To National Council of Malta || Reasons of State

[Omicron]

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⧫ OCV Fedayeen
⧫ Omicron Mu
⧫ 02/04/825
⧫ FROM: The Order Overwatch
⧫ TO: Council of Dons

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Seeking permission

To attention of the highly esteemed Dons of National Council of Malta. I hope I catch you in the good health.

I came here to discuss with you the plans drawn up by The Order Command to redefine our presence and role within Omicron Beta star system. By terms of the armistice, our warships keep to the established line of control but effectively ceded any territorial claims to the Maltese State. This had lead us to necessity of what appears to be permanent assignment of at least one battleship at any given moment to guard our flank. Security of The Order Protectorate is a matter kept in utmost consideration by our strategic planning. O.C.V. Amenta alongside its accompanying escorts were meant as temporary solution which undoubtedly is thorn in the side for critics of the current government. I propose permanent application and simultaneously seek permission to do so.

Construction of space station on The Order Overwatch’s side of Armistice Line. It is in our hope that a station will be perceived as less of a threat and relieve tensions among the border that we share. The Order will effectively claim only jumphole leading further into the Order Protectorate, alongside with security perimeter of the new base with the ongoing agreement about rights of passage preserved according to the peace treaty. I can promise you that Amenta will depart Omicron Beta upon completion of the installation, defined as achieving full operational status. The Maltese Navy under your direct command will be made aware of the construction. We plan on keeping Amenta in-system as an anchor for this project while continuing to stand guard over The Order Protectorate’s worlds.

With your permission, number of The Order scouts will investigate Omicron Beta’s nebulae with intent to find an asteroid large enough to provide us with adequate starting point for initial hangar and drilling operations. Should it fail, we will go ahead with secondary plan to simply haul necessary components to erect space station at suitable location.

Grand Admiral Michal Golanski
Black Fleet, 1st Battlegroup "Wargods"

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[Foxglove]

Well met, Grand Admiral.

It has taken the Council a bit of time to deliberate the request you posited as there are multiple angles to examine here. If you have the patience, I would like to give you a brief rundown of the thought process.

Outcast space is rather small. It consists of Omicron Alpha and Phi and the contested systems of Beta, Tau and Xi at its periphery. For multiple years now, the Outcasts have not made any significant strides in any of the conflicts raging in these systems, and of course, people are looking for someone to blame. This someone always happens to be the one who currently handles most of Malta's foreign relations, and in this case, this is the National Council. If it were to become public that the Order has constructed a base within the system of Omicron Beta, it will be seen as encroachment upon the Nation's turf, regardless of whether such sentiments are rational or not. Outcasts are slow to adapt to change and many families still view the Order as a whole as a malignant force after the split that followed the Nomad War, in which the Outcasts, the Order and the Bundschuh were the backbone of humanity's effort to survive. In other words, our sanctioning of a foreign base constructed so close to Omicron Alpha by an entity that has only recently been established as a neutral entity is political suicide for us.

Secondly, there is cost-effectiveness. The Council questions the Overwatch's decision to extend resources into building an own base of operations within Beta if it were more utilitarian to merely request access to the Outcast installation of Ruiz in the system's center. The Council is of the opinion that both sides could save considerable amounts of resources if we were to cooperatively use Ruiz as a base of operations within Beta, by splitting the cost of maintaining the installation. It would also serve as an example of Outcast-Order cooperation and slowly get the population at large used to the Order's presence within Outcast space yet again. If Cardamine exposure is a concern, the station's life support systems can be adjusted according to collective needs.

Thirdly, the Battleship Amenta is already performing its job as a forward operating base for the Order that is tolerated by the Outcast population at large — because they are used to it and a mobile base is easier to ignore than a permanent one. If the offer of shared maintenance of Ruiz is not meeting the requirements of the Overwatch, the Council deems the presence of the Amenta as satisfactory and sees no reason for a change of the status quo.

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[Omicron]

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⧫ OCV Fedayeen
⧫ Omicron Mu
⧫ 15/04/825
⧫ FROM: The Order Overwatch
⧫ TO: Council of Dons

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Seeking permission

Bundschuh, Outcasts, Blood Dragons. There were more, untold who whether oblivious or aware helped The Order. I had read the files on Colonel's Kress operations in Tau's and Kusari. I am quite sure this is history worth noting especially after years of censorship at hands of Nomad worshipping fools.

In our estimation a base was less threatening alternative to a permanent ship of war presence. However you raised valid counterpoints that we have no arguments against. Your logic is sound and your point of view is acknowledged by The Order, Don Contari. Our Osiris, the O.C.V. Atum will remain in Omicron Beta for purposes of border guard duty and early warning and defense of The Order systems. Your request to lend us Ruiz to relieve some of its duties is well noted too. In the view of this, the most beneficial enterprise we can engage as of now is a consulate - an office for low-level communications between Maltese citizenry and organizations with The Order and its civilian protectorate.

We will notify you when we select suitable composition of diplomatic mission as well as decide to the full extend of our involvment with Ruiz. After all, our life support systems are major consideration and require in-depth planning on both sides.

Grand Admiral Michal Golanski
Black Fleet, 1st Battlegroup "Wargods"

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