Konnichiwa honourable chairman and members of the Zoner council,
Let me introduce myself to you all, my name is Tomodachi and I hold the rank of Shateigashira in the Black Dragon Society.
I have a small request to make of you, a request that I believe will be of mutual benfit to your members and our freinds and allies alike.
Recently there has been a split in the Bretonian military ranks and many of their pilots are actively raiding ships of all descriptions within the systems of Kusari and Tau, because of their links with the BAF they have superior ships to the ones that the Hagosha have traditionally used to try and protect friendly traders within Kusari's borders from the threat posed by rogues like the Blood Dragons, Golden Chrysanthemums and the Outcasts.
As you know Zoners and the Hogosha have always had many common friends and allies and I have always considered Zoner traders as friends of both the Kusari people and to the Hogosha. We share many trade routes through the Tau, Omega and Kusari systems and I personally buy and sell many trade items from your bases and outposts and I have aquired a great respect for many of your people.
It is for this reason that I come to you to ask that I may be allowed to continue this relationship of mutual benefit between our people and I seek the blessing of your council to purchase one of your Gunboats. I have admired it's craftmenship and specifications for a while now during my trade runs to the Ames research base in the Keplar system.
In return for your acceptance of my request I will continue to provide assistance to any Zoner vessel I encounter that is under threat from any enemy of the Hogoshan people within our mutual zones of influence, providing that the vessel in question is not involved in any activities that the Hogosha and the Kusari police or military force consider to be illegal.
Please consider my request and leave your reply, Sayonara.
from: Freeport 11, relais Corinth station
to: mr Tomodachi
"firstly - the "conference class" gunboat is product for the open market - and we usually do not put any major restrictions on the purchase. - however - recently, one of my captains, Mr Richard Bach - captain of the zoner transport Sanctimony ... now renamed to the "Skadi", transmitted me that your organization (//ooc the black dragon organization is the one that is marked with a "[|]" - right? ) prevented him from finishing his route to okinawa to assist our ally, the GMG in their effords to colonize the system.
while your man was exceptionally polite and also helpful - his request was also forceful - and the skadi had adjusted its course to the research station Atka in sigma-17. - now that is no problem for the captain, because Atka pays just as well, - but it is a problem for the GMG of course.
it is not the way of the zoners to interfere in political matters concerning the GMG and the hogosha... but when we agree to sell you capital warships of any grade, we are of course looking into such matters where our tradeships might - ahh... clash into those ships.
if such a deal is done - maybe the zoners and the hogosha can come to a deal that benefits all interests.
I do not have the authority, not being an elder of the Black Dragon Society, to initiate diplomatic discussions between our two great peoples, so I can speak only for myself on this matter.
I am sure that you undertsand much about Hogosha and Kusari tradition and that when we make a promise we are honour bound to stick to that promise.
Again I can re-iterate to you that I will be happy to assist any honest Zoner vessel that is in need of help against any of the Hogosha's enemies including any independant pirates, this offer would not extend to any ships actively breaking the laws of Kusari laid down in the Kusari Legal Codex.
Additionally as an act of good faith on my part I can offer you my assurance that this gunboat would not be used in any pirate activity against any Zoner vessel or to initiate any hostile action against any lawful Zoner ship, the intention of this ship is to help defend Kusari and its allies against the threat from Bretonia, protect lawful traders and to inact the laws of Kusari space as laid down by the Emporer.
I am sure that by this one simple gesture our two cultures can continue to trade closely and with mutual respect for the others laws and beliefs. There is too much bloodshed in Sirius already, I see this as an oppurtunity to build bridges and not continue burning them down.
--Transmission to: Tomodachi--
--ID: Ambassador Jeremy Pillaus on behalf of Captain Rashida--
--Encryption: Extremely High--
Dear sir,
Seeing as no other member of the Council has decided to step forward on this matter, my colleagues have decided that we should make a move.
I represent the crew of the Zoner vessel "Gremlyn", and it has come to our attention that you are interested in acquiring a certain number of Conference class gunboat vessels.
It just so happens that one of our crew members has come into possession of a number of Conference hulls, devoid of such things as weapons, scanners and other sundry equipment, but fully functional in all other respects.
Seeing as our crew is mostly concerned with the running of The Gremlyn herself, we can ill-afford to upkeep a gunboat fleet at the same time. As such, we would be willing to provide you with a number of these hulls for you to equip and use as you see fit.
As with all things in life, however, one cannot expect this to be "for free", so to speak. My "captain" is an avid collector of items, ranging from artwork to jewelry and even to ships and weapons, and it has come to our attention that you have recently begun production of a Very Heavy Fighter, codenamed the "Black Dragon", the performance of which interests her greatly.
Our offer is such: We will release two (2) of our available gunboat hulls in exchange for two (2) of your VHF hulls. Naturally, we would expect you to remove any sensitive equipment from both ships, and we would re-fit them with our own equipment.
With regards to use of the vessels, you have already declared your intent to refrain from using the gunboats in a hostile manner against law-abiding Zoners in Kusari. We can, in return, assure you that neither of these fighters will be used aggressively against your organisation or any organisation with which you have friendly relationships. We naturally reserve the right to use them defensively, as we expect you to do so with the models with which we supply you.
I hope these conditions prove acceptable with your organisation.
Transmission to: Ambassador Jeremy Pillaus on behalf of Captain Rashida
From Tomodachi, Shateigashira of The Black Dragon Society
Dear Sir,
While I am deeply honoured that you have made such a generous offer, I unfortunately have to decline at this time. I mean no disrespect to either yourself or your captain but it is simply the case that since my initial less than enthusiastic reception by the Zoner Council we have approached our Gaian allies who were more than happy to allow us to make use of their new gunship class "Claymore" in return for our continued support for their cause against our mutal Bretonian enemies.
While the "Claymore" is a truly excellant weapons platform with extremely high manouverability for it class, I still feel that your "Conference" class vessel is a worthy choice when a heavy gunboat is required and I will bear this offer in mind when we are next reviewing our need for extra combat ships.
Again I thank you deeply for your interest and please send my regards to your captain.