Espi whispered to Miguel, the older man listening intently and then nodding.
"Senor Coen, surprisingly enough, most of that is acceptable to us, there is one issue that it brings up. The Omicron 74 jumphole is not far at all from Port 9, what guarantees does the Council of Elders have that those wishing to flee from their attacks against the Corsairs will not just begin using Omicron 74 and Port 15 instead of Port 9?
Jose looked up from his datapad. Looking at Silvan Argus he asked 'I have a question I would like to address directly to Senor Argus. In your capacity as the representative of this base can I ask how much trade you either do or have done in the past with the pilots of bombers and fighters? Surely the holds of such ships are too small to provide any meaningful cargo capacity?'
Jose then continues 'I am not entirely sure I see the exact purpose of permitting such small ships the right to dock on this base? I understand the possible reasons for trade ships wanting an escort ' but I do not currently understand why these escorts should be permitted to dock here. If I am understanding things correctly the Good Neighbours policy precludes them from staging an attack from here, and we have agreed to recognise the 5k immediately around this base as Zoner territory albeit with certain conditions attached. I appreciate that this question is not at the top of the agenda at the moment, but I am curious about what your thoughts might be as to why under the current proposal it seems your colleagues feel the need for such vessels to be permitted to dock here'.
Leaning back in his chair Jose whispers to Miguel 'If any Zoners go wandering about in Omicron 94 under the mistaken impression it is not part of Corsair Sovereign space I guarantee they will be shot at until such time as they realise the error of such a belief'.
Silvan looked up from his musings and turned to Jose
Well, as you have alluded to yourself, the Omicrons are a dangerous area of space. Many traders, maybe upward of seventy-five percent of them, bring fighter or bomber escorts for their own defence. While individually, you are correct and their holds are too small for viable trade, they do perform a valuable service that affects both our peoples. Without these escorts, traders would likely be wary of coming to Theta and our trade would suffer. And, no offense intended, if our trade suffers then so to do your lives become more difficult. You must then go and risk all for the secondhand scraps of a passing trader in some faraway system. The only reason i see for allowing these snubcraft escorts to dock would be for simple fuel, Nanobots and Shield Batteries. I think we can both agree those three things are essential to any individual's long term survival in the Omicrons.
To attempt to clarify my point, I offer the following hypothetical scenario.
Say that Gran Canaria was not a viable docking location for Corsairs. After a hard fought but lucrative day in Dublin, traversing three systems with a high probability of being attacked by hostile forces while having little to no Bots, Bats or fuel would be a harrowing prospect, would it not?
That, I believe, is the reasoning behind my companions logic. If the escorts cannot dock to replenish those vital supplies, they will not come. If the Escorts will not come, then traders will be loathe to make the journey. If traders dont trade with the Freeport, all denizens of the Omicrons would feel the pinch from the lack of ready supplies.
I do not believe they mean to allow any old lone freelance or corporate fighter or bomber docking rights. But we must make a few small concessions to keep the trade flowing, for the good of both of our peoples.
Also as you have stated, our Good Neighbor Policy does preclude them from staging any attacks from the Freeport and violators will be harshly punished, I'm sure the coming agreement will ensure that.
I hope that I have satisfactorily answered your question Elder Benitez?
Espi leaned back and looked into Sephardi's eyes - Why eat tacos, when we have rum, amigo? Finishing the sentence, he offered a cup with brown liquid. Cheers, amigo.
Jose turns to Sephardi 'It does seem that something may not have agreed with Senor Ferguson, either way I'm not in the least bit upset that I abstained from eating the foul looking things'.
Jose listened to the explanation offered by Silvan. 'I believe it does indeed answer my question, although I am not entirely sure that I agree with your rationale. However, moving on, it seems to me that we are beginning to stray from the original purpose of these talks which was as far as I was aware related to the future relationship between this Freeport, the residents of Omicron Theta and the Corsair Empire?'
Pausing for a moment Jose takes a sip from his rum before continuing. 'Why we are discussing the sovereignty of Om91 and Gamma is an utter mystery to me as these are not things that are in dispute so far as I am aware. Equally I was not aware of any particular desire of the Empire to take control of Om74. If the Omicroners wish to have talks with the Empire about Om74 at a later date then fine ' let's have them'¦.. at a latter date.'.
'I'd very much like to get back to discussing the relationship that the residents of this base and the other residents of Theta will have with the Corsair Empire in the future. The Corsairs do not have bad relations with all Zoners, we have a dispute with some Zoners, and we are here with the express intention of resolving that dispute'. Jose drains the remaining rum in his glass, and replaces the glass on the table. Turning to Espi he says 'Is there any more rum left in that bottle?'
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