Post by EmperorMyric on Feb 8, 2022 11:14:20 GMT
Fidun District: Lost Star
The coffee was warm. That was at least a good start.
The café was small, and it was quiet. He liked that. It made it much easier to both conduct business and to enjoy himself, silence was a blessing and crowds of people always put him in a bad mood. Swilling the coffee around he found himself wishing he had chosen a bar instead to conduct this situation.
Still, he was here now, a man dressed in extravagant clothing sitting on some metal chairs out in the open on Lost Star. The area was quite empty anyway, it was in the middle of the night cycle and everywhere was closed, so he had made the owner open for the meeting. The mans blank face staring out from the counter for whenever Dib ordered another drink. His two guards were nearby observing proceedings, he didn’t need them this time to intimidate.
This time he had been contacted regarding an arrangement.
How exciting! Normally it was him doing it the other way round, he positively jumped at the chance of being the one to negotiate.
He merely waited, of course he didn’t like it when others were late but he took another sip of the coffee, crossed his legs and stroked the fur on his suit as he stared down the mostly dark road for the arrival of his negotiator.
A figure came into the small cafe, trailing a spooky mist inside. More like a spectre than a man, floating and not walking. A personal project of Grand Admiral Ritzal; The Voice. A half biological AI to serve as the Empire's voice in the incoming wars. To risky is it to send a single Tranatonian. This AI serves as both a much more durable platform, and additionally as a way to not compromise agents. It appeared to be a slightly cloaked man floating a few inches above the ground. A closer look revealed under the hood was some sort of glass 'visor' that was blacked out. Under the cloak, and even amongst it's arm hanging loosely in the flowing thick fabric was wires. Not small ones, but large prehensile ones swishing about in every direction. They were weapons, and they were uplinks. The AI was the pinnacle of Tranatonian engineering, having every conceivable system they could fit into it. Ingrained weaponry, emergency nanite repair systems, hacking capabilities, recon drones, and most of all adaptability.
The figure floated over to the table, and took a seat. Fog slowly seeping out from under the cloak. It's voice was harsh on the ears, mechanical, and most of all spooky. The glass face flickered to life showing a red emblem of the Tranatonian Empire. In fact the first time any had seen the nations flag since their arrival in Ancerious. Then a voice spoke, not the specters own, but a slightly feminine but still... reptilian tone to it. The tongue was harsh, like Galactic Basic wasn't easy to speak.
"A message, listen do not speak."
"The Tranatonian Empire has been watching your efforts, while behind the scenes we can identify operations similar to our own. The Tranatonian Empire has no interest in competition with you, but an alliance. I will make myself clear. I do not vow myself to you, nor do I expect you to do the same to us. We understand that our self interest comes first. And currently I think said interests are mutual. Galactic Instability, the shut down of the Golden Expanse, and so on align with our goals. My first and foremost priority is keeping the Empire isolated, and hidden. I am sure you emphasize. We may be enemies in the future, maybe allies again? I am loyal to our mutual interests, and currently those align. When they do not anymore do not expect us to aid you.... My voice will iron out the details. This was pre-recorded."
The red emblem flickered away the harsh voice piping up again.
"What say you?"
"What a bombastic demand" Dib smiled.
"I imagined a nation which wanted to contact us would appear and negotiate with a bit more pomp and bluster, put on a show to try intimidate us into thinking they know what they know. But here we are" He laid back on the chair and took another sip of coffee.
"I suppose we cant always have something exciting." He was quite impressed at the frankness of the offer, but also amazed at the arrogance. The Tranatonian Empire had already appeared on his associates watch, information had been gathered, other information leaked purposefully. If it wasn't for a possible mutual beneficial arrangement, they wouldn't have been meeting here, and teams would already be on the move. It was a spicey situation and one that Dib at least enjoyed. Not everyone went out of their way to contact the Ghosts of the Tradex.
"We have watched your efforts as well. I am surprised that your goals align so much to ask but I know better than to ask questions that I myself would never answer. How intriguing. I accept your offer, and I suggest you move more assets into the Aedleshaven corridor in the next few weeks. More than you currently have, you are going to need them" He smiled.
"Oh and a quick warning to take back as well" He licked his lips.
"Don't try to delve into our affairs, it is much more beneficial to those who wish to continue to live. We will operate alongside you, but we will do so at times and moments of our choosing"
The voice was harsh on the ears, the same. The recorded voice long gone. It had only the singular message. "We have little concern in your affairs, and expect the same curtesy. The Empire does not want a war with you, but if we are pushed we will. We will not step on your networks, so long as you do the same. I will send word for more assets. The Ghosts of Tradex are elusive to contact, as are we. Thus we have moved one of our assets here. Port Nowhere will stand as our meeting ground in the future. So neither of us have to step on each others toes" The figure reached into it's cloak, and pulled out a small datapad giving coordinates.
Port Nowhere was likely on the Unnamed's radar anyways. Maybe they even knew where it was already. A decoy, a myth. It was nothing more than a tiny relay station largely disconnected from Tranatonian networks but served as an isolated meeting spot.
The Empires Voice leaned in slightly, the screen that was it's face giving a sharp distorted flicker. "Are these terms acceptable?"
"Port Nowhere Hmm? I see, very inventive name." Dib reached over to take the datapad very delicately, knowing full well they had at least some idea where it was. This new nation was very interesting indeed. His associates would be very much eager to learn more about them, competition was rare, but it was also dangerous. And anything dangerous had to be corralled.
"The terms are very much acceptable. I am sure with us both working towards a common goal there will not be much which could stop us." He swilled the coffee once more.
"I guess we will find out in the coming weeks. Will that be all?" Dib asked staring up from the table and looking into the artificial night sky.
The coffee was warm. That was at least a good start.
The café was small, and it was quiet. He liked that. It made it much easier to both conduct business and to enjoy himself, silence was a blessing and crowds of people always put him in a bad mood. Swilling the coffee around he found himself wishing he had chosen a bar instead to conduct this situation.
Still, he was here now, a man dressed in extravagant clothing sitting on some metal chairs out in the open on Lost Star. The area was quite empty anyway, it was in the middle of the night cycle and everywhere was closed, so he had made the owner open for the meeting. The mans blank face staring out from the counter for whenever Dib ordered another drink. His two guards were nearby observing proceedings, he didn’t need them this time to intimidate.
This time he had been contacted regarding an arrangement.
How exciting! Normally it was him doing it the other way round, he positively jumped at the chance of being the one to negotiate.
He merely waited, of course he didn’t like it when others were late but he took another sip of the coffee, crossed his legs and stroked the fur on his suit as he stared down the mostly dark road for the arrival of his negotiator.
A figure came into the small cafe, trailing a spooky mist inside. More like a spectre than a man, floating and not walking. A personal project of Grand Admiral Ritzal; The Voice. A half biological AI to serve as the Empire's voice in the incoming wars. To risky is it to send a single Tranatonian. This AI serves as both a much more durable platform, and additionally as a way to not compromise agents. It appeared to be a slightly cloaked man floating a few inches above the ground. A closer look revealed under the hood was some sort of glass 'visor' that was blacked out. Under the cloak, and even amongst it's arm hanging loosely in the flowing thick fabric was wires. Not small ones, but large prehensile ones swishing about in every direction. They were weapons, and they were uplinks. The AI was the pinnacle of Tranatonian engineering, having every conceivable system they could fit into it. Ingrained weaponry, emergency nanite repair systems, hacking capabilities, recon drones, and most of all adaptability.
The figure floated over to the table, and took a seat. Fog slowly seeping out from under the cloak. It's voice was harsh on the ears, mechanical, and most of all spooky. The glass face flickered to life showing a red emblem of the Tranatonian Empire. In fact the first time any had seen the nations flag since their arrival in Ancerious. Then a voice spoke, not the specters own, but a slightly feminine but still... reptilian tone to it. The tongue was harsh, like Galactic Basic wasn't easy to speak.
"A message, listen do not speak."
"The Tranatonian Empire has been watching your efforts, while behind the scenes we can identify operations similar to our own. The Tranatonian Empire has no interest in competition with you, but an alliance. I will make myself clear. I do not vow myself to you, nor do I expect you to do the same to us. We understand that our self interest comes first. And currently I think said interests are mutual. Galactic Instability, the shut down of the Golden Expanse, and so on align with our goals. My first and foremost priority is keeping the Empire isolated, and hidden. I am sure you emphasize. We may be enemies in the future, maybe allies again? I am loyal to our mutual interests, and currently those align. When they do not anymore do not expect us to aid you.... My voice will iron out the details. This was pre-recorded."
The red emblem flickered away the harsh voice piping up again.
"What say you?"
"What a bombastic demand" Dib smiled.
"I imagined a nation which wanted to contact us would appear and negotiate with a bit more pomp and bluster, put on a show to try intimidate us into thinking they know what they know. But here we are" He laid back on the chair and took another sip of coffee.
"I suppose we cant always have something exciting." He was quite impressed at the frankness of the offer, but also amazed at the arrogance. The Tranatonian Empire had already appeared on his associates watch, information had been gathered, other information leaked purposefully. If it wasn't for a possible mutual beneficial arrangement, they wouldn't have been meeting here, and teams would already be on the move. It was a spicey situation and one that Dib at least enjoyed. Not everyone went out of their way to contact the Ghosts of the Tradex.
"We have watched your efforts as well. I am surprised that your goals align so much to ask but I know better than to ask questions that I myself would never answer. How intriguing. I accept your offer, and I suggest you move more assets into the Aedleshaven corridor in the next few weeks. More than you currently have, you are going to need them" He smiled.
"Oh and a quick warning to take back as well" He licked his lips.
"Don't try to delve into our affairs, it is much more beneficial to those who wish to continue to live. We will operate alongside you, but we will do so at times and moments of our choosing"
The voice was harsh on the ears, the same. The recorded voice long gone. It had only the singular message. "We have little concern in your affairs, and expect the same curtesy. The Empire does not want a war with you, but if we are pushed we will. We will not step on your networks, so long as you do the same. I will send word for more assets. The Ghosts of Tradex are elusive to contact, as are we. Thus we have moved one of our assets here. Port Nowhere will stand as our meeting ground in the future. So neither of us have to step on each others toes" The figure reached into it's cloak, and pulled out a small datapad giving coordinates.
Port Nowhere was likely on the Unnamed's radar anyways. Maybe they even knew where it was already. A decoy, a myth. It was nothing more than a tiny relay station largely disconnected from Tranatonian networks but served as an isolated meeting spot.
The Empires Voice leaned in slightly, the screen that was it's face giving a sharp distorted flicker. "Are these terms acceptable?"
"Port Nowhere Hmm? I see, very inventive name." Dib reached over to take the datapad very delicately, knowing full well they had at least some idea where it was. This new nation was very interesting indeed. His associates would be very much eager to learn more about them, competition was rare, but it was also dangerous. And anything dangerous had to be corralled.
"The terms are very much acceptable. I am sure with us both working towards a common goal there will not be much which could stop us." He swilled the coffee once more.
"I guess we will find out in the coming weeks. Will that be all?" Dib asked staring up from the table and looking into the artificial night sky.