that we can maintain the status quo.

As a gesture of goodwill, we are willing to share our facilities basic internal information. We admit were were unaware that the abandoned storage containers we are utilising remained anyone's property and are willing to make reparations for this.

The adjoining structure is of modular construction and is composed of the following -

400 crew, supporting 200 more on the ground.
3x Weapons Defence Platforms. These are our deterrent as our equipment is delicate and requires precise calibration.

The installation is a Core 2 facility with a hull integrity index of 12,000,000.

As our installation is still fairly new we are not producing Iridium in commercial supply quantities yet. Our smelter is currently under construction.

As yet the station cannot offer repair facilities as we are constantly servicing our own equipment.

I will attach a file that proves that we are under threat from Order forces and verify further damage to this depot. We believe they may have been allies of yours sent to remove us on your behalf. I would prefer to enter negotiations for a peaceful resolution.

Attached file
Attached file

I await further communications. We hope to find a satisfactory resolution.
***End transmission***

That felt... Revolting. Humans. Disgusting.

---

Shard - The Faceless One

[|nfrared]

Upload my decision to the others. Have the human prepared for another transmission.

***Begin Transmission***

Hello again. I'll get straight to the point, I have a proposal I would like to share with you that may satisfy all parties involved.

While we have no open hostilities with any groups we know that our neutral stance cannot last, in fact already the cracks are beginning to show. We do not intend to die out here. Which is why we are prepared to relinquish the repaired depot, our attached modular structure, and the restored planetside facilities to you - for a price.

I followed your advice and used the Neural Net to find some information on your group. Fascinating. While much of the data was restricted, occasional public sightings of your fleet have revealed that the Republic possesses some formidable vessels indeed. One vessel type in particular could be modified to meet our needs suitably - a "Sagarmartha" exploration cruiser. Our main interest in this vessel is not only its defensive capabilities and small craft docking capacities but also its ability for extraheliospheric travel, allowing us to reach previously unreachable locations. Once modified it would make the perfect platform from which to continue our activities. We would also seek some recovery of costs via a credit transaction to balance the resources we have already invested in the operation.

This ill-fated venture has shown us flaws in our mining program, most notably the lack of mobility of a fixed structure. It is a mistake that you will no doubt benefit from, as we have essentially restored the depot and surface operations to their full functionality. We trust what we ask is reasonable in the scale of things.

While we could perhaps valiantly repel attackers, sooner or later we would lose all we have worked hard for. We are prepared to seek our fortunes elsewhere in Sirius. You would not be disturbed by us again.

I wish to hear your response. Can such an agreement be reached?

***End Transmission***

And now, we wait.

---

Shard - The Faceless One

[Johnathan Nox Carter]

Greetings yet again...

To be honest, this is quite astonishing. We did not expect this kind of a response, yet we're all quite pleased by it. Yes, such an agreement can certainly be reached and I'm thinking there isn't much to be done further, just that we'll have to prepare the cruiser vessel that you requested and you'd have to name the sum of credits you wish to receive. Assuming the sum is reasonable - we can finish this transaction swiftly.

However, i need to mention that handing over one of our "Sagarmatha" Class Cruisers is still a delicate matter, even in this circumstances. I'll guess that you will require some protection for the vessel, but we hope you'll understand that we cannot have it equipped with Colonial weaponry when offering it to a party such as yourselves, whom we do not know much about. In other words, the ship will only come equipped with the standard navigational and shielding systems. Any additional armour plating or weapon systems will have to be installed by you.

I'll await any final details you wish to discuss.

Sentinel, signing off.

---

[|nfrared]

And now we learn our fate... Establish the link.

***Begin Transmission***

Hello again Sentinel,
I have thought at length upon this proposal and would now like to discuss terms of agreement and official handover of Moros Depot to the Colonial Republic.

We have estimated the cost of the operation to date and taken into consideration the exchange of what will become our new mobile base of operations. We settled on a figure of 500 million Sirius Credits. We feel it is pretty low-ball, but considering our precarious position feel it is a fair reflection of the value of operations to date.

We understand that you would not like us representing the Republic mistakenly by sporting your technology. However we won't make it out of the Omicrons let alone to our next destination if it is not armed in some respects.

We propose that a Basic Weapons and Armor system be installed at whatever location you will be stripping the Colonial weaponry off of this vessel, as presumably it will already be at a location where it could be fitted. Suitable deterrent weaponry of the pulse variety to repel any would-be attackers and generic weapons placements that could not be traced back to a group such as yours would be preferable. Any additional equipment will be our problem.

If you agree to do this, we are willing to reduce the previous credit balance to 400 million Sirius Credits. We would also stipulate that the origins of where we acquired this vessel remain secret - for the benefit of both parties - in either case. We suggest the exchange take place at the depot, as the location is remote and far from prying eyes. We will ensure the depot is well stocked at the time of handover. This may even become a sideline business for us, restoring wrecked installations.

If you find these terms suitable, I will give the order to cease operations out here and pack up. Administration codes for the facilities will be transferred to you via SK5P-E encryption data packet at time of handover.

We would consider this leaving on positive terms with the Republic, and we see no reason for hostilities in the future. I trust these terms will be acceptable. I await any queries you may have.

Deidre, out.
***End Transmission***

I feel....Drained. We must flee this place. The humans are more dangerous than we anticipated...

---

Shard - The Faceless One

[Johnathan Nox Carter]

Greetings, Deidre.

Your deal is quite profitable, and after a bit of hard work from the C.D.I. we've settled everything on one of our Sagarmatha battlecruisers, the "Argus", which I assume will be rechristened once in your hands.

Additionally, we've transferred the 400.000.000 SC to your neural net bank account. To finish this deal, i'll be arriving shortly into the Omicrons, accompanied by the Argus. I hope to find you on the ready.

Sentinel, out.

---

[|nfrared]

One final transmission, they would expect it. Ensure the diplomatic prion is prepared and establish the link

***Begin Transmission***

Sentinel,

We would like to inform you that we have found the transaction satisfactory and hereby declare the agreement fulfilled. We are establishing a repressurised station elsewhere, far from here. The now renamed Evolution will be retrofitted to our needs during its journey there. The administration codes have been transferred to you for the Moros depot. Should you find anything suspicious or out of place, it was likely recovered from the surface.

Thank you, you have done more for us than you know.
Deidre, out.


***End Transmission***

Put the others except for the inner circle into hibernation. We will make our next move...

---

Shard - The Faceless One