: : TARGET ID: DEEP SPACE ENGINEERING; UNIVERSAL SHIPPING, INC.
: CC: --
: : SUBJECT: Purchase
Hello! I hope your day is going well,
My name is James Salworth, owner and administrator for the Tijuana Freeport, a station in the Vespucci system offering respite for travelers to our humble little backwater.
Recently, some of my hauling captains have raised concerns over the efficiency of our supply management, particularly with regards to fuel consumption and load capacity. While we are, and aim to remain, a small-scale freelance operation out here, I know the usefulness of bulk transport to keep operations afloat, having worked with spacial logistics in the past. With our proximity to Liberty, and our familiarity with her customs, I felt it best to reach out to her traditional hauling corporations in the hope of acquiring something suitable.
At the moment, what I'm looking for is merely to test the waters. I do have models in mind to purchase should DSE and/or Universal be interested, but this message is mainly to explore each's interest.
Do let me know if this is something you would be open to. I eagerly await your response.
Before we move this along to any sort of talk of procurement, you will have to convince me that you're on the up and up.
To start with, what is the purpose of your.. freeport? I'd like you to be more specific than you've mentioned so far. Do you do repairs, refuelin', or what? Why do you need bulk haulin' solutions in what is currently a backwater? Moreover, why establish yourself out there in the first place? I know OS&C is runnin' cruises (and god knows what else), but that's the extent of things as far as I'm aware.
Next, what is the exact location of your station? I pulled up a probe report from in-system, and it doesn't look like you're orbiting Veracruz. Now I'll be the first to admit that we could use more coverage, but I'll reserve judgement about your ability to provide it until I've paid you folks a visit.
If you prove to be a reasonable customer, I'll forward your request to the people at Baltimore and our new dry-docks. Until then, I'll wait for your response to my own requests.
Of course, I understand the need to ensure your customers are reputable, as I myself aim to ensure our own patrons follow our guidelines when they come to visit. Tijuana may be a freeport, but we still have expectations all the same.
To address the specifics, Tijuana offers both a refueling and resting point for ships of all kinds traveling through Vespucci, either passing by en-route to Kansas or Magellan, or in preparation for a trip to the Omega systems. While I can't say we offer repairs beyond the typical patch jobs for smaller craft and maintenance via mooring points, I do hope to be able to service patrons fielding ships with more bulk at some point down the line.
Tijuana's position should be fairly evident should one enter Vespucci via the Magellan corridor, as it is the leftmost of the two stations just outside of the ice field, at the far southeastern corner of Sector 4-Bravo. The position was deemed far more appealing than an orbital one, given the rather cluttered nature of the area around Planet Veracruz, as well as the cautious attitude of some of the system's other inhabitants.
As for the why, Vespucci is a fairly quiet system more out of the way than most. When I decided to retire, I wanted to establish a place here to live out my days surrounded by others with the same wanderlust that drew me to space in the first place. I'll say, I've met many souls just since opening Tijuana to the public, and to say they've filled my heart with hope would be quite the understatement. Many of those that come to Tijuana, whether permanently or temporarily, do decide to provide their services, to such a point that we've fostered a sort of explorer's guild based off the station. While I'm content with Tijuana's role, they do regularly aim to expand, and I'm more than happy to speak for them, as I am now.
In that aim, my supply captains, as well as some of those that want to expand Tijuana's services, are looking for bulk hauling ships to keep the station stocked, and in the near future likely well funded too. While Vespucci right now may be a backwater, I suspect some of the more enterprising among the Society want to try and change that. It will take quite the effort, no doubt, but I know better than to stand between dreamers and their goals.
Since you've raised an interest in visiting Tijuana, I'll give the landing teams a note to expect someone from DSE in the near future. I would be more than happy to allow DSE to utilize the station to base off for coverage in the system, as well. I hope I've provided the answers you were looking for, and if not please let me know, as well as if you have any further you wish to ask.
Howdy Mr. Salworth, my name is Logan Davis. I have some understanding of DSE logistics and I'm hopin' to guide you through the options you'll have for hauler procurement.
At this point I think I'd like to hear what you had in mind before I roll out the whole catalogue. I will say that your best bet currently is to go with a standard design of medium-heavy tonnage, as these can be easily manufactured on Baltimore. Any custom modifications and smaller hulls will need to go through our modular dry-docks, and the line for these is growing as I send this message. But don't hesitate to let me know exactly what it is you're lookin' for.
I believe something in that range was indeed what my captains were interested in. Particularly, they seemed rather drawn to CTE's CT-69, likely out of a familiarity with our own CT-53 that has been helping to provide supply for Tijuana. The ease of use and simple maintenance they say are a godsend, and I can understand why.
My captains tell me they're interested in two vessels, new or used, and any standard configurations would be perfect. If you need any further details, please let me know.
Have a fantastic day, and I hope to hear from you soon.
Well Mr. Salworth, I can say with some confidence that the CT-69 "Crane" is the bread and butter of Baltimore construction. Really, the only thing we would need to confirm before startin' a build is whether your organization is registered to operate a vessel of this tonnage. If you can provide receipt of the appropriate trainings/operations completed by your organization, we'll be very grateful to ya'.
After those papers are in order, all we'd require is payment for delivery of two such vessels to your station. Our going rate for this service is 1% of the total cost, which results in 2 million credits for the contract. The sum can be transferred to our public intake node at [DSE]Bank, and the build would begin shortly afterwards. I would personally recommend another $100,000 to cover any minor issues that would require overtime, to ensure a speedy construction schedule.
If you have any questions about the above, don't hesitate to get back to me over this node, and I hope we can do business real soon!
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