The Pecos Meeting

[StellarViss]

Arriving at the freezing Pecos was always a hassle. The planet itself was barely habitable, with its thin atmosphere requiring one to use breathing apparatuses for any kind of extended activity outside of the regulated habitation blocks or mining rigs. All that was without even mentioning the bone-chilling temperatures, which were only projected to drop in the coming years; the planet’s only saving grace being the abundance of geothermal energy allowing the Guild to sustain operations on the planet.

The expulsion of the Crayter Republic left many buildings and settlements abandoned across the planetary surface; one such installation was refurbished to house the annual assembly of the Independent Miners’ Guild.

The assembly building, formerly a Crayterian military bunker, was hastily converted. Its landing bay had been fashioned into a reception area leading into a circular amphitheater with multiple display screens located above the hall’s center, firmly attached to the ceiling. The entire hall was intended to hold gatherings, be they the annual Guild Assemblies or more mundane ones. It took some time for the Guild workers to shape this former military outpost into its current state, with the most arduous task having been that of removing the Crayterian firebird from every nook and cranny of the building only to discover another one around the corner.

Albert Schulze, coming from Madeira had ample time to overview the current situation of the Guild as part of his preparations to host this meeting once again. He walked into the meeting room, followed by an older looking man. Both of them sat on opposite sides of the entrance. still reviewing and rehashing the planned presentation. Having approvingly noticed most of the seats were already taken, Schulze walked into the center of the amphitheater while his companion activated the multiple displays hanging from the ceiling.

---

“Greeting fellow Guildmembers, and welcome to Planet Pecos. I am Albert Schulze, a Guildmaster. Today's assembly meeting will begin, like last year’s, with a summary of the Guild's situation. Unlike last year it won't be as bleak.

Pecos and the Matterhorn, Coronado.

“We will start off with the assembly's location of Pecos. As many of you might have noticed, the whole planet has finally been returned to our control, with the remaining Crayter staff having pulled out to Yuma. Seeing as much of the infrastructure on the planet now lies abandoned, I would propose we repurpose some of it to expand planet-side refining of copper alongside the newly-operational Cyprus in Inverness. This will be necessary sooner or later, as it is plain as day that the corporations will be trying to interfere in our mining operations, with DSE and CMI already operating in the fields. Along with a whole Liberty battlegroup of the coming into the system. The captain of the GPV Matterhorn has been asked to provide additional security to Pecos’ own group.

“An additional situation brewing in Coronado is the so-called ‘quarantine’ imposed upon Jericho by the Crayter Republic, in a blatant attempt to interfere with our right to exploit the rich deposits of fissile materials which certainly lie under the surface. Such a large source would allow the Guild, and our friends in ALG, to directly compete with BMM's own LD-14.

---

“Moving towards the Tau section of the Guild's operations, Holman has continued its work as a waystation to the deeper Taus while refining water for our and Planet Harris' needs, and also supplying the Freeport in Tau-29. As for Dounby, it is mostly stagnant. Nothing has disturbed its operations, but any further expansion of work on Eday faces significant logistical challenges.

Java, Tau-23.

“Now we come to Java. The station itself is functioning well, but there exists a twofold problem in the system itself; the first is the encroachment of BMM. Their return into the systems is rather worrying, but for the time being they seem content to confine their operations within the beryllium field that they have claimed. We know that it’s only a matter of time until their avarice forces them to act and move further. The most currently pressing issue is the price of the niobium ores bought by refineries in the system. Such a price goes as low as forty credit per unit of ore. This blatant greed and oppressive mistreatment of miners can not exist in the same environment as we do, hence in order to rectify it the board of Guildmasters has decided to impose a minimum buy price of seventy credits per unit of ore upon all operations in the system. We will not stand for such behaviour!

For Falkland, the unfortunate upscaling of the Outcasts’ activity has forced us to downsize our activity in the system so as to ensure we remain out of their sight. In order to make up for the shortfall resulting from these sudden changes, we have decided to invest into our last holding inside house space. South Shields will receive additional modules dedicated to teaching our newest members and providing humane jobs for our elderly members.

---

Singapore Shipyard, Tau-44.

“Singapore Shipyard has received significant additional support from Riau’s production of reactor components. Singapore’s engineers have also been hard at work on a new ship design intended to safeguard guild operations.

---

Freistadt, Omega-7.

“In the Omegas is where the Guild prospered the most this last year. Our near-stranglehold on silver forced Kruger to deploy crude mining machines, but as most know that decision backfired tremendously. Our ranks swelled with their former employees, further bolstering Freistadt. Falster has seen an additional expansion in the form of a small shipyard for building much-needed mining ships. Unfortunately, the Red Giant in the Von Rohe Belt continues to emit dangerous levels of radiation and heat. As a result, the Guild has decided to fully abandon all mining operations within the belt, deeming the area too hazardous for our members. We currently lack the necessary infrastructure in Omega-11 to properly service our mining ships or distribute anti-radiation medicine to the crews making it similar to the situation faced by my predecessor with Freeport 5.

---

“When talking about shipyards, one can't forget Madeira. I have made it my personal mission see its capacity as a shipyard improved, and ensure it builds not only our transports but also ships capable of defending the Guild. Newly-arrived additional crew is onboard the station and further construction equipment is on the way. Madeira and its shipyard shall soon be fully operational.

Madeira, Omega-48.

“On the topic of expansion, I believe that it is time for us to re-establish Freeport 4. To briefly explain the situation for our newer members, the Liberty Navy took the station from us during the Gallic War, with the Gauls having later destroyed it. We had assurances from the Liberty Navy that the Freeport would be returned to us after the conclusion of the war, but as it was destroyed, Liberty asserted our claim on the space was void. The House corporations jumped in, and in place of our former home now stands Cordova—operated by the very same Universal Shipping that supported Crayter during the Aland Betrayal.


"To address the most recent of the grievous transgressions committed by the Traitor Republic—"

The Nagapasa, Tau-23.

The projectors displayed an image of a damaged Pilgrim liner, known as the Nagapasa, drifting in an asteroid field. Albert’s tone started to shift, indicating the souring of his mood. In short order, his aggrieved voice gave way to yelling and exaggerated motions.

"They dared to open fire on a refugee ship heading to a location unfavourable to their politics. Doing so led to the death of ten people—seven refugees and three Guildmembers! Then those House bootlickers arrested all the survivors and we haven't heard back from them. And all this was done during a joint relief effort! They say to let bygones be bygones even after so much blood spilled at their hands, first at Aland and then this!"

Guildmembers sitting near the podium could see Albert's utter bewilderment as he continued. “And they act as if we are still best buddies! How do you fuck that up like that, I mean seriously?!”


Having stopped himself, he took a moment to regain his composure.


“I apologise for that outburst. This would be the summary of the year’s events, and our current plans for further action.”

[Nodoka Hanamura]

Asuna as always, came to the meeting in a black blazer and underlying matching shirt. She moves to sit down and observe the meeting that Schulze led. A scowl over her face manifested as mention of Falkland comes about, only relieved by Singapore's recent developments... only to be restored by Freeport 4's plight and the tragedy of the Nagapasa.

She stands as he concludes, and brings forth her thoughts on the matter. "Suffice to say, I'm pissed. Yes, not exactly the words one should use in a formal meeting but goddamn it if I'm not pissed. The guild stands as one of the last bastions of human dignity in the Sector, and between the Maskers, the corpos, the houses and that wannabe house, Crayteria, we're being handed our asses on a platter."

She continues. "I came here, because I wanted to atone for my sins as part of the Lane Hackers. I am not going to sit here, and watch my brothers and sisters, who took me in, who gave me shelter, gave me opportunity, and eventually their trust to lead them on Falkland, get shafted - no matter where they call home - Falkland, Java, Singapore, Holman, Freistadt, Madeira, or even here on Pecos!" She shouts with determination and furious anger.

"It is time for us to fight back, to tell these insufferable bastards around us, that we are the reason their ships get built - we are the reason their stations can be patched up after a stray asteroid decides their medbay is a nice place to call it a life - We are the reason copper, titanium and so much more flows through their fucking tradelanes. It's about time we show them what happens when Miners get angry - especially towards those damn maskers and the fucking psuedo-republic we share a fucking system with right now!"

[Dave Johnson]

Dave:
(leans forward slightly, muttering under his breath)
"Right… just play it cool, Dave. Don’t say anything stupid. You belong here. Probably."

(then clearing his throat and addressing the room)
"Ah—hello everyone. I’m Dave. First-time attendee, and, well… I’ll admit I feel a bit like a miner who brought a shovel to a plasma drill demonstration.

This is my first Guild assembly meeting, and while I’ve tried to absorb as much background as I could, I wasn’t quite prepared for the full scope of it all. Planet-wide reclamation, abandoned infrastructure, Liberty battlegroups, quarantines—it’s a lot to digest. I was just getting used to filing the right forms for docking permits.

Still, it’s clear how important this moment is for the Guild. The idea of converting abandoned infrastructure into copper refining hubs sounds smart—especially with corporate interference ramping up. And I fully get the urgency of staking our claim before outside interests carve up what's rightfully ours.

I know I’m new, and probably greener than a Yuma pine sapling, but I’m here to work and learn. If there's a crew heading down to Pecos, or someone needs extra hands at Cyprus, I’m ready to roll up my sleeves. Just maybe… point me away from any area marked 'radioactive' until I’ve had my orientation.

---

[Ca'h'veh]

Aggregator reports fringe extractor interlopers ready to aggress against all other interlopers in area. Possible new vector?

Jasper feels almost naked without her Mykolaiv surplus power armour, instead in a recently panic-cleaned set of casual attire (thick off-brand jacket, aping a design all the rage on Manhattan three years ago), but this is a small concern. Her nervousness stems from possibly having to report the Tunja's failures in its expedition, but with the everyone else focused on the latest outrages by literally everyone else, she expects there is almost no way she will be in the hot seat this meeting. Some hot-blooded Malta-adjacent Kusari woman is suggesting the Guild start playing hardball with Crayter. Jasper hears herself speaking up, in spite of herself not wanting heat. "If I could weigh in, Guildmistress Akibara is right. We're getting pushed around like we're an isolated Zoner community, especially by people who would call us friend. It's outrageous. We can't do it alone, however." Jasper has to remember to breathe. "We could see about reaching out to The Technocracy, I believe they already permit some of our explorer ships in the area." Jasper raises her index finger, proposing an alternative, though her expression belies her sincerity. "Or we could get pressure off Falkland and cut some kind of deal with Malta, we can quietly take their poison and choke those Liberty pricks with it. We could also re-tool our miners to move Liberty and Kusari goods through the Taus around the embargoes, and command a premium, if operations elsewhere are getting untenable." Terrible, short-sighted, money-grubbing ideas, clearly only suggested to be publicly kiboshed. She ignores the boos and dodges a thrown lowball glass and continues. "Our good word and our reputation have not mattered one bit to the imperialists sitting in unearned luxury off the backs of the labour of their exploited. We are giving up so much opportunity by fairly dealing with these people, as they slap our face and call us friend. I ask you, why?""Because it's who we are". Aggregator's echo of its shell's brain burned with pride even as it thought the words, unbidden.

[StellarViss]

Repositioning himself at the podium, Albert looked toward Asuna as she spoke. Each sentence she delivered carried the same tone and anger that Albert himself had been trying to suppress. His response was measured perhaps satisfied that his own emotions were being echoed by another Guild member.

“It is good to see that you already feel as a member of the guild, enough to get mad on your fellows’ behalf,” he said. “I agree we must protect what’s ours. But let’s remember that some of those ore poachers are forced into it. We should offer them a way out of that abusive cycle. If they continue to cling to their oppressors then we treat them the same as the rest.”

Once again awaiting discourse, Albert shifted into a more comfortable posture, nervously tapping his left foot only stopping when Dave Johnson cleared his throat.

“Glad to see you at the assembly, Mister Dave. You’re right there’s a lot of info dumping on my part,” he said with a brief smile. “If you’d prefer, there’s a downloadable version available for members to go over at their own pace. Reclamation on this frozen rock should be a local priority for the Guild. I’ve also been considering establishing a larger infirmary on the surface people tend to heal better under natural gravity, or so I am told. And don’t worry about Jericho’s radiation it’s been stationary in orbit since we discovered this system.
“As for those who’ll be working uranium extraction, it’ll be strictly voluntary with a hazard bonus. By that time, ALG experts should be on site, and a safety plan in place.”

Before the Guildmaster could settle in after responding, another voice rose. The ideas proposed by this new member were met with murmurs of disapproval some even booing outright. Cooperation with Malta was a suggestion that would infuriate any Tau-based Guild member, and even those in the Independent Worlds. Though perhaps less so in the Omegas, Albert, being from the latter, still waited for the others to finish before responding himself.

“That’s a proposition that’s simply impossible for the Guild,” he said. “Cooperating with Malta and maintaining our independence can’t happen at the same time. When we first encountered the Outcasts, they expected subservience. For the kind of deal you’re proposing, we’d have to become dependent on their product. Only then would they stop openly harassing us enough said on Malta.
“As for why we should care to keep our name clean it’s simple. It keeps both markets open to the Guild. We can buy Wildcat gold from the Mollys and sell them working mining equipment. Junkers aren’t reliable as we are when it comes to such deals, we have an advantage that must be kept.”

Finishing his statement, Albert’s mind began to drift to more warmer climates and planets. He muttered to himself as he looked off toward the exit.

“Maybe I can get rid of this chill at the inn everyone is talking about…”

[Nodoka Hanamura]

She nods in affirmation, her bob-cut hair jostling slightly with the nod. "Of course, Albert. Offer the branch to those who want it, and if they rebuke it, drop the hammer." she says, before ceding the floor.

Asuna chimes in immediately after Jasper's statement, a befuddled anger as to what in the fresh Liberty-style Erie-fried hell she just heard standing up and staring at Jasper with absolute frustration, managing to catch the glass aimed at her and slamming it down onto the table, barely avoiding shattering it.

"Are you on meth? Noxing out? Or are you slogging, because that has to be the most absurd thing I've heard! Have you ever stepped foot in the Taus? The Maskers would be more open to shoot at us than tolerate us, after everything we've done. The answer to that is absolutely the fuck not, at least when it comes to me, and my men. I will not let any more of my fellow miners be chained to that goddamn drug, or any other for that matter!"

She stops to collect her breath. "But... she does have, some semblance of a point with Liberty. They've rendered no respect to us, so why should we respect their embargo? I say we dedicate some of our logistics pool to Kusari. At least they treat us as well as they do the GMG to my recollection. Maybe do it under the table - unmarked transports."

---

[Hemlocke]

Fashionably late was better than not having shown your sorry hide at all, at least that's what the newest Guildmaster hailing from Holmon held to be true, having been brought on the wings of the Deliverance, the defense vessel that struggled to remain true to its namesake, always either too late to the punch, or being disabled shortly after first blood, with its battered hide and questionably trustworthy crew, it was astonishing Guildmaster Rutherford trusted them with his safe transportation at all, leaving one to wonder the significance of potential history. Soon the oddly rhythmic, almost musical clicking sounds of metal plated boots on the bunker floor, rustling metal adornments and the easily recognizable pop of a lighter followed by the rush of ignition and quiet smoldering of harsh chemical could be heard filling the entry door to the meeting hall. There stood an man of indiscernible background, with the looks of a scruffy, wet-dog about his physical characteristics, a tapestry of ink in full display through his questionably loosened attire that bordered on inappropriate for such a meeting, looking more like an underbelly roughneck than a Guildmaster. Rutherford took a slow inhale of fresh air, letting the grey haze fill his lungs as he regarded the others present with only a slight hint of curiosity, so-far-in seeming quite mellow, if not disinterested. Having listened to the live-feed of the meeting on his way into orbit, Rutherford had some things to say, naturally, but took a moment to find a vacant chair, which he proceeded to spin until its back faced the table, before bringing himself down into it with his chest to the back, laying his left arm across the top of the spine, and laying his chin on his arm almost like a rebellious teenager would, though he was clearly older, his lazy eyes wandered towards Albert at the podium, glancing over the projector behind him only briefly, before finally speaking in a low, casual, soothing tone that carried with it a sense of serene calm, despite the serious nature the conversation had inevitably turned towards, he seemed entirely lacking in irritation. The Houses were merely sleeping beasts that needed be lead into a bear-trap every now and then to be reminded the fringes were not their stomping ground, it was a tug of war that in Ruthorford's mind would continue unto eternity, and thus, one needed to save their energy for the moments it mattered most.

“Apologies for my tardiness, the physical landscape of the corridor mimics the political quite harshly."
“In my personal, completely unbiased opinion, I believe we shouldn't aid a single house, as on all sides we have been disrespected and made convenient pawn by each Empire we have the unfortunate position of neighboring, and should instead dedicate our spare resources to expanding and shoring up our existing holdings against the next inevitable boot to our necks, as you have decided to do with Madeira, already. While I couldn't blame someone for thinking otherwise due to recent publishing's by compromised media, I should remind those present that to fight Liberty is to fight Bretonia the same. ”

Rutherford paused briefly, holding a finger up to indicate he wasn't quite finished, reaching up his black leather glove toward his lips, plucking the lifeline from his lips and reaching awkwardly towards an ash tray, balancing the chair's foundation to gain an extra inch to banish the used body hanging off the edge of the stick before bringing his chair's foundation back unceremoniously with a thud to its previous position, and resettling into position.

“While I'm sure we all doubt direct intervention after multiple military embarrassments from either House, their interest, either together or individually, is not only still aligned with an outcome that sees us uprooted from our resource pools in Coronado, they have the ability to support other actors that are very much still present towards that goal, and I believe, aiding Kusari will bring a two-fold issue, strengthening a House that will one day turn towards us once again, and drawing Liberty's jealous eyes towards us during this moment of instability."
“Well.. in summary. With the environment in the core Taus having once again reached a boiling point, I consider it unwise to gamble for pay offs by reaching too far as I just did, and potentially fall over in the process by spreading ourselves too thin. I believe it wiser, and safer, to ensure to the best of our ability, that our foundation here is as firmly rooted as we can manage, before anything else.”

[StellarViss]

Most of the present guildmembers once again agree with his own opinion Albert smiled. The late arrival of Holman's Guildmaster into the Assembly doesn’t provoke any reaction from Albert who continued to work on his PDA waiting for the him to speak. Attentively listening to Rutherford’s words Albert pulls his body straight as the chair hits the floor.

“Quite a way to make your point Guildmaster. I agree with you we might see even more escalations inside the Taus. We might need to send more to Holman if shit hits the fan in Tau-23 between the Gauls and the Crown. Then again, we might see more piracy against Kusari cargo. As for the Omegas status remains mostly the same.”

Putting both of his hands on the speaker podium Albert exclaims.

“Unless someone has more to add I declare this Assembly finished. Let us see to it that the next time we meet the news will be better.”