NationStates Jolt Archive

The CEO sat behind his desk, looking at his two collegues, who had entered the room over half an hour ago. Behind him, a large window allowed the visitors to see the southern part of Vishna, and the ocean that tried to take the beach with rumbling white waves in a small autumn storm. Of the three businessmen, none fell really comfortable with what they were about to do. But, a common feat in many conglomerates, their desire for a profit exceeded their sense of honour. Slowly, the CEO observed his two guests. He had known them for years and years, and trusted them to the fullest. Now, he had to engage in the most risky venture he had ever participated in. But, as he had expected from himself, he decided he trusted his collegues.

"So, if everything is arranged for, I guess it is time to send out the message?"

The question was aimed at the youngest of his two guests. The company had hired him 5 years ago, mainly because of his skills with computers and communications. Slightly nervous on first sight, he yet managed to answer with strong voice.

"The message has already been prepared and a secure channel has been established. 100% safe."

"Excellent. Both parties can benefit greatly from this deal, and I think it will prove very prosperous and durable. Send the message."

Some time later, the Valinon government, or whoever was in charge, received a transmitted documentation, hailing from the Corporation.

~To whom it might concern~

L.S.

For many years have relations between Valinon and the Vortex Corporation been bad, or even non-existant. It might be time to change that. Relay Assembly is a company that manufactures and distributes a wide range of products all over the universe, and we hope to open trade with the Valinese Empire. Quite frankly, we do not understand the reasons of the past quarrels between our two respective governments, and have no desire to ignore the Valinese market like the other conglomerates do.

It is therefore that we request access to your markets. Of course, we understand such a thing might be...difficult to establish. Therefore, we offer you something else than mere financial benefits. If Rapid Assembly would be the only with access to the Valinese markets, we might be able to provide your government with certain information. Blueprints, schematics, doctrines, protocols, communications, Rapid Assembly has many 'external employees' that will be able to gather information that might prove quite useful for your administration. As a sign of trust, we have attached the frequencies of the communications of the first TVC fleet to this file.

A market for our products for us, and a wealth of information for you. Please, reply to us on this same frequency with your response.

Signed,

A. Gaalsien
CEO, Rapid Assembly

---

OOC: Let's play some spy games, it'll be interesting. Also, checking the given frequency will indeed result in listening to fleet positions, commands for various craft, etc. It checks out.

OOC: Just for reference, and to make it easier for you, the nationality and the name of my nation is the same.

Emperor Rowald Alderman sits in the gardens around the Imperial Palace, he watches his son, Dozle as he is tutored by Vacit, Director of the Myrmidons. He smiles as his son jumps down from a tree and supposedly "surprises" the head of the psionic core. Then Rowald turns his attention back to the reports from yesterday's meeting of the Congress of Lords.
He looks up after a few moments, knowing who is coming. He turns around.
"Yes, Aitrus?" he says to the servant approaching.
"Your Majesty, a priority communique from the Vortex Corporation."
"Vortex?" he mummers, and takes the comp-pad. Vacit looks up from minding Dozle and turns to Rowald. Rowald holds a hand to show he will handle it. The old Myrmidon nods.
"What is this," he calls up the message. He pauses for a moment after reading then begins to write a response. Ten minutes later he is done.
Before handing it to Aitrus he motions for him to come closer.
"Contact Baron Mironenko and Duke Sterling, I must speak with them. If Mironenko becomes annoying, tell him it concerns the Vortex Corporation and possibly the United Guilds Hermes interests. Also, have Director Ziegler schedule to meet with me this evening."
"Yes, Your Majesty," the manservant leaves.
Vacit walks up as Dozle goes back to his lessons, "My Lord?"
Rowald pulls forth a data disc, "Something very interesting has come up, Director. Keep your eyes open, and if need be dispatch something special to Vortex."
"Yes, My Lord."

**********

Mr. Gaalsien,

Your offer has intrigued me. I will meet with parties I believe are interested later today, and will inform you of the results of that meeting. However, I would like to know what markets you would be interested in. Although there is little trade from outside the Proxima Centauri Defense Initiative, we do have partners in the form of New Ortaga, Taka, Sunset, Wazzu, and Knootoss. However, if I knew of your interests, I am sure we could come to some form of amiable agreement.
Be warned though, that our markets are competitive. The protection I can give you will not hold for our own corporations, there political clout in the Imperial Diet will prevent that. And your "gift" that was attached is most appreciated. I sense that this could be a very long term and rich relationships.

Yours,
Rowald Alderman

OOC: Just for reference, and to make it easier for you, the nationality and the name of my nation is the same.

Emperor Rowald Alderman sits in the gardens around the Imperial Palace, he watches his son, Dozle as he is tutored by Vacit, Director of the Myrmidons. He smiles as his son jumps down from a tree and supposedly "surprises" the head of the psionic core. Then Rowald turns his attention back to the reports from yesterday's meeting of the Congress of Lords.
He looks up after a few moments, knowing who is coming. He turns around.
"Yes, Aitrus?" he says to the servant approaching.
"Your Majesty, a priority communique from the Vortex Corporation."
"Vortex?" he mummers, and takes the comp-pad. Vacit looks up from minding Dozle and turns to Rowald. Rowald holds a hand to show he will handle it. The old Myrmidon nods.
"What is this," he calls up the message. He pauses for a moment after reading then begins to write a response. Ten minutes later he is done.
Before handing it to Aitrus he motions for him to come closer.
"Contact Baron Mironenko and Duke Sterling, I must speak with them. If Mironenko becomes annoying, tell him it concerns the Vortex Corporation and possibly the United Guilds Hermes interests. Also, have Director Ziegler schedule to meet with me this evening."
"Yes, Your Majesty," the manservant leaves.
Vacit walks up as Dozle goes back to his lessons, "My Lord?"
Rowald pulls forth a data disc, "Something very interesting has come up, Director. Keep your eyes open, and if need be dispatch something special to Vortex."
"Yes, My Lord."

**********

Mr. Gaalsien,

Your offer has intrigued me. I will meet with parties I believe are interested later today, and will inform you of the results of that meeting. However, I would like to know what markets you would be interested in. Although there is little trade from outside the Proxima Centauri Defense Initiative, we do have partners in the form of New Ortaga, Taka, Sunset, Wazzu, and Knootoss. However, if I knew of your interests, I am sure we could come to some form of amiable agreement.
Be warned though, that our markets are competitive. The protection I can give you will not hold for our own corporations, there political clout in the Imperial Diet will prevent that. And your "gift" that was attached is most appreciated. I sense that this could be a very long term and rich relationships.

Yours,
Rowald Alderman

Upon receiving the message, a small crisis emerged in the corporate headquarters of Rapid Assembly. As was common among all enterprises in the Corporation, the CEO’s had personal assistants that processed their daily mail, and things were no different in this particular case. When Aaron’s assistant came back from a quick lunch, he took a look at the inbox of the mail. Normally, a company such as RA hardly ever got any interesting or urgent pieces, so his expectation was to find nothing of importance.

However, this time there was a message. The assistant found this quite unusual, as most of the postal pieces were delivered either early in the morning or after three o’ clock in the afternoon. Reading the origin of the message, his eyes widened, and without a moment’s hesitation, he contacted his superior. The fact that he was in a lunch with representatives from Vortex Steel was completely irrelevant now. After all, a personal message from an emperor was not something that could wait.

Fifteen minutes later, a Gazelle type hoverdyne rounded the corner at the end of the street where RA held it’s headquarters. The driver accelerated beyond legally allowed speed in urban areas, and with a high soaring sound, the hoverdyne came to a stop in front of the building half a minute later. As the doors slided open, Aaron Gaalsien exited the vehicle, nodding to his driver as a sign of gratitude for his speed and reliability. Walking into the building where he spent more time than he did at home, Aaron immediately proceeded to his office. Entering it, he immediately saw the message on his desk. Rushing over to it, he grabbed it and started reading it…

…that this could be a very long term and rich relationships.

Yours,
Rowald Alderman

After carefully reading it a second time, he called in the two men with whom he had thought it all up. When they entered, he allowed both of them to read the message, after which they congratulated each other. After all, a personal message from an Emperor surely could be considered a good start of a new and profitable venture. After some deliberation, they agreed on a return message, which was dispatched along the same frequency a few minutes later.

---

To Emperor Alderman

Let us commence by thanking you for your swift and encouraging reply. Rapid Assembly is a company involved in manufacturing and distribution of various products. Primarily, we manufacture components for space faring vessels, and over the years we have acquired the blueprints and knowledge to manufacture almost any part for any ship, from control consoles to entire engines. However, we do have secondary products, concerning medical equipment, chemicals, hydraulics and robotics.

But let us emphasize something, with your permission. There are two reasons for us approaching the Empire of Valinon. The first, of course, is the opening of new markets, with profitable results for the both of us. We are able to provide our products at low price and high quality, which could benefit both of us. The second goal, however, is not less important. It would be an understatement if we said we are ‘not happy’ with the way things are in the Corporation. We would be very grateful if we could take a share of our activities to an area where the rest of the Corporation is not active. And to keep things that way, we have no problem with letting a part of our conglomerate function as an intelligence service for your Majesty. Our intention is to establish trade ties with companies in your Capitol. When such a relationship is up and working, we can send our goods to your city, along with the information and documents we will provide you with as payment to keep the other conglomerates out of Valinon. When a vessel of ours would dock, a trusted courier would bring the needed information to you, since transmissions are never 100% secure. Then, the vessel unloads, refuels and leaves again. To the outside world, nothing but ordinary trade has occured.

Signed,

A. Gaalsien
CEO, Rapid Assembly

Andrei Mironenko is ushered into a private parlor in the Imperial Palace. Already seated at the small table are Emperor Rowald, Duke Sterling, and Empress Ami of Taka. He bowed as he entered.
"Your Majesty," he said.
"Please, Baron, be seated," Rowald said crisply to the leader of the opposition to the Crown Loyalist/Centrist coalition government in the Congress of Lords. The Emperor waits while Mironenko is given a glass of Syberian vodka from northern Valinon. Then the main course is served, a plain but well-cooked meal as befits the taste of the recently crowned Emperor. After the meal, Rowald turns to Mironenko.
"I trust that you have read the documents I sent you, Baron Mironenko?"
"Indeed, Your Majesty. The possibilities intrigue me, but do you not find them suspicious?" Mironenko says as he thinks to the hot-blooded meeting of the United Guilds upon hearing of the Rapid Assembly corporation's attempt to manuver into Valinon markets.
"In my experience, Baron, the Vortex corporations value profit oft times over loyalty, and it seems like this is one of those oft times. In the arenas they specify, there is no major international interests currently. So, Baron, are the United Guilds ready for some outside competition."
"Are you sure that is wise, My Lord?"
Ami places her napkin down daintly, "Surely, Baron Mironenko, you are not suggesting that these Vortex businessmen could threaten your own company or the industrial might of the United Guilds?"
Mironenko represses the urge to glare at the Empress, she has manage to politically revitalize the current government under Sterling. Although not crumbling, the Coalition had started to fray in the final days of Emperor Gustav's rule. Now with the Empress political forte and Rowald immense popularity and military support, the Coalition was taking back ground. Mironenko and his United Guilds party now found themselves on the defensive, like now.
"Of course not, My Lady. But current relations with the Vortex Corporation would suggest greater caution."
Rowald looks almost condescendingly at Mironenko, "But one must be ready to seize opportunities, Baron. Besides, I think we could use more outside economic stimulus than what the Ortagans and the Takans provide. A little bit more of a challenge would be good."
"As you wish, Your Majesty," Mironenko says. "Will you be corresponding with this Gaalsein further?"
"I will task our ambassador to Vortex with more duties now, to insure additional security. And I must excuse myself as I have an appointment with Director Ziegler in a few moments. Good evening, Baron Mironenko, Prime Minister Sterling," he nods to both of them and kisses Ami then leaves.

***********

Sir Gregor Madaron, His Majesty's Ambassador to the Vortex Corporation, looks at the man dressed in black before him. A member of His Majesty's Special Liaison Service, the eyes, hands, ears, and probably more of the Emperors of House Alderman. Secretive, they are rarely seen, and typically their presence cast the matter they address in a grave light.
"So I am to establish further contact with the Rapid Assembly corporation as discreetly as possible then?" Madaron says uneasily.
"No, My Lord," the woman says cooly, "I will be acting as the personal courier between His Majesty and the Rapid Assembly corporation. The messages sent from CEO Gaalsein will merely be handled through your office. However, His Majesty does wish it that you arrange a meeting for me to meet with Gaalsein or his representative so that we may work out the particulars of a specific arrangement."
"What makes you think I could do that?" Madaron says.
The woman smiles, "You are an ambassador, Sir Gregor, we are well aware of the eyes, ears, and mouths you have across the Vortex Corporation. I trust your abilities to arrange such a meeting."
Madaron straightens his posture, "If His Majesty wishes it, it will be done."
"Then let it be done," she says. "Alert me when you have made the necessary arrangements."
"Of course, Madam," Madaron says to the women, who as typical of the Liaison members had said nothing of herself, but knew entirely too much of everyone else. But no one could deny the Liaison personnel, for they carried the seal of House Alderman, and the authority of Emperor Rowald walked with them. Madaron called the appropriate people to arrange a meeting with a representative of Rapid Assembly. He sighed as he ended the vid-comm call, he would be glad when this affair was over and the woman was out of Vortex.

A few days later

The appointment had been made. Aaron had been quite amazed at how the Valinon people had managed to get in contact with him without anybody else noticing, but they had managed to do so. He had spent the past days working out his plans. Everything seemed to work out just the way he had intended it to be. Soon, his products would be available on the Valinon markets. And to make sure the cut-throat competition of the other conglomerates would not bother him, he would provide the Valinon government with certain...favors...to keep them out of the market. And as for the companies in Valinon itself...well nothing was wrong with some healthy competition, as long as those damned conglomerates from the Manaan and Paktu were not involved.

Now, Aaron was looking at the Valinon woman on the other side of the table. They were located on one of the lower floors of a hotel in Vishna. It had been constructed by a group of creative Nabaal kiithsmen a few years ago. Standing tall like a skyscraper, it had its foundation on the bottom of a medium sized bay near the coast. Because of this, the six lowest floors were located under water. The restaurants and casino, plus some suites on those floors provided the guests with a magnificent view on the many fish and corals in the bay, which made for quite the experience.

As soon as he was contacted, Aaron had arranged for a private suite in the submerged part of the hotel. Now, he and the woman both sat on luxuous white leather couches, with a glass table between them. Gaalsien ordered his two bodyguards to leave the room, and then adressed the woman.

"The room has been searched for bugs and other equipment. This hotel has a reputation of discretion and loyalty, but if you desire so, you can do a search of your own. If not, then I think we can get to business"

"I am aware of the reputation of the hotel and its praise worthy eye to discretion. As for the matter of scanning, the trust for a partnership must start someone where, musn't it?"
She withdraws a comp-pad and begins to access information.
"Rapid Assembly is in luck in the field of starship construction. The Empire has traditionally used many Ortagan built ships for commercial purposes. But let me say that the Grand Duchy of New Ortaga is not what it once was, and they are becoming increasinly reclusive. However, you will enjoy rather vigorious competition from the Twin Star Line Corporation and from Morgan Industries. As for the other fields, there are no real international conflicts of interests in the chemica or the hydaulic and robotics fields. But the medical sector of Valinon is another matter.
If memory serves me correctly on the date, it has been close to 78 years since the various welfare and medicare programs of Valinon were privatized. Welfare is something of an interesting story, but the medicare sector concerns us more. Three corporations currently run the privatized medicare program: Morgan Industries' pharmaceutical division; ValGen or Valinon Genetic Technologies; and Amazonia Technologies, Ltd. A large precentage of the funding for the various programs comes from the United Pholus Banking Guild. In return for their continuing good management of the program, our government has granted the three industrial partners a majority monopoly in the medical sector. And the Pholus banks get a healthy boost from the purses of the Imperial Accountus if they need it. This agreement is long-standing, and if you should still choose to enter our economic medical sector, you must regretfully have to enter it as a limited trading partner."
She sets the 'pad down, "However, it should be known that His Majesty looks forward to your entrance into the economy. The only other nation to fully establish a long-standing force in our markets were the Ortagans. The other nations such as Knootoss, Sunset, and the Resi Corporation have only limited interests. As for competition from the inside," she access the 'pad again, bringing up a holo image of a man who appears to be in his forties of obvious Slavic/Russian descent.
"This is Baron Andrei Mironenko, CEO and President of the United Syberian Industrial Conglomerate and President of the United Guilds party. He and his allies, well cronies in a layman sense, will resist you as much as they can without disturbing His Majesty. Whoever you decide to oversee your operations I would suggest that you give them a fair warning about Baron Mironenko and the United Guilds."
She deactivates the holo image, "His Majesty is interested in Rapid Assembly because you cannot only help us in....specific areas, but you can also upset the balance of power enforced by the United Guilds. They have become increasingly arrogant over the past few decades, and it is time to seek an option to restrain them. Are there any other details you need before going on?"

"Not directly. Thank you for the explanation though, it makes a lot of rumours that we have heared very clear. However, you must take our history into account. Every single aspect of daily life in the Corporation is related to business and competition. Even the schools and hospitals are managed by companies that compete with each other on virtually every activity. Our entire life is devoted to an ideology that considers the free market to be the ultimate way of life. Now regardless of whether that is true or not, it means that we enter the Valinon market with quite the amount of experience. Besides, we are as much interested in striking deals with the corporations you mentioned as we are in competing with them. Who knows, we might even find satisfying partners for joint ventures, or even a strategic alliance.

But that is all of later concern. What matters now are two things. First of all, I think it would be desirable if Valinon had a contact here, in Vishna, with us, to inform us of the desired information needed by the Emperor and the desires he has regarding the intelligence service part of the agreement. Secondly, there is the matter of Rapid Assembly being a Gaalsien company. The Gaalsien believe in a very strict manner. We see the stars as an entity created by God, and something Holy. Mankind can travel amongst them and behold them, but not reside between them. We therefore have some...moral barriers concerning space stations and asteroid cities. The Gaalsien companies therefore prefer to only let their trade vessels land at planets and moons, even though some won't even land on moons. It might seem irrational to you, but we still would prefer if we could hire some sort of dock in your capitol city, the heart of Valinon, and gather our goods there. From that point, we could hire people outside our Kiith to distribute these good further.

Would that be a problem?"

"In relation to the first inquiry, you will have a communications conduit set up between His Majesty's Special Liaison service, whom I represent, and the Ministry of External State Security. You will be contacted by representatives of each within the next three to four days, and from there on out you will have a way of communicating with the respective authorities in these operations. They will be staggered so that one will come then another later. That way communication can be as quick as possible."
She looks thoughtful for a moment, "Now for the matter of your religious position continuing orbital facilities, et cetera, we are willing to work around them. Valinon maintains excellent planetside aerospace ports on all of the Five Worlds. They have respective sectors for commerical, civilian, and industrial traffic and distribution. If you need to distribute in orbit, or make relations that would require it, I am sure that negotiating with one of the various shipping magnets would allow you to establish some sort of relationship so that they could handle this particular part of affairs. However, upon hearing this I must warn you of Prometheus Centauri. Prometheus is a gas giant, the fifth and final world of the Alpha Centauri System. Because of its proximity to Alpha Centaur B, it has never been able to win a gravity battle and retain a moon. So all of the cities we have there, both those we captured during the Outer Dominion Wars and ones built afterward, are all orbitals. I hope that this does not pose a major detraction to your plans.
Other than that I don't see a major problem concerning your position on orbitals and space installations."

"The circumstances you describe will not pose a problem whatsoever to our activities. But as we said: we prefer hiring docks somewhere in your capitol, so that our couriers may deliver their information to persons as close to the emperor as possible. Our experience is that the lower in a hierarchy you deliver a product, the larger the chance of corruption is before it finally reaches the top. To be honest, we would prefer dealing directly with the emperor or one of his advisors. I understand the safety issues involved in that request, but I was hoping it could be given some thought.

Now as for more practical matters: our initial estimates show that we can create enough demand for our various products to send three to four carriers filled with units each months. We will run those carriers with a near-skeleton crew, to ensure that as little people as possible know of our venture. The Corporate system is complex and not transparent, so it will take months before anybody will notice we are active on a new market. And when our competitors do, we trust that our secondary services to you will be sufficient to refuse their entry to your markets."

While they talk, a magnificent fish swims up to the window. Yellow and bright blue of color, he approaches the foundation of the hotel, and bumos into the windows, only to turn around with a painful nose.

OOC: I am rather confused about that last post..... :shock:

The woman smiles, "Actually, someone wishes to speak to you about that. He is my superior and one of the closests confidants of His Majesty."
With that she pulls forth the disc shaped object that Gaalsien recognizes as a portable holo communications linkup.
A swirl of light appears, and with that the image of a communication AI's holographic head shines forth.
"Securing transmission, please hold."
Several minutes later the device whirs and then a new image appears. A man dressed in a plain shirt and sitting at a desk appears.
"Ah, Mr. Gaalsien, I suppose," he says in a cool, crisply accented voice. "Thank you, Agent 321."
He turns back toward Gaalsien, "And now I suppose the matter of your proposed information exchange has come up. Rest assured, Mr. Gaalsien, you will be granted facilities at the aerospace port in New Koln. From their your selected courier or representative will have a direct line to meet with myself. I assure you that whatever information comes to my ears goes straight to His Majesty and no one else save those he himself chooses to release it to. In the event that the information is especially sensitive, you may be able to meet directly with His Majesty. If for some reason I am unavailable, one of my immediate lieutenants will handle it. And I will assure you of their own loyalty as well, for they represent me. Besides, I do think that two steps removed from His Majesty in the off chance I cannot be contacted is sufficient. Do you agree?"

http://www.delos.fantascienza.com/delos60/img/singer/magneto.jpg
OOC: As seen through projector.

Aaron carefully listens to the man, evaluating his words as he speaks. The man strikes him as a very calculating individual, no doubt somebody that has carefully evaluated the possibilities and opportunities of the situation. From what he heared, the deal would proceed as desired: trade, deliveries in the Capitol and contact with a high ranking individual in the Valinon administration.

When the other man asked his question, Aaron was quick to make his reply, in the same calculating voice and tone that the other individual used.

"This is satisfatory. The courier that we will use is one that stands close to me in my Kiith. When seen from your concept of the 'family', he would be my cousin. He can be fully trusted. There is one more thing though: who will be the liaison here, in the Corporation? As said, Rapid Assembly prefers the presence of one of your agents here, in order to improve mutual trust and communication"

"Understandable," says Vacit looking at the CEO of Rapid Assembly. "There are actually two sources of communications for you to use, Mr. Gaalsien. For starts and in a somewhat official light there is Sir Gregor Madaron, our ambassador to Vortex. As for the second, he will be far closer to you. In four days a man identifying himself as an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' department for Foreign Economic Affairs will contact you. He will be your primary means of communication. However, if your cousin were to ask of him in New Koln, I would doubt that the Ministry would even be able to tell you his name. Let us have stop at being he is a person that exists on paper, but the paper work has not yet caught up with him. Both will be able to work with you and have lines of communication so that information can find its way back to Proxima. Is there anything else?"

"No, I think this should about cover things. Now, my forecasts point out that we can have the first shipment ready within three days. The three carriers that will be used for the products have already been chartered. Within those three days, we will make sure that we load up those products for which their is sufficient market demand. But as of now, there are no further issues to discuss", Aaron replied.

Then, he looked at the woman sitting near him, and after a moment's thought, he asked her, "Though I did not catch your name, I would like to commend you for your professional behavior. Is there anything you need to facilitate your return to your normal station?"

The man's hologram fades away after a curt nod to Gaalsien, the holo comm then quickly disappears. The woman smiles at Gaalsien's compliment, a charming and pleasant thing.
"I am sorry, Mr. Gaalsien, but in the field of service I am in for His Majesty it is not in the doctrine to release information so easily. I thank you for your offer, but I will attend to my return on my own. I have some other matters to attend to for the Director before I return to my permanent station. Good day, Mr. Gaalsien," with that she stands and leaves.

A week later

A small signal, intended to warn its receivers that friendly ships were incoming, was received by the Valinon customs ships and flight control orbiting the space above New Koln. Moments later. three carriers of the Wreathe (http://www.eve-online.com/bitmaps/shipdatabase/s_653_2.jpg) class started exiting hyperspace. Slowly sliding through their purple jumpgates, they made a smooth transition back into normal space. Continuously sending out small pulses containing identification signals, they slowly took up a V-shaped formation. None of the three vessels was armed, save for medium mass driver both on the backs and bellies of the ships. Now, these weapons were not powered, since the captains of the three vessels expected Valinon to provide safety.

Inside the lead vessel, its captain was sitting in the middle of the ship. Linked to his vessel through neural uplinks, he was literally the living core of the carrier. Processing huge amount of data per second, he quickly engaged in a new activity: broadcasting the welcoming message to the frequency provided by the Valinon authorities.

"This is Wreath carrier "Rikam" asking permission to land in New Koln. We carry a mixed cargo of ship components, chemicals and medical equipment. Following in my lead are two other vessels of the same class and size. This is our first time out here, and we don't know exactly how you want us to proceed. We'll stay in position until we receive a reply. Rikam out."

Seconds after, the three vessels powered down their engines, and hovered silently in space. The only thing moving around them was a medium sized repair drone, fixing some minor damage to the hull of one of the two rear ships. After finishing his task, he quickly re-entered the small dock on the outher hull from which he had been released.

"Wreathe carrier Rikam, this is Sanctuary Orbital Traffic Central Control. You are cleared for orbital descent pattern to New Koln Imperial Aerospace Port to the areas leased by the Rapid Assembly Corporation. Telemetry, coordinates, and descent pattern details are being sent to you via secure comm link 33-A12. For further assistance you can coordinate with New Koln Aerospace Control or request a direct AI link between our center and your ship. Do you have confirmation?"

"Sanctuary Orbital Traffic Control, this is the Rikam pilot...thank you for the information. Confirmation and clearance received and accessing comm link 33-A12 now. Please abstain from establishing an AI link, it would conflict with my own connection with the ship. Rikam out."

With the lead vessel engaging in descend first, the carriers slowly lowered themselves into the atmosphere, breaking through sets of thin clouds. Tightly following the flight vectors designated by Traffic Control, the vessels smoothly descended onto the direction of the capitol. Seconds later, they broke formation to allow them maneuvering space for the landing procedures. For a moment, the Zephrim engines inside the carriers were activated, and the craft hovered above the city. Then, calculations were complete and visual readings had confirmed the docks were clear. In their final descend for the day, each of the carriers touched down in a blaze of steam, released from the cooling systems of the vessels.

At the Rikam dock, the engines were slowly powered down, and the soaring sound they produced lessened. Inside, the courier for the Valinon intelligence prepared for his mission. Before leaving the vessel, he met the captain, now disconnected from his vessel, in one of the hallways.

"Do you know what to do?"

"Yes, I have memorized the directions. There should be no problems."

"Excellent. Just deliver the information and then get back to the ship. Good luck"

A little over an hour later, the Valinor operative enters the safehaven of Imperial Centre. The island that sits in the center of the Nundine River that bisects the capital city of the Empire. At one ends is the spiraled magnificance of the Imperial Palace, at the other the domes of the Imperial Congressional Building, and in between the traditional offices of the Imperial Ministries.
The operative does not even bother to glance at the buildings and the statuary parade of history. He barely looks up from his comp-pad until he is at one of the entrances to the Palace. He rapidly takes a lift to the spartan office of Toni Vacit, Director of His Majesty's Myrmidons. Vacit seems to have known the man was already coming.
"You have it?"
"Yes, Director."
"Good," the older man mummers. He accepts the operative's data disk (or the like). Then he produces a data disk from his own desk.
"This is some information on the movements of Mironenko and the United Guilds that our associates may find useful. Attend to it carefully until you can deliver it back into Agent 27 at the Rapid Assembly home office."
"Yes, Director."
With that the operative is gone, returning to the aerospace port along a convulted course through the myraid foot and mobile traffic of New Koln.

"Captain, have they also informed you of the contents of the disk?"

"Of course...the bosses figured that if things went wrong, I had a right to know what I would be dying for. I guess the same thing goes for you?"

"Yes, I also know. They gave Valinon the names of Daiamid members that we have bribed before. If they accept our money, they might just as well accept that from Valinon. But like you, the implants will make sure both of us will forget the information within several hours. But lets let the spy thing rest for a while. How are the real business doing?"

"Better than expected. Head office has managed to find several more or the less independent investors that are interested in our products. Our current cargo has already been sold for 76&, and the rest will hopefully be sold when the word of our presence on the market spreads. Say...care to hit town with me tonight? I'm supposed to wander around and look for good places and locations where the company can advertise. Might as well hit a few bars while we're doing that."

"Sure, it's not like the inside of a civilian carrier is an exciting place to spend your evening. Anything I should know before we go?"

"Yeah...leave your sidearm here."

The Commercia of New Koln consumes an entire sector of the city. At its epicenter is the vast open space of the First Landing Square, marking the point where the colonists that formed Valinon first stepped on Proxima Centauri. The Square is now a sprawling market and open-air statuary muesuem. Surrounding the Square is what could be considered the "Wall Street" of Valinon. It is a vast ring of trading houses, corporate headquarters, and branch offices representing nearly all the magnates, guilds, conglomerates, and corporations of Valinon, as well as corporations from New Ortaga, Taka, Sunset, Knootoss, and the Resi Corporation.
Spreading outward the Commercia becomes a vast entertainment network consisting of all manners of stores, theaters, holoplexes, bars, and other various caterers to individual interests.
The "boundaries" of the Commercia are defined by surrounding city sectors. The western border is formed by the Nundaine River and Imperial Center. The southern by the vast parade ground of the Square of Marshals, the imposing Glockhauner Engelmann Complex, the Konrad Alderman Imperial Aerospace Port, and the Penrod Alderman Imperial Military Academy. The northern boundary is formed by the elegant campus of the Imperial University's main complex. Finally the eastern boundary is formed by the Eastsward Imperial Aerospace Port. Clinging close to the safety of Imperial Center is the brooding edifice of St. Millicent’s Cathedral.

OOC: Now for a few pictures....

http://invisionfree.com:54/129/44/upload/p162.jpg
Commercia Picture

http://invisionfree.com:54/129/44/upload/p159.jpg
Commercia Picture

http://69.57.141.218/237/117/upload/p47.jpg
Picture of the First Landing Square

OOC: they would be looking for popular streets, stadiums, vid screens, anything where a lot of people pass by every day.