To - Freeport 53 Administrators - From XA Logistics (ENCRYPTED)

[|nfrared]

Hey there,
My name is Jimmy, and I come forward with an... Idea.

For some time now The Xeno Alliance have been watching with interest as Freeport 53 flourishes under our protection. While my very patriotic companions are more combat focused, I am of a more logistical mind. And I come with a small proposition that may aid both parties.

The Free Republic has a habit of seizing raw ore from foreign transports, but sadly these spoils never make it back to a base, instead usually jettisoned into the void or destroyed in front of the affected parties. This could change however, if there was a handy ore smelter nearby, hmmm? It could be quite profitable to all concerned if there was a way to smelt those ores into processed and more readily salable ingots.

I'm asking that you consider adding such a module to your station, for the benefit of both parties.

There are also a small number of Xenos such as myself who are still mining, and if I had somewhere convenient to bring mined Copper Ore for a reasonable payout I could do it regularly and perhaps coax others to do the same.

There is no threat implied or otherwise behind this request, and as I am a lowly Volunteer amongst the LFR my influence is limited. I simply present a profitable idea.... Let me know what you think of it.

End Transmission.

---

Shard - The Faceless One

[Midnight Princess]

-opening transmission-
-source: Freeport 53-
-subject: Smelting-

Hey Jimmy, I'm Sam Shel, I run logistics at fifty-three. And by "running logistics" I mostly mean I try to make sure the crates in the warehouse don't fall on someone's head.

We've got a good deal of storage at the port, more than we really need, so setting up a smelter should be doable in terms of space. What we don't really have though is people who know anything about, well, that. If you've got any metalworkers looking for a job, we might be able to set something up.

Now, I'll try to run some numbers, but it's pretty hard to estimate if this'll work out, input-output wise. Ore foundries are usually big, specialized installations with heavy corporate manpower and cash backing them. Whatever we'll be doing here is going to be modest in comparison, so I have some doubts that the numbers will add up.

But business has been going well enough, so maybe it's not a bad idea to try out an investment. Color us interested.

- Shel

[Midnight Princess]

-opening transmission-
-source: Freeport 53-
-subject: Smelting-

Okay, I've got some guys to draw up more concrete plans.
I'll be honest with you man, I don't think this is realistic. A plant like this needs a lot more space and electricity than I expected, even if we do find the workers. We'd need mining ships or conveniently discovered cargo coming in pretty much daily to make this worthwhile, and I don't really see that happening. I mean, how often do you Free Republic people get into those incidents, with the ore and the non-cooperating haulers, realistically? Like, averaged out over a month?
And your miners, where do they work? The Copperton field's pretty dry, last I heard. I know there's some folks working over in Coronado, but that's definitely too far out from 53. I guess we would have been better off starting this project a few hundred years ago.

Basically, I don't think our operation is on a scale that can really support that kind of industry. Unless you have gigantic manpower and hauling reserves I don't know about.

- Shel