To: Mr. Shiro of The Nogitsune

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Source: "Maguire" Comms-Net
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From: Matthew J. Burns
To: The Nogitsune
Subject: Business

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Mr. Shiro.

I am Minister Burns of the Republican Provisional Assembly. I am also the administrator of Connacht Depot, our refinery installation.

You will be glad to know that despite reservations, the Assembly has agreed to grant you the right to purchase gold from our refinery -- assuming you are negotiating on your own behalf and not that of a larger organisation. Otherwise, we need to know if you intend to operate any more ships for this trade besides your own.

This accord comes with the expectation that you will provide our movement with certain supplies in exchange -- supplies that we may not have ready access to. If you are interested, we may also offer extra payment for delivering certain exotic items to us. You will be our guest while in Dublin, so please do not do anything that would make us withdraw from this agreement. I trust that will not be a problem.

I look forward to your reply.

Godspeed,
Matthew Jamie Burns

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Ξ Ξ Ξ Ξ ❀ From: "Mr. Shiro"
Ξ Ξ Ξ Ξ
Ξ Ξ Ξ Ξ ❀ To: Matthew Jamie Burns
Ξ Ξ Ξ Ξ
Ξ Ξ Ξ Ξ ❀ Subject: Business

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Good day and fair tidings,

It is a great pleasure to receive this message. And I want to assure you that my benefactors have nothing but the utmost respect for you and your fledgling state. I have been informed that there are currently no other plans to deploy transports other than the Nogitsune to Dublin for our business arrangements. Though, my employers have kept information sensitive like this compartmentalized in the past, and as such I can only speak on the matters I have been made aware of.

My benefactors within Kusari look forward to doing business with you, and view this as a very lucrative opportunity both parties. My ship should be more than capable of securing your 'exotic items', so long as they do not originate from Gallia or ports with a Bretonian police presence. Such parties are less than accommodating and doing business with those worlds and stations is impractical at best. Additionally I can confidently assure you of not only being able to supply your people with goods and materials to make your bases more comfortable, but also, shall we say more practical items as well. My benefactors have been able to secure docking clearance for Detroit Munitions, as one example. Muddling the manifests and associated paperwork is something my communications officer has some talent with, and assures me that these 'lost shipments' can be recovered and brought to a place where they will no doubt find some use.

We of course defer to your needs, provided your fine men and women are able to provide us a secure and discrete source of gold for my employers. I have instructed my crew to treat your men and women with the utmost respect, and we shall endeavor to make our transactions succinct and subtle.

To our mutual benefit.

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"Mr. Shiro"
Commander of the Nogitsune

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From: Matthew J. Burns
To: The Nogitsune
Subject: Business

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You have my apologies for the delayed response -- I have been indisposed dealing with an internal matter.

Still, it seems we have an accord. I will notify you once you once the Nogitsune has been cleared for docking.

Godspeed,
Matthew Jamie Burns

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From: Matthew J. Burns
To: The Nogitsune
Subject: Business

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Mr. Shiro.

You should now have no issues docking with our station. And as we discussed, I am sending a request for items of exotic nature. This should be a straightforward task for someone of your caliber, so I will be direct.

Our engineers have been tinkering with some experimental technology, and I believe there is promise in their project. For it to continue, we require a shipment of assorted alien artifacts to be delivered to Connacht Depot. You will rightly recognise this to be your speciality, but be warned: this should be done with subtlety -- no one outside of our organisations is to know. We do not want mundane trinkets, either, as we require items of technological interest. I believe 5000 of these Xeno Relics will suffice for the time being.

It is up to you how you acquire these items. As we are unfamiliar with the artifact market, the payment for this delivery is up for discussion, but our initial offer is 450 credits apiece.

I look forward to your reply.

Godspeed,
Matthew Jamie Burns

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Ξ Ξ Ξ Ξ ❀ From: "Mr. Shiro"
Ξ Ξ Ξ Ξ
Ξ Ξ Ξ Ξ ❀ To: Matthew Jamie Burns
Ξ Ξ Ξ Ξ
Ξ Ξ Ξ Ξ ❀ Subject: Business

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Good day and fair tidings,

A most peculiar request. I was not under the impression that you and your men had engaged in such work. Regardless, I have my contacts. An arrangement has been made and a choice selection was secured from reserves we have access to. Please be aware that while a preliminary examination has revealed these safe enough to transport, I must warn you that several of these relics are emitting gamma radiation upwards of .602 Gy (a level which has increased from .489 Gy since we passed our first jump hole, and has incrementally increased with each jump). They are clearly marked with the appropriate hazard warnings, and have been sealed within well shielded transport vessels. Please refer to crates 284 to 291 on our manifest for further details.

Your dockmaster has unfortunately not allowed us to offload our cargo for this exact reason. If you can have a word with him, we can finish unloading our vessel.

I want to once again reiterate the unsafe nature of the artifacts within these crates. These are no paltry display pieces. I highly encourage you to take proper precautions before unsealing them, lest you risk damage to equipment and your associates. It may be advisable to contact local experts on the matter. We cannot be held responsible for the safety of you or your men due to improper handling.

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"Mr. Shiro"
Commander of the Nogitsune

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From: Matthew J. Burns
To: The Nogitsune
Subject: Business

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Mr. Shiro.

Your delivery is most expedient. We have set up a containment chamber to hold the items in anticipation of your arrival. Unfortunately, a stress test proved it to be inadequate and we had to start over. Our preparations are now complete and you may unload your cargo, as well as receive your payment. My apologies for the wait.

Our people have been instructed to be careful, and security will oversee the transfer and containment. The artifacts will be stored safely here until they can get transferred to the project site. Still, I appreciate your word of warning. I will see to it that the dock workers are issued additional protective equipment and radiological survey instruments.

In the meantime, I am willing to expand the order to 6300 units to account for your ship's listed cargo capacity, so you will not have to fly half-empty. However, I am aware that this may conflict with your plans or established deals, so consider it optional.

Godspeed,
Matthew Jamie Burns

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Ξ Ξ Ξ Ξ ❀ From: "Mr. Shiro"
Ξ Ξ Ξ Ξ
Ξ Ξ Ξ Ξ ❀ To: Matthew Jamie Burns
Ξ Ξ Ξ Ξ
Ξ Ξ Ξ Ξ ❀ Subject: Business

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Good day and fair tidings,

I am pleased to report that we have been able to make our deliveries without incident.

X
X

This second of relics thankfully lacks the peculiar radiation which were present in several of the items from the previous delivery. Two curiosities however. The first, the relics packed away in crates 919 through 1011 are related in some manner, as they all seem as if they were once all part of some larger structure or device. However my engineer is unable to ascertain a possible function, nor were the archeologists present able to deduce much on the matter. The second, the relic within crate 2034 appears to sporadically emit radio waves through a manner we have not yet ascertained. I have been assured that this one is safe, however it is advised that this one may be better off presented to xeno-archeologists and communication experts, as these radio emissions may represent some form of deliberate, intelligent transmission. It is highly probably that this particular piece would be of great value to the right scientific institute. I would have previously recommended one of my personal contacts on Planet Hamburg, but the recent disaster there on the campus has meant the loss of my colleague and all of his equipment. It is possible that the Starfliers or MFE may have experts in this area I am unaware of, it may be wise to pursue communications with them in the near future.

To our mutual benefit.

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"Mr. Shiro"
Commander of the Nogitsune

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From: Matthew J. Burns
To: The Nogitsune
Subject: Business

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Mr. Shiro.

Thank you for completing this task, as well as the extensive notes detailing the cargo. I will keep the organisations you mentioned in mind if we require outside expertise.

Rest assured that we do not forget those who helped us, and our gold will be available for you to purchase should you return to Dublin.

I will be in touch if we require any more 'special' deliveries.

Godspeed,
Matthew Jamie Burns

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