Encryption: Visible to members of IMG Board of Guild Masters only
From: Sean Stone, executive director of Stone Bros Ltd/GmbH
Location: planet New Berlin, New Berlin system, Rheinland
To: Independent Miners Guild Board of Guild Masters
Subject: Cooperation proposal between IMG and Stone Bros Ltd/GmbH
Greetings to respectable members of IMG Board of Guild Masters! My name is Sean Stone and I´m executive director of Stone Bros Ltd/GmbH. I´m not sure if you heard about our company yet. We hope that yes, but for option that not, let me shortly introduced it to you. We are medium sized independent transport company which has many contracts primarily for Rheinland customers, so we consider as its "settlement" house Rheinland because we have here our headquarters, main docks, hangars and other technical facilities.
We mostly export luxury food from Rheinland to Kusari and import hi-tech Kusari optronics in opposite direction. Also we are importing to Rheinland beryllium or gold ore from Bretonia, or we also have been participated in big projects for Rheinland corporations like first phase of Daumann Heavy Constructions project Genesis or Kruger´s Eichstatt project (also known as Rugen project). We have also permit for one vessel to trade within Gallia and between it and Sirius.
But now to the reason why we are contacting you. As you are probably aware, there were some important changes on the field of pilot regulations for Barge class vessels. Sirian and Gallic Highest Traffic and Trading Regulations Commision (known by short as ADMINS) revoked it´s earlier exception which granted right to register and run Barges also under Freelancer/Independent Trader License. Now, same as all transport with cargo hold more than 3600 units, only approved corporations can register these vessels.
Despite we consider this as highly discriminatory to medium sized companies like we are, we doubt that our voice can change it. For this reason, we are looking to company which will help us, because as you maybe noticed via our press release, we own one Barge class vessel, which is now under extensive repair, rebuild and modernization at Baltimore Shipyard. Change of regulation got us in difficulty situation when we have to find approved corporation which will register our Barge by it´s name.
After considering all options, we decided to contact as first Independent Miners Guild. There are several reasons for our choice. We admire your honest and respectful attitude to your employees and members, we are trying to hold same one and we got inspire from some of your ideas and employees bonuses. Also you can best understand position and feelings of medium sized independent company which has to suffer under restrictions and oppresion of big corporations and theirs lobby at governments. It is not so far back in past, less than two hundred years, when IMG was in same position and had to fight for it´s piece of living place in space. And for last but not least, we are looking for somebody for cooperation, not our new owner. We expect from most corporation demand for merging, but we don´t want this step. We want be affiliated, but still independent member. Who can understand this better than Independent Miners Guild...
So in short - we are asking you to permit Stone Bros Ltd/GbmH registering it´s transport type ships with cargo hold more than 3600 cargo units under IMG ID. In present we are talking about one Barge class vessel, one Train class vessel and in a near future also one Liner class vessel. This vessels will not have IMG IFF frequency and will not be tagged by IMG mark.
Of course we know that if we want something, we have to offer something. We think that our cooperation can be profitable for both sides. You are mainly mining company, we are at least for now focused on transport, so we can offer you our services at favourable conditions and prices. From supplying your bases to offer of use our hangars and docks at planet New Berlin for maintenmance of your ships with paying only the price of work and spare parts. IMG should also order services of our Barge for reduced price, and scout/escort fighters runned by Stone Bros Ltd/GmbH will offer their service to IMG vessels for free when their service will not be just used by customer.
We also know that you are banned from stations of some corporations, namely Bretonia Mining and Manufacturing and Rheinland corporations Kruger Minerals and Daumann Heavy Construction. Because we have also one transport class vessel with cargo hold less than 3 600 units which has Independent Trader/Freelancer registration, we can buy for you commodities from this bases, haul them to you and sell for very favourable prices. We can of course also negotiate about some financial compensation or payment for our affiliated but independent membership.
Please consider above mentioned conditions and proposals as open for negotiations, this message is intented to be only a starter of negotiation. We are looking with hope to your answer, have a nice day!
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**** Incoming Transmission ****
From: Johnathan Sanders
To: Stone Bros GmbH
Subject: Registration requests
Encryption: Standard/civilian (// hack-able by house intelligence agencies)
Gentlemen,
Flying under the flag of another nation is a tradition dating back as far as the early ages of commercial shipping, back on the seas of Earth. I see your request as something similar, and am inclined to accept. However, understand what you are asking and doing: The Independent Miners Guild is not an organization primarily affiliated with the house of Rheinland. We are independent, and fiercely so. This has brought us into conflict with the houses on occasion, when they sought to intrude on our claims in the borderworlds. I do not forsee that changing - especially as the house's internal resources start to become exhausted.
It is also curious to hear you are primarily affiliated with Rheinland, yet choose to do your major repairs on a Liberty shipyard. If you have had dealings with Daumann, is not the Oder yard a more logical choice? Or if you intend to affiliate with IMG, the Aland shipyard? No doubt you had your reasons, but it is curious, to say the least...
Regardless, if you can abide by the general guidelines the Guild sets for all members, then I do not see any reason to deny your request. These guidelines are:
- While in House space, try to act in accordance with House law. This means, for instance, you will need to register your Barge class vessel with the Rheinland Federal Police prior to it's entry into Rheinland space. We do not want nor need friction with the House governments.
- No needless antagonization of the various powers in the Borderworlds. We're not a law enforcement organization. Letting the odd raiders be tends to cause them to see us as less of a threat, which has worked to our benefit in the case of the Mollies and the Hessians, for instance. However, being affiliated with us does not neccesarily mean those will turn a blind eye to you.
- Direct, expansive competitors such as BMM, Daumann, Kruger and the GMS should cease to be your customers. The reason they deny our ships to dock with their bases (and we theirs) is their intent to basically drive us out of the borderworlds and take over the prospected resources that our surveyors risked their necks over. It is a mutual trade embargo between competitors.
If you are unable to function under these restrictions, I would recommend contacting ALG or Republican instead. They are the primary transportation oriented companies within Rheinland.
Regards,
- Johnathan Sanders, on behalf of the Independent Miners Guild
**** Transmission Closed ****
// Some OORP notes: Most of the time using more then 1 ID for a group is discouraged. If your group uses 2 IDs to get around the restrictions for 1 (such as using that 3600 cargo transport to dock with Kruger/Daumann bases while your faction's primarily IMG affiliated) then that is sanctionable, I recommend not doing that.
Wide awake in a world that sleeps, enduring thoughts, enduring scenes. The knowledge of what is yet to come.
From a time when all seems lost, from a dead man to a world, without restraint, unafraid and free.
Mostly retired Discovery member. May still visit from time to time.
Encryption: Visible to members of IMG Board of Guild Masters only
From: Sean Stone, executive director of Stone Bros Ltd/GmbH
Location: planet New Berlin, New Berlin system, Rheinland
To: Johnathan Sanders, Guild Master of IMG
Cc: IMG Board of Guild Masters
Subject: Clarification about Stone Bros Ltd/GmbH and IMG conditions confirmation
Greetings Mr. Sanders! We are happy to read such a quick and agreeable answer from IMG Board of Guild Masters. However it seems there is little misunderstanding. Stone Bros Ltd/GmbH is not Rheinland affiliated company. We are independent. Our company is typical product of interstellar life and economy. To just shortly describe it´s history - it was found by three brothers with Liberty origin, including me, who started trading between Liberty and Bretonia. After some time, the small company who was able to purchase Civilian Freighter, was registrated and relocated to Bretonia due to obtaining several contracts for hauling Bretonia origined goods to Rheinland. It would bring us a lot of problems to run these contracts between Bretonia and Rheinland from Liberty, and also in this time piracy in Liberty higly rised. And we don´t felt Liberty as our home after our father has been unjustly sent to prison where he died during uprising attempt. We lived in space and on stations. Our ship was our home.
This brought mark Ltd to our name based on that time Bretonian trade law, under what we had to register us. Later, we managed to obtain more and more contracts for smaller Rheinland companies and sometimes also corporations, for trade not only between Rheinland and Bretonia, but also between Rheinland and Kusari. This let us to decision to another HQ relocation to planet New Berlin, where we built needed technical facilities for our freighter and train, which was registrated under Republican Shipping license. After Bretonia-Gallia war started, this show as very lucky and farsighted decision.
Later, we changed Civilian Freigter for Border World Transport, and due to several reasons registered company also under Rheinland trade law, which added GmbH to our name. This situation remained for some longer time when we were for example able to obtain Gallic trading permissions and had some deliveries here. In January, we purchased cheap used Barge which we hope will bring us more customers and chance to compete the biggest players on the transport ground. But our status is not changed. Rheinland is place where we are settled now, but no affiliation here, we have same status as IMG - independent and fiercely so.
This explain why our Barge can be under work of Ageira and DSE at Baltimore Shipyard. We simply announced open tender and they won it because brought best offers. No Rheinland company applied to it including Daumann and Kruger. And about our participating in their big projects - we offered our services and mentioned who we are and what is our status, they accept it. Nothing more. They were customers as others are.
We were not planning affiliation with IMG when Barge repair, rebuild and modernization tender was announced, because we were not awared that Sirian and Gallic Highest Traffic and Trading Regulations Commision revoked their earlier exception about running Barges under Freelancer/Independent Trader License. But tender was announced to be opened to independent companies and shipyards too, and I must say that I was personally surprised that Livadia Shipyard didn´t applied in it.
About abiding general guidelines of IMG for vessels under it´s registration - we don´t have any problem with that. From our founding, we emphasize total respect for all Houses laws and acting according to them. We are strictly hauling only allowed commodities and obtaining proper licenses if necessary. Also we are of course aware of Rheinland Barge register and our Barge is already registered in it, but change of ID registration will of course require new registration.
We never want to make any antagonizations in House space or Borderworlds. Our transport vessels are firing strictly in self-defence which what is also last resort action if every negotiation fail. Same applies to our scout/escort fighters, they are ordered to defence it´s customer only and not interfere to conflicts where they are not involved.
We hope that mentioned IMG expansive competitors will respect that despite some of our vessels will be registrated under IMG license, we are still independent company. If not, we can not do nothing about their decision. We can only adapt to it and find new customers which will replace lost contracts. Despite IMG affiliation (or generally any approved corporation affiliation) if forced from us by Sirian and Gallic Highest Traffic and Trading Regulations Commision, it is something what we consider as the best choice and our decision will remain unchanged.
By the way, to introduce you a little to current situation in Rheinland - Daumann and Kruger contracted us mainly in situations when they were in need and no one other was avaible, especially due to some internal personal crisis in Republican Shipping. In last weeks, we observe that RepEx recovered from this crisis and Kruger Minerals, which changed it´s leadership, is ordering transport services directly from them instead of announcing tenders. So it is not sure if we can lost something now. Our independence is two-edged sword and it seems that Rheinland Corporations will prefer to keep their big contracts and money between them, so we have to focus on smaller Rheinland or non-Rheinland companies.
So our final word is - we are not only able but prepared and still decided to register before mentioned ships under IMG license. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask. If not, can we consider our request as agreed by IMG Board of Guild Masters?
Thank you for your time and attitude, we feel that we chose our business partner very well. Have a nice day!
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(//answers and notes to OORP notes: Stone Bros Ltd/GmbH is not a faction and not ever will be. I used Freelancer ID for all ships except flagship - Rheinland Train, which had Republican Shipping ID. I was told on Discovery help channel that this is ok and some factions are doing this too (it was in 4.85 times). Later (in January) I bought a Barge and thought that is still allowed to run it by Freelancer ID, what admins revoked in recent days. Personally, based on history and status of company, I not consider that having also Freelancer ID ships (refering mainly to BWT, but there is also escort fighter) is going around a restriction - I´m paying for this the price of lower cargo hold while I´m using it. Of course I was not talking about case when Barge is sitting in front of Daumann base and Freelancer ID BWT is doing loading/unloading to it, as some players are behave similar like this to go around docking restrictions (especially some Zoners with whales like this procedure in house space). This is of course sanctionable. But now I had to change things due to Barge issue (this is why I asked IMG ID to all transports and not only Barge, because I agree that running on three IDs is nonsense), so maybe I will discuss this matter again with some admin to prevent problems or sanctions. If you wanna add something to that or you have some clarification or important information, please PM me.)
Encryption: Visible to members of IMG Board of Guild Masters only
From: Sean Stone, executive director of Stone Bros Ltd/GmbH
Location: planet New Berlin, New Berlin system, Rheinland
To: Johnathan Sanders, Guild Master of IMG
Cc: IMG Board of Guild Masters
Subject: Proposal change and confirmation
Greetings Mr. Sanders! After consultation with member of Sirian and Gallic Highest Traffic and Trading Regulations Commision (known by short as ADMINS) about our issue of ship registrations, we want to change our request on all our ships. Mr. Garrett Jax informed us that Commision require one registration for all ships of one company. Due to this fact we have to register all our ship under IMG license. We hope that this change will not affect our deal. Please confirm us that we can still consider our request as agreed by IMG Board of Guild Masters.
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(//OORP notes: spoken with admin, one ID for all company ships required)
**** Incoming Transmission ****
From: Johnathan Sanders
To: Stone Bros GmbH
Subject: Registration requests
Encryption: Standard/civilian (// hack-able by house intelligence agencies)
Mr. Stone,
Not a problem at all, so long as you can abide by the beforementioned Guild guidelines, you're welcome to fly the Guild's flag. The specific formalities can be handled at any of our stations. Aland or Freistadt are the ones nearest to your current headquarters.
Regards,
- Johnathan Sanders
**** Transmission closed ****
Wide awake in a world that sleeps, enduring thoughts, enduring scenes. The knowledge of what is yet to come.
From a time when all seems lost, from a dead man to a world, without restraint, unafraid and free.
Mostly retired Discovery member. May still visit from time to time.
Encryption: Visible to members of IMG Board of Guild Masters only
Sender: Sean Stone, executive director of Stone Bros Ltd/GmbH
Sent from: planet New Berlin, New Berlin system, Rheinland
To: Johnathan Sanders, Guild Master of IMG
Cc: IMG Board of Guild Masters
Subject: Usage of IMG combat grade ships
Greetings again after some time, Guild Master Sanders, or any other Guild Master who is handling this message! I´m re-opening this channel because this issue closely relates to the previous one - conditions of our affiliated membership in Independent Miners Guild. You granted us permission to fly all our ships under IMG flag - and we are very grateful for that. But we are not sure if we are also allowed to buy and use IMG combat grade ships - fighters, bomber, gunboat or battlecruiser.
Reason why I´m asking is that in last weeks our ships and other assets are especially in Kusari or GMG space more an more often attacked by pirates or hostile forces like Outcasts or Corsairs and we need enough firepower to fight back. Second reason is that our research and development department works on manufacturing of high-tech devices which require materials available only in deep Omicrons. As you probably know, these systems are very dangerous so we need ships which can survive and defend itself there. For this reasons, we are looking for suitable ships and weapons so we want to know if we can use IMG combat grade technology. We are looking forward to hearing from you, have a nice day!
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**** Incoming Transmission ****
From: Johnathan Sanders
To: Stone Bros GmbH
Subject: Registration requests
Encryption: Standard/civilian (// hack-able by house intelligence agencies)
Mr. Stone,
Access to our native technology on the basis of your affiliation with us is not a problem, so long as your affiliation persists. In the Guild, we seek to provide our members and affiliates with the means to protect themselves. I must admit that in comparison to military technology, most of our weapons are sub-par, however, most of our craft are specifically designed for easy maintenance, and fitted for extended operations in asteroid fields. I'll give you an overview of the technology we have developed.
"The main IMG "Matterthief/Vampire" line of tachyon cannons is meant to be a long range, moderate damage, energy efficient line of weaponry. However, the basic design hasn't changed much since it's inception over 200 years ago. The design is roughly based on Bretonian "Splitter" technology, with it's emitters limited in order to prevent overloads, and reduce maintenance and power costs. This allows the weapon to be fired on fully automatic for a longer time. Clustered burst fire is one of the tactics IMG escort pilots use to shock and overwhelm potential threats when it comes to combat.
The standard emitters have also been upsized to gunboat, cruiser and battlecruiser class weaponry. The statistics for these versions are on-par with most other weapons of their class. Solid weapons without distinct advantages or disadvantages.
The IMG "Manaslu" fighter is an interceptor class craft that is quite large for it's class. As a result it is more durable, and more powerful, but not as maneuverable as most standard interceptors. It can be used in the interceptor role, or in numbers, as a space superiority craft. When used in superior numbers, it can quickly overwhelm threats - but alone it is vulnerable.
The IMG "Lhotse" fighter is a space superiority craft meant to defend IMG assets from potential threats. It is a balanced craft that carries moderate maneuverability, a moderate power core, and moderate weapon array. Best utilised in small groups in high-threat areas, it is the most capable space superiority fighter the Guild has access to.
The IMG "Nanda Devi" bombercraft is a heavy bomber capable of delivering, and taking, severe punishment. Dual dedicated torpedo launchers, quad cannons and a freighter-class shield make this craft a formidable adversary against hardened targets. Be aware however, that like all bombers, it is vulnerable to fighters - backing a bomber group up with several fighters is recommended.
The "Gasherbrum" class gunboat is intended for heavy escort and fighter/bomber defense. A hardened shell backed by six gunboat-class weapon hardpoints, giving it fair all-round coverage, makes up the bulk of this craft. Be aware of it's poor bottom arc - but the craft is maneuverable enough to close this blind spot when a threat tries to slip inside it.
The "Sagarmatha" class exploration cruiser can be utilised for deep space recon and surveying. Many of the IMG's discoveries have been made by daring expeditions of crews commanding one of these craft. The exploration refit allows the craft to bridge the vast distances between stars without the need for refueling or resupply, with a maximum operational range of 2.34 parsecs. The defensive refit converts fuel tanks and supply storage to arament systems and mounts an additional power plant. The engine is reconfigured for short term, heavy thrust that allow the ship unparalleled maneuverability for a vessel of it's size. However, despite the secondary power plant, the ship is not capable of powering more then two superheavy turrets, and cannot power a dreadnaught class shield. This makes the configuration vulnerable when met with supercapital ships."
I do not recommend deploying a Sagarmatha class vessel to your needs. The various house authorities -including the Gas Miners Guild- often consider a vessel of that class to be a challenge to their sovereignty. If you insist, one can be assigned, but in all honesty, it is a large target. The Nanda Devi is said to be a very capable bombercraft, and the Gasherbrum is a durable platform. Combined, they can handle most threats.
Regards,
- Johnathan Sanders
**** Transmission closed ****
Wide awake in a world that sleeps, enduring thoughts, enduring scenes. The knowledge of what is yet to come.
From a time when all seems lost, from a dead man to a world, without restraint, unafraid and free.
Mostly retired Discovery member. May still visit from time to time.
![[Image: SeanStone-StoneBros1.jpg]](http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/n575/Lumik8/Avatary/SeanStone-StoneBros1.jpg)
![[Image: signature_stone_bros.png]](http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/n575/Lumik8/Avatary/signature_stone_bros.png)
