The Dorado's hatch opened overhead, letting the salty breeze enter the cabin. "Mon Dieu, it's hot here". 'I told you to dress smart but light. Never that you listened to me.' ‘Have you been here before?’ ‘Oh yes. The promotion when I became sub-director of the SEC was right here. Then a couple of company dinners. The ones where you miserable tech people can't attend.’ ‘You play it cool that it's only because of us that we're here getting the funds to finally refurbish the damn ship’ 'That's exactly why they don't invite you’ An employee made her way through the small army of robots and spaceport attendants who were meanwhile beginning the fighter's shutdown procedures. ‘Welcome to the Samson Resort gentlemen. I'm Jenna from the resort's guest reception. Please follow me for a couple of security checks.
The two took out their badges in unison.‘We are colleagues, can we skip the formalities? Also because,’pointing to the bottle of wine in his hand,“it will soon be out of temperature and lose its organoleptic properties.” ‘Ah, excuse me. Without your uniform I had assumed you were simple guests. Captain Balzac and Chief Engineer Monteig’“Montagner, madame, it's French”Sorry, I'm not used to it yet. Please follow me.’.
After a few minutes of walking on a small path sheltered by Curacao's tropical vegetation, the trio arrived in front of the main entrance to the Director's villa.
‘Please, I'll leave you two alone. Have a good evening’“To you, Jenna, see you later” ‘You see one and your brain fries eh? Always about why you don't get invited to parties. Come on, concentrate, I need you lucid.’ ‘Come on in eh’Madame Cross's voice appeared from the intercom,‘the door is open’
Cait smiled as she welcomed the two of them Into one of the smaller Dining rooms. Riviera was once been one of the Smallest Resorts before the Gallic War. After the war, it was abandoned for a long time afterward. Cait had bought the place a bit after the beginning of the Rheinland Civil War. She had Rebuild the place into a Private Residence and later a Representative one for the Chairwoman of Orbital Spa and Cruise.
Cait: come in, the door is Open.
The Chairwoman was wearing her usual casual and comfortable clothing, no one would think at first sight that she was the Powerful Leader of one of the Largest Corporations in Sirius and Gallia. Cait was sitting on a Couch and had a glass of rum in her hand while a cool and refreshing breeze blew through the windows through the window.
Cait: Ah Hector welcome to my Home, I hope your Flight was
pleasant. I sadly have to admit that I don't know your Companion, but I welcome you warmly as well. Please take a Seat and tell me what you want to drink. We have everything from Corsair Rum to Gallic Wine, so I am sure we will find some for your Taste.
After a while they would hear the door Opening again and could see the Towering Figure of Stephanie Fleischhauer-Cross Entering the Room. The Rheinland Woman had a hight of around 2 Meters and had a Sporty body that showed she was once a Soldier before she became first an Officer of Orbital Spa and Cruise and Later the Wife of Cait. In Comparison to Cait, she would wear a Beautifull Evening Dress that Complimented her body and enhanced her Natural Beauty. Steph would take a Seat next to Cait and welcomed her Wife with a Quick Kiss. But even while she would sit the Rheinland woman would still be Taler than Cait.
Steph: hello Sub-Director Balzac, and welcome Monsieur Montagner. It is nice to have you in our Home.
"Oh no thank you mesdames Cross, right now we are fine. Rather, let's save some bubbly for the closing of the evening'. The two Gallic men had settled on two armchairs, side by side. ‘I forgot my manners: this is Luc Montagner, chief engineer of my team’ Luc hinted a smile with a slight nod of his head ‘a pleasure’. "Well, considering that on the way there a number of further discussions flashed through my head that could be undertaken given the occasion, I'd say let's start rolling up our sleeves right now with tonight's agenda. First, the real reason why we are here: the Lucullus. Luc,’he turned to him,“this is your moment.”
‘So,’ Luc began, pulling a small datapad out of his jacket pocket and handing it to Cait,‘I was strongly advised to use as few technicalities as possible and to explain what was done as easily as possible.’Hector sighed, massaging his forehead. "The datapad I gave you, director, shows the operational status of the Lucullus in real time. It is currently in orbit, and as you can see, except for one operating system, everything else it is fully nominal. Check for yourself: I'm not just talking about the vital systems, I'm talking about the entire navigation part, defensive systems, auxiliary generators, electrical systems, and so on." Cait looked at the data, frankly amazed at what was in front of her eyes. "They've been working on it for years, one system was only operational if all the others were switched off to ensure that it had enough power. That's a damn result, Hector, the first real one since the acquisition of the ship itself" "Perhaps because until now you have only put people at the top of this project who are incompetent, non-Gallic and totally ignorant of the recent history of my country" ‘There you see,’interrupted Hector in a half-choked voice,‘I find it stimulating to get together with him because of his directness and forthrightness. Just a bit excessive at times but what can we do, it is the condemnation of geniuses, that of not being socially acceptable. But please,'punctuating him with a lip-smacking “idiot”,“forgive my interruption and carry on”. "The approach that has been used in recent years to try to “tame” the ship is totally wrong. All attempts to force the operating systems, to make them ‘talk’ with the Sirian ones or to replace part of them with local products generates and will always generate one and only one response: the almost total blockage of the systems and the activation of a state of lockdow." Luc settled back in his chair, leaning towards Cait. "And do you know why? Because it was done on purpose so that none of you, beyond the Orkney minefield, could get your hands on our technologies. Excuse me, can I have some water? I'm not used to talking this much live. I much prefer datapads."
Cait Smiled as she read through the Files on the Datapad. She knew about the Problems with the Lucullus and that it only ended in Disaster whenever they had tried to get this thing to work in the past. They had Dumped Millions of Credits on this Project and have got nothing out of it. This project was some sort of Prestige Project by now and would probably never break even or make a profit, even when they could get the ship to run.
Cait: don't worry Hector, I enjoy it when someone speaks openly with me and doesn't Sugarcoat their Opinion just because I am the chairwoman. I want to know what you would make different from those who tried this before. But I am open to giving you a chance if you can show me how you would do it better.
She smiled and sipped from her drink and thought about the costs that this endeavor could Create and how much she would have to pay for it.
Cait: Now then Explain to me what you would do differently? you know Orbital has some Standards and our Guests expect certain Standards from us. I am not sure if this can be achieved with this ship. Sure she is Beautiful and would attract many guests because she has this Flair of the Exotic and the Unknown. But this won't help if she doesn't move an Inch or if her systems Fail in the Middle of a Cruise.
She Listend curious as she heard that the ship went into Lockdown because of the difference in the Technologies and that this was caused by the tries to convert or to Tame the Gallic Technology so that it would work with the Technology that Orbital Spa and Cruise Uses.
Steph: Hector might have told you that Cait was a Junker once and that she knows some things about Ships and Technology. So do tell us about the things you plan to do.
Steph said with a smile as she sipped from the Beer in her hand and gave the two Gallic Men an Interested look she was also curious about the plans that they had for this Cursed Gallic Liner.
Luc finished his drink and resumed.. "Well, a little historical background: the equivalent of this company for Gallia was the Bouvet Enterprise, first in the hands of Solar and later merged with the IDF. And now we come to the point where we will need this information." ‘I assume,’he said as he looked at the Director,‘that you are familiar with what happened in Gallia just before we revealed ourselves the Sirian Houses. "The rebellion by the Council. ‘Exactly. After the first days of the rebellion, the crews found themselves in considerable difficulty in operating their own operational and friend or foe systems, especially with ships captured or coming from defections or mutinies. The ships simply stopped working and went into safe mode, exactly as is happening now with OS&C operational systems."
‘This was a problem that had to be remedied as quickly as possible, so they set about, with the help of less than recommendable members of civil society, hacking into the ships’ integrated systems, especially the communication programmes between the ship's own systems and the interchangeable Friend or Foe systems. "Go on" Eventually, after numerous hacking attempts, they managed to find a flaw in the ships' security systems. With a few thousand lines of code, a couple of connectors and a couple of circuit boards, they managed to restore the ship to ‘factory’ condition. In simple terms, the program bypassed all the inherent safety locks in the ships‘ own operating systems by making them think they were hooked up to the shipyards’ control and diagnostic systems. The latters would allow the ships to be operated without the need for an external operating or Friend or Foe system, to make sure that customers had ships that were actually functioning on a purely technical level. Once this was confirmed, the technicians of the gallic companies, such as. IDF, EFL, GMS and Solar, individually and independently installed their systems in their bases. "Once the Council's engineers had achieved this, they took the next step. They modified the hacking programme again, so that it bridged the ship's integrated systems with the new interchangeable and Friend or Foe systems of the rebellion." Hector, who had been listening until now, took the floor. "Obviously this ingenious stunt was short-lived. As soon as the regular forces captured rebellion ships they realised, upon dissecting them, the flaw. Within months they recalled all active ships for upgrades, solving the problem at its root and rendering the hacking programme useless. But here lies Luc's stroke of genius" "It's not a stroke of genius, it's simply that an informed Gallic knows these things, a Sirian doesn't" "Shut up. The genius was to look in the ship's archives for the date of manufacture and the shipyard of origin. What we discovered, somewhat in spite of ourselves, is that the ship was built in your 815 AS, two years before the Marne revolt." At that point, when we physically checked the code lines of the ship's operational programs, we realized that they still contained that famous flaw I just talked about. This is because, and here we are with the previous excursus, the ship was owned by Solar and was subsequently added into the IDF rooster, which thought it best, given the not exactly rosy conditions for keeping a cruise ship active, to keep it mothballed somewhere, without bothering to install updates." "After all, who would have needed a cruise ship in the hell they found themselves in?"
After she had listened to this little History Lesson and thought about the Implications that this all had about it. She was surprised that no one had thought about this simple Technical Solution. But on the other hand, he was right that they didn't have many Gallic Employees in the past and that it was mostly Sirians who worked on the Liner and tried to find a Solution to this Problem. She was impressed by the ingenuity of the two and by the Knowledge of Gallic History that seemed to help them.
Cait: well then I assume that this would be an Option for our Liner? But this sounds also like a bit of a DIY solution. Are you sure that this would meet the Quality Standards of Orbital Spa and Cruise? I mean I am still willing to give it a shot and Relay the Funds that you need for the Project. I mean this ship has to meet a lot of Expectations, and after this long time, it has built up a lot of Hype. So you better make this an Authentic Gallic Experience.
She said as she took another Sip of her rum and then let the Ice cube rotate in her Glas. She would have some Hopes that this would now finally Solve the Huge Problem that they had for all those years with this Cursed Gallic Liner. Sure it was a beautiful ship and it would be the most exotic Ship on the Sirian Market. But her hopes for an Orbital Lucullus were Broken to often in the Past and she was now a bit Skeptical.
Cait: So now tell me how much money you need for the Project? I want to make some Calculations about the Potential Profit Margin and of course, see how long it would take us to Break Even on this Ship. I mean this thing has accumulated a lot of debt over the Past Failed attempts to Get this ship integrated into the Fleet.
Steph Smiled Laid a hand on Cait´s Knee and smiled at her calmingly. Steph would often take a different approach to things. This Second View on things was really helpful to Cait and helped her to see the things that she would maybe overlook or miss in the bigger picture.
Steph: Meine Liebste don't worry, these are our Friends and Partners. If they said that they found the Error in the Ship then we should Trust them and Give them the help they need for the Project to succeed.
Cait smiled and gave a Loving Kiss to her wife as she knew that Steph was Right. Orbital made more than enough of a Profit so that even went this Project failed again this wouldn't bring Orbital into Hot Waters. She would get her Tablet PC and would start to Write down some things and would then smile at the Men in front of her.
Cait: I have Granted you Funding of 500.000 Credits for the initial proof that this really can Solve the Problems that we have with the Liner. Once you do this I will Grant you another 2.5 Million Credits to make the Liner into the Dream Ship that our Guest will want it to be. But I can Raise this to a total of 5 Million if Needed. But in this case, I need a Justification for what you need the additional 2 Million Credits.
"If you don't mind, Luc, I'll continue from here" "With pleasure". Hector loosened the knot in his tie and relaxed for a second in the armchair.'And the first part is gone'. "In the meantime, I wanted to thank you, Steph, for your trust and you, director, for putting up with and supporting this project so far, somewhat unconsciously. I was already imagining the first question being asked. I can assure you that the system works, it has worked in the past for ships under immense stress, it will work now. However, as Luc mentioned to you earlier, there is only one system that we have not been able to do anything about: the weapons.
This was solved at the time, not without considerable effort on the part of the Council. Now, however, to start hacking into gallics military systems I think is going too far. The Union authorities would already be surprised to see a fully functioning Lucullus, let alone one with operational weapons systems.
Not least because, let's face it, you don't need such functional systems for such a vessel. Even under the best of conditions we are still a sitting duck incapable of offensive action. For defensive ones, we can always rely on escorts and the use of routes within the Core Systems".
"Provided, Director, that you approve of a ship in 'these' conditions".
"Now, assuming you accept, let's talk about other practical things. It's my datapad's turn,'he said with a hint of laughter, retrieving Luc's and handing the others to the hosts.
With a gesture on the screen, a holographic map of Sirius and Gaul appeared on the table. "More than the funds to refurbish the ship and for the initial hacking part, those are needed for the solutions to the difficulties related to the Lucullus project: contingency"at that moment, with a further gesture some of the systems began to flash red,"and refuelling"and others, in larger numbers, in yellow."Choose one to start with, director. You will then see that the two are in fact intimately connected"
Cait would listen to all of this and then think about the Problem with the Weapon Systems. She wasn't really happy to send a Liner out into the Stars that couldn't Defend itself in case of an emergency. But she understood that this was a special situation and that this demanded some Special solutions. She would look through the Roster of Available Units of Spa Sec that she could Attach to the Liner in such a case.
Cait: I think a Permanent Wing of Escort Fighters should be Solving the Security Problem in this Case. I would also Attach a Wing of Scout Fighters to the Liner that can Check the Space ahead to make sure that you don't run into problems that are waiting down the Line. But as you are our Director of Security I leave this planning in your Talented hands. And yes I also see it problematic to Hack into Gallic Military Systems. And I don't assume that we can get them to work with Sirian Turrets? So I would say if we keep the ship in safe waters and give it a Sufficient Escort then we should be fine. And of course, we add a Condition to the Ticket Sales that will Exclude any Liabilities on our side.
She said and smiled and took another sip from her Rum and then rang a Bell and asked Hilda to bring them some Snacks. She knew that they would sit here for a while and a nice meal could help them through it all. Especially Cait could become a Monster when she was hungry and had to make some Business Decissions. She would sigh and empty her Rum as she would hear that there would be more problems.
Cait: and I thought that the biggest problem would be to get this thing flying. But I see that the different Fuel Standards are a Problem. But we might be able to solve this quite easily. We can have the Liner stationed on Baden Baden, it is fairly close to Gallia so we don't have to fly it too far to Refuel it. We can also build a Fuel Depot in the Orbit of Baden Baden for easy resupply. We can also do the same for Spare Parts and Storage as much as we need for 1 Year of operations in Advance here on Curacao.
"Indeed. As you well said, Baden Baden and the Rheinland in general would be the perfect starting point for all our cruises, considering that right now the abundance of oil and prometheum is almost as great as it is in Gallia. However, limiting cruises only between these two houses would be counterproductive. This ship is truly a rare gem, probably a vessel that the ordinary citizen of Liberty or, even better, of more remote worlds, has only vaguely heard of. This ship must function as a mascot for Orbital, a beacon of elegance and exoticism. The more it tours the Sector, the more it will be a driving force for our business.
That is why Baden Baden alone is not enough."
Hector started pointing at the glowing dots on the holographic map.
"Me, Luc and my team hypothesised a network of fuel depots: the biggest ones in orbit on the capital planets or attached at the most important stations where we would be able to refuel completely. Others, the smaller ones, would be redundant deposits that can be reached to fill the tanks just enough to reach the intended destination. Or, and this is where the other argument comes in, reachable by our small squadron in an emergency."
Luc stepped in"To get back to your question, no, even with Sirian-made weapons the result is the same: the ship is able to fire a few broadsides before entering safe mode, a state in which it would be in for almost 5 minutes before being able to fire the next broadsides. And no, we cant change the ship's engine. It will cost billions to replace everything, and will basically deny all our efforts made with the oprating systems"
"It is so Director. Of course, I am the first one who does not want to send such a jewel off completely without a plan: the ship will never travel alone but within a small squadron. In addition to the standard embarked Taurus, there would be a Dorado, also embarked, and other ships with escort and, at the same time, refuelling duties."
"We have, again,"Hector made the other glowing dots on the map brighter"done our calculations. Without significantly weakening the squadrons of the SEC and ONE, we would be able to obtain for ourselves a Mantis gunboat, a Peregrine frigate and a Behemoth armed transport.
Imagine such a flotilla: the two defensive vehicles would always be with the ship, while the armed transport would shuttle between the secondary depots and the liner. In case of more hostile environments, the frigate, completely independent, could play the same role."
"And not only that, imagining filling each ship before the departure of the cruise with as much oil as possible, the Lucullus would constantly travel with a supply of oil sufficient for it to reach the nearest depot even in the event of an emergency."
"And finally, if it were absolutely impossible to reach a depot, due to sudden changes in route or escape from hostile forces, or even simple errors in estimating consumption, the ships would be able to act as emergency transport, embarking our guests and transporting them to nearest base."
Hector realized that his tone and speech was becoming too excited. He took a sip of water and continued in a more accomodating tone
"I realize that our plan is decidedly more elaborate and, consequently, more expensive than the one you hypothesized, Director.
The correct functioning of the system requires that the depots are always replenished, therefore either ONE's vessels are used, removing them from their current service, or they are contracted out to others, with related increases in costs.
To which would be added the normal management costs of the flotilla ships and the management costs of the liner.
And also, the building and management of the depots, and the acquiring of oil too"
But that's also why we wanted to meet her in person. I, personally, can finance part of the project at my own expense, especially the restoration part of the ship. And with my colleagues from Baden Baden, in a financial consortium, the deposits for Rheinland." "I fear, however, that the 5 million credits you would like to provide us are not enough.
Based on our calculations, and counting on being able to put at least a total of one million Gallic Francs on the table, myself and my colleagues, we would be short of at least another three million and a half credits to make the ship operational for the cruises of the next fiscal semester."
However,he said trying to sugarcoat the pill"the forecasts are rosy for the economic return: counting on filling the rooms to capacity, we would recoup our expenses in just less then a fiscal year. With the right advertising campaign and the right routes, this ship could prove to be a gold mine"
Cait Listen to the Explanations about the Fuel needs of the liner. She was thinking about the need for the liner and that it seemed to burn more Fuel than her Sirian Build Palace Liner. But on the other hand, she didn't really take care of the Refueling of the Red~Velvet~Club, that was something that the quartermaster of the ship would be Responsible for. She would think about it and then have an idea.
Cait: So you say that she will be a Hungry Beast? I can understand that, but we would need to know how much it would cost us to Build those Fuel Deposits, or how much it would Cost to Rent them. Also, we would need some Tanker Ships that bring the Fuel from Gallia to these Depots. I assume that you have Calculated that into your Operations as well?
She said and looked at them while she sipped from her Whisky and would look at them. The things that they have explained about the Routes that the ship would be Effective in would be pretty Accurate. She was sure that they would have the Cabins Booked out in Seconds once the Ship would hit the Market. They had enough Requests for Gallia Cruises over the years that would make her believe this ship would be an Instant Hit on the Sirian Market.
Cait: Okay them Why don't you tell me how much money you need for the Infrastructure to Keep the Liner fueled and Flying? I mean all of this sounds pretty Expensive. But maybe we can Strike a Deal with some Gallic companies to Supply our Refuleign Posts so that we can Save money on buying a Dedicated Refuleing Ship. Also, we have to see if we can Strike Deals with Local Ports for Fuel Storage Facilities as I don't belive that we can store our Gallic Fuel together with the Siriran ones. I also believe you two have a Plan for the Ship itself am I right? I mean I am sure you know that our Guests expect only the best of the Best. So I would say we have to Hire a Gallic Crew and Gallic Artists and Performers for the Entertainment Programs. But I Believe you have a better knowledge of who to Hire for such Jobs. Maybe we can have some celebrities for the Maiden Voyage or even for the Regular Cruises to Entertain the Guests.
With the Security there was nothing to be Added, she would have the same opinion as Hector when it came to the security of the Liner. She would approve the funds to buy the ships and was sure that Hector Would take care of the Rest. Plus the Factor that the Escorts were of Sirian Origin would make the Supply Situation for them like a Walk in the Park compared to the Lucullus itself.
Cait: Yes a Gunboat and a Frigate should be enough for your Security Needs. Additionally, we can Hire Freelancers should the Short-term need for more Security appear. I also can Provide the Funds for the Ships, and the Crews Training. I am sure you already have some Commanders in mind for the Security Escort and the Armored Logistics Transport.
This Level of Firepower should be more than enough when they would stay within House Space. Pirates mostly preferred simple Targets and wouldn't really want to mess with a liner that was escorted by a Gunboat and a Firgatte. But as History has shown, most pirates would also be happy with some booze and some Food from the Liner and would leave the Ship alone if they got there "Payment" in that Regard.
Cait: Just one year? that sounds pretty Amazing. Okay, I have heard enough about Gallic Technology that I don't Understand. But I am convinced that your Numbers add up and that you have a Solid Business Plan for the Liner. I Give you Green Light for the Whole Project
Cait Raises an Eyebrow as she hears that he counts on breaking even and turning a profit within just one Year. She would take her Pad and check it, and she was Pleasantly Surprised that the Calculations would Prove his Assumptions. Sure they were a positive estimation, but even when it would take 2 years this would be a Fantastic Turnover Rate. She had Previously Counted on at least 5 Years of service before they would reach the Profit Point, but this was something that would make her even more Positive for the Future of the Liner.
