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Bonjour Guildmasters of the IMG! I am Capitaine Leon Chevalier of the Gallic Royal Navy and commander of the Battleship Betheny, and I've come to speak to you about a very important issue which must be brought to your attention immediately. We have discovered that some of your own technology is being used against us, and this is simply intolerable. Furthermore, the person in question was working with a member of the official IMG branch, was in possession of multiple GRN pilots whom he was holding hostage that he had taken down, and was later caught working with the +LE+ and the QCP against our forces in Tau-31. While this piece of technology was blown up by myself and a few other pilots, we have reason to believe that the Colonial may have acquired more of your tech, or is continuing to work with your corporation.
The Gallic Government has decided that a fine be issued towards your corporation due to the ship being used against us in the Sirian's anti-Gallic war effort. The fine the IMG is to pay for this incident reaches a total of 500 million Gallic Francs, payable to multiple accounts. The payment details will be included below along with the evidence of what occured.
[font=Arial]AUDIO LOG:
[05.08.2012 08:28:13] IMG|Adam.Jensen: Hello GRN
[color=#CCCCFF][05.08.2012 08:28:20] GRN|Leon.deValois: Cut your engines.
[05.08.2012 08:28:28] IMG|Adam.Jensen: yes,sir
[color=#33FF33][05.08.2012 08:28:30] Le.Renard.Arctique: Halt, Colonial.
[05.08.2012 08:28:58] Le.Renard.Arctique: It is a Gunboat class. [05.08.2012 08:28:58] GRN|Leon.deValois: The IMG is working with the CR in this time of war?
[05.08.2012 08:29:10] GRN|Leon.deValois: Your 'Guild' signed a treaty of neutrality Monsieur.
[05.08.2012 08:29:34] GRN|Leon.deValois: Why then, is your convoy being escorted by a Colonial, using an IMG gunboat?
[05.08.2012 08:29:38] IMG|Adam.Jensen: dear sir,he was going with me to Tau-23 to get some ores,nothing else [05.08.2012 08:29:55] Le.Renard.Arctique: Your complement is commanding a Colonial Gunboat.
[05.08.2012 08:30:03] Le.Renard.Arctique: That is an unlikely story. [05.08.2012 08:30:14] Aleph_Starsunder: Citizen, awaiting IMG approval [05.08.2012 08:30:33] GRN|Leon.deValois: Why do I find that difficult to believe? [05.08.2012 08:30:40] Aleph_Starsunder: Once IMG-approved will be IMG| [05.08.2012 08:31:11] Le.Renard.Arctique: The Gunboat is also holding three Royal Navy officers...
[05.08.2012 08:31:15] IMG|Adam.Jensen: can i know what exactley you want? [05.08.2012 08:31:16] GRN|Leon.deValois: Oh! [05.08.2012 08:31:25] Aleph_Starsunder: You can have them [05.08.2012 08:31:35] GRN|Leon.deValois: IMG vessel and Freelancer transport. Move along.
[05.08.2012 08:31:40] GRN|Leon.deValois: The gunboat will stay here.
[05.08.2012 08:32:12] GRN|Leon.deValois: Take the remaining pilot, mon ami. If you would. [05.08.2012 08:32:16] Le.Renard.Arctique: How did you "acquire" those pilots? [05.08.2012 08:32:36] Aleph_Starsunder: They were shot down. I tractored their pods. [05.08.2012 08:32:52] GRN|Leon.deValois: Why did you not immediately inform us when you saw us then, monsieur? [05.08.2012 08:32:52] Le.Renard.Arctique: Indeed, and I presume they were shot down by you? [05.08.2012 08:33:10] Aleph_Starsunder: Naturally. One must fire back when fired upon, no? [05.08.2012 08:34:28] GRN|Leon.deValois: This Colonial has been sentenced to death for crimes against his majesty and the Kingdom of Gallia. [05.08.2012 08:34:40] Aleph_Starsunder: I say! [05.08.2012 08:36:03] Aleph_Starsunder: Hang on hang on... I've been sentenced to death for what, now? [05.08.2012 08:36:20] GRN|Leon.deValois: You have been found in possession of pilots of the Royal Navy. [05.08.2012 08:36:28] Le.Renard.Arctique: And admitted to shooting them down. [05.08.2012 08:36:35] GRN|Leon.deValois: You currently bear hostile ID papers as well. [05.08.2012 08:36:40] Aleph_Starsunder: Yeah, well, would you rather I left them to die in space? [05.08.2012 08:36:57] GRN|Leon.deValois: We would rather you were the one in the escape pod in their stead. [05.08.2012 08:37:12] Le.Renard.Arctique: Officers of the King are always prepared for death, monsieur. [05.08.2012 08:37:29] Aleph_Starsunder: ......
[05.08.2012 08:38:04] Aleph_Starsunder: This is a waste of my time.
The Colonial then proceeded to fire upon us, and we nearly destroyed the gunboat before it ran. However, he returned along with two agents of the +LE+, and a QCP bomber, and engaged us once more. Audio logs for that are available as well upon request.
Please transfer 250 million credits to Leeds.Jump.Hole, and 250 million credits GRN|RNS-Eglantine and provide proof if you wish to avoid incident. Au Revior.
User was banned for: Unacceptable behavior
Time left: (Permanent)
**** Incoming Transmission ****
From: Johnathan Sanders
To: Battleship Bethany, per attention of captain Leon de Valois
CC: Foreign affairs office, New Paris; Gallic Royal Navy command
Subject: Tau incident
Encryption: Light (// read-only hackable by house intelligence agencies)
Capitaine,
I have been investigating this incident from our end, and it seems a number of tragic misunderstandings have lead to this incident. It is no secret that we have, up until the arrival of your forces in the Tau region, worked closely with the Colonial Republic in the past. We did not share their wish for conflict with Gallia, so cooperation between us and the Colonials in the Tau region has ceased. The ship you encountered was in fact not a Colonial (even though your sensors likely read it as such due to the vessel's make) - but a prospective member to the Independent Miners Guild who had recently expressed their wish to join. During the retreat of the Colonial forces, a number of vessels were left behind by them - we have repurposed some of those, including the odd Hydra class gunboat. This vessel was scheduled to get refitted with special identifiers to signify it not being a Colonial vessel, when your patrol happened upon it.
Sadly, your patrol did not give the transit crew a chance to explain this (neither did an earlier patrol, which explains the lifepods you located). The transit crew did try, and was fully cooperating with your patrol until the moment his summary execution was ordered. I stand by this pilot's decision to defend himself with force when engaged - I would expect any sane man to do the same thing.
As to the fine - seeing as we were NOT the party committing these infringements, I do not see any reason to pay what is by any standards, an absurd amount, to two accounts which may or may not even be part of the Gallic Royal Navy. It makes me suspect this is an attempt at extortion by a corrupt individual, and I will therefor forward this message to the Gallic authorities in New Paris for confirmation. My advice would be to try and exact a penalty on the infringing party, which is the commander of the gunboat in question. If you decree that he should not be welcome in Tau space until amends are made, we can enforce that - but we will not be held responsible as a guild, for the actions of (as of yet) unaffiliated individuals.
However, I would like to request you transfer the additional audio logs of his alledged cooperation with pirates - this is behaviour we do not condone in the slightest, and could impact our decision wether or not to welcome him among our ranks (by venting his application out of the nearest airlock, that is).
Yet your own behaviour too leaves something to be desired - a summary execution on an individual who is cooperating with your patrols demands is a questionable combat policy, to say the least. All of my previous talks with lady Alice DeFrance suggested the Gallic Navy to be an honorable institution, but this has called that into question.
Regards,
- Johnathan Sanders, on behalf of the Independent Miners Guild
**** Transmission Closed ****
Wide awake in a world that sleeps, enduring thoughts, enduring scenes. The knowledge of what is yet to come.
From a time when all seems lost, from a dead man to a world, without restraint, unafraid and free.
Mostly retired Discovery member. May still visit from time to time.
[color=black]Location:Battleship Villeneuve, Gallic Occupied Edinburgh Subject:RE: FWD: FROM: Foreign Affairs Office, New Paris, Gallic Royal Navy Encryption Level:High
"Well, well...
From where I'm standing, messieurs, the claim of Royal Navy pilots being on board the vessel in question - is by word of mouth - and that no actual data has been provided to prove otherwise, or even prove if there were indeed captured Royal Navy pilots.
I would like to inform you, Monsieur Sanders, that while I am ashamed that such a demand has be sentenced on the Independent Miners Guild, that it was not done by the Kingdom of Gallia but instead by a crooked Ex-Royal Police Officer, and that the honorable institution as suggested by Princess Alice DeFrance is by no means a lie.
It shames me to have to think that I trusted this fool with the command of a Valor, when this clearly shows that I have malcontents among my ranks who seem to have forgotten that they no longer serve such a... corrupt institution.
I will wait until Capitaine deValois explains his actions further before I deal with the situation on my own front."