To: Aquila Defense Systems, CC: Minister Victor Delacroix

[Goddess Astra]

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To: Aquila Defense Systems, CC: Minister Victor Delacroix
From: Aisling Cenncroithi, Harvest Moon (Corvo-class Explorer)
Transmission Source: Cambridge Research Station, Cambridge

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To whomever I may be speaking, my name is Aisling Cenncroithi. I am reaching out to you on the advice of Minister Victor Delacroix of the Natio Octavarium, as he indicated to me that I may be able to commission you for a special project.

I am a researcher that operates independently of most sovereign organizations, and for the past few years I have operated in some of the most distant and perilous reaches of the Sirius Sector. An incident about a year ago that took place within the borders of the Natio Octavarium indicated to me that it would be wise to invest in securing my laboratory, as a Corvo is ill-equipped to defend herself against aggressors. However, despite upgrading Harvest Moon's armor and outfitting her with a cloaking device, the fact remains that she cannot hold her own in any true combat scenario.

With this in mind, I now reach out to you.

My XO and I have been discussing approaches to this problem for some time now, and we've come to the conclusion that what we would like is a vessel that under ordinary House regulations would be classified as a cruiser, both in terms of armor and in terms of defensive armament. However, we require this vessel to function just as well in the role of a mobile laboratory as a Corvo does, if not more effectively.

Another aspect of this project that we would like to know that you can manage is the addition of not only an integrated cloaking device (which we will source), but also a jump drive and survey module. A jump drive has not before been mounted upon a cruiser-class hull, to my knowledge, but my engineering team aboard Harvest Moon has some creative ideas as to how to circumvent this obstacle.

If this project sounds feasible, then please contact me on this channel again. Additionally, in working on this, I would like to know before committing to this that I will be able to count on you and your engineering teams to provide the utmost discretion in your work. There are aspects to this project that I cannot risk leaking to the outside world—I need to know that I am safe in your hands. Once we have a contract, we will happily provide you with further details about the project that are not included here.

I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your time and consideration.

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Freelancer Reimagined: Complete Music Overhaul

[Thexare]

Hey there. Johnathan Jones, Director of Operations for Aquila.

Most important part first - discretion is guaranteed. You're not the first client that's needed things kept quiet. We will likely have to lease a wing of a friendly shipyard, but I think we can keep things quiet by claiming it's a prototype of a new recon ship for the Commission.

Suveying equipment won't be a problem, we'll base it off our Limelight system. You shouldn't need the jammer circumvention methods the YYZ-type is believed to posess, meaning we can use the extra power to provide more detailed planetary, atmospheric, and gravimetric scans, in addition to the standard hyperspace systems. A complete package for all sorts of astronomical surveying.

Now, the jump drive. My techs have been itching to take another crack at it after the... unfortunate incident with Redshift. Don't worry, we figured out the problem, though I'll be damned if I can explain it myself - we've got specialists for that. But we compared notes, matched our experimental drive to one on a Bustard owned by one of our civilians, and worked out the issue. That just leaves the matter of miniaturization, and I think my people can work something out there.

Cloak tech has become practically standardized in the last couple years, so I don't expect any complications at all there.

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[Thexare]

Hey. Jones here, got an update on your request. Minister Combs has arranged for us to have use of a dock at Sabah Shipyard, in Coronado. She also told me that this is officially for developing one of our own ships, rather than a private project. Which isn't exactly incorrect; we're working with some of the best surveillance tech and recon platforms in the sector, but we can't get complacent.

So, yes. We can do the job, if you're still interested. Aquila transports Wollongong and Wonglepong are standing by to move whatever materials will be needed.

Message ends.

[Goddess Astra]

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To: Johnathan Jones, Director of Operations, Aquila Defense Systems
From: Aisling Cenncroithi, Harvest Moon (Corvo-class Explorer)
Transmission Source: Freeport 2, Bering, Independent Worlds

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Johnathan Jones, I apologize for my silence in this matter, but I assure you that I am still interested. Should you still be willing to take upon this contract, please notify me at your earliest convenience. In the meanwhile, I will share further details of the commission with you.

It was our intention that the design for our laboratory would incorporate components of several ships that we have salvaged--partly due to the advanced nature of the parts in question, partly to save costs, and partly due to sentimental value, as these parts once belonged to ships that some of us once called home.

It is these parts that usher the greatest need for discretion in your work, as these components are sourced from Order capital ships. I imagine that you are aware of their guarded nature when it comes to their technology, as they must lever any advantage that they can possibly muster. I assure you, however, that we have obtained these components ethically. We are researchers, not vultures.

To the end of solving any problems with power generation, the first part is the reactor and engine block from an Osiris class battleship, as detailed below:



While it is overpowered for the size of the hull, we are of the belief that the extra power generation would enable it to support a jump drive and a survey module as we wish to have. As professional engineers, I defer to you and your workers' judgments in whether or not this is feasible.

The second part is a set of eight sensors antennae salvaged from Resheph class cruisers:



The Resheph is nearly unparalleled in its sensors abilities, and we believe that it would greatly benefit our scientific studies to have scanning abilities on the level of such reconaissance cruisers.

Apart from these, there is but one further request that I personally would like to make, and that is that we may have an observation dome mounted near the center of the vessel--preferably inset to protect it from weapons fire, but, again, I defer to you and your engineers.

Please let me know if this is feasible when you can. If you require it, we have engineers onboard that formerly served aboard the Osiris, Apotheosis. They should be able to help you if you encounter problems with compatibility.

Thank you for your time.

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Freelancer Reimagined: Complete Music Overhaul

[Thexare]

Hey. Good to hear from you again, we were starting to wonder if you were still interested. Or alive.

We've been continuing to use that bay at Sabah for experimental engineering in order to avoid suspicion, mostly working on integrating other tech with the Crayterian ships we have available.

We've never worked with Order tech before, but I expect it's developed off of a predominantly Libertonian base. We used Libertonian ships, notably including a Bison-class cargo frigate, as research and development platforms several times in Kansas, so I expect no complications.

Rebuilding and incorporating the drive section of a light battleship into a research cruiser will be a little... awkward. The actual drive section will need to basically be entirely rebuilt in order to control forward thrust and not overwhelm the maneuvering thrusters. Basically, using the Osiris drive as-is would be too much thrust for the expected mass. Use of an overpowered reactor to support additional, nonstandard equipment is sound logic, but this will require additional rad shielding. Easy enough, known tech.

A Resheph... now that's a ship I'd love to get my hands on. With our experience with Limelight and other... let's go with "exotic" sensor systems, we should have no difficulty incorporating that into your project. I have ideas for additional sensors to support the antenna-type, but I'll leave that to the engineers.

Now, your observation dome, I have some safety concerns about that. Even if inset, it will still be vulnerable to fire from above. I think this can be mitigated with a simple retractable armor dome to go over it, however, probably automatic when an alert is triggered. I'll pass that along to the team.

So yes, all of this seems entirely feasible.

Message ends.

[Goddess Astra]

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To: Johnathan Jones, Director of Operations, Aquila Defense Systems
From: Aisling Cenncroithi, Harvest Moon (Corvo-class Explorer)
Transmission Source: Freeport 2, Bering, Independent Worlds

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I am glad to hear that we have a plan. Do you require anything further from us before you begin this project?

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Freelancer Reimagined: Complete Music Overhaul

[Thexare]

Hm. Obviously we'll need any specific components you want integrated. You can bring them to Sabah Shipyard directly - signal docking control with the code Kiwi-Romeo-37 so my people will handle offloading. Or if you would prefer, you can bring them to Kwinana Refinery above Oraibi in Coronado, or Canberra Star City in Tau-44, and one of our ships will relay them to the shipyard. You're calling from Bering, so Kwinana would be closest.

A copy of the sensor firmware from a Resheph would make the sensor installation much easier. We can work without that, of course, but that would require a certain degree of reverse-engineering that would likely slow the project down, and could result in incompatibilities between the Resheph sensors and our own Limelight technology that we intend to supplement the Resheph antennas with.

Outside of that... we just need material, and a Corvo is hardly suited to bulk cargo, so Aquila and the OMG will handle that.

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