Welcome to the Tea & Pee Bar at Fortitudine .... enjoy your stay!

[spaceminer]

The bar door opens and a shady figure enters , not tall but ... big built . A dirty warn off coat is spreading brown particles of dust arround while a hood keeps his face in the dark ,a huge cuban is smoking in his mouth emmiting a dim light to the dark veil the stranger calls a face , others look at the stranger in a kinda snoby and disturbed way due to his appearance ...

After making a slow but clear sweep around , the stranger takes a strong puff and those close enough barely notice an evil smile in the shade.
A moment of awkward silence follows as the stranger locks his gaze at one of the habitues of the bar with his back at the door chatting with the barman.As he moves towards him he reaches for his front coat pocket taking out a small piece of a shinny metal that he slaps on the bar right next to the guy's drink , in a clearly provoking way , every one starts to button up for a fight or a fast get the hell out situation ... The guy who is noone else but the director of the BMF company turns to face the stranger waving to the bodyguards to stand down as they already were almost on the stranger ... The hood goes of and a bearded old fart smilling , goes "Dylan you dusty asteroid hunter , seems you lost a bet and i get a drink for free , unless you forgot ..."

Dylan smiles and hit the guy in the solder giving him a hug , looking surprized waving to the barman with two fingers ...
"Anndra what happed we had you for gone man"
"Me too , me too .."and the story goes like that ..
"Well i was on my way to scout the omicrons as we discussed , mission was going smooth i made my way to the deep far system of Omicron Delta . There is a freeport there , freeport 11 , i settled there for a couple of days to make some connections with the locals. After going around a bit i managed to meet a Zoner who was doing some short trading runs around and we agreed to give him a hand with his cargo hauling stuff.I soon found out he was dealing with both Order and Core suppling the first and trading with the other.Made me worry a bit but i kept a low profile hiding my true identity . Then one day i found out that the rumors are not rumors... As we were flying to the next system Omicron Mu i saw the Zoner jumping like he saw the Devil , you know ? Well he did saw the devil , short range scanners were picking a strange reading , and then a blue glowing ship or .. more like creature passed us and dissapeared from our eyes .. Nomads !! he shouted , as we made a run for the closest jump hole we got attacked and the ship was blown next think i remember i woke up in an Order ship that was out hunting Nomads , and things got really south after that , at least for a while ... The first couple of months i spent in an Order ship's brig , interrogated but nothing bad just psycological pressure no physical tortures that i was afraid was on the menu .. The guys are rogue military , and they still have the military ways , so finally they started using drugs to extract information about who i was and what a Bretonian was doing at the Omicrons ... somehow they knew i was Bretonian.. Somehow i don't know how i managed to hold the critical details to myself then they got one thing for sure that i was not any threat to their cause so they released me at freeport 11 , broke and stranger in a strange station never found out what happened to the Zoner by the way .. So i was marooned at freeport 11 that time i made all kind of jobs not all clean ...and had some dealings with the Core too , smuggling stuff around as a freelancer , that got me the money to get back with valuable information , contacts and knowledge of that corner of space. I have been to the Nomads home world once can you believe it man ?...but this is another story to tell i'll put everything in my classified report "

"And why did you not call all this time? You could make an encrypted comm"

"I could but the paramilitary groups there are monitoring everything , i couldn't risk it , mission was always in stake ,,,"
They both roze their drinks , clink , sip and they continue to talk like old friends ....

---

SPACE IS A DARK COLD, GUTS NEEDED, PLACE TO BE

Your signature was eating my mobile data, so I optimized it for you under Rule 2.2. ~ Squad

[Matthews]

Richard Ingham, somewhat nervous after having recieved the invitation to show himself at the bar, slowly walked through the doorway. At first glance he didn't spot who he was looking for. Just to make sure he grabed his PDA and opened up the communique. There it was. He's to introduce himself at Tea&Pee Bar on Fortidune, signed by Dylan Hunt. Richard put away his PDA and walked over to the bar, thinking to himself he might as well have something to cool his nerves while waiting.

"Give me something strong please." He said to the bartender, sat himself down on one of the stools, took another look across the room and waited for someone to show up to take him through the next steppes.

---

[Lord Chaos]

As Dylan ears his board menbers he relises his anger had taken the best of him, calming down he begins to explain himself

Dylan Hunt: "Please gentleman, do not miss understand me, BMF power relies in what it always did, cold hard Sirius Credits

-We will not dirty our hands its already enough that we constantly wipe those Molly's blood out of our cockpit windows every time we have a major mining operation.

-We will pay every head hunter there is in known space to take care of this for us."

Addressing Barba Negra words Dylan feels sad and being so he replies:

Dylan Hunt: "My dear friend, i do understand i might sound in a violent way, but please understand my anger, yes i am willing to spend several billion credits on this issue, and i do understand that your might disagree of this way of doing business and for that you resigning.

But i ratter pay everything from my own private pocket, i ratter have your many skills at the service of BMF than to see you anywhere else, for this i can not accept your resignation my dear friend. "

He then notices Space Miner his old trusted friend

They both rose their drinks , clink , sip and they continue to talk like old friends ....

Dylan Hunt: "I see my friend you have been through a lot."

Then brings Space Miner to the Board Members table.

Dylan Hunt: " See here Barba and Fulgrim, this was the information i was waiting for..."

As the group starts to analyze the information gathered theyr eyes start to open widely..

Dylan Hunt: " Yes my friends it is time for the next step, Barba Negra research always pointed in that direction of space, it is time for the next stage on our Project A New Kind of Power, the time has come for BMF to take a tour around the Omicrons."

He then notices a new face at the Bar, Dylan personally knows every single of his dear pilots, reminding himself of the las communication ansered on his NeroNet PDA...

Dylan Hunt: "Alright gentleman i think we all know what to do, Barba you can contact the Cora in more official channels in ourder to setup our expedition to the Nomad Worlds, Fulgrim, you please get our Bounty Board organized and advertised please, i will stay at Isle of Skye in order to continue Operation Stronghold, speaking of wich i think our newest aplicant has just arrived."

Addressing Richard Ingham, Dylan walks to the newcomer at the Bar:

Dylan Hunt: "Greeting Sir, you must be Mr. Richard, its a pleasure to welcome you to Bretonia Mining and Fabrication
i see you found your way to our cozy Bar, i hope you like money, this is the prime condition to be a BMF..."

The gentleman's then continue the conversation, exchanging detailed information about BMF modus operandi wille zippin their drinks...

No attachments

[Hopewell]

-- Incoming Signal --
-- Video feed --
* ID: Barba Negra
* Location: Isle of Skye
* Subject: Official Empowerment
* Priority : 10

Signal coding complete
Message Beginning:

---

I enter the bar after many years ....

"I walked on Omicron and learned things I would never have imagined i would understand. But this inhospitable territory is very dangerous. So I decided to go back to Breton to learn about some of the changes that have occurred. Changes that don't matter now. I missed you guys. Cpt. Dylan invited me back to the BMF Board. Excited, I accepted the second position in command. However, I was surprised even before I planned my first steps, Cpt. Dylan Hunt abdicated in my favor. I accepted, but I take this opportunity to express the fact that Cpt. Dylan Hunt is officially my 2nd CI. Unless he doesn't want to. I hope he solves his problems and comes back to help us. As you always do with your way of being."

... ah, I return to reality after rambling through these thoughts. The waitress puts before me the tartulínia juice, grown on the recent terraformed Planet Carlisle in Newcastle. A delight. I had already tried it when I was at the Botany facility at Cambridge University. The waitress looked at me strangely, because I took off the beard, which is no longer black and my attir also seemed different, since because of the rejuvenating effects of some drinks among the inhabitants of the Omicrons, which gave me a younger appearance, I thought it best to enjoy the fact and enjoy my new appearance with properties a little, ... Say... a little more ostentatious. Especially for my cape. She liked my cape, and since I don't have a beard anymore, she called me BlackCover. I liked it and I take that nickname from now on.

I'm happy to come back and take the lead in Bretonian, Mining and Fabrication.

May we do a good job from now on.

---

Best regards

Signed:

---

---

SIGNATURE

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"Fighting, yes! Give up, Never !!"

---

[Hopewell]

-- Incoming Signal --
-- Video feed --
* ID: Barba Negra
* Location: Isle of Skye
* Subject: Anxiety
* Priority : 10

Signal coding complete
Message Beginning:

---

I do not know how long i sat here in front of this tasty non-transgenic grape juice, cultivated agrotoxix, that is, completely natural, without any conservative additive or harmful drug to health.

Well, the reason I'm here is the concern with property issues. Some of Bretonia's characters have long since gone and we don't know what happened to them, not even remote news. Reason that some properties have already been dismantled for safety reasons in the Bretonia system.

Cpt. Dilan Hunt is on some secret mission, so I understand he doesn't give us news either.

So Xenon and I, along with some grassroots administrators, are helping each other with their care, always with the valuable help of friend Aligourne, who has been supporting most of the maintenance since the age of time, while we've involved us in political and relationship issues with other companies and even factions.

This last question is that neurons are merging me.

It turns out that a news story has been sent to the administrators of Freeport's, which are OSI-Omicron Supply Industries. I hope it's fake news.

To know the truth, I sent Dr. Jake Frakes, administrator of the SVW-Secret Valley Workshop to ascertain the veracity of this information, because in the absence of Cpt. Dilan Hunt, Bretonia Mining and Fabrication is the legal representative of the Geneva Shipping Platform, based in front of Freport 1, the reason for my misfortune at this time.

The anxiety of information to solve this corrodes the bowels, because the Geneva is very special for The Cpt. Dilan and all of us at BMF.

I know Dr. Frakes still has some bases to visit before he gets to Geneva. Wait.... Here's my fair share.
I can and I will.

But what I do now is finish sianding this delicious natural juice, then returning to the BMF offices at the Isle of Skye in front of Planet New London in Bretonia.

Ayeee ... Gives me the creeps just thinking about the pile of paperwork on my desk!

---

Best regards

Signed:
We can and we will

---

---

SIGNATURE

---

"Fighting, yes! Give up, Never !!"

---

[Lord Chaos]

The doors of the Tea & Pea Bar slid open with a soft hiss, letting in the faint metallic hum of Fortitudine’s corridors. The warm glow of ambient lighting washed over D. Hunt as he stepped inside, momentarily pausing at the threshold. The air was thick with the scent of aged whisky, engine grease, and the ever-present trace of recycled oxygen—a familiar blend that signaled home, or at least, something close to it.

A low murmur of conversation rippled through the bar. A few Knights huddled over steaming cups of tea, their voices rough from days spent in the asteroid fields. Across the room, a table of traders shared laughter over a bottle of wine, their accents a mix of Bretonian and Kusarian twangs. In one corner, a game of cards was in full swing, credits and pride alike at stake.

Hunt exhaled, scanning the room. He nodded to Barba Negra and Jock Stewart, both seated near the bar, their drinks half-finished. A few regulars returned the gesture, but no one called out. They knew him well enough to recognize when he wanted company—and when he preferred the solitude of his thoughts. He moved toward his usual booth, a seat that offered both a commanding view of the room and just enough seclusion for a man who carried the weight of a corporation on his shoulders.

The bartender, ever perceptive, slid a glass of single malt across the table before Hunt could even place an order. He picked it up, swirling the amber liquid before taking a slow sip. The warmth spread through his chest, but it did little to ease the tension that had been gnawing at him for weeks.

The recent volatility in the Dublin system had been a wake-up call. BMF's heavy reliance on gold mining had always been a point of pride, but now it seemed more a vulnerability than a strength. The political tensions, coupled with increasing competition, made it clear that diversification was no longer just a strategy—it was a necessity.

Hunt's thoughts drifted to the Tau systems. Rich in resources and relatively underexplored by Bretonian corporations, the Taus represented both opportunity and challenge. Establishing operations there would require careful negotiation with locals, investment in new infrastructure, and, perhaps most dauntingly, the ability to adapt to a different set of regional dynamics.

He took another sip, the liquid courage fueling his resolve. The Taus could offer access to bountiful resources like niobium and beryllium, minerals essential for various industrial applications. Diversifying into these markets could not only stabilize BMF's revenue streams but also position the company as a more versatile player in the sector.

However, the move wouldn't be without risks. The Taus were known for their share of conflicts and dangers. BMF would need to bolster its security measures and hopefully engage in alliances with other corporations or local entities to ensure safe operations...

Hunt leaned back, the weight of the decision pressing down on him. Yet, amidst the uncertainty, a spark of determination ignited. Diversifying into the Taus wasn't just a strategic move; it was a bold statement that BMF was ready to evolve, to face new challenges head-on, and to secure its legacy for the future.

Finishing his drink, Hunt signaled for another. The path ahead was fraught with challenges, but within the walls of the Tea & Pea Bar, amidst the camaraderie and shared ambitions, he found the resolve to steer BMF toward a new horizon.

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