Addressed to the Independent Neuralnet Department

[Sonja]

Transmission; Start
Identification: Commodore Christina Robinson
Location: Fort Bragg, Planet Manhattan
Encryption: Secure

To whom it may concern;

It's been a long time since I sat around the negotiating table with mister Simon and mister Winchester, when we hammered out a set of exceptions for your company concerning the war and embargo with Rheinland. That was an enjoyable negotiation, though sadly one of the negotiators back then, former Commodore Sarah Willows, decided to fall off the cliff of sanity and in doing so, break our trust.

Which brings me on to the issue I'm coming to you now. Trust.

The Independent Neuralnet Department has always been the target of specific groups, and at times public opinion as well, due in part to your excessive wealth. I have no problem with this; the IND contribute to the wellbeing of Liberty and bring in goods that can be hard to obtain for our primary corporations. Even that is outside of my sphere of responsibility though; my primary concern has always been the security of the house and the adherence of those within her borders, including the IND, to the law.

Back then, I thought we had an understanding. We provide you with the trust and the means to continue business activities that are a distinct privilege, and in turn you show the loyalty towards the spirit of the laws as they are written. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be the case.

* * *

* * *

The IND have committed a few other isolated infractions of our law in the past, which have been overlooked in favour of a cooperative relationship between the Republic of Liberty and yourselves. This, however, does not seem like an isolated incident. The evidence clearly shows the affiliation of the two vessels in question, with matching ID papers and proof of the mentioned contraband. Furthermore, it shows them in close orbit of Planet Manhattan. Additionally, there are no signs of any tampering.

Assuming that you don't contest the validity of the evidence, and I don't see how you could, the matter moves on to discipline. Usually, the punishment for smuggling is either a large fine or being designated persona non grata within the Republic of Liberty. However, this doesn't take into account the substantial level of trust that we had granted you. If nothing else, the list of exceptions to the embargo served as a public show of a strong relationship between the house and yourselves. The scale of this infraction not only damages our view of you, but the publics view of both yourselves and our government.

We've long been committed to rooting out elements of greed within the fairly small public sector services that the government provides. I'd like to think that the Liberty Navy are the best example of this within Liberty, but this incident serves to undermine such a hard-won achievement. I don't believe I need to mention the damage that narcotics does to society on the whole either.

All that means that the punishment here will be heavier than it would otherwise be. You will not only be paying your dues for the infraction here, but also for breaking the faith that the house had put in you. Trust has a high price.

Therefore, the following will happen.

'€¢ We will be erasing all of the entries in the embargo document concerning exceptions for the Independent Neuralnet Department. This document is in need of an update anyway.

'€¢ Each vessel is liable for a fine of one hundred and fifty million (150,000,000) credits for a total of three hundred million (300,000,000) credits. As usual with most fines and other payments, this will be due to the account Ferris.Dufresne who is the man responsible for the administration of the Central Liberty Internal Treasury.

You will not only be paying for your mistake, but directly financing the security of the Republic of Liberty as well. Personally, I feel that you could not wish for a better way to repair the damage to your reputation than this.

Previously, we've shown mostly carrot to the Independent Neuralnet Department as a means of cooperation. Now the circumstances mean that we must provide the stick as well.

However, we are willing to extend the olive branch to you by keeping this matter private between the government, the forces and yourselves. This is the limit of our remaining faith in the IND, and the only chance you will have to get your house permanently in order.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Transmission Terminated