"Hmmmm... interesting point, Khea," Valeska comments.

"Is the Hierate likely to get upset if the Imperium doesn't inform them of this find? I'm not expecting it to be all that secret. And what if you give them a copy of the data we've acquired? Is that something you can barter for credits? Is the Hierate likely to confront the Imperium about not sharing the data?"

"For that matter, what if we inform the Imperium that we've also given the data to the Hierate? Might that diffuse the situation?"

Khea stares at Valeska baffled, then bursts out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.
Only after a moment she manages to answer while wiping a tear from her face.
"You have a very strange idea of the relations between the Imperium and the Hierate. Those two are enemies and it is clear that the peace between them is unlikely to hold. For that the trading clans are too weak and the Ihatei too eager to conquer the rich planets counterspinward.

So telling them that we gave the Hirate the information will not make us any friends. But it could drive up the price I guess.
The Imperium will not inform the Hierate and I hope they will pay well that we don't either."

Giving a glance to the others in the room, especially the ones connected to the scout service
"Lets hope they are honorable enough to settle this matter with credits and not claws"

Here Khea hesitates for a moment
"As for actually selling it in the Hierate, I am against it. I have no interest going back there and besides even reaching the Hierate will take months. We are much better of selling our silence here than to go back to the Hierate and navigate the clan politics to find a buyer.

We won't earn much anyway. By the time we reach the Hierate the Imperium will have secured the ship anyway, so the information will be mostly useless to them. And even if we can make them believe that the ship is still there I am pretty sure having a Hierate fleet one jump away from a imperial outpost will create a lot of trouble, even if it is technically neutral territory.

"Selling silence is going to be moot, given that there was another ship at the site, and they will likely be hopping off and selling information. Unless we also sell that information to the Imperium."

"They're right." Sharik agreed with Khea and Sam, "This information has a definite useful half-life."  With the obvious implication that the price of the information would depreciate proportionate to that exponential decay.  Which also meant that since the die was cast - that they need to push the current play (of Imperial Navy coupled to the Imperial Interstellar Scout Service) as far as possible.  "So," the diminutive navigator prompted, "we work the IN angle for what its worth" she trusted in Walter's negotiating skills and experience, "with a shaker of IISS as bargaining..."

"And then we need to get the Hell out of Dodge..." Shar muttered with a conspiratorial glance at Vonon and then the rest of the crew.  In her previous life as a corporate operative, the best fixers were good at their niche and didn't over-extend.  When you got too greedy, you often got really dead.  Really fast.

Her thin fingers began to punch away at a console display for a moment as she kicked off a number of preliminary calculations for various destinations they might target.  While the final coordinates and velocities were unknown, she couldn't make any definitive route calculations; but some of the heavy lifting and iterations could be started.  And any time shaved off now could be life-saving later on.  She even kicked off a number of contingency calculations dealing with more open scenarios where they couldn't make the standard one-hundred diameter limit jump point off the elliptical, &c. - 'cause she found the additional interweaving complexities for the equations were still a finite and quasi-managable system (if a bit messy in a fun way) and all told a touch comforting.  Plus, you just never knew when those calculation results might come in handy...

Khea lets out a sigh and falls back to lean against the bulkhead.

"So who is doing the talking? If we let one of the scouts here talk the ISS likely expects to get everything for free. At least even more so than they do already with whatever Count has arranged"

In reply to Kheaiftouaw (msg # 478):

"What, with a Business Lawyer as our representative?  I was never worried about that." Vonon says with a confident nod towards Sir Walter, "As a former Law Enforcement Officer, I was just trying to say 'Be Prepared' for this to get into tricky Legalese negotiations that probably only Sir Walter is going to fully understand.  This is the kind of thing that Space Nautical Courts just love to drag out."

"I think we'll be lucky if we get any kind of decent settlement from the Court in our favor in the next three Imperial Standard Years.  And though I expect we'll win, we'll likely be given a structured settlement, paid out as a fractional sum once per year over a couple decades."

"Governmental Bureaucracy--you must be in love with it!" Vonon grinned, almost getting the Human idiomatic expression correct.

"The Count has made no arrangements with anyone," Valeska says. "Besides, he doesn't even remember what he was doing."

"His contact is with the 'Agency', as was mine. We have no idea what agency that is, and the information they want isn't for sale. Hell, it isn't even believable."

Although Serge doesn't have the entire list memorized, he has a list of Scouts assigned to various facilities around the quadrant in the Scout Ship's computer. After calling up the information, he finds that there is a Scout liaison assigned to the Naval Base.

After contacting the liaison, Maizy Strom, about his ship and the other information, he is given a vector to another location in the asteroid belt.


Walter is given a vector by the Space Controller, which turns out to be another hangar on the asteroid base.

Getting more nervous as the ship approaches the planet Khea looks back and forth between the sensor screen and the rest of the group before finally speaking up.

"Before we land we need to do something about the scout. I mean the attachment is holding in space, but when we enter a gravity well it will likely break even before we land.

"I would never call myself a "Business Lawyer" as I have never applied to the Imperial Bar, Vonon." Walter said as the airwaves hummed with the various transmissions. "Since we are carrying a scout vessel, and there just happens to be a representative here, we will take it to them to sort things out. They can decide what to do with it." he added

Turing to the Aslan, he nodded in agreement. "Good point Kheaiftouaw. You and Serge, please unhook it and get it to the scout location. We will follow you there. Since it is Imperial property and we are not, get everything pertaining to the Alien ship aboard the scout in case the Navy wants to pay us a social call." He said as he face turned to a frown as if something was bugging him before flipping on the intercom.

"+++Attention everyone. From this point on, if you are going to involve this ship and crew with anyone that does not directly work aboard this vessel, you will need to let everyone of us know first...not after the fact. The Count made no mention of the arrangement to me, and as far as I know most of the rest of you. This has caused quite a bit of confusion and headaches for us. If you do work for someone else, please let us all know now. You might be sworn to secrecy but it's our lives you are playing with...+++" he said.

In reply to Walter Zeller (msg # 483):

- So, in short, what is the plan, step by step? We land there and?.. I go to scout representative? Alone? What exactly you think should I tell them?

"We should be right behind you but here is a copy of the salvage contract just in case*." he said. "One of you that boarded the alien craft might want to ride down with Serge to help sort things out. Please, do not talk about money until we are all in the same room." Walter added.

*See msg 213
This message was last edited by the player at 20:30, Wed 19 Sept 2018.

Sharik raised her hand, volunteering to accompany Serge.  "Probably should be me to go with him." the diminutive ex-Scout offered with a light smile touching her lips.  "Fellow scout and all..." she noted off-hand as a sort explanation.  Shar also had taken the visual feeds from their exploration of the alien craft.  Not she was just going to hand them over, but a snippet might be needed to verify authenticity.

"No under the table deals." she reiterated, either verify that she didn't have any or that they weren't to make any.  Or both.  Yeah, likely both.

And then the Longshot's navigator nodded to the Captain's request, "No compensation discussions without full representation.  Got it."

In reply to Walter Zeller (msg # 485):

- Aye aye, sir.
- Let's go, Sharik, - Serge winked to diminutive ex-Scout and headed to the air lock.

Fastening in the cabin of a Scout Ship, Serge had a strange feeling for a moment, as if he is about to part from an old good friend...
In silentness, he undocked from Long Shot and put the ship to approaching vector towards asteroid base.

[a bit later]

- This is Scout Ship "Elusive", ID 0086789, - Serge hailed traffic control. - Requesting docking clearance.

[a bit later]

After landing sequence, Serge booked a visit to the liaison Maizy Strom and made his way to the office in assigned time.
- I feel as if we earned some good rest, - said Serge to Sharik, while they were navigating corridors of the asteroid base.

Since the last time the Long Shot was here, there was problem with the ship leaving, so the crew is going to be bit reluctant to land on Outpost.

On the other hand, Maizy had told Serge to take the scout ship to a different asteroid in the belt... NOT land on Outpost.

And since Walter said the Longshot was following, that's the destination you head to.

It only takes 3 hours to get to the designated asteroid.

It isn't until you are 15 minutes out that you get a landing beacon signal.

There are two other Scout ships already on the asteroid, near the landing beacon.

"Welcome to Outpost 7," a voice comes over the radio. "Do you wish to meet in the outpost or would you rather I come to your ship?"

AS the Longshot approached the base, with Sharik missing, Sam pulled up the sensor console and scans the area for anything and everything. In here experience, asteroids might mean pirates, though hopefully the Scout base would discourage that.

ooc


09:05, Today: Samantha Kilgore rolled 10 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 5,3.  Int +1 Sensors 1.

+++Meeting at Outpost 7 will be fine+++ Walter said over the radio.

"Prepare for landing. Take her in Samantha." he said.

Having resumed her constant pacing the only thing Khea has to add is "This is not going to end well."

- Shall we go to office? - Serge asked Sharik before answering to Maizy.

Sharik nodded curtly to Serge's question concerning Maizy's offer.  "Absolutely." the diminutive ex-Scout quipped rather nonchalantly, adding with a slightly crooked smile, "I'd hate for them to throw us a party and not show up..."  If a debriefing or a negoitiation could ever be called a 'party'.  Still, given her propensities for serious recreation, which had been on ample display in the most recent jaunt into j-Space; it might not be that much of a stretch.

Besides, things were always better face to face.

In reply to Sharik Kaagira (msg # 493):

So...

[a bit later]

After landing sequence, Serge booked a visit to the liaison Maizy Strom and made his way to the office in assigned time.
- I feel as if we earned some good rest, - said Serge to Sharik, while they were navigating corridors of the asteroid base.

Sam nodded to Walter "Aye, Captain" she said, and plotted the route in to bring the Long Shot into land, as she did so requesting landing permission and a location from Outpost 7 control.

"Here we go

Oh, before that, how many weapons are appropriate for such an occasion?"

In reply to Kheaiftouaw (msg # 496):

"Two." Vonon responds, sitting casually behind his powered down weapons console,

"One big, impressive looking weapon that you expect them to take from you, 'cuz it makes you look just too damn dangerous.  And a second weapon that's smaller and easier to hide on your person, but still has enough 'oomph!' that you trust it to help you defend yourself.  That weapon you give to them. With a smile.  Because we're talking about Imperial Weapon Sensors, here--you are not getting anything past them.  Just be glad that they can't take your claws away from you, and they won't make you wear soft, plush, claw-proof mittens."

Sam laughed quietly at Vonun's suggestion, but didn't look up from the console as she piloted in.