It is truly pleasant to hear from you and while the topic is at hand I would like to discuss an issue that came up recently regarding your contractors.
The Rheinland military and the government alike has been dealing with a shortage on H-Fuel, triggered by the GMG's redirection of supplies to the 'Omicron' sector, causing a consequence during which Rheinland lost 19% of its fuel income, I would say quite a dire amount in times of a full-scale war.
Little are we aware of the exact nature of these 'Omicrons' or the situation therein, but we have been informed that the redirection of supplies has been chiefly caused by the your contractors, the Bounty Hunters Guild, commencing a full-scale assault on some Freeports of the outlaying region. The GMG decided to withdraw some of the shipments meant for us (and other Houses), with which they would be assisting their Zoner allies.
Although Kruger has been working full time on increasing production and attempting to compensate, they may not be able to keep their assistance to this degree up on a long term.
In exchange of rights to ship light arms and military vehicles freely in and out of Rheinland, I would like to inquire if AP Manufacturing or the Guild in general could spare some H-Fuel with which they could supply Rheinland.
Allow me to begin by introducing myself. I am Captain Quantum Neurosis of the transport Glorious Dawn. I am also a supporter of Bretonia in their current war and I have been regularly hauling military vehicles into their space for a considerable length of time.
Recently, however, our leader, Quantum Psychosis, was stopped by a certain Polizei Officer Elbe who informed him of this restriction on the movement of such cargo. I find myself quite displeased, to say the least, for this cuts off my most reliable and dependable provider of military vehicles.
Therefore, in order to continue my trade, I would like to apply for a special permit to carry such vehicles from the Planet Nuremburg to the Battleship MacDuff in Tau-31 until such a time as this restriction is lifted.
I will, of course, pay any sort of tariff or registration fee, and I hope this matter can be resolved quickly.
---INCOMING TRANSMISSION---
---SOURCE: GLORIOUS DAWN---
---TO: ANNA KIRSCH, RHEINLAND MILITARY SECRETARY---
Miss Kirsch,
Forgive me for being impatient, but it has been over 24 hours since I sent my request, and even such a small period has resulted in enormous losses for both myself and Bretonia. Therefore, I must again humbly request that you examine my petition with all due haste.
I have further information which I, admittedly, should have included in my first message, and for that I apologize. Nevertheless, it should be noted that my current vessel is a Shetland Bretonian train and my identification is that of Border World Exports. Proof of this can be found here.
Once again, I will gladly pay any tariff or other fee that is required. Furthermore, I would like to add that I have begun shipping large quantities of Super Alloy to the Planet Nuremburg in the hopes of bettering relations between myself and the Rheinwehr. As before, I hope this situation can be resolved in a timely manner.
Bowex as it is has full privileges to transport military vehicles already, but it should be the decision of the corporation's leadership if they allow independent shipping agents contracted by them to conduct such transfers as well.
Therefore, obtain permission from the Bowex leadership first and relay their message to us, then we will grant you free shipping rights, assuming they give you a positive reply.
I am gravely concerned that while this broadcast was sent over a general comm. It is taking a long time to disseminate to pilots.
As you know, not every captain is aware of what occours in the depths of the Comm channels, and every effort is being made by IND management to pass along information. However, mistakes do happen.
A couple of our newest Captains were unaware of the regulations, however complied immediately with the RFP officers on scene. I must stress however, a law of this nature, temporary or not, needs to be better disseminated to avoid problems.
We will obey the regulations, however the aggressive "Double-Fining" levied by the RFP is completely uncalled for, especially considering the work that we do in and through Rhineland.
I give you my word that no pilot will violate this regulation in the future, and ask that your departments show the appropriate understanding given that the pilots in question have already paid fines concerning their involvement, and that IND itself will take adequate disciplinary actions to ensure there will be no repeat violations.
It has been more than a month since the regulation was enacted, sent on a general broadcast so that all concerned parties can respond and consult us appropriately, I wonder how it got to the deepest reaches of the Bretonia or Kusari before it reached a regular guest, the IND with their own representative station in Rheinland.
At any rate, faulty communications equipment and flooded channels can hardly be blamed for what Admiral Voelkel personally witnessed. All vessels, IND or otherwise, are informed on the field of the shipping regulation, assuming they are found guilty of being in possession of the restricted material. In most cases, not only can they avoid a fine if they comply, but some are even compensated for their loss.
The latter happened to be the case, when a two man Rheinwehr patrol consistent of high-ranking Rheinwehr officers, Admiral Voelkel and Generalleutnant Drum, came upon the IND's vessel, the Financial Backbone, being in possession of light arms, also a commodity falling under the regulation. Admiral Voelkel in his generosity, not only did refrain from confiscating the captain's cargo, but he also offered him that he could return the light arms to Berlin and be compensated, which the captain with a notion of sickening attitude, only seemingly complied with and docked.
The patrol spent more than ten minutes in Berlin orbit, waiting for the IND vessel to undock with an empty cargo to no avail. Since obviously, members of the Rheinwehr high command have better things to do, they left behind an RFP officer, Detektiv Neumann to watch over the docking port. After another ten or so minutes of waiting, the IND vessel's comm signature... disappeared.
That is not called being unaware of the regulation. That is a disgusting abuse of a positive notion expressed by the Rheinwehr High Command itself.
We have no idea what the other IND vessel did, but concerning this case, the fine stands.
I stress again, the pilots in question were new pilots, totally unaware of the regulation. As such, the second pilot in question, who contacted me immediately when confronted, complied completely with the officer in question. Spot fines were already paid.
You are asking us to pay a double fine. As such *that* is a violation of Rhienland law.
So it begs the question, do you wish us to take you to court over this matter, or are you content to accept the apologies of IND management and the reassurance that it won't happen again. Or do we take this further?
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As I said, the second pilot hardly concerns us in this context. The captain of the IND's Tanker, the Financial Backbone is of interest.
We received no word of his apologies, nor a fine he paid on the field. He simply vanished after generously being allowed to land and return his cargo.
The pilot in question was let go from the IND as a result of this incident. With due respect, you know full well that we comply with your laws. Mistakes happen, I again ask for understanding in this matter.
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I see. In that case, the Rheinwehr does not insist on the fine if it indeed has been an individual mistake and resulted in an individual punishment.
You still have to convince the Polizei though, I trust we will not face such an incident again.