A tea party is all fired up in the lounge, where in a darker corner a tall man is sitting on a bench. He looks devoid of all thoughts, staring to a random point on the other side of the room, his view passing through all the colours and the people having a good time.
His face expression was referring to a troubled man, having too much on his mind, and little to no time. He was waiting for someone, which was just entering the lounge...
Takao Hiyashi, employee for Samura Heavy Industries, entered the Lounge on Deshima Station and quickly noticed the man in the corner. Hoping it was the person he was set to meet with, he walked over and introduced himself.
"I'm Takao Hiyashi. Are you the one who wanted to speak with me?" he asked.
Hello, Herr Hiyashi. I suppose it's you... I'm Armin Schultz.
Armin gets off the bench and to handshake, but he's greeted with a bow by Takao.
Let's get down to business... shall we? I suppose Herr Takahashi told you why I've requested a meeting? Well, let me inform you as well.
I have asked the Samura to build a specialized ship hull for me. A resistant one... powered by the largest reactors you have around. I haven't seen it yet, but I was told it's powerful enough to rival a Kusari Naval Forces war ship. All good, having a Battleship hull furbished at my disposal. However, there are two issues at hand. One, I need to be allowed to take it, under it's own power across the border, legally - but this doesn't concerns you.
What do I need, is to get aboard that. Also... what's a battleship that can't fight? I'll need your assistance, mr. Hiyashi, to get the ship outside of the drydock at least, and to get Kusari weaponry on it, at most. If that is not "legally" possible, I know you have connections in Kusari. Please direct me to a private contractor who can... arm the ship for me. Of course... for the right price.
"Ah, yes, I have read that file," Takao Hiyashi said. "The modified engines were a very creative and inspired approach. I believe we're going to use a version of those in our future heavy transports, even. Yokohama really has great engineers."
He continued, "It should be able to fly across the border without any problems legally right now, as it's just the modified transport. If you wanted advanced hull plating, you'd probably have to get that installed at your destination. Samura is happy to sell anyone with correct papers ship hull panels, though you'll need your own engineers."
After handing the man a brochure with the publicly available parts, he said, "Unfortunately, we are unable to help with weapons of any sort. That's beyond our scope. Only the government can deal with them, whether through our new elected officials, the KNF, the State Police, or our various intelligence and security agencies."
"Rumor has it though," Takao rubbed his chin and said, "that the Renzu Corporation's shipyard in Oita does all manner of private work to order. We at Samura are focused on corporate dealings, of course. You may want to speak with them. The modified Big Dragon, which I've taken to calling the Biggest Dragon, is more than structurally stable enough to fly wherever using transport-class weaponry."
Takao Hiyashi bowed again to the potential customer.
Some time later, a third man arrived. He was a tall, thin, elderly man. Looking somewhat skeletal beneath his uniform. There was an air of unease about him, something... uncanny. Perhaps his calm, perhaps the way he moved or looked at people.
"If you will excuse me, there were some delays with the transport. I believe we have business to discuss." He spoke, neither sitting down nor taking tea.
"You want to get a large vessel out of Kusari, is that right?"
He must be Nagoaka Ryoichi, I guess. All right, let's see how this goes. he says to himself, and then goes on...
Mr. Ryoichi, thank you for coming. Yes, there are two things that I would like you to help me with. One of them is... some Kusari heavy batteries and shield, like the ones you're using in super capital ship warfare. Battleship class...
He pauses to catch a deep breath, mustering some courage:
... and that is going to take us to the second, legal concern. This new ship, would indeed fit the "Kusari Battleship" specifications. If I'll try to even take this out of the dry dock, Kusari officials would take that as an affront. Not to mention the "export" issues we'd get at the border stations.
Armin chuckles, catches one more deep breath, then continues:
I need this ship to be considered a "legal" good, packed and ready for export for a natural person... you know. I know... this will be difficult. However, I'm willing to pay you as much as it takes, to get the job done. What do you say? If you agree, name your price...
He leaves the phrase in suspension, waiting for an answer.
"I will name a price. Upwards of One Hundred Million credits, should the endevour be sucessful, however..." He spoke, his words were sharp an his tone comtemptuous.
"However I must speak with a number of people before anything of the sort can be done. I will however, say this: Your ship should be taken to the Oita system and docked at Renzu Corporation's shipyards there for the time being. It is a place outside Kusari's nominal legal jurisdiction..."
The man was quite blunt and matter of fact. He had a disdain for the Kusari State Police, and Chokan Imai especially. Anything to lash out at her... it would be satisfying.
"I will speak with the Kusari Admiralty. There are people there whom I can, talk to." He adjusted his tie, staring back at the other two men. "I can make no promises either way, should it fail my services will be at a reduced charge."
This sounds promising. All right, please relay a bank account. I'll pay 50% in advance, for now. When the ship is going to be considered a legal export over your border, I'll personally transfer the rest."
This went faster than I thought - he said to himself.
While rubbing his chin, he turns towards the Samura spokesman and continues:
Herr Hiyashi, I am in need of your assistance, to move the hull to this Oita system. It's not mapped on our star charts, so we'll need your service here. Can you help?
Takao Hiyashi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You don't have very good maps, do you?" he asked. "I can sell you a copy of the Oita System, uploaded to your neuralnet, if you'd like. I am unable to supply any details about its neighboring systems, however, as even I don't have access to those details."