To: Fort Diamond. Subject matter: I guess you didn't expect us to find it.

[Enkidu]

Alster Unioners

Sender ID: Gunda Riehl
Tacname: Hellion
Positional group: Volenteer Flight Arbeiter, Union Raiders and recovery
Location: UN|Hellion, Bering System, beyond the Tanner Belt.
Branchgroup: Unioners

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The pilot appears to be using the backseat operations terminal to send the transmission. There's nobody other than the autonav VI flying the fighter.

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You fooled me - should have figured there were wheels inside the wheels. A jester inside the straight man playing the jester. Too oblique for me.

The good thing about an antimatter-initiated fission-fusion smasher is you can get real confident that drive failure isn't going to bust your source of propulsion gas.

So, um, yeah. In about twenty-four hours from now, or longer, it depends on a few variables, we're sending a couple of wings a-swinging down beyond the oort cloud to what is basically as close to celestial background as you can get. There is -nothing- out here. Nice, real fancy antics with taking my men around zones a certain number of kilo out. I'm going to appropriate that trick as pirates must.

We're going to do some snooping, and if that Diamond-in-the-blackhearted-rough is what we think it is, we're going to blow it up. So, yeah, I think this is somethin' the good ol' always-busted Boorman Treaty calls an 'Attack Declaration'. I'm declaring that we, the Pacifica Unioners, are about to attack you. Real declamatory, like I'm busting out a sonnet.

Anyway, it's dockable - not falling for that trap, so I'm going to head on down with a few dozen toughs and take a little peek, all nice and safe outside the hull, to figure out what the IFF codes are. The benefit of the doubt and all.

Direct all offers of surrendering down this channel.

If it's in the 'Ring, the Unioners will find it. That's the scout's honour guarantee.

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THE SYNDIC LEAGUES
(A co-operative of Rheinland's Shipping Unions, retired from a life of piracy.)

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(Links pending redevelopment).

[Wolfgang Weisen]

...hack.initiated...connecting.to.Spyglass.Network...decryption.in.progress...
...Emissary.Wolfgang.Weisen.recognized...transmission.encrypted...
...uploading.data...

My dearest Gunda,

This is a Lane Hacker IFF station. It has not threatened your organization in any way, and as you personally inspected it, it does not have the capacity for anything. Attacking a Lane Hacker asset however will carry significant consequences. Thus, I hope you reconsider this rush act to war.


Many kisses,
Wolfgang

...encryption.in.progress...disconnecting.from.network...hack.terminated...

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"Our society is based on an economic bubble. Do you know what will happen when the bubble collapses?"

[Enkidu]

Alster Unioners

Sender ID: Gunda Riehl
Tacname: Hellion
Positional group: Volenteer Flight Arbeiter, Union Raiders and recovery
Location: UN|Hellion, Bering System, beyond the Tanner Belt.
Branchgroup: Unioners

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The voice comes through irritated, estranged.

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Weisen, I know you've got a brain, look at it deductively.

You've built an inflatable modular structure with a Lane Hacker IFF Ident after lying over its purpose to the whole tanner belt. You want us to shoot it and we're going to call your bluff, because it's thin. You want to start the Bore-war of he-said-she cassius belli gut-busting bellicoseness, we won't play ball. Two flagged Lane Hackers already shot at us without provocation, so you've already got your damn war and you can quote me on that however you like - I'll be happy to provide the context for your intransigence.

Fact, is fact. You built this thing so far out into the black it's got no use to anyone. Calling it an 'asset' is a mean misuse of yer' credibility, not that I'd buy stock in it judging by its credit value. It's bait. A good fish doesn't ignore the bait - it drags the fishermen into the water behind them.

It's time to for us to see where you're going with all this.

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THE SYNDIC LEAGUES
(A co-operative of Rheinland's Shipping Unions, retired from a life of piracy.)

Information | Recruitment | Message Dump |
Feedback | Diplomatic channel

(Links pending redevelopment).