ENCRYPTION CODE AUTHORIZED:L3-74-O-THETA-F9 RECIPIENT ID:Natio Octaviarum SENDER ID: Martin Lawrence, Genesis Research Group LOCATION: Unknown, Unknown
Good day to whoever we may concern,
My name is Martin Lawrence, C.E.O. of Genesis Research Group, a Zoner organization, that is stationed in Kepler, on Ames Research Station. We are a Research and Development organization, but our main income comes from engineering, as in building vessels, equipment, and so on.
You organization is quite famous for being very similar to the Zoner concept of life, as in living in peace with almost everyone and accepting anyone, even if they are smugglers or not.
From what we could understand, you operate mainly in the Taus or Gallia, so that's why we have found you the perfect candidate for us, to propose you a rather odd contract.
Firstly,we have found that the Gallic "unlawful" organizations have access to something called BT485 "l'Ane" Gallic Black Market Transport. Do you have any information on this vessel? As in how does it perform; the technical data of it.
If we are pleased with what we hear, regarding the vessel obviously, I will be writing the contract up.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Martin Lawrence, C.E.O. of GRG.
.:| Message Received
::| Sender: Lead Technician Darren Wilson
Hey there, sorry about the delay, something in your message tripped a few filters and we had a bastard of a time figuring out what happened.
Anyway, name's Darren Wilson, I'm one of the lead techs for Aquila Defense Systems, we build and maintain Octavarian ships. I've worked with the Gallic tech a fair bit. The l'Ane is an impressive ship in the right circumstances. Graceful, agile, much more comfortable than the pirate tanker fielded by the Junkers and Rogues. There's a couple issues to be aware of, though.
First off, the ship originated with the Gallic Brigands. So the engineering standards are... let's say "variable." Some are as good as military transports, some are decidedly not. I'd recommend sourcing from the Gallic government, see if you can get your hands on any they used during the civil war. Might have some battle damage, but they've got higher standards for engineering. Brigands are usually happy as long as it flies.
Second, the design originally rolled out before the minefields were breached. So with most of them, you're dealing with pure Gallic tech, independent of Sirian development. This means there's a ton of issues trying to integrate Sirian parts into some of them, especially early-run models. And the engines usually have to be completely replaced out of the gate to run on h-fuel instead of that Gallic crap. Later models are slightly more compatible with Sirian tech, but are likely to still need an engine replacement.
Third, they're made for something approximating civilized space. Sure, it's a smuggler ship, but it's Gallia. Asteroid fields, minor clouds, nothing significant out there.
My honest recommendation is that you go for something else - the Bison cargo frigate would be my first pick. I know Cryer's used those in the Crow Nebula successfully, and I hear there's other groups out in the Edge that have used them too. It's also Sirian tech, so a lot of the parts are largely interchangeable. If the Kaiser's men aren't shooting you, you could consider the Uruz, and I bet the GMG still field Akegatas - in either case, you have a Sirian ship that can use a lot of standard Sirian parts, easier maintenance that way.
If you're set on the l'Ane, source 'em from the Gallic government and make regular runs out to the upper Barrier or Gallia for spare parts. The ship works for us, but that's in part because we live here.
Think that about covers it, but lemme know if you've got more questions.
ENCRYPTION CODE AUTHORIZED:L3-74-O-THETA-F9 RECIPIENT ID:Natio Octaviarum SENDER ID: Martin Lawrence, Genesis Research Group LOCATION: Unknown, Unknown
Mr. Wilson,
It is a pleasure meeting you.
I have to admit, I did not expect a such detailed explanation and this has been a very useful description of the vessel.
I have reviewed what you said, and I must say, it caught my attention.
I'll be very direct. The Genesis is looking to expand our market, customer and product wise. We are looking into investing in this expansion, so we are therefore trying to determine what it could become an useful product for us.
Therefore, I'll lay down the big request. We are interested into acquiring the blueprints of the L'Ane. Obviously we are ready to pay, be it in technology or credits.
So, if we can actually count on you, we are ready to lay a deal.
.:| Message Received
::| Sender: Lead Technician Darren Wilson
You'd need more than just the blueprints for the ship. You'd also need detailed specifications for its components, or at least an approximation thereof, because as I said none of it's Sirian tech.
Which is really kind of secondary to the main point. That point being, we don't have them. Yes, there's a few Octavarian l'Anes flying around, but we didn't build them, in part because we don't yet have the facilities for construction on that scale except when we rent a dock on Sabah. And that ain't the kind of ship I'm building with Crayterians hovering over my shoulder anyway.
You're gonna have to try someone else. We don't have a problem doing business with Zoners, but we can't sell what we don't have.
This got kicked up to my desk. Johnathan Jones, Director of Operations. Let me brief you on the local situation.
Kusari has invaded Gallia by way of Tau. Kusari Naval Forces have fired on Octavarian escort corvettes that attempted to mediate a peaceful resolution to the conflict with Crayter.
The front lines are now, as far as we can tell, Burgundy and Dauphine - Kusari is pushing into the Gallic core worlds, and Languedoc and Lorraine are under hostile occupation. Any foreign deals are under very close scrutiny right now, and I don't think anyone's parting with blueprints under these circumstances.
What we can try to do, if you're interested, is introduce you to the Parisian Assembly. They'll probably want you to do something. What that is, I don't know, you can work that out with them.
We'll open a channel to the Assembly and hook you into it when they respond. Right now, most Aquila transit is limited because Kusari considers us a hostile target.