"I find this a most agreeable arrangement. I will have the I4 brought to Pacifica along with pilots to pick up the Solidaritat bombers, at a time that suits us both, and we can make a formal exchange."
Kinnaird tapped on his tablet and handed it back to Captain Hargraves. Hargraves returned the tablet to the briefcase and sealed it.
"Gentlemen. Please leave us. Wait for me back at the shuttle. My guards will remain outside."
"As you wish, Admiral."
The three officers returned their glasses to the shelves by the wall and politely excused themselves, saluting to Yvonne and the Admiral on the way out. As the door sealed behind them, Kinnaird turned back to Yvonne.
"While the offer of manpower is always worth considering, I think you may find that it would be better to keep your workers on home ground for now. What I am about to discuss is strictly confidential and should not go beyond your must trusted advisors."
Kinnaird waited until he had Yvonne's full attention.
"I would like to discuss the possibility of the Unioners constructing a RH-GM461 "Hel"-class Cruiser for the Legion."
His words caused a bit of a surprise in her. Eberhart leaned back on her seat and gave herself a moment to think it over.
[indent]"You caught me a bit unprepared with this question, Admiral. Before we get into a deeper discussion about this I think you should know that so far our capital fleet had been composed of repaired and restored into service ships. And so far we have less then a dozen of 'Hel' class ships in service. You must understand that due to the nature of our organisation resources have never been enough for a big and functional fleet, leaving us to adapt into using smaller and easier to maintain vessels."
Yvonne stopped for a bit, giving a bit of time for the information to be absorbed.
[indent]"Though that doesn't mean we're not capable of constructing one on our own. We simply lack the materials to build one. If the Legion could supply us with what's needed we could surely build one. Of course, as you caught me a bit unprepared I can't go into detail about the needed materials at this given moment."
"I had my hopes up, but I had strongly suspected that this might have been the case."
The Admiral settled back into his char.
"It will no doubt strain our supply line to provide you with the necessary materials, but I believe it is worth the risk. Our greatest wealth of raw materials is in the form of copper, silver, and ice. We also have significant stockpiles of Ship Hull Panels, and the Mollys may have certain resources to shore up our shortages.
Perhaps, Yvonne, it would be best to postpone our discussion for now. There is little point in talking about the details we do not yet know. However, I did take the precaution of ordering more Hull Panels to be delivered to Pacifica. I reasoned that the Unioners may find them useful even if you did not have an overarching objective like the one I have suggsted."