A pilgrim liner will make the trek to the northern-most part of the Denko cloud in Kepler. A logistics vessel bearing your transponders can RV at the location and receive the 'packages'. For the sake of convenience, all your future subjects will come restrained and the particularly troublesome will be stuffed into cargo containers for safekeeping.
This exchange will take place on a monthly basis, specifically at the end of every month. It makes the process of book-keeping easier for me, given that I'm the only one who keeps a record of our financials. You will be expected to hand off cardamine and weaponry, a mixture of both is preferred and it must equate to the amount of bodies, obviously still breathing, produced.
Sender:Sarita Ybañes. Recipient:Whoever gets the mail at Ouray. Topic:The present.
Good morning, or if my time conversions are wrong, good afternoon, good evening, and good night,
I apologize if this message comes as a shock, given the extensive length in time since our last contact. However, honor compels me to consider a deal a deal unless renegotiated via explicit mutual agreement. Our first of two deals was that your organization would be provided a certain set of commodities, and in exchange you would, I believe the exact wording was, "pick somewhere on Ouray that's out of the way, put one of our server boxes there, turn it on, and don't touch it". No mention was made of you ever turning the server box off, as indeed we supplied it with several high-dura batteries. By my calculations, given the requirements of the hardware, the extremely low computational overhead of the software processes, and general performance expectations of the particular model of battery provided, the server should have been able to remain continuously powered without recharging until at least 837 A.S.
However, it has been offline for some time now. The only conclusion left to me is that you turned the server off for some reason or another.
Perhaps there was confusion regarding our second of two deals, involving among other things a monthly transfer of an approximate quantity of living human souls to our care. Indeed, the mutual satisfaction of this second, separate deal's obligations lapsed a considerable time ago. I am willing to, generously, view your failure to fulfill the first deal's sole obligation as the result of miscommunication, some imputed connection between our two separate agreements. In the spirit of treating occasional hookups with more consideration than one-night stands, to revive an earlier-used metaphor, I pose a few questions.
Do you still have the servers in your possession? Are they still at Ouray? Did you touch, deactivate, or in any way tamper with them? Why? And, most importantly, where do we go from here?
And naturally I made no move to stop the technician from stripping the unit since your connection went dark. In the time that you've been silent, you'll be delighted to know the LPI has been quick to enslave your potential product for their own ends. I'm capable of many things, but I can't compete with the LPI's ruthless efficiency in jailing convenient bystanders en masse.
On a positive note however, an agreement was reached in your absence. The Kepler Accords. I've attached it to this communication as a small and secure data packet, abide by its terms and we can go from there, Miss Ybañes.
AGREEMENT: THE KEPLER ACCORDS Maltese Representative: Fiorella A. de Marco Xenos Representative: Damien Morreti
1. Introduction
The Kepler Accords is a preliminary trade agreement dealing with the Cardamine trade and other related matters between the interested families and clans of Malta, represented by Fiorella Arianna de Marco, and the Xenos Alliance cell from the LFR, represented by Commander Damien Morreti.
The agreement was verbally concluded on 11th of May, 829 A.S., and confirmed in writing on 16th of May, 829 A.S.
2. Contents of the Agreement
2.1. Mutual Non-Aggression
Both Parties shall cease offensive actions against each other and shall open fire against each other only in self-defence.
2.2. Trade Route
The trade route itself will run through California and Ontario to Ouray base in Colorado, where the cargo will be unloaded and resold to the Xenos for the final distribution.
2.3. Base Access
The Xenos bases, with the exception of Fontana Freeport, will remain inaccessible to Maltese ships at this early stage of the trade. Maltese freighters and their escorts directly involved in trade with Cardamine will have the necessary access to Ouray base in Colorado.
2.4. Cardamine Exclusivity
The Xenos pledge to be directly involved only in the distribution of Cardamine and not to serve as intermediaries for Malta's enemies, especially the Corsairs. This condition does not prohibit the Xenos from selling contraband obtained from destroyed or hijacked ships as this is not direct distribution, but a sale of the captured loot to fuel their further activities.
2.5. Dealing with Rivals
The Xenos pledge to disrupt the business activities of Malta's rivals, especially the Corsairs, and to suppress physical and economic influence in Liberty. The Xenos pledge to compete with their rivals so as not to disrupt the overall distribution and consumption of Cardamine.
3. Future of the Agreement
The Kepler Accords is currently only a preliminary agreement establishing the first economic ties between Malta and the Xenos, and may be superseded or supplemented by other agreements regulating relations as the importance of mutual trade grows and relations become more cordial.
4. Termination of the Agreement
The Kepler Accords may be cancelled by either or both parties and will terminate within seven days of notification.
Sender:Sarita Ybañes. Recipient:Callsign 'Cobra'. Topic:ʀᴇ: The present.
I see.
Let's say we wipe the slate clean and forget about the old server. Allow me to install another one under the same circumstances as the first. Ouray, I provide batteries, you turn it on and forget about it. The connection does not go dark again. I follow your Kepler Accords to the letter and ensure a non-trivial supply of cardamine and guns to you, and if you need batteries in the future, I'll acquire some for you at a discount. The more cardamine comes in, the more we make Liberty's porkocrats squeal.
What do you say? Server box for a felicitous lowering of the eyes and some high-value goods sound fair?
☠ Incoming transmission.
☠ Signal source: Free Republic relay, Liberty
☠ Opening video feed...
Sender:Alliance Commander "Cobra" Recipient:Sarita Ybañes Subject:RE: The present.
Lowering of the eyes?
No, I have a preference for direct eye contact. That aside, I will ensure your server box is left alone and the hangar bays open for inbound ships. At least so long as goods continue to be shipped. I'm compelled to ask what sort of guns you intend to supply? I have to ensure proper distribution to the men, so I'd prefer to receive solid and dependable hardware.
The sort of things you can't go wrong with as a rebellion.
Sender:Sarita Ybañes. Recipient:Callsign 'Cobra'. Topic:ʀᴇ: The present.
Just to recap after our meetings in space;
I'll be bringing you cardamine and precision weaponry suited for ship-boarding – such as GMG-made laser pistols, medium-power Daumann kinetic snipers, and Detroit-made needler rifles, subject to change based on your men's needs – as well as hardback and paperback literature of all kinds in exchange for whatever Detroit arms your people have no use for, platinum and excess supplies at the end of the month, and credits. When I secure a new source of weaponry, I'll let you know in advance so that you can arrange for its delivery to the proper units rather than having it clog your cargo bays while last-minute paperwork is done. For now, assume that you'll be receiving roughly a 70:30 ratio of personal sidearms and kinetic snipers. The needlers will come later.
Unfortunately, about half of the one-ton pallet of paperbacks I dropped off for you at Ouray earlier is in either Spanish or Italian. I don't imagine you or your people can read either language, but the bright side is that multilingualism is good for the brain and helps prevent all sorts of neurodegenerative disorders that non-Outcasts seem to be prone to – cardamine use, of course, is even better for the brain, consider that none of our people have ever contracted cancer or dementia – but I don't imagine that'll persuade you to start using. The literature in English is mostly fiction and poetry, but there's some technical manuals in there for, primarily, equipment you may or may not be familiar with, mostly CTE-line ships and some older machinery that once found use among the Zoners and other small-time independent manufacturers. I'll see about getting a wider array of books for you in the future.
Along with the box containing the server units for you to have installed, there's a special package just for you. Just in case you're interested. If not, feel free to toss it out.
Your Kepler Accords are agreeable. Consider me a party to them. Until next time, señor Cobra.
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Attached Data: The Kepler Accords, 829![[Image: signature.png]](https://i.ibb.co/80FKxtW/signature.png)
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