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+--- Thread: The Zoner Meeting (/showthread.php?tid=73707)
The Zoner Meeting - moebus - 02-04-2012
Good day,
Thank you for your hospitality. (Dankien pours himself a glass of water)
Before we begin I would like to share some recent news from the omicrons.
(Dankien waits for the OSI representent).
The Zoner Meeting - Doc Holliday - 02-04-2012
Doc turned around after Dankien poured his drink. The look on his face was not a happy one.
"I see Mr. Caudill isn't here yet," he said. "With all due respect, Mr. Moebus, I know enough of what's going on in the Omicrons. I hear scattered reports of Zoner transports either being re-routed to Corsair bases, being shot down or turned back....."
He went silent for a moment and then bellowed, "then I see stuff like thisacross my datapad! I purposely stayed out of those areas."
He then just snorted a bit, "and now a representative of a group that has left the building is here. I appreciate your arrival but it's Mr. Caudill that will be my biggest help at this point."
He stopped, burying what he was going to say next about OSI supplying the Gallic Royals and their discrediting him. He then chuckled and put on a condescending smile, "Amazing. The Corsairs viewed the ZA as a failure but now they want us to re-form.....in a way."
Doc then poured himself a glass of brandy and held it up to toast, "Here's to the closing of Corfu, Freeports 9 and 5 which is what I will propose or their scuttling altogether." He shot the drink down and again became angry, "I'll be damned if a group of pirates will tell me what to do when I don't even live there."
He then paused and added, "Oh, did I mention? I want them out of Omega 49 along with Port Jackson? If we close to one, we close to all!"
Figuring he had intimidated Mr. Moebus enough, he turned back to the window.
The Zoner Meeting - moebus - 02-04-2012
(Dankien thinks this will not be a peace of cake, and that he can't remember to have seen Doc so upset)
I meant, the situation in omicron-74 is very confused. Some of our colony ships have left and I don't know who is still there. I know that the fleet directly under my command has not left but I don't know much.
Also, it was not official at all so it must not exit from this room, but a discussion was going between me and 2 corsairs leaders in order to find an agreement to solve the issue between Freeport 9 administration and corsairs. And I can tell the discussion was going right.
Of course now with the new corsairs ultimatum I fear that all these efforts are lost.
Closing the o-theta and O-5 bases would be a solution for the short term, but it would be an economic suicide on the long term.
Actually, it is becoming hard to take a decision.
The Zoner Meeting - Doc Holliday - 02-05-2012
Doc turned back to Dankien, "Economic suicide....." as he softly bobbed his head, "closing that rock called Freeport 5 wouldn't be. I sometimes wonder why I had Med.Force.One go to save it after the Joker's bombing.
Corfu? We can easily have the Fearless moved to either to Baffin or Lividia or both." He snorted, "Corsairs taxing us in Theta....kind of defeats the purpose of us having assets there anyway. They need goods, not credits."
He then looked at his datapad and nodded, "I see Ambassador Triton is doing a fine job."
He then looked back to Dankien with a look of approval, "You seem to be the only one who cares based on the fact that you were the only one to show. I need a man like you."
He then stated, "My idea stands. Close those bases or scuttle them. As a late Molly leader once told me, neutrality isn't giving something to all, it's giving nothing to anyone. Maybe he was right."
The Zoner Meeting - moebus - 02-05-2012
Dankien checks the news.
"mmm ... Mr. Triton is wise to lockdown our stations during the negotiations. I guess it will low the tenses. However, I think accepting immediatly the soveirgnty of corsairs over omega-5 and omicron-theta systems is compromissing for the incomming negotiations.
As far I know, the main issue with corsairs in these systems is that people may use our bases to attack corsairs in omicron-gamma. I think the Molly leader you quoted is right: neutrality means the same rules for all.
Before the omicroners left, I was working on a solution that would promote the peaceful usage of our bases and that could be applied in any freeport without banning all the ennemies of the near-by governments. The idea was to ban those who would use our bases to attack corsairs in omicron-gamma, and this ban would have been based on evidences.
Because such evidences are hard to gather I've ordered my staff to work on a technological device that would track the activity of all ships in the omicron-omega region. Yesterday the engineers on Livadia told me that 2 of these devices were operational and ready to be implemented in Corfu and Freeport 9. With such devices we would be able to monitore who is docking and undocking from Corfu and Freeport 9 and where he goes.
So, an agreement with corsairs could be that we ban people raiding gamma based on evidences provided by corsairs and by the tracking device. The advantage of this solution is to ban only those who woul be really abusing of our hospitality and not all corsairs enemies by default. Also, if our bases are used by people attacking Planet Kurile or Atka research station, we would be able to see it too. Therefore the new zoner rule would not be corsairs oriented and this would preserve our neutrality.
Also, is the representent of OSI coming or what?
The Zoner Meeting - Dourden4 - 02-07-2012
Duncan hurries into the estate, stopping only to get directions, and proceeds directly to the meeting. Entering the room, he looks upon the obviously irritated face of Doc and the face of Dankien. He holds an hand up in quick greeting, and speaks.
"Im Duncan Stow, and while i dont believe i've met either of you, pleasantries will have to wait. Gabriel has come down with sudden illness and sends his regards and regrets for being unable to attend. I apologize for the delay gentlemen."
Duncan sits in an available chair.
"So, Can you gentlemen catch me up with anything thats been discussed? Or am I not that late?"
Duncan waits patiently for a reply
The Zoner Meeting - Doc Holliday - 02-07-2012
Doc looked at Mr. Stow rather annoyed but still greeted him.
"Better late than never, Mr. Stow. Mr. Stow, this is Dankien Moebus and yes, I will fill you in on things," explained Doc.
"Mr. Stow, I think you know what's going on in the Omicrons right now. It seems that the administrators of Freeports 5 and 9 and that of Corfu can't stop various parties from staging attacks into Omicron Gamma. Now, cries of war are being issued, cries that I cannot and will not stand for. While I appreciate Mr. Moebus being here, it is you and I, Mr. Stow, that can deal with this once and for all."
He took a drink and continued, "Since the said administrators can't stop it then I propose one of two things. Close those 3 bases to Zoners only OR scuttle them all together. Mr. Moebus feels it would be economic suicide. Well, Freeport 5 produces nothing and is in constant need of medicines due to the radiation of the system and Freeport 9 needs goods as well. I don't see their closures to non-Zoners as economic suicide.
Corfu? Move the Fearless to either Lividia shipyard or Pueblo Bonita in Baffin and we can easily close that base or even take the reason away why people go there."
He paused a moment, "So, Mr. Stow, what do you think? Might I remind you, doing nothing is not an option and I'm getting tired of writing out death certificates over childish actions in the Omicrons."
The Zoner Meeting - Trogdor - 02-07-2012
(Likely unnoticed by the men meeting on the surface below, a Nephilim coasts into a defensive position overlooking Gran Canaria's docking facilities, slowing to a halt. It is the Burninator. Captain Trogdor heard of the coming meeting and made preparations to provide security. The journey through the asteroid fields between Omega 3 and 49 is never a pleasant one, but the captain knew that Omega 49 had little Zoner Guard presence, and the meeting of several important Zoner personnel in one place could pose a tempting target for the Corsairs.
He had not been invited, but men wiser in the ways of diplomacy than he were about to decide the immediate future of the Zoners. And so the Burninator settles in, eyes on the skies, and the stars.)
The Zoner Meeting - Dourden4 - 02-07-2012
Duncan hangs his head back in thought for a moment, his hands held before his face.
"Yes, I have heard quite a bit concerning the situation in the Omicrons and I agree it is high time something is done to solve this. Now OSI being a trade corporation, we would never endorse nor participate in any hostile actions, for any reason but to defend our own assets. While i agree with you that making those bases Zoner docking only would not be economic suicide, such a move would cause a degree of hardship for the residents of those stations. Is this a time when the needs of many will overrule the few? I also wouldn't really agree with a call to scuttle them, if only for the fact that Freeports 5 and 9 serve as good waystations in the journey out to Freeport 11. Remove those stations and with the exception of the stations in 0-74, which i've found to not be outfitted with the greatest amenities, that trip becomes far longer and more dangerous. Corfu...i'll be honest, I've never had need to travel there and if the fearless is the only reason that base operates then perhaps it is time that base closes. It seems we have other facilities that would better be able to handle Fearless production than Corfu. I say moving the fearless to other facilities and closing the base seems the best option."
Duncan pauses for a moment
"Preferably, I would like to find another solution concerning Freeports 9 and 5. One that would keep them open for trade. But how to prevent these groups from basing from the freeports?"
The Zoner Meeting - Trogdor - 02-07-2012
(The Captain was right. The corsairs would try something that day. As the ship's crew monitored and inspected a light Zoner trade convoy approaching Gran Canaria's docking ring and mooring fixtures, a wing of a dozen Centurion fighters approached from the nearby Barrier Nebula. They moved in quickly, and before the Captain even had a chance to finish hailing them, they had already set about demanding cargo from the Zoner Dromedary. Right in front of Gran Canaria and the Nephilim guarding it.
The Zoners must have felt that the Burninator would have been able to dissuade or protect them from the larger force, because they immediately refuted the corsairs' demands. Sadly, they were mistaken. The ships were too closely packed. They could not open fire without also showering both the friendly ships and the docking ring. And so the ships were lost, as the corsairs, in their arrogant and blatant disregard for the elephant in the room, pounced upon them. Three Zoner ships were torn asunder in a matter of moments, while the rest of their escort quickly flew towards the safety of the Nephilim.
All was not lost, however, as while the ships were lost, the crew was not. The Burninator precisely plucked escape pods from the burning wreckage before they could fall into the planet's gravitational well, be captured by the corsairs, or be caught in the hail of blaster fire that was to follow. While this was going on, the docking ring's computer automatically powered up its defensive turrets, and by the time the last pod was tractored into the capital ship's hold, the corsairs were spraying plasma at the docking facilities and the planet's atmosphere in a seemingly drunken rampage.)
http://i43.tinypic.com/xojgiv.jpg
(The Captain did not know, at this point, whether the corsairs were after the Doc and his guests. Nor did he care. Corsair plasma was taking small chunks out of the docking structures and streaking through the heavens above Gran Canaria. This would not stand. The captain watched as the majority of the attackers condensed into a ball of spacefaring rubbish, and ordered their elimination. The Solaris Gatling turrets on the port side of the ship showered the tightly-grouped fighters, stripping away large portions of many of their shields, and getting their attention in short order.)
http://i43.tinypic.com/2z72ayr.jpg
(In an astonishing display of ignorance, the raiding party actually thought they could take down a fully armed Nephilim. The Burninator pulled away, drawing the engagement away from the planet. She banked left and right, partially avoiding some of the blaster fire, wary that some of the fighters may have mounted torpedoes. As the somewhat-nimble heavy fighters darted in to attack and out to evade, the Captain and his gunnery crew were unfazed, ignoring targets that fled and switching to those advancing. One by one, a hail of concentrated gatling fire shredded each and every Centurion.)
http://i44.tinypic.com/9hq8g7.jpg
(Finally, the dust had settled, and the last corsair ship disassembled. The captain ordered the helm back into position and left the bridge in the hands of the first officer while he descended to the cargo hold. He inspected what they had hauled in: Three Zoners, some damaged weapons, and five corsairs. The Zoners were already being carefully extracted from their life pods and lifted onto stretchers by the ship's medical staff, in preparation to be moved to sick bay. The Captain nodded a carry-on, and continued toward the corsair pods, drawing his personal sidearm from the holster at its hip. He considered interrogating them during the elevator trip down to the hold, but after seeing his fellow Zoners loaded onto stretchers, blood soaked into their uniforms, he no longer cared. Each corsair pod was kicked open, its occupant barely able to utter a sound before being shot below the belt. The plasma-hot end of the barrel was then jammed into a wincing eye socket before he delivered to each corsair the death they claim comes so naturally to them.
He returned to the bridge, resuming the day's vigil, silently wondering what the Doc hoped to accomplish in words with an adversary who had grown so arrogant and bold in the absence of unified Zoner leadership.)