HoX - Open Press Conference

[Keioff Xanjer]

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Recap of Rumors:
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"I heard Noburo-San had visitors from Freeport yesterday. They looked kind of suspect to be honest"
- Falkland Base

"I wonder what those two men offered him.. You must be crazy to just pack up and leave, when
you're one of Renzu's finest engineers."
- Renzu Shipyards

"Those kusari zoners just docked again... They had one more with them this time.
Maybe it's that new company."
- Freeport 10

"¿Que? You say you're looking for cardamine? You're not a cop, are you culo?"
- Malta

"Those zoners who checked in this morning... Odd fellows, but they do know how to tip!"
- Luxury Liner Hawaii

"I just had some guys come in, looking for work. They hung around for quite a while."
- Meskhenet Station

"Two kusari zoners in Order craft. What a mess!"
- New York

"A man offered me 100.000 credits if I could put him in contact with the Hackers. 100.000!"
- Freeport 4

"A worker got fired today. Apparently he's accused of selling information"
- Nago Station

"I spotted a couple more scientists with that <HoX-logo on their uniform.
Wonder what all the secrecy is about"
- Freeport 10

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Ladies and Gentlemen.

As rumors are spreading, about our company and it's activities, we feel the time has come for us to release a public announcement.

Some may be aware that Mr. Noburu is the owner of Horizon Mining & Survey, operating out of the Freeport 10.
It has been no secret, that Mr. Noburu's attention shifted towards the discovery and early access to the most rare and profitable raw-materials, after he was involved as a freelancer in many of the Walker-surveys during the 60's.
Neither has it been a secret, that his return closer to home, was highly motivated by the availaility of Niobium in Tau-37.
What is little known, is the creation of the HM&S subsidiary, Horizon Exploration.

As most clusters in the Sirius sector has been mapped, HM&S has seen itself forced to move operations further and further into edge and border worlds and with the highly increased chance of attacks on it's assets, the company felt the need to seperate the discovery and mining of new resources.

Founded less than 2 years ago, the primary focus of Horizon Exploration, or HoX, are three things:

• Gathering of exotic electronics and mechanical materials.
  
• Analysis, testing and experimentation.
  
• Development of prototype explorationcraft.
  

Ships can be recognized by the <HoX~ logo, a standard divider and Pilot- or shipname.
I.e. <HoX~|Hiraku or <HoX~|Yoshino

< is meant to resemble a front cone.
Ho for Horizon, X for eXploration.
The X is also meant to resemble the cone of a rocketbooster.
(Updated)
Recently, the ~ was added to symbolize the taking off of the company.

Commenting on the rumors about some of our employees:

We look for employees who have what it takes to accomplish dangerous and sometimes borderline crazy missions, but still have a sense of loyalty.
As these are rare types, we cannot be so judgemental about their past.
We believe the their political views and sparetime activities are not the company's responsibility.


Regarding ties to other organizations:

After moving from Falkland to Freeport 10, Mr. Noburu has cut his last ties to the IMG.
Horizon Exploration, under Horizon Mining & Survey, now considers itself a zoner corporation.
Reported connection to The Order are untrue. The company admits to having done several testflights in the past, but the ships are no longer in use and no agreement is in place for neither collaboration nor economical support.
Reported connection to the Outcast are also untrue. The company admits to have done some test in their Tridente-class ship, but claims of cardamine-trade are 100% fabricated.


The company will remain true to zoner-spirit and stay 100% neutral in political matters.
Any possible collaborations will be based on an exchange of technology and not politically motivated.


Further information will be released in the future.
Any questions can be asked here, in the HM&S Communication Terminal or directed to me personally.

Thank you for your time.
- Keioff Xanjer

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We will now go to the Q&A:


Q: "Is it true that Mr. Noburu has had to seek other investors for this venture?"

KX: Mr. Noburu has never been a billionaire, but I assure you. Anyone who invests in this company,
will be doing so out of belief in our goals.

Q: "Are you planning to build your own research station?"

KX: We might in the future, but a fitting location will have to be chosen. At first, we will be
looking into renting some property, so our laboratory facilities can be moved to Freeport 10.

Q: "HM&S has been involved in some controversial cases. How can the governments of the houses be
sure that you won't engange in criminal behavior?"

KX: Our aim is to respect all laws when operating in any house space. Some mistakes are certain to
happen though, and we hope such cases can be resolved peacefully and not taken as a sign of
intentional unlawfullness.

Q: "....

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Keioff Xanjer, Diplomatic Advisor - HoPR, HM&S / HoX

[Keioff Xanjer]

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!! OORP Comments: !!


I'm working on a more detailed background, but many strings has to be tied together and elaborated, so bear with me.
I would like to have released some rumors in advance of the announcement, but it didn't come off as well as planned.

Suggestions and ideas are more than welcome.
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[Blackstarr]

I like it - other than one concern. "In the 60's" - the current Discovery year is 821 A.S. and judging by the look of the character he would;d probably be older than 40. - so if his age is around 70 it should be fine if not you should revisit your timeline.

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[Keioff Xanjer]

Thank you very much for your feedback!
It was actually our owner, Mr. Takeo Noburu, who worked with the IMG in the 60's.

Complete company roster will be released at a later date.

- Keioff Xanjer

[Keioff Xanjer]

Live Q&A is now closed.

Please feel free to leave any comments here. The messageboard will be checked regularly.

- Keioff Xanjer

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Keioff Xanjer, Diplomatic Advisor - HoPR, HM&S / HoX