I am Tribun Antoine La'Biere of l'Unione Corse, speaking on behalf the Famille Senat. I believe you may fancy yourself familiar with us, oui? I am responding with respect to, shall we call it, the proposition you recently offered us via one of our transports in Liberte. We do hope you have not forgotten!
We must say, we are slightly disappointed. If you really are of the Lane Hackers, we find it incredible that you would have no record of your organization's previous dealings with us. This only makes it more difficult for us to take your offer seriously when our capitaine's first encounter with you was not in a vessel we would have recognized as actually belonging to the organization we've worked with before! Surely you can understand our incredulity, oui? Well, perhaps if you are of said Lane Hackers you will have access to the following communique? If not, then that is another strike against you!
Simply put, Monsieur Yoshida, we've dealt with the Lane Hackers before, and the Famille Senat chose not to follow up with further dealings for reasons that are our own. We are most definitely not interested in pursuing a working relationship with you, and the Lane Hackers if that's whom you truly represent, if your offer comes to us at the end of an anti-matter cannon as you stated.
Mr. Yoshida (supposedly) Wrote:[23.02.2015 00:58:15] LH~Leiden.Interdictor: We view the Unione Corse as potential business partners. If you think that you do not want to deal with the Hackers,
[23.02.2015 00:58:54] LH~Leiden.Interdictor: then I think your transports in Liberty can become fine targets for our interdiction operations.
You seem to have counted your chickens before they hatched! That is not how potential business partners begin to work together! We counter with the following. We will leave your operations in Liberte alone and you will leave ours alone. We trust that you will find this to be the most beneficial of all possible arrangments, oui?
With deep regret we have discovered that the current form of the Unione Corse is a convoluted version of Bounty Hunters and corporate traders who refuse to deal with anyone that the journalists on the local media call them as criminals. Surely if the handsome lady on the news tells you the Lane Hackers are bad people, why would you not believe her?
With great relief I also read your gracious offer of "leaving our operations alone in Liberty". Now I can finally sleep peacefully at night knowing that I am safe from the Unione Corse brats such as Antoine La'Biere. In fact, I personally made sure that the Lane Hackers will show their genuine appreciation to your offer the next time you visit our House.
Monsieur Yoshida, we hope that your pantaloons are not riding you too tightly! It is the only explanation that we can come up with as to your perpetually hostile attitude. Perhaps a looser pair would give you room to breathe and think, oui? We would be quite willing to ship you a pair if you would but give us the appropriate measurements. The tailors of Gallia are the finest to be found!
But, to business! You appear to be woefully misinformed for a man representing an organization we've had dealings with in the past. Perhaps it is information classified above your ability to access? Well, I would be quite happy to enlighten you, even if it appears your associates in the Lane Hackers (if you have any) will not.
L'Unione Corse have a larger hand in a larger pie than you seem to be aware of. We deal regularly with groups who eviscerate transports for fun or detonate nuclear payloads among their enemies as a matter of course. We run trade fronts with a subtlety that appears to elude you; not rather unlike your own Junkers, but with far more class, profit, and respectability (not to mention less filth!). We frequently profit from mercenary work, often playing either side to our own advantage as we will. We are not afraid to personally handle matters if the situation requires it. That we worked with the Lane Hackers on trade and mercenary work in the past shows that we have little issue with what the lovely madamoiselle on the news has to say, as you so bluntly put it. The problem here is not us, monsieur, it's you.
We have little wish to partner with a blunt minded individual whose first negotiation tactic is to point a gun at us and second is to throw a hissy fit when that fails to garner positive results! We actively pity any actual allies you may have if you represent the face of the Lane Hackers to them in a similar manner! At least Madamoiselle Hunter had the courtesy to come to us as prospective equals.
We believe that it would be best if we put this incident behind us and that we go our separate ways, letting bygones be bygones and leaving each other's interests in Liberte alone. I trust that your hospitality with respect to our visits will reflect this appropriately!
I am delighted to hear the soft Gallic accent again. Besides occasional barking of Royal Navy officers I barely have an opportunity to have a pleasure of conversing with an educated and sophisticated Gaul. As the person who had initiated the first contact between the Unione Corse and The Lane Hackers years ago, I feel obliged to intervene in this conversation and provide additional context Mr Yoshida thought it was unnecessary to mention, if only to satisfy all requirements of courtesy.
Monsieur La'Biere, you have indirectly suggested a notion, which seems for me a bit insulting, that I am unaware of what my operatives are doing - or even worse, that they are acting against my will. I am truly ashamed to repay you with the same favor, but judging from your subsequent transmissions, this might be the case with the Famille Senat and its ship Demolir Un harassing our transport in Tau-23 over a week ago.
Having this incident in mind, it should be clear enough that it is the Unione Corse who initiated this escalation of hostility, not the Lane Hackers. To quote you, the problem here is not us, monsieur, it's you. Additionally, considering that even before the incident, using your own words, you chose not to follow up with further dealings with us for reasons that are your own makes you a rather weak material for a business partner of the Lane Hackers. On the other hand, conducting, according to our estimations, nearly twenty percent of operations within our zone of influence makes you a legitimate target.
The burden of deescalation of the hostility is entirely yours. Whether it happens or not, it is largely indifferent to me, as both scenarios will benefit the Lane Hackers modestly.
Madamoiselle Hunter, merci beacoup for the compliment! I do my best to speak as plainly as possible, and am glad to see you wish to do the same!
We have to admit that it did not appear that Monsieur Yoshida actually worked for your organization. The first personal attempt to communicate with our vessel bore no transponder that indicated he had any association with you at all! I must say that certainly puts a different spin on it all.
Comms Wrote:[23.02.2015 00:47:43] Mr.Yoshida,: I shall meet you there, then.
*here the identifier switches*
[23.02.2015 00:56:14] LH~Leiden.Interdictor: Greetings.
[23.02.2015 00:56:58] LH~Leiden.Interdictor: I am Mr Yoshida.
I will be plain with you, madamoiselle. We of the Senat are confused and offended by the recent behavior of your operatives towards us. If Monsieur Yoshida was operating under your direction, why was he not informed of our previous dealings?
Comms Wrote:[23.02.2015 00:59:30] [UC]V-Cachette.Secrete: Perhaps you are unaware of previous attempts to deal in business between your organization and ours?
[23.02.2015 01:00:42] LH~Leiden.Interdictor: I am currently searching the neural net as we speak.
[23.02.2015 01:01:28] LH~Leiden.Interdictor: And I cannot find anything.
[23.02.2015 01:04:36] LH~Leiden.Interdictor: So. I couldn't find anything related.
[23.02.2015 01:05:30] LH~Leiden.Interdictor: I want you to tell me what happened in the previous attempts.
This was not an auspicious way with which to reintroduce the possibility of business being agreed upon, oui? We most assuredly are not inclined to make any associations with those who tell us that they want to be our partner and then threaten to shoot us if we do not agree!
Comms Wrote:[23.02.2015 00:58:15] LH~Leiden.Interdictor: We view the Unione Corse as potential business partners. If you think that you do not want to deal with the Hackers,
[23.02.2015 00:58:54] LH~Leiden.Interdictor: then I think your transports in Liberty can become fine targets for our interdiction operations.
Now, I'm not a hacking wizard, but as you can see from the comm records this happened well over a month ago, and I do believe that a month is longer than a week, oui? That would put the escalation of threats of interdiction and violence firmly in your court, madamoiselle, long before any contact of your transport with our pilot. My fellow Tribuns tell me that we made our distaste for Cardamine quite clear during our initial dealings as well, so this should not have come as a surprise to you or any of your operatives. We recognize that you all have an unfortunate addiction to the substance however, and we are willing to give discuss leeway on the matter for your personal requirements. We are not inclined to permit bulk transport of this weed through our space, however.
Also, do not presume to tell us the extent of our operations in Liberte. To say that 20% of the total trade l'Unione Corse makes occurs within your operational area is preposterous! We may make the occasional trade run through Liberte, but such efforts are entirely at our discretion and do not comprise anywhere near the bulk of our operations.
In summary, if you wish to discuss an agreement with us Madamoiselle Hunter, do not point an antimatter cannon at our faces and tell us that it's raining. We do not take kindly to this type of negotiation. If you are willing to make a mutually acceptable offer, then please present it here. We will hear what you have to say and address it accordingly!
Adieu!
p.s.
We are willing to ship Monsieur Yoshida a new pair of pantaloons at any time. Simply let us know and we will have an appropriately sized pair delivered with haste!
I am a man of my word. I personally promised that you will receive a proper welcome. And I delivered my promise.
The unremarkable Corse captain made a generous donation to the Lane Hackers and we would like you to forward to him our sincere thanks. He also seemed aware of our latest correspondence and he thus unsuccessfully tried to convince us to stop. That would make sense of course considering that the only ones who scored losses from our former arrangement is the Unione Corse. We quickly found new and reliable business partners in Gallia; the Brigands. But you know this already considering your latest failed attempt to intercept the LH-LD convoy.
Is that all? Of course not.
I have in my possession recorded footage of your transport carrying large quantities of Nox, a highly addictive and dangerous drug right before it enters the capital of Liberty. We also have the means to leak the incriminating evidence to the news media. Perhaps you may remember how the public reacted during the previous major corporate scandal. But I am not a heartless person. So I am giving you a few hours to convince me otherwise.
Preferably from my esteemed friend, Antoine La'Biere.
Monsieur Yoshida, it is unfortunate that I am hearing your voice and yet I don't hear the sounds of pantaloon measurements being provided! I had sincerely hoped that your next attempt at communications would be to obtain a relaxed fit pair of Gallia's finest lower body wear! It seems that I must deal with your perpetually too tightly laced attempts at discourse instead.
What's this I have to address? An attempt at extortion? I have to say, if that single image of a vessel floating somewhere in space with that cargo is all you have then you're woefully misinformed if you think we care. Where was it taken? Whom was he accosted by? Was the capitaine working under duress from the photographing party, or perhaps someone else entirely? Was he truly transporting it to a destination within Liberte? So many unknowns and so little with which to make a case! Is that all you really have?
We've dealt with many such attempts at strong arming before, of course, and our reputation is still quite intact. Though, if you wish to go tit for tat on such matters then I'm sure we can find at least one or two parties who would be equally appalled (if not more so) at your bulk transportation of a mutagenic!
The actual Lane Hacker whom received the donation is quite welcome to have it, of course! We assure you that we will be expecting the same courtesy when we see actual Lane Hacker vessels in our region of space. We also know that the Brigands understand who their true allies are.
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