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May 2023 It's been hectic this last year, but we are alive and celebrating our fifth year of adventure and tales. A lot has been worked on to help make the Monoverse one that everyone can enjoy and explore their story while becoming a part of the greater cosmos. All of you, new and long time players, stay safe, and see you in the Sea of Stars!
"Foreign Visitors are to report to processing for Passp-, Apologies, The Sangheili Representatives have been pre-approved and are to be directed to the Forge Mercantile local branch offices, please follow me"
The mechanical attendant met the dignitaries in the hangar with a fluid bow and led them over to a parked personal transport. The fit would be rather snug, as the cabin was designed with Orcs in mind rather than 8ft. saurians, but well cushioned. Tapping at the controls, the attendant gave a basic tour summary to fill the minutes of silence.
"Gateway station is approximately 25 kilometers in diameter when including the docking spurs, the central hub itself is 15 kilometers in diameter with a 5 kilometer wide open parkway down the center. Lengthwise, the station runs 40 kilometers. Public access tramways facilitate transport over long distances, but airspace can be reserved for priority transport. I would recommend visiting the Bazaar district, but it appears that you will have other priorities. Please follow the instructions of any security personnel if they speak to you, failure to do so may result in denial of entry into the country. Please enjoy your stay."
It was apparent that the attendant was just slightly modifying and shortening a standardized script, colours flashed by the windows of the craft too fast for anything to be made out. In all, it only took a couple minutes, with the doors opening on the last sentence. A Corporate attaché quickly approached and flashed a professional smile.
"Right this way please, the meeting room is ready"
----- When Alan heard of the arrival of the representatives, he straightened up, wiped his brow with a cloth and put on his best business smile. The Orcish priest, Elven intelligence agent, and Dwarven Honourguard continued to sit but did turn to look at the door.
"Alan Merwic at your service, I hope we can reach a mutually beneficial arrangement today."
A number of minutes would pass in relative silence as the Kaidon and his honor guard stepped into the personal transport, awkwardly fitting in and sitting before it started moving. Little attention was paid to the automated attendant as the vehicle moved - while the Kaidon appeared to be at least somewhat listening the guards would have their attention elsewhere, mostly looking out the windows at the station quickly passed them by. As the vehicle finally came to a stop and the saurians stepped out onto the station's deck again the Kaidon's eyes would fix onto another individual, flesh and blood, who would approach and begin to lead the group to the designated meeting room.
On stepping into the room the Kaidon was quick to note they weren't the only ones there. While he did not recognize the human at a glance he could only assume they were the designated negotiator.... although that left the matter of the other individuals, all of different but otherwise similar looking species save the green one's skin tone and heavier facial features. The Kaidon wasn't necessarily thrilled by the presence of individuals who were clearly either bystanders or observers - different words for meddlers and outside interference so far as he was concerned - but the human's voice would immediately clue the Sangheili into who the human was as they began speaking.
"That would be the intent. It is not a short journey between our territories and your own. In light of that I've been authorized to negotiate on behalf of the Nation States, although I'll admit we had not anticipated needing to do so beyond the initial payment for the survey data." 'Chaura said, coming to stand at the end of the table opposite Merwic, his honor guard stopping short to wait a handful of meters behind him.
Findings: Roll 1: Multiple Iron/Nickel Asteroids. Roll 2: Carbonaceuous asteroids. Roll 3: Planetary system (4 rocky planets, 4 Surveyed), asteroid belt with multiple Iron/Nickel metallic bodies detected. Roll 4: Planetary system. (3 rocky planets, 2 primordial garden worlds, 2 gas giants, all surveyed), 2 asteroid belts.
Merwic was a little taken aback once he actually processed how tall the Sangheili were in person, the primers he'd read were one thing but it was another to see them in flesh and blood. He flicked a glance over to the observers before he looked back at the Kaidon.
"I'll get straight to the point, my company wants to extract and refine the resources uncovered by the recent surveys for your people in exchange for various goods your culture produces. Things such as luxuries, foodstuffs, organic materials, licensing for literature and other media, etc."
He fished out a tablet from his satchel, loaded with publicly available documentation on the various mining techniques and procedures currently in use by Forge and other imperial companies/projects, including the Muspelheim Starlifter.
"We have gotten permission from our government to leverage otherwise restricted technology and personnel, any mining outposts will be subject to your laws and protection, any seizure of technology or law-abiding personnel without permission will result in termination of trade relations. Your people pick what sites we exploit, and you pay us in goods. The exact specifics of logistics will be handled in a joint fashion, but we will cover costs for hiring Galactic Railways to carry our payment from the outposts to market."
He could feel the gaze of his government's representatives, they were silent but he could tell they were taking mental notes on everything.
"The goal is simple, establishment of positive trade relations, mutual profit, a foot in the door. If you have questions I'd be happy to answer if I can."
'Chaura remained silent as Merwic spoke, carefully attentive as the man laid out the terms and stipulations that the Zarans and their respective companies involved in this venture were willing to agree to and work under. On paper and in theory it covered most of the potential concerns one might levy against such a joint venture, leaving almost all of the control within Sangheili hands and largely eliminating the concerns of potential theft of restricted technologies. Almost. It would not have been the first time that such a bargain was struck, though, and it wasn't so long ago that his people had openly agreed to such cooperation with humanity in the Joint Occupied worlds only to deal with actions of those who thought the trade offs were worth the risk... or who simply did not care about the penalties that other individuals might pay in their stead. Rogue actors who the state had no control over, claimed or otherwise.
As well intentioned and open as Merwic's proposed deal may have been.... 'Chaura's eyes would briefly turn to the observers who had likewise remained silent during all of this, watching from the sidelines.
"And what of those who may see such penalties as a worthy risk? Rogue individuals who either seek to enrich themselves or who would believe the loss of someone else's fortune a worthy price to pay for their prizes? This would not be the first such instance where a similar bargain had been struck, and we cannot screen each and every foreign individual potentially involved in efforts on this scale." 'Chaura asked, gaze turning to settle on Merwic again.
Findings: Roll 1: Multiple Iron/Nickel Asteroids. Roll 2: Carbonaceuous asteroids. Roll 3: Planetary system (4 rocky planets, 4 Surveyed), asteroid belt with multiple Iron/Nickel metallic bodies detected. Roll 4: Planetary system. (3 rocky planets, 2 primordial garden worlds, 2 gas giants, all surveyed), 2 asteroid belts.
The Dwarf would speak up first, to the startlement and displeasure of the other observers.
"In old old days, bandits were reviled by all, and the law of tha land was what reigned. If they're in your territory, they're under your laws, your punishments. Ma Lord'll personally order their delivery if necessary, assuming that they make it back here in tha first place."
He gave a pointed look at first the intelligence agent, and then Merwic. The corporate representative nodded with a slightly nervous smile, but the elf's face remained a mask. The Priest wore a scowl, but nodded in agreement with what was said.
"Ah- yes, the Honourguard is correct, we would simply ask that you send us a complete copy of your laws, our lawyers will parse them out and then educate enforcers and any who go to work in your territory. To be quite frank, we've seen the reports of your military capabilities, and will do our utmost to maintain an above-board relationship. Any technology we attain from your people will be gotten through legitimate means, or returned along with the thieves in question. It is the same we would demand of those we allow to work within our territory. Exact details of a proper extradition treaty are best left to the lawyers, I'm a businessman, but I can guarantee that both parties will be satisfied with the terms."
Merwic hadn't read the entire report, it was a very long read, centuries of history just in the public records alone, but he'd read enough to know that a war with the Sangheili would not be one the empire could win, and they'd be on a slow march to oblivion unless the Flagships could escape to restart in some hidden corner of the galaxy. Better to make business with the giant, and avoid pissing it off in the process.
The terms offered seemed legitimate as 'Chaura finally reached for the tablet that Merwic had offered, beginning to peruse the translated text on the device clearly meant for hands smaller than his own. Legitimate, but almost too reasonable, and that in and of itself left the Kaidon wary. Perhaps unfairly so, but it was.... rare, bluntly put, for his people not to have violence or subterfuge involved in their first dealings with another foreign entity. Much of that had been his own peoples' doing over the last several millennia. He would not deny that. First a result of their isolationist policies, a refusal to bow to outside powers and religious fundamentalism. Then of their blind obedience and fervor, believing they were enacting the will of their gods in following the Covenant's imperialistic ambitions. But after that point... the waters were muddied. Individuals they had believed allies had proven fractured at their core, with individual elements more than willing to see and actively work towards the extinction of his entire people for their own selfish gain. Plans that never came to light and were only learned of centuries after the fact... but for the Sangheili that was but a generation or two.
And it did not escape 'Chaura's notice that the three state representatives observing from the sidelines were similarly not a monolith, one of them openly scowling at the words of their contemporary attempting to reassure the Sangheili delegation. The religious element, judging by their clothing with comparison to the others?
He had heard of their missionaries within the Federation. Some paid them little mind as their proselytizing seemed to be quiet and amount to little more than spoken word, but to have an individual within the religion on equal standing to their military and state functionaries?
They would bear watching.
"... our laws differ greatly by state and world, as do many of our traditions. However... those that apply to outsiders and our territories as whole can indeed be provided to you." 'Chaura started again, reptilian eyes shifting back from the Kaidon's glance to the state representatives and back to Merwic ahead of him. The note of extradition was not a word unfamiliar to the Kaidon, albeit it was only within an academic sense. Oath Wardens generally operated with little care for the boundaries of individual Keeps or clans, but it was for that very reason that many still looked down upon the profession. It was what made them effective to be sure, but that loyalty to only the word of law without consideration for local authority, tradition or even the old ideas of honorable warfare and confrontation made them... unpredictable, and distasteful to many.
In some ways he could understand the idea of the Zaran Empire wishing to apprehend those who might flee back to their borders by their own hand. He couldn't fault them for it. But as much as they might have been reviled by some the Kaidon knew that many would balk at the idea of the Oath Wardens not being able to fulfill their role, with many having gone as far as registering within the Federation Hunters simply to ensure they could chase their prey among even the Galactic Federation's worlds if the need arose.
"In broad terms your conditions appear acceptable. We will have a number of our Seneschals see to the legal and logistical details while we secure the systems you've surveyed and prepare operational logistics on your end of the arrangement."
Findings: Roll 1: Multiple Iron/Nickel Asteroids. Roll 2: Carbonaceuous asteroids. Roll 3: Planetary system (4 rocky planets, 4 Surveyed), asteroid belt with multiple Iron/Nickel metallic bodies detected. Roll 4: Planetary system. (3 rocky planets, 2 primordial garden worlds, 2 gas giants, all surveyed), 2 asteroid belts.
Hearing the Kaidon's positive response to the offered terms made a wave of relief wash over Merwic, as he had banked his career on this venture. The gamble seemed to be paying off and his upward momentum seemed to be continuing unabated. The comments regarding sangheili laws being different depending on location were unsurprising, as that seemed to be the standard for most societies, including his own.
"We're no strangers to local laws differing from place to place, every day there's stories of tourists ending up spending some nights in custody over local ordinances they neglected to read up on. I assure you that the standards for educating our workers entering your territory will be uncompromising, can't have anyone jeopardize our contracts over something so trivial as some lessons."
Wiping a little sweat from his brow with a handkerchief he realized that he essentially had two pathways ahead of him, he could try to leverage this to continue climbing, or he could pull some strings to be assigned as the manager for the operations in 'Sang Space'. Both were enticing, either way he'd be looking at sizable gains.
"Ahem, right, we can begin assembling a flotilla as soon as the paperwork is finalized, we'll forward the details as soon as they're ready. We'll likely contract Galrails to facilitate the longer part of the trek. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask, or consider yourselves invited to peruse the bazaar, I'll personally cover the costs of your stay on our station."
He internally winced at his last words, but his bank account would recover very quickly, a small price to pay for squeezing a bit more PR from this. And it was entirely possible that they wouldn't take him up on that offer, from all reports they were almost ascetic, at least in comparison to many other societies.