Today, at 1330 hours near planet Manhattan I intercepted Dutchess Shipping vessel GrandDuchess, after
discovering she had four Junkers in her cargo. The Junkers had asked for some H-Fuel in order to get home.
Instead of helping people in need or ignoring them, the GrandDuchess had opened fire and captured the
helpless pilots. When I demanded their release the GrandDuchess commanding officer Sofia Westwood
ridiculed me, and ransomed the Junkers to a nearby Ageira base. I recieved more ridicule upon asking
reparations, and were violently attacked upon firing a few warning shots.
This is unacceptable.
Our average trading routes create profit at approximately $350.000 per minute. The destruction of four (4)
Junker vessels, obstruction of profit and encapturing four pilots for hours has caused damages of several
dozens of millions in loss of profit. Until opened fire upon, I asked only damage control of $500.000 for each
wrongly treated pilot, asking nothing for my own profit. As you can see in this complaint, my offer was quite
hospitable.
I will now repeat my original damage claim and add to it my own damages GrandDuchess created:
4 destroyed Junker vessels and obstruction of profit:
a $500.000 to the amount of $2.000.000
Re-ransoming 4 Junker pilots at twice the price of 1440 credits:
a $2.880 to the amount of $11.520
Forced chase of Junker-enslaving vessel, 2 minutes:
a $350.000 to the amount of $700.000
8 fired Reinforced Cruise Disruptor missiles to keep target from fleeing:
a $2.000 to the amount of $16.000
Forced retreat under threat of violence and obstructing trade route for 5 minutes:
a $350.000 to the amount of $2.450.000
Vessel damage control:
a $2.570 to the amout of $2.570
Restock of 65 Nanobots:
a $200 to the amount of $16.000
Restock of 287 Shield Batteries:
a $200 to the amount of $57.400
Slander, mistreatment and enslavement of faction allies:
a $2.000.000 to the amount of $2.000.000
Totalling the amount of: $7.253.490 payable to arris. I will make the required arrangements to
forward restitution to the pilots and families in question.
If these damages cannot be compensated, I am forced to collect it from vessels either flying for Universal
Shipping privately, or belonging to it's daughter company Duchess Shipping. The collecting will continue until
the damages are fully covered: naturally, this scenario would include additional damages of $350.000 per
each minute spent on collecting instead of profiteering, in addition to a 5% daily interest (calculated from the
total accumulated debt).
This complaint is CC'd to US daughter company King of Fighters, as it seems Duchess Shipping is quite a
young daughter corporation, and might not have the means to provide for this debt in time. I would also
like to ask you to police your own, so that us Junkers wouldn't have to. We would be much more interested
on agreements about escort and military operations instead of this travesty.
For now, this unfortunate situation concerns only Duchess Shipping, me, and the captured four pilots. I beg
you to understand, that any bounties, military interference or refusal might escalate into reports to fellow
independent Junkers, to the Junkers Congress, and targeting of all Universal Shipping vessels until all
accumulated damages, interest and loss of profit (calculated per attending Junker each) have been
repaid in full.
I expect you to open diplomatic channels to recover from this unfortunate situation within the reasonable
time of 48 hours (or 1500 hours on Saturday), or I am forced to conclude you have failed to reach an
agreement with me, and must continue with the proposed emergency method of receiving compensation.
Transmission records and video feeds of the situation are available on request.
From: CEO Lars Johansen, Duchess Shipping
To: Junker "arris"
Hello Junker:
Firstly, this issue is between Duchess Shipping and you, arris. We require neither the oversight nor assistance of Universal proper in this matter as it is a quite contained incident.
Secondly, I would like to extend my apologies on behalf of Commodore Westwood. However, you must understand that her job as captain of the Grand Duchess is to ensure the security of our office complex and she does so with great determination. Her job does not include negotiating with hostile ships, at least not with words. Bear that in mind.
Our history with the Junkers is not a pleasant one. In fact, the Junkers are so far the only faction that we have encountered in Sirius that has not demonstrated to us a sentiment of civility. On occasion we meet a sensible Junker who demands nothing but our respect, and on those occasions we give it. We do not however, give away our possessions under threat.
If a group of Junkers needs fuel to get home, there is a good chance that we will oblige them. If those Junkers threaten us, the chances begin to drop quickly. A Junker threatening for emergency fuel is one sending quite mixed messages. It is no stretch to suspect the Junker of ulterior motives when he feel comfortable enough with his position to make hostile demands for resources he claims to be of mortal necessity, is it?
I have read Sofia's report on the incident. It claims -- and I am inclined to believe -- that after their threats were left unanswered, the Junkers opened fire on the Grand Duchess. Fire was returned, and the Junker ship were disintegrated. Their pilots were tractored to safety, however, and were eventually handed off to personell on Detroit Munitions for a number of reasons. Sofia was not inclined to release hostile pilots to just anywhere. Detroit Munitions is not just anywhere, and for classified reasons suited quite well.
If you want your fellow Junkers released, you may contact Ageira Technologies.
As for the actual incident between you and our ship, your behavior was quite similar to that of the four Junkers in question. Firing warning shots worsened your situation, but from the ship logs you were firing on our ship long before it returned fire. You should count yourself lucky for the long fuse the Commodore gave you.
I will now address your damages reimbursement request with the preliminary decisions put forth by our financial department.
----
>4 destroyed Junker vessels and obstruction of profit:
>a $500.000 to the amount of $2.000.000
Reimbursement is granted. Contingent on terms to be drawn out at the conclusion of this negotiation.
>Re-ransoming 4 Junker pilots at twice the price of 1440 credits:
>a $2.880 to the amount of $11.520
This was in a practical sense a matter between the Junkers and Ageira from the time the concerning pilots disembarked from the Duchess ship. Partial reimbursement of $7,000 credits is, however, granted.
>Forced chase of Junker-enslaving vessel, 2 minutes:
>a $350.000 to the amount of $700.000
The manner in which you spend your time is irrelevant. You decided to pursue the Duchess ship in an attempt to free the four Junkers, and in doing so you forfeit whatever profit you could have acquired during however much time it took to achieve -- or in this case, give up on -- your goal. We are not responsible for this decision nor are we accountable for your lost potential profit.
Reimbursement is not granted.
>8 fired Reinforced Cruise Disruptor missiles to keep target from fleeing:
>a $2.000 to the amount of $16.000
We are not acountable for ammunition spent in a hostile manner against us. If we were, then by that reasoning anyone could earn tremendous profit by deploying expensive ordinance against other people and demanding that they subsequently pay for that spent ordinance.
Reimbursement is not granted.
>Forced retreat under threat of violence and obstructing trade route for 5 minutes:
>a $350.000 to the amount of $2.450.000
Retreat is either never forced or is always forced, depending on your personal viewpoint, therefore which it was is irrelevant in this context. Regarding the second portion of this entry, we would like you to clarify.
Decision pending.
>Vessel damage control:
>a $2.570 to the amout of $2.570
>Restock of 65 Nanobots:
>a $200 to the amount of $16.000
>Restock of 287 Shield Batteries:
>a $200 to the amount of $57.400
This falls under similar reasoning to that regarding the eight spent Reinforced Cruise Disruptor missiles. However, in the name of good faith of future good relations, reimbursement is granted.
>Slander, mistreatment and enslavement of faction allies:
>a $2.000.000 to the amount of $2.000.000
Any substantial basis to this entry must come from the four Junkers in question. At the time of their release, they may file a separate complaint and reimbursement request. If they are not released in due time, you may resubmit appropriately.
Reimbursement is not granted.
----
You must understand, arris, that we are reasonable people and respond well to reason. This is not a matter of policing, it is simply a matter that should have been put through the proper non-violent protocols rather than the violent ones you first decided to resort to. If there is any policing that needs to be done, it is not of us.
Let us proceed with the negotiation of these reimbursement points, sir.
Respectfully,
Lars Jonhansen, CEO
Duchess Shipping
From: Escort Pilot Klaus Klemmer, Pilot of Duke Vermillion
To: Arris
You are lucky that no escorts had been assigned to the GrandDuchess during her trade route. As an escort pilot for the Duchess company, I will tell you that all violent threats are treated as a serious threat, and if prompted, neutralized. I will caution you to stick to re-purposing parts, or selling them as scrap, as you normally do, rather than preying on vessels that outclass yours by many times. Asking for "emergency" fuel is fine, but opening fire to extract said fuel is a hostile action, and will be met with appropriate action. If you give us no reason to attack you, then we will continue on our way without conflict.
...//decryption...source message: Pueblo Station
...uploading.data...source..monitored communications from Trade Lanes System Manhattan
...destination terminal: Junker "Arris"
Dear Mr. Arris, the Junker pilots have been examined by our medical staff and questioned by our contractors. Their statements have been recorded for posterity and are accessible through the freedom of information act.
Without costs, the gentlemen have also been scrubbed and washed thoroughly by our skilled roboservants, and have booked passage to their intended destinations on one of several armored transports employed by Ageira Technologies.
Also, we have looked into their dental hygiene which were in poor conditions and performed several root canals and tooth replacements.
Altogether, you will find that your companions are as new men in their new dapper clothing and improved groomed hair and overall appearance, and feeling healthier for their short stay with Ageira Technologies.
Best Wishes from Ageira Technologies, and may the misunderstanding between the reputable Duchess Shipping and the Junkers end peacefully. We have already heard too many rumors of impending wars between the Houses...and only wish for continued cooperation and peace between humanity.
To: CEO Lars Johansen, Liberty, New York, D4, Trenton Outpost
From: arris, Junkers, Liberty, New York, C4, Rochester Base
Quote:You must understand, arris, that we are reasonable people and respond well to reason. This is not a matter of policing, it is simply a matter that should have been put through the proper non-violent protocols rather than the violent ones you first decided to resort to. If there is any policing that needs to be done, it is not of us.
Mr. Johansen. I am a reasonable person as well, and salute your endeavours to reach a peaceful agreement and normalize Junker/Duchess Shipping relations. However, I disagree completely on which party requires the said policing. I will try to explain why as punctually as possible:
Please let me ask you to review your corporate introduction. It clearly states and I quote "Duchess captains are required to follow Sirius House laws, but otherwise have extensive freedoms regarding their contracts, trading, and other activities."
As stated in the Liberty House law, which is a Sirius House law, I quote:
"Kidnapping; Defined as the unlawful holding of an individual or individuals against their will by another individual or group of individuals, most commonly applied to the holding of lawful pilots in cargo holds. Penalty is 2,000,000 credits. Slavery; Defined as the commercial enterprise of selling captive individuals, most commonly applied to holding slaves in ones cargo hold for the intent of commercial profit. Penalty for less then 2500 slaves is 2,000,000. Penalty for more than 2500 slaves is 4,000,000 credits."
1) The Junkers are a tolerated, legal entity within Liberty space. A vessel having captured Junkers will:
1.1) Within reason leave them to their own devices
1.2) In a show of goodwill and diplomacy, take them to Manhattan as is often customary
1.3) If carrying proof of criminal action, register the criminals at a Texas LPI facility
1.4) Release the Junkers when so ordered to by a law representative (or in this case a representative of the Junkers), or whenceby be considered a) a kidnapper and, within reason b) a smuggler of contraband
2) Ms. Westwood could have made any legal choice if she so chose to. Instead, she:
2.1) Loitered in Manhattan space without a single attempt to land
2.2) Ridiculed a representative of the Junkers while refusing his legal demands, thus proving herself a kidnapper
2.3) Finally tried to make escape thus making herself a fugitive to law, and, to my deduction possibly a smuggler of contraband
2.4) Released the kidnapped Junkers as hostages to another Liberty corporation, thus being guilty of slavery
I will also address your uneducated opinion on the situation:
Quote:As for the actual incident between you and our ship, your behavior was quite similar to that of the four Junkers in question. Firing warning shots worsened your situation, but from the ship logs you were firing on our ship long before it returned fire. You should count yourself lucky for the long fuse the Commodore gave you.
Every sane person knows engaging a corporate flagship in a transport is pure suicide. However, the Junker code is very clear on this: our lesser families live in closetlike conditions and make their petty income by trading scrap metal. I did nothing any other Junker wouldn't do, were the conditions the same. When asked to release the captives Ms. Westwood, and I quote, "didn't feel like it."
This blatant abuse, disrespect and enslaving of Liberty minorities is not an isolated case. You wonder about Junker hostility, when you, a Liberty corporation breaks both their own and Liberty laws. All the while Grand Duchess couldn't even be bothered with the cries of the oppressed, and why? Because militant pressure wasn't strong enough. What other resolutions do you think we have?
Duchess Shipping is well aware the Junker/Ageira relations are strained at best: our superior skill in the use of jump holes makes us exempt from most Ageira fees and taxes, and we are sometimes forced to interrupt trade lanes during our endeavours. It is my belief, that Ms. Westwood's choice of fleeing, and releasing the captives to Detroit Munitions was a direct attempt to cause harm to the captives' allies and further hamper our lawful demands. She would've been well aware, that a transport chasing her would not be a viable threat. Rather, logic dictates she chose to relocate in a direct attempt to avoid authorities or additional Junker forces, as she was within 1K from Manhattan and could have docked at any time.
I am within my power to report this to Liberty authorities and demand reparations through common court. Trust me, in this case the demand would include all legal fees (30min per written document to the amount
of $10.500.000 per, and representation in court at the usual fee of $350.000 in lost profits per minute. Furthermore, in the light of evidence the Liberty authorities are fully authorized to fine the Grand Duchess for $4.000.000, if they so choose.
As you can see, I am also trying to be as reasonable as possible, and consider my minor demands of compensation for lost profits humble at the very least. I am not trying to profit on the misery of our lesser Junker families. I am asking for damages, which even now greatly exceed the amount I apply for here.
We have agreed to the total sum of $2.075.970 in reimbursement. I will review the unagreed upon counts and present my assessment:
Quote:>Re-ransoming 4 Junker pilots at twice the price of 1440 credits:
>a $2.880 to the amount of $11.520
This was in a practical sense a matter between the Junkers and Ageira from the time the concerning pilots disembarked from the Duchess ship. Partial reimbursement of $7,000 credits is, however, granted.
The Duchess Shipping blatantly conspired with Ageira Technologies to make enslaved legal entities disappear, while multiple completely legal options were available and presented. The Junkers were only admitted to exist until i provided video feed proving they were at the base. I spent almost an hour relieving myself of a ransom of $1.000.000 for the Junkers, suggested by Ageira "for unpaid service fees and trade lane taxes".
Regardless of lost time, do you see me asking for a refund of lost profits to the amount of $21.000.000 here? No. However, the direct costs accumulated by Grand Duchess' deliberate actions will be compensated.
I disagree and motion for full reimbursement.
Quote:>Forced chase of Junker-enslaving vessel, 2 minutes:
>a $350.000 to the amount of $700.000
The manner in which you spend your time is irrelevant. You decided to pursue the Duchess ship in an attempt to free the four Junkers, and in doing so you forfeit whatever profit you could have acquired during however much time it took to achieve -- or in this case, give up on -- your goal. We are not responsible for this decision nor are we accountable for your lost potential profit.
This goes on to show how little you understand the Junker ethics, and how easily you justify abusing whoever you feel like on a whim, disregarding misgrievances you cause to others. You would be chased by a Junker in a Starflier, if our less fortunate families were being wronged. You would be chased to the ends of Sirius until the captives were released, and they would be released at any cost as you now know.
You are responsible for a Junker being forced to take ethical and decisive Junker action to protect kidnapped, enslaved and wronged Junkers. No Junker would have done otherwise. Your ignorance about the matter is not a defence, as at the same time you deliberately broke your company conduct, and that of Liberty.
Thus, I disagree and motion for full reimbursement.
Quote:>8 fired Reinforced Cruise Disruptor missiles to keep target from fleeing:
>a $2.000 to the amount of $16.000
We are not acountable for ammunition spent in a hostile manner against us. If we were, then by that reasoning anyone could earn tremendous profit by deploying expensive ordinance against other people and demanding that they subsequently pay for that spent ordinance.
Illegal slavery is hostile, response to it is self-defence. As I now know, Ms. Westwood wasn't in a slightest hurry, however I were forced to take whatever precaution to protect my fellow lives. This is among the costs your unlawful actions forced Junkers to spend, in order to save wrongly kidnapped legal entities.
I disagree and motion for full reimbursement.
Quote:>Forced retreat under threat of violence and obstructing trade route for 5 minutes:
>a $350.000 to the amount of $2.450.000
Retreat is either never forced or is always forced, depending on your personal viewpoint, therefore which it was is irrelevant in this context. Regarding the second portion of this entry, we would like you to clarify.
Retreat is forced, when negotiation is blatantly ignored, and legal hostility in self-defence of purposely committed crimes against Junkers does not provide a resolution. I would have gladly given up my vessel in battle, but your conduct provided completely reasonable doubts of Grand Duchess conspiring to kidnap a fifth Junker - and furthermore, the only witness - and hiding him to the clutches of Ageira, in order to destroy evidence and escape legal consequences. Under extreme duress and violation of my rights, I truly were forced to choose the lesser of two evils due to direct action from Grand Duchess' side.
I continue to motion for full reimbursement.
Quote:>Slander, mistreatment and enslavement of faction allies:
>a $2.000.000 to the amount of $2.000.000
Any substantial basis to this entry must come from the four Junkers in question. At the time of their release, they may file a separate complaint and reimbursement request. If they are not released in due time, you may resubmit appropriately.
The Junkers are on sick leave at the emergency room due to shock and trauma. Immediate antibiotic and confinement treatments had to be taken, after Ageira deliberately purified the Junkers of their bacterial base and left them susceptible to likely fatal contamination. Due to this, the estimated recuperation time is up to a month.
You have not wronged only those poor Junkers whose families are now at the mercy of our good will, you have wronged me, and all, billions of Junkers around Sirius. In light of this a meagre request for $2.000.000 is almost a bad joke. Even now, while I make completely legal and justified demands, your workers threaten my life on this very panel.
The money will be forwarded to the four families, who are uncapable to defend for themselves and now suffer from no income at all, in order to keep them alive until their men are able to resume their scrap collecting duties. Instead of compassion, Duchess Shipping not only kidnaps and enslaves Junkers, but now conspires to deprive their families of food and kill them off due to hunger as well? How far are you prepared to go? Do you honestly believe this course of action will improve our relations?
I disagree and motion for full reimbursement.
As I disagree on all counts, I restate my original demands, and again request an answer within 48 hours.
I would neverthless like to add, that I am grateful for this opportunity to communicate through diplomatic channels and advance by means of peaceful negotiation. I am quite certain your uneducated view on the severity of this matter is due to either deliberate mistreatment or distortion of facts on behalf of your workers, or due to severe amateurism within your legal department and/or vessel captains.
I hope to have shown Ms. Westwood does not have the capabilities to act in command of your Mobile Headquarters (or, perhaps, any Duchess Shipping vessel), and that the deliberate actions of Grand Duchess do not only affect Duchess Shipping, but Universal Shipping as a whole. I restate my plead for Universal Shipping to police it's daughter companies, until they have the capabilities to act according to their own publicized ethics.
I wish to stress, that any action Liberty authorities decide to take on the high command of a major corporation publicly breaking the Liberty conduct is not my doing, and I have not, and currently am not taking the matter further among them. Thus I hope you understand we Junkers are responsible only for our relations with the Universal Shipping, and whatever action the LSF, LN, or LPI decide to take on this public matter is not our doing, or stemming from our request.
Edit: I would also like to apologize to Ageira representatives my harsh words. I understand we have a long way to go before fully understanding eachother. Perhaps the additional fee was suggested at a wrong time, thus misleading me into believing we had a hostage situation. I would also like to ask you not to decontaminate Junkers in the future, as they are susceptible to our base biosphere.
From: Klaus Klemmer, pilot of the Duke Vermillion,
Ms. Westwood was not carrying contraband, and as you are not a police force, you have no authority to say that she was running from the law. Be careful, I will be escorting the transports more now, so you will have to attempt to get through me if you want to start trying to blow up our ships. I believe that Ms. Westwood is a fully capable captain, and if you continue to insult her abilities, I may file a Libel tort to reimburse any damage caused to her reputation by your harsh words.
From: CEO Lars Johansen, Duchess Shipping
To: Junker arris
Greetings again Junker:
I was dissapointed when I read your response. It took a turn toward escalating this missunderstanding, and I only hope we can mitigate the consequences.
Let us begin with your accusation that Duchess Shipping, the captain of our flagship no less, has committed a gross felony. I am not familiar with the intricacies of law, I only know them as much as I need in order to follow them. Thankfully, your accusation does not draw on these intricacies; I will respond to the best of my abilities.
You claim that the Junkers are a "tolerated, legal entity within Liberty space." This is quite a misleading claim, a more accurate one would be that the Junkers are a tolerated entity within Liberty space. Nevertheless, I will not answer accusations with accusations, but you should know better than to make statements as blatantly untruthful as that.
The options you list as permittable ways of handling Junkers is decent, but again you are making a missleading statement. You are not comparable to a Liberty lawman. You may demand that a captain release fellow Junkers to you, but the captain is not legally obligated to comply. Unless you are the significant other or legal guardian or have some other legal responsibility over the Junkers in question, you could base an accusation of kidnapping on noncompliance. If this was the case in this incident, you did not make the fact clear and Commodore Westwood would then still not be obligated to comply with your demands.
It is important for you to note that corporate security forces have the legal right to detain individuals that demonstrate a significant security risk until such time as the lawful authorities are able to arrest those individuals. These four Junkers did not pose a large enough risk to our security to merit legal action, dropping them off with Ageira was a benevolent middle-ground for us to choose.
Rather than let loose hostile combatants immediately and in doing so provide them with an opportunity to continue their hostile actions, handing their custody to trusted Ageira personel to treat respectfully and with medical propriety was prefered for all parties. As we can now confirm and thanks in full to Ageira, the four Junkers are in far better condition now than they were prior to this incident.
If you still feel your claims of indecent behavior are founded, we will do what we can to ease your mind or whatever or whoever else was the victim of said. Be sure to know, however, that any such behavior was unintentional and aimed only at resolving a situation in the best possible way.
I will not respond to your other words of hostility, I trust they were said in a moment of passion and have no place in securing continued cordial relations between us. I will disregard them for now, but it would facilitate these proceedings if you refrained from similar verbal indiscretions in the future.
Moving on to the reimbursement claims. Our newly established division, Ethics and Diplomacy, DEaD, convened yesterday to discuss these points.
----
>Re-ransoming 4 Junker pilots at twice the price of 1440 credits:
>a $2.880 to the amount of $11.520
>Forced chase of Junker-enslaving vessel, 2 minutes:
>a $350.000 to the amount of $700.000
>8 fired Reinforced Cruise Disruptor missiles to keep target from fleeing:
>a $2.000 to the amount of $16.000
>Forced retreat under threat of violence and obstructing trade route for 5 minutes:
>a $350.000 to the amount of $2.450.000
These claims cannot be answered on ethical or diplomatic grounds. Reimbursement is not granted.
>Slander, mistreatment and enslavement of faction allies:
>a $2.000.000 to the amount of $2.000.000
Review of ship logs shows irrefutable evidence of proper treatment of the temporarily interned Junkers. Reimbursement is therefore not granted for the time they spent on board the Grand Duchess.
While Duchess Shipping cannot be held directly responsible for the actions of Ageira personel on Ageira bases. However, for placing the Junkers in the custody of Ageira does incur indirect responsibility. Considering the personal and financial damages Ageira brought to the four Junkers and their families -- however unintentional and purely with trust in your legitimate and truthful representation of the indivuduals in question -- we are offering a cumulative reimbursement credit sum as outlined below.
No value can be placed on the well-being of a human being, arbitrary values less so. We therefore apologize for the below sum, which might seem arbitrary, but we feel it more prudent than specifying the component values.
To be payable to Junker "arris":
3,000,000 credits
To be payable to the four unnamed Junkers and their families:
20,000,000 credits
These reimbursements come with the acceptance and signature of the following diplomatic terms: 1.1. Junker arris and his immediate associates will not engage in or otherwise support -- including support implied by inaction -- hostile acts against material assets of and persons employed by Duchess Shipping except in those cases where such inaction is contradictory to law. 1.2. Duchess Shipping and those directly employed thereby will not engage in or otherwise support -- including support implied by inaction -- hostile acts against the material assets or persons of Junker arris and his immediate associates except in those cases where such inaction is contradictory to law. 2.1. Junker arris and his immediate associates will provide -- with due compensation -- non-military aid to Duchess Shipping and those directly employed thereby as needed except in cases when such aid violates law or other treaties. 2.2. Duchess Shipping and those directly employed thereby will provide -- with due compensation -- non-military aid to Junker arris and his immediate associates as needed except in cases when such aid violates law or other treaties.
These terms are, of course, open to negotiation prior to acceptance. If you prefer closed and secure communication for these negotiations, it will be made available to you. We, however, prefer public media such as this.
----
I sincerely hope this will push our relation in a more positive direction.
I would also like to assure you that we have begun internal investigations of all our employees. Action will be taken to ensure that we maintain a more-than-satisfactory level of compentence and decency.
To: CEO Lars Johansen, Liberty, New York, D4, Trenton Outpost
From: arris, Junkers, Liberty, New York, C4, Rochester Base
My dear Mr. Johansen,
I am all for open communication, as should be with a damages department of a major Liberty corporation. I wish to say, your efforts in negoatiating a peaceful solution to our problems have gone beyond mandatory, and am very honored to have reached a solution with you.
I would, however, like to address a few issues which might have lead to conflicting views now, and might in the future unless duly noted:
Quote:You claim that the Junkers are a "tolerated, legal entity within Liberty space." This is quite a misleading claim, a more accurate one would be that the Junkers are a tolerated entity within Liberty space.
I can understand not everyone can be comfortable with the intricacies of law, and words can easily be misunderstood. However, we truly are a legal entity, protected by Liberty house law. We are not a lawful entity. As we are not an unlawful entity either, we can neither be considered illegal entities. Our disagreement stems from the fact, that all legal non-military entities captured must be treated as civilian arrestees, and as such Ms. Westwood's uneducated choice truly showed great negligence on my fellow Junkers, and this difficult to understand situation.
At this point, we must address this, which is customary and if contracted, punishable by banishment:
Quote:You are not comparable to a Liberty lawman. You may demand that a captain release fellow Junkers to you, but the captain is not legally obligated to comply. Unless you are the significant other or legal guardian or have some other legal responsibility over the Junkers in question, you could base an accusation of kidnapping on noncompliance. If this was the case in this incident, you did not make the fact clear and Commodore Westwood would then still not be obligated to comply with your demands.
Every Junker is brother or sister to other Junkers, and every Junker is his or her brother's and sister's keeper. We speak of our families, since they are our own families. This must be understood and respected as our laws carved in blood, or we face great difficulties as you have witnessed. Every Junker is legally - not only allowed, but obliged to demand the release of his or her kidnapped brethren, or family, and do everything within their power - be that currency, force or negotiation - for it to become reality.
This makes us susceptible to kidnapping, and a most sensitive matter when dealing with the Junkers. I had the misconception of Ms. Westwood being prepared to communicate with us, and would have made myself more clear, unless met with neglect and sneering. I am not prepared to negotiate with a party I consider a dishonorable kidnapper in the same, respectful way as I have with you.
As such and in a similar situation, I urge you to in the future release your captives to Manhattan immediately, release them to the nearest authority of law, or if confronted by other Junkers to them, should a conflict arise.
But I digress. Let us not bicker about this, as there are negotiations to be held:
Quote:No value can be placed on the well-being of a human being, arbitrary values less so. We therefore apologize for the below sum, which might seem arbitrary, but we feel it more prudent than specifying the component values.
To be payable to Junker "arris":
3,000,000 credits
To be payable to the four unnamed Junkers and their families:
20,000,000 credits
I salute you in your efforts to open a door for both parties to take a step back without losing face. The reimbursement for damaged spirit far exceeds a reimbursement for damaged equipment, and as such I welcome your proposal. I can also ease my mind knowing, that the welfare of our four families is now secure and cleared from my priorities.
The proposal of repairing caused harm is accepted.
As such, I plead you not to apologize in addition to the sum, as then I would be required to also, and refuse to do so.
Quote:These reimbursements come with the acceptance and signature of the following diplomatic terms: 1.1. Junker arris and his immediate associates will not engage in or otherwise support -- including support implied by inaction -- hostile acts against material assets of and persons employed by Duchess Shipping except in those cases where such inaction is contradictory to law. 1.2. Duchess Shipping and those directly employed thereby will not engage in or otherwise support -- including support implied by inaction -- hostile acts against the material assets or persons of Junker arris and his immediate associates except in those cases where such inaction is contradictory to law.
The proposal for non-hostility, co-operation and limited support is accepted.
Quote:2.1. Junker arris and his immediate associates will provide -- with due compensation -- non-military aid to Duchess Shipping and those directly employed thereby as needed except in cases when such aid violates law or other treaties. 2.2. Duchess Shipping and those directly employed thereby will provide -- with due compensation -- non-military aid to Junker arris and his immediate associates as needed except in cases when such aid violates law or other treaties.
The proposal for limited future profit opportunities and limited service-for-fee is accepted.
Quote:I sincerely hope this will push our relation in a more positive direction.
I would also like to assure you that we have begun internal investigations of all our employees. Action will be taken to ensure that we maintain a more-than-satisfactory level of compentence and decency.
I will, in turn, be performing an inquest on the four Junkers upon release from confinement, will clear up how exactly they managed to end up in the cargo of Grand Duchess, and carry out proper resolve depending on their excuse. I consider this matter now settled, and Duchess Shipping reputation towards Junkers increased.
I once more salute you in your benevolent endeavours. Relations between Duchess Shipping and Junkers are once again to be considered normalized. I welcome our agreement and eagerly await for profit opportunities our newfound co-existence might provide for our mutual benefit.
Respectfully,
arris
Arris leaned back in his chair, failing to recieve the profits hoped for. The red lights on various machinery glitterered in arris' eyes, while plans were being made. Perhaps Duchess would prove to be fruitful. If not, well, there were other options...
From: Viktor Clarance, Duchess Shipping
To: Junker arris
We reciprocate your sentiment of satisfaction and deem these proceedings to be resolved and closed. The treaty between Duchess Shipping and yourself will be filed in our public channels for future reference.
Respectfully,
Viktor Clarance
Department of Ethics and Diplomacy
Duchess Shipping
