Envoyer cet message. Destinataire est Phileas Ottobert Tukker de Tinker et Transport. - with a quick swipe LaFlamme sent his draft of a response from his personal datapad to the board computer of the shuttle. They have just entered Baffin from Roussillon. Compris, mon Général. - the pilot responded. It wasn't a big shuttle, just a small, agile Aurochs, refitted for personal transport, but with sufficent armor to take damage it can't dodge. All the crew were the pilot and the copilot with a total of five passengers on board: four armed guard and the fifth one they were protecting, General LaFlamme of The Council. After a few seconds the pilot of the shuttle broke the silence once again - Le transmission est envoyé. Trés bien. Alors, faitez route vers Shasta. - the General ordered. With an affirmative response from the pilot the shuttle fired up its cruise engines and began flying towards the skyhook in the geode's orbit.
The co-pilot wearing a clean but well worn Coverall with Tinkers badge with trade fleet embroidery entered Tukkers small but comfortable office on board the refitted Pelican Transport, waiting politely till his chef looked up from his workstation.
Sir, we have just recieved a message over Council transmission frequencies.
Seems our Guests have arrived in Baffin and are underway to Shasta.
Ah, fine. Thank you , Williams.
Tell Rodney to start the ship and fly out to meet them, we will greet them in space and escort them to whatever location the General wishes to inspect first.
Shall I also tell the Steward to prepare a bottle of Champagne and some petit fours , Sir ?
Tukker laughed, shaking his head.
No, Williams.
We are greeting a friend and ally, not some fat oligarchs from Libertys upper classes or a celebrity to-be starlet we wish to embezzle.
The beverages will have to wait till after buisness has been cleared. You can tell Francis to prepare some fine tea and cookies though.
Greet them over the same frequency and tell them we will meet them in space.
The aging trader smiled as he finished his last calculations and checks , secure in the knowledge that his experienced crew would need no supervision.
He was looking forward to meeting the fabled General, like somebody who had been breathing stale station air would look forward to landing on a habitable Planet. The last few weeks had been full of stress and in his experience the Councilmen could perhaps be difficult to handle, but straightforward and honest. Not like all the ViP and Buisness meetings he had been forced to endure the last weeks. And life was getting interesting in the independent systems again, after a long and difficult time.
Two hours passed without much things to happen on the way to Shasta. The freighter was silently gliding in empty space towards the skyhook, Eris, the local gas giant was looking majestic, as always, and the Hodge-Podge pair of planetoids on the far side of the system were barely visible due to the shiny sun blazing blindingly in between them and the CLT Petit Lapin. Aside from the occasional freight convoys in between Shasta and Pueblo Bonito there were no unusual contacts they met until after two hours the captain spotted a shape slighly bigger than those before. Cette naivre est plus grand qu'un fréteur, Mon Général. Peut-être c'est un transporteur? Peut-être. Indicatif? Inconnu, mais ce commance avec T&T... C'est ca. Hélez leurs.
And the Aurochs hailed the Pelican.
Two ships meeting in space and not planning to shoot each other is not as simple as it sounds,
but both crews are experienced and it does not take long till the armoured personel transport and the Aurochs freighter float next to each other. Baffin is quiet today, but never safe despite the pentabarf and all efforts on side of its inhabitants, so soon the ships fall into formation and continue their voyage.
Meanwhile messages pass to and fro, greetings and other data packages :
security and access codes, verification and indentification updates and protocol links.
Greetings, General LaFlamme.
We are not far from Shasta, so we can commence to the station and dock if you like, all has been arranged to secure your stay and provide both workable buisness attire and the necessary privacy and security. But if I may offer our hospitality to you and your staff this shuttle is quite comfortable and well equipped with all necessary gear to enable transfer via airlock and flextunnel between our ships. We will follow your preferences here, as you deem necessary.
There have been no disturbances in Baffin today so far, and we are on shedule.
Next stop Shasta Skyhook ?
Monsieur Tukker, it is nice to meet you finally. - came the response over comms - I bet your ship is well prepared indeed, but given we have a lot of things to discuss as well as a tight schedule to do so I hope you won't mind heading to Shasta first to deal with business. Of course after that I would gladly take a tour on the ship, I can't say I'm any familiar with this kind of shuttle. It's all fine, General. I would also recommend discussing the details of the race event once we got to Shasta, followed by a delicate jet discreet lunch, maybe a meeting with our Discordian friends, then heading over to the Shrine to close the day with a tour around the station. Alternatively we can stay on the Skyhook for the night and take the tour tomorrow, up to your desires, either way I can show you the interior of the Tinkers Pinnance too on the way to Brunswick if you insist joining me to there. Your offers sound splendid, Monsieur, I will think about them. Oh, and before I forget, I'll send over some brief information about the status of Brunswick and the main improvements of recent times. Lastly, I took the liberty to reserve and prepare Docking Bay 23 of Shasta for your arrival, General. Oh, franchement? - at this point Pierre was genuinely amused. - Merci beacoup, Monsieur Tukker, we'll proceed there then. I already like this man. - he thought with a half smile slowly appearing on his face. - If he conducts business like this, I feel we won't have any problems.
Nothing much else happened until the arrival to Shasta. Docking Bay 23 was indeed well prepared for the arrival of Pierre, yet it still lacked the usual unnecessarily overdone ornamentation and other pointless additions some other military leaders get at other places. Here it was nothing (okay, maybe a slightly bit) more than what was necessary, and that spoke of aims at efficiency during planning. At least to LaFlamme. After landing one guard stayed with the two pilots in the CLT Petit Lapin while the rest escorted the General out. A security officer arrived in front of them to greet the delegation and provide instructions for proceeding.
Conference room 0-8-15 had been prepared in advance too, with a central table and space for a headup display from a projector as well as several seperate workspace layouts for the Council staff. Mr. Tukker had set down his own personal comnet terminal abd was only accompanied by a rugged older Gunboat Captain he had introduced as McKannon and a technician in a standard Overall with Tinkers badge and emblem who was working the system and soon chatting with one of LaFlamme's crewmembers. The General and the Trader shared a few sociable moments while the staff settled down in the room and the Council guards completed their control.
Checking the systems et sorting out preliminaires should not take long, monsieur Tukker. Thank you for preparing the data you sent me. I have added a few points to the list I would like to discuss with you and see no reason why we can not complete les negotiations tres vite . Merci pour the effective work, it is a pleasure to work with professionals.
Tukker seemed clearly pleased by this and returned the compliment.
General, it is an honour for us. It is sometimes a struggle to get acceptance or respect in the chaotic inter- house corporate setting, and we tend to get considered last by governmental agencies if there is any interesting contract to be had. We understand why and live with it, but the acceptance the gallic Council shows towards is is a great boon to the morale of our men. And I take care to keep our men working towards a goal that is more than mere wealth. We are humans, and humans tend to be steered only by base emotions : Greed or Pride. At Tinkers we prefer to be proud about our work and discourage avarice.
Oui, c'est understandable. You do well to keep high standards. We at the gallic council know only too well what a regime based on greed and monstrous egoicity can do to a communité. Les Aristocrats and the royalist party supporting le Roi Charles bleed Gallia to death with their propaganda of glory and supremacy.
Both men nodded at each other, focussing again on the work at hand. This was no mere social visite, and with the war raging in Sirius there would be no long rest for either of them. Both knew that while they represented different groups they shared a common goal : Liberté .
That elusive and precious thing called Freedome.
As they prepared for the business talk they both skimmed through the list of proposed subjects of discussion one last time on their personal devices:
• The Gala Event at Brunswick Shrine
• Council support • Chalons-en-Champagne as a possible port for the race
• Brunswick Shrine recent improvements and additions
• Council's access to stores and services
• Future cooperation between Tinker & Transports and The Council
• Access to Roussillon • Supply contracts
Alors, - Pierre broke the silence - I think it's better to discuss the Shrine et les additions during the tour around the station itself, that leaves us the two other options only: the Gala Event et details, et our future cooperation et details. Which one would you like to start with, Monsieur Tukker?
The Freelance trader nodded, marking some files in the shhared conference comnet, and then looking straight at General LaFlamme
I would start with our plans and opportunities for future cooperation. A house needs a foundation, and a base or a friendship needs care and supplies. I remember once reading some ancient quote while studying the gallic language that states : morale is placed to military might in a ratio of three to one. But I would feel like an imposter if I would coordinate public relations or festivity before caring about the base needs.
In the next hour Mr. Tukker outlined the exact capacity of the current trade fleet issued by Tinkers, their funds and support from libertonian civilians and Investors. If LaFlamme was surprised as to the detailed and obviously uncensored estimations and holding funds he did not show, but not once was the name of an Investor revealed. The holding behind Tinker and Transport showd itself interested in all sorts of Goods, and in building up service and training contracts. Interested in a wide range of commodities from luxury foods and wines to raw materials, unfinished industrial components and half-wares they offered to supply the Council with all sorts of commodities from Liberty, Bretonia, and even Rheinland and Kusari.
And having detailed this, we also wish to continue the work with our Ambulance teams and would need some estimations : How many fugitives do you think will pass through Baffin towards Rousillion or other ports ? And how will the situation in Leeds change ? We are still expanding our operations, but we continually lag behind rising needs and demands, our training capabilities are stretched at the moment.
A shadow appeared on Tukkers face. Sorrow... he seemed tired.
We do what we can, and this festival at Baffin is part of a plan to reach more of Bretonias and Libertys jouths, to get them interested, to create a positive response for recrutation. We can not use the same harsh recruiting methods as some of the houses, and do not take in criminals. Some of the refugees and fugitives opt to join us, but we encourage them to return to civil lives. After all, that is what the Sirius Relief Fund was generated for.
The trader stopped and closed his comnet terminal, signaling that he was finished
During listening Pierre's face was mostly emotionless, focusing on Tukkers speech, only one time he allowed himself a barely visible half-smile. - Hmm, nice little company you have here, I hope we'll be able to make use of it,... - he thought, and looked down on his datapad for a second, on the list of Gallic resources the Council does or may have access to, now the half smile is gone. - ... and pay for it accordingly.
When the trader finished his speech LaFlamme took a deep breath and began talking: Monsieur Tukker, I have to say that from your description I see Tinker & Transports as a valuable commercial partner with a lot of connections yielding even more opportunities, I'm really looking forward to a common, fruitful future. Now, excusez-moi, I am not a trader or an economist myself, so I had to require a little help from Monsieur Croix before attending this meeting. - He swiped two or three on the screen of his datapad to browse and open the file detailing The Council's trade and smuggle fleet size. - Henri Croix, il est nos economist, also leading the Trade and Supply Division of The Council. Sadly he couldn't attend this meeting, but I'll try to keep staying on par with him. - The following was a shorter, thirty minute detailing of the composition of Council's trade fleet operating around Bretonia and Liberty, smuggling fleet operating between Gallia and Sirius, mostly Roussillon though, how occupied they are with regular tasks and what free assets can be used for fulfilling special requests. With of course the involvement of the main screen of the conference room, being able to detail and display things at the same time helped Pierre a lot.
Alors, onto a little bit of specifics now. - he switched to an other document on his device, - A few things we may be in need of quite soon. - and displayed it's contents on the main screen. The following appeared:
• Ship Hull Panels
• DuraSteel 2000™, medium and large sizes, rectangle shape • Thick Hull Pro™, medium and large sizes, rectangle shape
These are commodities we do not have access to, yet are required in warship construction at our shipyards in Roussillon. Sadly a new menace emerged, risking the secrecy of our Sirian stronghold, so we have to prepare for what may be inevitable. - He then began detailing the need for non-Gallic technology in Gallic ship construction. - Trying to become independent from the Gallic industry in our fight against the Crown our engineers et technicians looked for alternatives on the Sirian markets, et found the above the best. Sadly they are Kusarian products, et given Kusari's vassalization by Gallia our relations with the newly formed Republic isn't the best. Becoming unwanted in that house being just another obstacle, albeit perhaps a more circumventable one. The question here is if I can count on the help of Tinker & Transport at acquiring these materials laying out of our reach. Of course not for free, monetary compensation is granted by default, et in addition we can offer you commodities laying out of your reach. - A tap on the small device, a swipe, another tap, and an other, longer but less detailed list appeared on the main screen:
•MedTech™ or Mortier Medicals™ Bio-Stability Monitors • Blue Diamonds • various Consumer Goods • various (not always legally acquired) Gallic Softwares •Cracking Catalysts •CryoTech™ Cryocubes • Deuterium • Exploiteur™-series Drill Bits • various kinds of Energy Field Equipment • Gallic Food • Gadolinium •Holmium •Holo-tainment Bands (about a dozen different brands) • Hydrogene-cyanide •various kinds of Laser beam projectors • Liquid Petroleum • various Luxury Consumer Goods • Luxury Food •high grade Magnets •Manifolds • various Mining Machinery • Molybdenum • Munitions of a wide range of calibers • Nanotubes • Neodymium • Nickel • Oil •various Petrochemicals •Plastics • Samarium •ForMémoire™ Shape-memory Alloy • Artificial Weed •Tellurium • Titanium • Roi de Tabac™, FrancoFumée™ and other brands of Gallic Tobacco •Ultralloy • Vanadium • hundreds of delicious Wine brands •Yttrium •Zinc
Euh, slightly bit longer list, n'est pas? - he smiled, then continued. - You may notice many of these items are listed with red colors, that indicates that while the rest of the commodities we can acquire via the Gallic black market - with a few exceptions of course, some are our own products, like asch-cee-enn - those listed in red are a bit harder to get our hands on. With some tricks c'est possible too, but more costy than they otherwise would be. Do not worry if you can't inspect the full list right now, - a swipe - both this and the previous one - another, then a tap - are sent over to your device. - and finally a quick, high pitched beep from Tukker's comnet terminal confirming LaFlamme's words.
Et oui, - he frowned, - the fugitive question is also a worrying subject. Marne has been the source of a lot of families fleeing from the Kingdom in hopes of a better life, more than what Toulouse can accept, hence a big portion of those families went further to settle down in Pittsburgh, or Gran Canaria. Lately however bad news are coming back from both destinations: Gran Canaria is getting colder at a rate which essentially turns migration around et more people flee from the planet than arrive, et as I heard Pittsburg isn't that of a dreamworld it earlier seemed to be. With that I have only estimates at hand, et I do not find them accurate enough to properly forecast how migration may change in the near future in et around Baffin, et I have even less information about Leeds. Even despite the terraforming going well, housing on Toulouse is still a great issue right now, et I do not expect the incoming flow of fugitives to decrease. Our architects are working on a cheaper and faster modular housing method but until they are done with the blueprints I cannot know for sure the exact costs. If Tinker & Transport et the Sirius Relief Organisation would be helping us at this matter, be it humanitarian aid, transportation of construction goods or anything else related, that would be greatly appreciated by The Council, et of course paid accordingly as well. - looking in the eyes of Tukker during the last sentence Pierre pressed a button on the side of his data pad to turn it into sleep mode, then leaned back in his seat, silently awaiting the response of the other.
Tukker nodded, and started sorting through the data sent over to him.
Well, I do actually have some suggestions towards bettering the fugitive situation and will send you some files in a moment. These files are from our Project Galena Park at Houston. We are still in the last stages of planning and purchasing as we have had some problems with funding diverted to the Shrine at Baffin and a shortage of Manpower. But if Council funds and perhaps some support from a gifted Engineer aid us there we could easily add a production facility to the plans, a facility to build easy to transport, easy to use habilitation or field support modules. And our expertise in logistics is available to you at any time.
The Trader transferred a filed datapack over to the General, and continued talking.
As for supllies to the Council and trade opportunities : I will send a senior trader over to meet Sergeant LaCroix if you agree : Elijah Bailey is one of the most experienced skippers I know and will be able to coordinate any trade deals necessary with your logistical expert. And you are free to use cargo storage at the service station in Baffin at any time.
He closed his terminal and streched:
I suggest we relax a bit, sharing a meal and talking about general topics and news. I am sure you have other questions besids logistical necessities and would be a bad host if I would not care for your well being.
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