Oy's Blodwyn O'Driscoll, un' oy do contact ye on behalf o' deh Republic o' Dublin.
The woman frowned and her cheeks went slightly red
Durin' wun o' deh Republic's patrols tae chase aout some intruders in Dublin, we fell upon yer installation. Oy do tink we met dere afore we encountered deh aforementioned intruders, but oy ain't shure who's de real o' owner o' dhat base; un' at least oif tis ye o' nae.
Blod' clenched teeth as she paused, and started speaking anew.
Let mae be clear : Ye broke deh Republic o' Dublin's law boye buildin' an installation in deh Republic's sovereign's space widaout any allowance frem it.
But as we, deh people o' Dublin, ain't deh barbaric koind, un' be open tae negociations, we'll let ye 48 haours tae answer dhis message, un' tae foind an agreement. Odherwoise, we'll be forced tae tae ask ye tae dismantle yer installation o' tae lay siege tae it.
Derefore , oy really hope dhat we'll have un' unnerstandin' widh ye.
Slán agat !
-Transmission Terminated-
(03-31-2010, 11:48 PM)Sprolf Wrote: That is the crux of the matter.
If you aid us, and you aid them, you are the enemy.
If you do not aid them, you are worthless outside of extortion potential.
If you aid us, you will be treated with respect.
To: Bodywyn O’Driscoll, Republic of Dublin ENCRYPTION: Unbreakable
From: Raymond Zimmerman, Independent Miner’s Guild
Why that’s perfect! A siege! Just in time to test if this shield was worth the small fortune it cost me. The bets are on! But then again, the Bretonians will probably just ruin that too, like they did to our first meeting.
Jokes aside, I offer my apologies for not talking to you sooner. But I needed a secure channel and keeping this place from leaking or exploding due to clumsy electricians is more time-consuming than I expected. I also apologize for not being able to do anything better last time than to serve the brets gin and keep them busy enough to not shoot at you too, or if they did... at least get them drunk enough to miss.
I know you are reasonable people despite what the bret propaganda says, as a late friend and father of my associate shared your cause. The base we’re building between the Hood and the race track is an effort to give IMG a better standing against the BMM competition, and distractions like a casino and restaurant bar will hopefully draw business to places not so tightly controlled by the crown. In addition to us having common enemies like the Corsairs, I believe the word “Independent” is valued equally among the IMG and the Republic of Dublin. There is no doubt in my mind we can come to an agreement.
The base will have no weapons platforms and the ore storage capabilities aren’t planned to go above 20 k. As you know, the Bretonians police and armed forces will only tolerate our installation if we let them dock. But because Eldorado is a place where alcohol is served and bets are made, I believe we can turn this into our mutual advantage. Bretonians are known to hold liquor no-where near as well as native Dubliners. Tongues are loosened, “bottled bravery” makes them careless, they indebt themselves… and become controllable. Eldorado also offers picturesque views of ships loaded with gold coming and going, splendid views of their defensive capabilities, and of in which direction they are going.
With the prospect of having all these drunk blabbering indebted bretonians with sensitive information around, I’m currently left with the head-ache of having to find employees who possess the integrity and discretion to not run off and sell favors to people like… the Corsairs… for example. I need someone without a criminal record, beyond reproach and suspicion, discrete, a local preferably, intelligent enough not to upset the bretonians or arouse unfounded suspicions. I don’t want to bother you with trivial matters, but do you happen to know where I could find such people?
So, oy ain't shure dhat startin' widh sarcasm 'bout sieges would be deh best way tae get along. Un' afte' all, maybe Brets ain't so able tae do anytin' in Dublin. Who knows ? Maybe ye heard 'bout Hochschild Gold Mining PLC, Tower of London... among many odhers ?
Anyway, as it seems, stranger, dhat ye dun know much 'bout Dublin, its laws, un' how tings be generally goin' on in 'ere. Oy guess yer associate's fadher dinnae tell ye much, frem what oy heard frem ye...
So, please allow mae tae enloighten ye :
Dublin's a bloody war zone where BMM corporates are troyin' desperatly tae keep runnin' deir moinin' operations 'ere, whoile deh heads corporate influences deh crow tae keep a military presence 'ere : deh Bretonian armed force, in deh Republic's sovereign space.
On deh oder hands, deh gallic kingdom's forces be foightin' Brets forces wheree'er dey can, whoile civilian shippies used tae be unner attacks o' 'Sars raiders ( which be less den a problem nowadays since Fes Battlegroup has been repealed), un' let's nae speak 'bout gaians extremists poilots moight encounters...
Naow ye's speakin' 'bout "independence" ? Lemme tell ye, ye chose deh wrong place tae enjoy dhat value, ye should have troyed sum place in deh bordeworlds in stead; 'cause ye moight have tae deal widh a lot o' existin' trouble, beyond doses ye's bringing in Dublin :
'Cause, indeed, ye's bringing troubles :
-Ye brought a station in 'ere, allowing deh armed force, mercenaries group, deh Bounty hunter guild, un' various corporates shippies, anodher place tae Dock un' o' launch attacks on deh Republic o' Dublin, frem within.
Un' ye mus' unnerstand we do nae take dhis breach o' security loightly !!!
-Naow let oos speak o' yer base, dhat doesn't allow deh Republic's forces tae dock at it, un' dhat be naow fully hostoile un' shootin' at aour ships. Please , tell mae, how deh hell, how deh Republic could tolerate such a blantant act o' hostility ?
-Un' naow dere's deh economic part : as deh Republic wouldn't moind people tae moine gol' within it's borders, we dun want tae let grow gol' ore smugglin' un' deh Laws dhat voted boye deh Republic were made tae enforce some regulation on deh gol' trade. Yer base base howe'er will be anodher weakness in deh control o' such trade. As it won't be possoible tae know where deh gol' will go, un' who would ship it.
All o' doses are serious issues tae oos. So oif ye want dhis tae work foine, we'll have tae fix all o' doses.
Derefore deh Republic o' Dublin proposes :
- Tae get be a part o' deh administration o' dhis station, both fer a bedder control o'er gol' trade, proices, dockin' roights.
O' course dhis will include havin' a say on gol' proices, station upgrades, un' so on.
We want tae limit deh roights only tae IMG vessels, un' deh Republic forces, so we won't get any surproises when it comes tae who docks 'ere.
-O' course, deh Republic's law should be deh wun enforced 'ere.
We would alo loike tae foind a solution tae deh issue dhat allowin' deh Armed force un' poloice represent tae deh Republic. Un' we's ready tae discuss doses solutions.
OIf dere's anytin' dhat comes tae aour moind, we'll contact ye again.
Meanwhile, oif ye tink o' anytin' else dhat should be discussed, feel free tae contact oos.
To: Bodywyn O’Driscoll, Republic of Dublin ENCRYPTION: Unbreakable
From: Raymond Zimmerman, Independent Miner’s Guild
Dia duit to you too, madam.
Well, then I hope nobody dies from someone not appreciating humor. The hostile auto-gun incident you mentioned seems to have been caused by an inexperienced technician trying to secure our docking bays. After all you did threaten to attack our facility in your previous message, and what easier way to do that than to dock with a bomb or marines onboard? But I remain optimistic Yeats was right when he said that life is a long preparation for something that never happens.
I’m well aware of the local conflicts, but thank you for the reminder. As your republic’s traders know, the IMG has been around on the Hood for a while, and we’ve also had our experiences with both Gallia and Bretonia. I personally endorse the imperialistic ambitions of neither side, and after the tides of war have washed over these solar systems, I intent to stay standing no matter which side “wins” the royal head-bashing competition. I therefore won’t let anyone make us a target by attempting to transform our modest docking bays into a staging ground for attacks. If someone wanted to use an IMG installation for that purpose, they’d find more suitable re-arming facilities in the Hood anyway. Those who threaten our operation or bring conflicts here will be blacklisted without exception, which as it stands means our guns will be taking potshots if they come too close.
Which brings us back to the topic of trust. I recognize the legitimacy of your cause, but that doesn’t mean I can ignore the political realities and balances of power as they are. Fact is, the Bretonians have far greater military capabilities when it comes to shutting down installations in Dublin than you do, and they would never tolerate ships openly affiliated with what they call “terrorists” docking here. Furthermore, there’s no way I can give administration rights to someone who threatens to attack us. But as I’ve already said, we’re eager to work with you on the subject of security, revenue, and continued development of the “independent”… or as the Bretonian Police would call it... the “informal” sector. If time proves you can be trusted to not endanger our station, our collaboration can become deeper.
For now, we offer the following:
-To not attack your ships, as long as they do not attack us, and as long as we’re not forced to do so in a scenario of plausible deniability of our collaboration in front of other parties.
-To instruct our gunners to miss their shots if the situation requires a seemingly hostile attitude towards you before parties such as the Bretonian police or military in order to assure our own safety. Also our forces will declare that “we got dis covered” to discourage other enemies from attacking you during tactically retreat.
-To not report your activities to other parties, unless you ask us to report certain activities to certain parties (enemy mercenary, bounty hunters, police, military) as a not-too-obvious diversion tactic.
-To inform your forces of hostile mercenary, bounty hunter, police, military, Corsair or other pirate activity we observe in Dublin.
-To discourage third parties (police, military, mercenaries, bounty hunters, enemy corporations) from attacking your forces (unless you ask us to do so) using misrepresentation of your forces or alleged Eldorado re-enforcements who will take care of things, unless the diversion/misrepresentation becomes too obvious to the third party.
-To instruct our traders and miners marked with an “Eldorado” tag to surrender credits or cargo to you in what would appear as piracy to outsiders in order to assure plausibly collaboration-deniability, as long as demands don’t exceed the equivalent of 30 million credits per month (or 1 million per day in average).
-To allocate storage space for legal goods that you may require, and to permit traders allied with you to buy and sell those goods at the same price so that Eldorado will effectively act as a transfer location from house-friendly traders to republic-friendly traders*.
-To permit republic-friendly traders* to sell legal commodities that they have acquired, no questions asked where and how they got them.
-To give preference to republic-friendly personnel when hiring staff in bar and casino positions, where sensitive information (Bretonian fleet deployments and gossip, destination and schedules of trade ships) is likely to be overheard and witnessed.
-To give you information on gambling debts accumulated by Bretonian political, police, or military personnel.
-Although we will not let you dictate gold ore prices to us, I’m open to suggestions and discussions about it. The current buy/sell price of gold ore is 4500 on Eldorado.
*friendly to the republic via reputation, but not identifiable a such by IFF or ID
In return, we would require that:
-You only used ships that are not identifiable (by IFF and ID) as republic ships to dock on Eldorado (and if possible also the Hood), but dock with friendly freelancer IDed ships without criminal record instead. If one of your ships is nevertheless seen docking on Eldorado, we will be forced to blacklist it to uphold plausible deniability in front of the Bretonians.
-The staff that you recommend and that we hire must be discrete in their information-gathering. If they were to be unmasked as a spies, I will have to fire them immediately, but you are of course free to make another staff recommendation for the successors.
-You let us choose our customers more openly than “IMG only”, as this will also give you more “tax payers” in the ore field or on the shipping routes, more information to be gathered, and greater availability of commodities for your own trade needs. Ships who attack you near Eldorado will be blacklisted under the pretext of bringing conflicts.
-You remove any Corsair presence threatening our operations, in which we will assist you.
-Enhanced taxation of BMM ships from your behalf would also greatly be appreciated, in which we can assist you via scouts. This is best done, however, if the BMM do not suspect us and we keep an up-front friendly-face towards them while secretly giving you information on where to find them.
-Don’t disrupt racing and betting activity, except in instances where we consent to it.
-You keep our agreements secret at all times
I think you will find this proposal to be beneficial, much more so than turning Eldorado into a stationary combat landing bay for your forces which makes us both easy targets to be destroyed by the BAF.
Blodwyn was relaxing in the Bru na Boinne, one of the many Arranmore pubs; sipping her whiskey nonchalantly. But all good things come to an end, as the saying goes, for her communicator buzzed once again, interrupting her during one of the few moments she had for herself.
Reluctantly, she picked the golden comm, laying on the table, put on an earpiece and proceed to listen to the new message she just received.
The woman went pale, before her cheeks turned red with anger. Blod' struggled not to lose her temper while she was sitting in the middle of the pub, for a few seconds, until she managed to calm down a bit as she drank straight from the whiskey bottle instead of her glass.
An hour after, she had taken enough notes on the subject to deliver an answer. The woman straightened her back and held the communicator in front of her to record the message.
Dia, Muire, Pádraig, agus Kilrea duit, Zimmerman.
Well oy dunno where tae start, ol' man, fer dere's so much misunnerstandin' tae o'ercome. Un' unloike ye, oy's radher pessimistic dhan anyting else.
The woman sighed, drank a large gulp from her glass, before speaking anew.
Oy do unnestand ye dun want tae turn yer station intae a stagin' ground fer attacks , as ye point aout. Un' oy do unnestand too, dhat ye dinnae want yer installation tae be targeted 'cause o' dhat.
But YE she said, emphasizing the word by pointing an accusing finger at him, or at least , at her own communicator.YE already turn YER installation intae a stagin' ground fer deh armed forces, deh bretonian police, un' whate'er party ye fancied invoitin' in Dublin widaout deh allowance o' deh Republic.
Derefore, YE already jeopardoized yer station boye turnin' it intae a target fer whoe'er be opposed tae deh Bretonian crown : Deh Republic, deh Gallic crown, Gaian, 'Sairs, un' oy bet many odhers.
So, oy wish ye tae reconsider yer point o' view, 'cause what ye dun want, ye already did... own yer own, moight oy add.
Un' please, do accept me apologies , fer pointin' aout again deh local conflicts. But oy really feel dhat t'was necessary tae do it again, as it seems tae mae ye dun really unnestand deh balance o' powe' dhat ye mentioned earlier :
O' course , deh Bret Crow do have more capabilities when it comes tae siegin' a station...But dey're "unfortunatly" embroiled in anodher war, takin' deir forces away frem 'ere. Howe'er, e'en oif deh Republic doesnae possess such forces, it have aplenty enough tae lay siege, on its own, o' alongsoide its allies.
Oy won't e'en speak o' what deh gauls would do oif dey'd happen tae know YER station be harbourin' Bret forces, o' of deir siegin' capalities... 'cause it ain't necessary, isnae it ?
Un' whoile we's speakin' o' Brets, un' o' deir tolerance when it comes tae "terrorists" ships dockin' at yer station; oy wanted tae ask what would tink deh Republic would do havin' bret terrorists ships, dockin' roight at a rogue station, located in deh middle o' its sovereign territory, widaout, its allowance, o' course ?
Oy guess we're back at deh point where ye mentioned ye dinnae want it tae become deh center o' a conflict, un' unfortunatly how ye managed tae make it a reality.
Trust... Trust be a vast subject... But an important wun, tae oos. Howe'er oy'll troy tae cut it short... maybe bluntly :
- We dun trust strangers
- We dun trust stranger dhat be invoitin' demselves in aour space widaout aour allowance.
- We dun trust strangers dhat be invoitin' demselves in aour space widaout aour allowance, un' dhat invoited deh enemy o' deh Republic in aour space.
Naow, tell mae how could ye tink ye earn aour trust boye actin' in such a way ? How, deh hell , would we allow a station in aour space ran boye someone takin' 'bout trust dhat betrayed oos, e'en before contactin' oos ?
Ye said ye unnestood un' recognoized deh legitimacy of aour cause, but yer deeds doesnae match yer words.
How could we trust ye ?
We dun trust ye.
Un' dhat be exactly 'cause we dun trust ye dhat we did ask... Naeee, dhat we demanded administration roights, tae ensure oos nuffin' fancy un' detrimental tae deh Republic would occur in dhat station. We won't negociate dhat point until ye'd prove yersel' worthy o' aour trust.
The woman paused, visibly irritated. With trembling hands, she poured herself another glass and did down the drink in one gulp.
Naow, oy guess oy got tae discuss yer proposal...
Quote:
For now, we offer the following:
-To not attack your ships, as long as they do not attack us, and as long as we’re not forced to do so in a scenario of plausible deniability of our collaboration in front of other parties.
Ye's offerin' oos tae nae attack aour shippies ? Dhat very koind o' ye.... O'Course dey'd bedder nae, e'en in any scenario ye could imagoine.
Is it mae, o' it ain't really an offer but radher jus' a smokescreen, o' its jus' hot air, as strangers say ?
Quote:
For now, we offer the following:
-To instruct our gunners to miss their shots if the situation requires a seemingly hostile attitude towards you before parties such as the Bretonian police or military in order to assure our own safety. Also our forces will declare that “we got dis covered” to discourage other enemies from attacking you during tactically retreat.
We dun need ye, nor want ye, tae pretend chasin' oos off. Oif anytin' hostoile comes along un' ye dun wanna get involved, loike deh Armed forces o' deh Bret poloice, ye un' yer lads will get off un' dock. Clear ?
We dun need ye tae discourage aour enemies, dey wouldnae listen tae ye , anyway. Whoy would dey ?
Further more, we radher dun have ye gettin' involved in any o' aour tactics, be it retreat o' whate'er. Anyway, ye couldn't, 'cause ye docked already... roight ?
Remember dhat deh Armed forces un' deh poloice, ain't allowed in Dublin, un' must be escort back tae Bretonia willingly o' boye force oif necessary.
So anoder hot air proposal ?
Quote:
-To not report your activities to other parties, unless you ask us to report certain activities to certain parties (enemy mercenary, bounty hunters, police, military) as a not-too-obvious diversion tactic.
'Cause, ye intend roight naow tae report aour activities tae odher parties ? Very well... Once again, bedder nae. Oh ye got many ting tae learn, tae be shure.
Quote:
-To inform your forces of hostile mercenary, bounty hunter, police, military, Corsair or other pirate activity we observe in Dublin.
Oh trust mae, we'll be well aware o' em, oif dey dare enterin' Dublin. Please, tell mae ye got sumtin'...O' is it a disguised way tae ask oos fer support 'gainst poirats o' raidin' party o' sumtin' ?
Quote:
-To discourage third parties (police, military, mercenaries, bounty hunters, enemy corporations) from attacking your forces (unless you ask us to do so) using misrepresentation of your forces or alleged Eldorado re-enforcements who will take care of things, unless the diversion/misrepresentation becomes too obvious to the third party.
Dhis would be very generous, oif it was actually feasable. But oy do tink it ain't. Anyway, oy tink oy was clear when oy said we dinnae want ye tae be involved in any o' aour tactics.
Quote:
-To instruct our traders and miners marked with an “Eldorado” tag to surrender credits or cargo to you in what would appear as piracy to outsiders in order to assure plausibly collaboration-deniability, as long as demands don’t exceed the equivalent of 30 million credits per month (or 1 million per day in average).
We dun care 'bout yer petty money, nor we's wantin' it. Keep it.
Howe'er, we would loike tae know tae which organization belong deh aforementioned "Eldorado" Tagged shippies ye's talkin' 'bout. Oy hope dey'll floy widh IMG transponders... e'en oiftis a shame, we won't tolerate any odher transponders codes oif yese organization is involved in gol' moinin' o' transport.
We'll also need yer people tae follow Dublin's law.
Quote:
-To allocate storage space for legal goods that you may require, and to permit traders allied with you to buy and sell those goods at the same price so that Eldorado will effectively act as a transfer location from house-friendly traders to republic-friendly traders*.*friendly to the republic via reputation, but not identifiable a such by IFF or ID
We dun need storage space fer legal goods, we own o' have already access tae facilities widh such storage.Also we dun want illegal traders... call it house friendly o' whate'er... havin' free access in Dublin., exept frem IMG.
Also, we already talked 'bout aour wish to have access tae yer station when we demanded administrator rights. Rights dhat would allow oos tae control who havec access tae it, un' who won't. We dun need third parties.
Jus' wonderin', do ye know what goods are deemed illegals in deh Republic's space ? 'Cause oy ain't shure tis what ye's talkin' 'bout.
Quote:
-To permit republic-friendly traders* to sell legal commodities that they have acquired, no questions asked where and how they got them.*friendly to the republic via reputation, but not identifiable a such by IFF or ID
See above.
Quote:
-To give preference to republic-friendly personnel when hiring staff in bar and casino positions, where sensitive information (Bretonian fleet deployments and gossip, destination and schedules of trade ships) is likely to be overheard and witnessed.
Oif we's granted tae be part o' deh administration o' yer station, dhat would be obvious dhat we'll chose aour own people fer staff. Howe'er, oy very doubt dere'll be any leaks 'bout Bret fleet deployement dere. Dey use deir own facilities tae relax un' talk... especially de militaries. Ye won't need tae know trade ships destination un' schedules oif dere be only IMG un' Republic's vessels allowed in un' aout.
Quote:
-To give you information on gambling debts accumulated by Bretonian political, police, or military personnel.
Tis useless exepted fer blackmail. Un' at least it, fer shure, ain't worth possoible breach o' security in Dublin. Moight oy add dhat oy very doubt dhat bret politics will spend toime in yer facility...
Quote:
-Although we will not let you dictate gold ore prices to us, I’m open to suggestions and discussions about it. The current buy/sell price of gold ore is 4500 on Eldorado.
We'd agree tae discuss gol' ore proice, howe'er, oif we dun foind an agreement, we'll unfortunatly have tae dictate it. Deh current ptoice will do it foine, until further notoice.
As oy state afore, we'd loike tae have a sayin' on gol' ore proices, facility upgrades, un' anytin' related tae dhat station.
Quote:
In return, we would require that:
-You only used ships that are not identifiable (by IFF and ID) as republic ships to dock on Eldorado (and if possible also the Hood), but dock with friendly freelancer IDed ships without criminal record instead. If one of your ships is nevertheless seen docking on Eldorado, we will be forced to blacklist it to uphold plausible deniability in front of the Bretonians.
Dhis ain't possoible, as explained above : we need tae be a part o' deh aministration team, un' aour ships allowed tae dock 'ere.
Howe'er, we could agree, dhat aour ships won't be seen' dockin' o' undockin' frem 'ere. Un' oif caught, we could accept said ship tae be blacklisted.Un' only dhis wun.
We could also agree, nae tae launch attack frem yer facility.
Quote:
-The staff that you recommend and that we hire must be discrete in their information-gathering. If they were to be unmasked as a spies, I will have to fire them immediately, but you are of course free to make another staff recommendation for the successors.
Dun worry 'bout dhat, dey'll be discrete, o' eidher dey won't be selcted fer deh job.
Deh security forces will also do so, oif ye can provoided dem widh widh IMG uniforms un' armements.
Quote:
-You let us choose our customers more openly than “IMG only”, as this will also give you more “tax payers” in the ore field or on the shipping routes, more information to be gathered, and greater availability of commodities for your own trade needs. Ships who attack you near Eldorado will be blacklisted under the pretext of bringing conflicts.
Dhat ain't possoible. Dere's reasons whoy we can't allow gol' ore trade tae be unregulated. Furthermore, we dun need more tax payers, o' more work interceptin' gol' smugglers. We need control un' safety. Dhat's it.
O' course, dere ain't nae need tae blacklist vessels, oif dockin' roight be limited, as advised.
Howe'er, ye moight decoide tae allow more "customers" 'ere, oif tings go smoothly fer a whoile.
Quote:
-You remove any Corsair presence threatening our operations, in which we will assist you.
We'll gladly remove deh 'Sars forces e'ery where dey be. Anyway, deir ships ain't allowed in deh Republic's space, un' we's enforcin' dhat law among aloike all odher Republic's law.
Quote:
-Enhanced taxation of BMM ships from your behalf would also greatly be appreciated, in which we can assist you via scouts. This is best done, however, if the BMM do not suspect us and we keep an up-front friendly-face towards them while secretly giving you information on where to find them.
It seems ye dunno deh Republics laws : BMM vessels be banned frem Dublin, dey neidher be allowed tae moine gol', nor haul any amount o' gol' , o' gold ore. All o' deir ships caught tresspassing will have deir cargo confiscated.
Quote:
-Don’t disrupt racing and betting activity, except in instances where we consent to it.
Dere won't be any races, o' bets aoutsoide o' yer station, unless allowed boye de Republic, as per law.
Naow, what can oy add ?
It would have been simplier oif we could agree on nae lettin' deh armed forces among odher crown lackeys in Dublin, un' we'd have protect yer base against deir assault. Instead o' dhat, ye did jus' deh contrary...
Remember dhat all doses grey areas, informal sector tinguies, be jus' a pain in deh rear fer all o' oos, un' Dublin be clearly nae deh place tae play dhat "game". Be aware, dhat ye will probably have tae deal widh all deh trouble.
Also, we provoided ye 48 haours tae come tae an agreement, un' it's alreaday been a week. We won't tolerate more dhan 48 anodher haours, considerin' ye already cheated on oos boye upgradin' deh core o' dhat facility.
So what d'ye say ?
Slán agat !
-Transmission Terminated-
After closing the comm', the woman sighed and poured herself a last drink. She was tired of dealing with strangers like Zimmerman all day long. People thinking they could do whatever they please in Dublin...
Taking a sip from the glass, she started daydreaming, wondering oif she was too lenient. After all, she was sure that people like Anna Heinrich, or Ben Warner would have ordered any rogue base harbouring their enemies, found in their respective sovereign space, to be destroyed on sight, without warning.
Maybe it was time for her to have a plan B secured....
Raymond listened to Blodwyn’s drunken rant, occasionally cringing at her words. After the message ended, he lowered his head and placed his hand over his face, wondering how this deluded boozer could have ended up in a leadership position. He took a deep breath, and started the next message.
To: Blodwyn O’Driscoll, Republic of Dublin ENCRYPTION: Unbreakable
From: Raymond Zimmerman, Independent Miner’s Guild
Dia duit.
Forgive my late answer, but I had to oversee the delivery of shipments for what must be the most exclusive bars in Sirius, featuring the legendary never-emptying whiskey bottle of Tipperary. Although it’s understood that you’re a busy woman, I encourage you to take a little more time to understand properly our proposals and the situation at the Hood, and to not make rushed mood-based decisions on matters that are bound to impact relations between the IMG and your Republic. I’ll gladly walk you through it again, quickly.
It appears to have slipped your mind that the Battleship Hood, while being only 4 k from Eldorado, is subjected to the same conditions as we are by the Bretonians. Our base is, after all, just an extension to it with better view of the race track. As I’m sure you are aware… or were… at some point… the BAF, BPA, Bounty Hunters, Freelancers, and multiple corporations are able to dock, trade, and re-arm on the Hood. Your fear of them using a nearby restaurant-and-bar with no re-arming facilities to wage war on you is therefore completely unfounded. I’d wager they even have much better military and re-arming facilities than the Hood, and than… well… your subordinates. Even stranger to me is the idea that you, Bretonia, or Gallia would give their enemies the opportunity to pick off your ships while laying siege to said restaurant-and-bar, which on top of it all is run by a faction that you have friendly relations with. And all of that while the restaurant-and-bar is next to a Battleship of said faction, which –your- people are using as a trade hub.
The statement that you don’t need our goods or credits is somewhat surprising to me, especially since I’ve for several years been shipping goods to the “floating bazaar” that the Hood has become to your people, and I never gained the impression that it wasn’t needed. The IMG is not in the business of turning gold into food, oxygen, water, whiskey, or other things, and thus unfortunately, making things available to your people requires at least neutral relations with the people we buy them from. Most surprising to me is your declaration that you don’t need tactical information or intelligence on the enemy, and frankly I wonder how you ever hope to win a war… especially a guerrilla war… without intelligence or materiel from the informal sector. As for your assessment that bretonian officers won’t break protocol and drink alcohol here, I believe the events during our first encounter have already proven you wrong, as the BPA officers were quite happy to drink the free gin I offered. May I mention again, that our bar has since then become very well stocked.
I know it’s not my place to tell you how to run the republic, and it’s not on my things-I-always-wanted-to do list, but about your laws and build/upgrade permission requests… I think you will find it helpful to hold a written copy of them available to the people you expect to follow them. That way people won’t have to guess, for example, what your momentary stance on racing in Dublin is, as I recall quite clearly that there were other parties than IMG racing here before and the republic didn’t seem to have a problem with it. Without your laws written down, some people could potentially gain the impression that you’re making them up as you go along, which isn’t really a solid basis for business. Such as, when you issue a 48 hour deadline to which we complied, and you then take four days to reply without issuing a new deadline, that somewhat implies your previous deadline is somewhat void. But… I’ve never been one to judge people or the pace they choose.
And now to address the bothersome thing that seems to have caused some misunderstandings. Blame me for trying to “write between the lines”. You understand of course, that I simply can’t officially make “Blodwyn O’Driscoll” co-administrator of this base. The bretonians will think you committed an act of piracy, and have somehow managed to take over this base. But the people that I hire, and I hope to receive those recommendations for local staff, will of course receive certain administration duties, together with uniforms, perfectly legal IMG staff credentials, and… if you can’t find someone without a criminal records… almost brand IMG IDs, together with their Eldorado tag. The IMG staff that dies in the line of duty isn't always missed at home, leaving us with a bunch of IDS of deceased IMG crew. I just remembered there was even one that looked a bit like you.
For starters, those rights will be restricted to short-term black-listing trouble makers. The rights of unilaterally setting prices, appropriating goods on the station, or starting module construction, however, cannot be granted, at least not until I know the crew members well enough. Well… except for bar commodities, as I am already convinced your people hold the necessary expertise in that.
Best regards,
Raymond Zimmerman
Raymond sank back into his chair. Slowly, his eyes wandered from the whiskey bottle to his right, to the message of assurance of the Guildmaster's full support he kept on his desk in front of him, to the window to the docking bays to his left, packed with shipments of armaments and quantum arrays.
Blodwyn was sitting at her desk, browsing her communicator for the current affairs. She didn't like that place to get the job done, as she wasn't at her ease in such a room, without being surounded by people drinking and laughing. She took a look at the wooden mini-bar behing her. At least, she could have something to drink, even in such a dull place.
After she grabbed a bottle of whiskey and a glass, she poured herself a drink. As she was sipping from the glass, she smirked, rememering Zimmerman's comment about the IMG turning gold into whiskey. As if the people of Dublin would buy back the whiskey they just sold... There were enough stock here on Arranmore, were it was produced, to not have to buy it back from the Hood, after all.
That raised some questions to her mind. Maybe that man wasn't who he pretended to be ?
The woman, finally shrugged. It didn't matter, for what really did, was the safety and control of the Republic over its space.
She, then, proceeded to record the message she had to send.
Dia duit, Zimmerman.
So, where to start ? Ah ! Missunnerstandin's !! Fer shure, there has been some misunnerstandin' , un' hope oy'll is able tae make tings clear. Fool o' mae, oy thought oy was straightforward 'nough.
The woman couldn't held a slight laughter considering her last comment. After she wiped her eyes with the back of the hand, and took another sip of whiksey, the redhead woman carried on.
Please, accept me apologeoies, oy dinnae mean tae be disrespectfull.
So... where was oy ?
Misunnerstandin's, aye !
Oy tink ye misinterpreted me words, when ye's sayin' dhat deh Republic doesnae need goods, wate', oxygen, credits, o' e'en tactical informations o' intelligence on deh enemy... Tis jus' dhat deh Republic, does, in fact, alreaday have access tae all o' doses, frem various groups dhat could range from humbles wuns up tae houses .
So, considerin' deh small soize o' deh Eldorado organization, ye moight nae be able tae compete widh dem in doses madders. But maybe we's wrong, un' ye'd prove oos odherwoise.
When it comes 'bout tactical informations, ye mus' realoize, dhat e'eryting dhat leaks, could aswell be disinformation tae deceive anywun usin' it. Please do unnestand doses be very serious madders. Do ye, a restaurant-un'-bar owner; oy's usin' yer words; have any expertoises in military informations gadherin', o' spoyin' ?
Howe'er, un' once 'gain, we'd be willin' tae see what informations ye'd be able tae gadher. Oif ye's able tae get sumtin' usefull tae oos, we'll be happy tae discuss dhat perticular madder, widh ye.
Well, oy also notoiced ye did refer, quoite a lot moight oy add, tae deh Hood, un' deh IMG. So oy wanted tae ask ye, on behalf o' whom ye's speakin' ? Are ye deh New IMG Guildmaste', o' sumtin' ? O' maybe deh new Hood administrator ?
Blod' pouted briefly, clearly expressing a doubt.
Oy dun tink so. What we tink be dhat ye's only representin' yersel' un' deh Eldoredo. Derefore, dere ain't nae need tae refer tae what deh IMG does, o' doesnae, what be doin' o' did deh people on deh Hood; un' o' course what be o' would be deh Republic's relationship widh deh IMG. Dhat be nae deh point.
Deh point be, ye un' yer station. So oy dunno oif ye's doin' dhat expectin' tae take credit fer what dey do, o' do nae. Maybe tae appear bigger den ye be. O' simply tae hoide dehin' em tae avoid deh consequences o' yer own acts.
It doesn't madder : ye's an individual, maybe only loosely affiliated widh deh Guild. So ye un' yer station will be treated individually frem deh Guild. Derefore, we will deal widh yer actions separatly, un' doses actions won't affect aour relationship widh'em; un', me tink , deh oder way around.
Roighto ?
Let oos get back tae deh security issues.
Ye mus' unnestand dhat it ain't 'cause people, loike deh BHG, various mercenaries, corporates o' all koind, can stage attacks, o' hoide elsewhere, dhat we want more o' place dey could operate frem in Dublin. Tis deh contrary. Furdher more, we absolutly dun need incident loike freeport 4, 'ere in Dublin. Limitin' warparties 'ere in Dublin be wun o' deh Republic's priority.
We could troy tae solve deh problem o' deh Bret access, lader, oif ye wish, until we figure aout a long-lastin' solution. But deh oders party should be dealt widh naow.
Let's rise, naow, deh issues o' gol' ore trade control. Which be anoder soide o' deh dockin' control process, afte' all. As oy said afore limiting docking roight be deh best solution dhat be offered tae oos tae achieve doses goals : safety un' gold trade control.
But oy tink we already agreed on dhat madders. Dinnae we ? O' shall we discuss it on a case to case basis ?
Well, oy guess ye did well mentionin' dhis bewteen deh loine tinguie, nae me cup o' whiskey, oy'd say, fer me guess oy wouldnae have unnestood it, odherwoise.
So, ye's suggestin' usin' decesaed IMG crew IDs , uniforms un' such...Dhat sound good tae mae, especially since, e'en oif many o' people o' Dublin doesn't have criminal records, most o' oos dun have any Bret ID. So oy guess dhat would do.
Tis e'en a good idea, mus' admit.
O' course, deh Republic, doesn't have any will o' gettin' any goods on deh station, unless tis, o' course , fer sale. Loikewoise, deh Republic has no interrest in startin' module construction, only in havin' a sayin' on deir construction as aforementioned.
Deh proice o' gol' ore, should be howe'er agreed as stated in deh previous message, as deh republic has neidher interrest in unilaterally setting proices on any oder goods.
Oif dere's anyting ye want tae add afore we'd sum dhis up, please do mention it.
Slán agat !
-Transmission Terminated-
Upon closing the comm', the woman wondered if that stranger wasn't right. After all, it would be an easier way to inform foreigners of Dublin's laws if they were written or at least accessible on the neural net. But on the other hand, the molly tradition was mostly oral, and informing people was mostly done by the patrols in the fields . Of course, she'd never admit the possibility that a stranger could be right, especially in front of him or her.
Sitting on a stool, one of her elbows on the counter, while her other hand firmly holding a a pint of black ale, the redhead woman was wondering what she should answer. One one hand, many of people of Dublin were now suggesting to get rid of the strangers as they didn't take time to settle the matter earlier, on the other hand she thought that some progress were made on their last comm'. However Blodwyn believed it was unacceptable that thoses strangers ignored such an urgent matter for so long. To her it was a matter of respect and therefore wasnot something she threated lightly.
Dia duit, Zimmerman.
Tis been a month o' more dhat we dinnae get any news frem ye. Un' oy mussay we's disappointed fer we expected yer answer way sooner.
So eidher shall we foind an agreement, o' eidher we'll be forced tae demand yer leaving .
Oif ye do nae foind any interrest in dealin' widh oos, which be mandatory 'ere, jus' say it aoutright, t'would be simplier fer all o' oos.
So shall oy take deh toime tae sum up all o' aour past talks, o' is it pointless naow ?
Anyway, we's givin' oos 'till deh end o' deh week tae finaloize an agreement, shopuld it be still an option.
As it seems tae oos dhat ye ain't willin' tae cooperate widh deh Republic in its own space, fer yer lack o' answer, deh Republic will demand deh deconstruction o' yer station.
Ye got 24 haours tae comply.
To: Blodwyn O’Driscoll, Republic of Dublin ENCRYPTION: Unbreakable
From: Raymond Zimmerman, Independent Miner’s Guild
Woa woa woa...
Somehow your message from a week ago escaped my attention, as I had to attend to some urgent business in another region of Sirius. The original one month delay was due to some... uhm... legal issues which kept me from starting the recruitment process to grant anyone Eldorao and IMG credentials. Coincidentally, these legal unclarities seem to have sorted themselves out about 4 hours ago.
So if you bear with me, I should have those IDs and access codes ready in a few hours. Before the 24 hours are up, anyway.
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