Greetings to you esteemed allies of Bretonia.
It has been sometime since last we received word from the Northern Taus, I hope that the day fares well for you. I am Director Harry Weber of her Majesties SIS of Bretonia, I am aware little, if any, communication as passed between us, but you and your people have been listed as friends of Bretonia for sometime now. I come before you with a humble request, the service is interested in acquiring some of your weapons, we appreciate that such a request is not to be taken lightly and the Maltese do not give away such valuable items without expecting something in return, I assure you I am willing to negotiate the terms if you are. I am requesting the following:
1x "Wyrm Type 2" Outcast Tachyon Turret
4x "Wyrm Type 2" Outcast Tachyon Cannon
4x "Dragoon Type 2" Outcast Tachyon Cannon
However if you are not interested, you may disregard this letter with no hard feelings.
While unexpected in terms of topic, we expected the Armed Forces or the SIS to contact us sooner or later. There is a certain discrepancy when it comes to manpower and equipment, at least for us. We are hardly many here on Malta. Consequently, we often find ourselves with more weapons than we have men to operate them. Bretonia likely is in a reverse situation because of the war, I would wager. War machines are likely scarce and I assume there is not much in terms of money you could offer in return. No matter, you are not asking for much. As a sign of our good faith when it comes to dealing with Her Majesties agents, you may proceed to Cape Wrath and retrieve your weapons, good Signor Weber. As one hand washes the other, we may contact you in the future and redeem you of your debt.
I do hate to request yet another thing from our allies so soon, but it would appear I have no choice. Your people are the only group we know of who can give the rare and understandably expensive commodity Liquid Cardimine. The Service would be willing to pay for a shipment of 5000 units for a reasonable price.
We are indeed able to provide you with what you want. However, Liquid Cardamine is rather difficult to produce and the cost of said production usually does not warrant the return when compared to mere bulk shipping of normal Cardamine. The National Council is intrigued by you asking for it, however, and would like to request a little backstory to the request. It is forbidden in Bretonia, after all. What exactly would you intend to do with five thousand vials of Liquid Cardamine?
Naturally I cannot disclose any information that may compromise the defence of Her Majesties Kingdom, information regarding any operations is classified, something the Maltese are keenly aware of, no doubt you have your own secrets that must remain in hushed whispers.
That being said, it is my belief that the aforementioned commodity could be used to loosen certain lips. While Bretonia, and by extension the service, holds no resentment or ill feelings toward the users of Cardamine, there are some who do, and those people have therefore given us a pressure point to exploit. Liquid Cardamine is easier for us to transport into Bretonia discretely, and as far as we can tell, holds far more psychological value than other forms of Cardamine, the effectiveness is of little consequence to us, furthermore there are those within Bretonia who are dependent of the substance, but also do not wish for the fact to be known, this provides us with leverage on those people.
Naturally this is all said in hushed whispers, and I trust you find the answer acceptable.
Hushed whispers indeed. I hardly heard anything, much less remember what the implications of these whispers might be.
Very well, Signor Weber, you shall have your Liquid Cardamine. However, the Council demands a compensation from the SIS. Since we realize that Bretonia needs every man and every bit of equipment, the idea of entreating you for military machinery was dropped in favour of a much more utilitarian proposition. We are sure that the war with the Gallic Kingdom has rendered no small number of enemy fighters imprisoned in Bretonia as prisoners of war. We would ask that you hand over a number of them to us, the exact amount being up to you, though no less than two hundred prisoners. We are sure that this arrangement is mutually beneficial. as it frees up capacities in Bretonian penitentiaries while simultaneously providing us with helping hands on Malta.
The Service would consider that a fair deal, however I am sure you can appreciate that the Service cannot be directly seen in this agreement, I propose then that a third party be employed to oversee the exchange. A third party that cannot be directly traced back to either of us, I prose then that the Junkers Congress be contacted, arrangements be made and that the SIS pay them for their time, as further consideration to the National Council. In this way, neither the National Council nor the Service could be accused of smuggling and we both have deniability.
That would be quite alright, Signor. There is a cerain countenance that you need to maintain in the public eye and it would not do you any good to let down the mask as it were, even though it would be within your discretion to make sure the Junkers you make use of are trustworthy enough to not render the entire security arrangement obsolete. Do proceed, Signor. We will be awaiting your couriers.