Subject: Meeting Encryption:Oh dear. Location: Around a few corners.
Extensive discussion with Hacker oprative known as Felicity Willing. really, that's what you're going with?
The Bering situation is... bad. Hellfire Legion EMPed Pacifica, seemingly at the behest of Harmony. I suspect the Legion is the one actually pushing the conflict. Lane Hackers are currently neutral, officially, but were actively pushing for humanitarian aid to the Alster Union - they have already chosen their side, but are attempting so far to remain peaceful about it.
They want our help, and have offered to escort our transports.
And I didn't even have to threaten to throw anyone out of a window.
[31.08.2018 00:47:33] NO-I-Green.River: Hmm. Shiranui adjusted some things here... I'll sort that out later.
[31.08.2018 00:47:46] NO-I-Green.River: Well. I was informed you wanted to speak with a Taskmaster.
[31.08.2018 00:47:58] Felicity.Willing: That is correct.
[31.08.2018 00:48:06] NO-I-Green.River: I had intended to leave this matter to my agents, but if that's your wish.
[31.08.2018 00:48:12] NO-I-Green.River: I am Taskmaster Escher.
[31.08.2018 00:48:43] Felicity.Willing: I have had a belief that you would provide me with somewhat more... precise information.
[31.08.2018 00:49:04] NO-I-Green.River: Hm. We like to play our cards close, but I may be able to accomodate you.
[31.08.2018 00:49:15] NO-I-Green.River: I also need to survey the hull of Canberra.
[31.08.2018 00:49:25] NO-I-Green.River: There was an... incident earlier.
[31.08.2018 00:49:53] Felicity.Willing: I could feel that accident myself. And that was, uh... a Crayter dreadnought?
[31.08.2018 00:50:11] NO-I-Green.River: Yes. They have not done much to improve my opinion of Crayter.
[31.08.2018 00:50:35] Felicity.Willing: They did a lot to ruin it, rather.
[31.08.2018 00:50:49] NO-I-Green.River: But, it appears to be mostly surface damage. High-dispersal flak, limited penetration.
[31.08.2018 00:51:01] Felicity.Willing: What is actually going on within it? Have they had some sort of power shift?...
[31.08.2018 00:51:09] NO-I-Green.River: We'll still need to get the Dubbo out here to patch it up.
[31.08.2018 00:51:17] NO-I-Green.River: Crayter... to be entirely honest, we're working on figuring that out ourselves.
[31.08.2018 00:51:34] NO-I-Green.River: The Fleet Admiral and Minister that were our initial contact points are nowhere to be found.
[31.08.2018 00:51:38] NO-I-Green.River: An explanation has not been forthcoming.
[31.08.2018 00:51:58] Felicity.Willing: That does not sound very promising.
[31.08.2018 00:52:38] NO-I-Green.River: No, but it's not as surprising as it would be were this Bretonia.
[31.08.2018 00:53:01] NO-I-Green.River: Militant states are prone to sudden power shifts.
[31.08.2018 00:53:21] NO-I-Green.River: Teach your people to see everyone as the enemy, and they'll take that to its logical conclusion.
[31.08.2018 00:53:23] Felicity.Willing: Hm. Perhaps, i should pull some strings to try and find something out.
[31.08.2018 00:53:34] Felicity.Willing: If anything comes out - i will let you know.
[31.08.2018 00:53:46] NO-I-Green.River: That would be appreciated. I know Coronado is an important corridor to both of us.
[31.08.2018 00:54:06] Felicity.Willing: Now, mister Escher. Would you mind to... enligten me on a certain matter?
[31.08.2018 00:54:10] NO-I-Green.River: Go ahead.
[31.08.2018 00:54:41] Felicity.Willing: I have received a word from mister Saronsen that you are accepting refugees from Pacifica, and have had dealings with-
[31.08.2018 00:54:48] Felicity.Willing: the Alster Union in the past.
[31.08.2018 00:55:04] NO-I-Green.River: Not as much in the past, but recently yes. They actually reached out to us first.
[31.08.2018 00:55:21] NO-I-Green.River: Since they've never wronged us, we saw no reason not to work with them.
[31.08.2018 00:55:36] Felicity.Willing: What was that transmission, if i may ask?
[31.08.2018 00:56:00] Felicity.Willing: Don't get me wrong. We are on a mutual ground here. Our Professors... are not pleased with Harmony's actions.
[31.08.2018 00:56:09] NO-I-Green.River: Those messages were fielded by Taskmaster Kane, but the first contact was inquiring about the status of the Metropolis.
[31.08.2018 00:56:35] NO-I-Green.River: I believe there's been talk of ship repairs, but that may have been Kane attempting to help speed the Black Cloud's restoration
[31.08.2018 00:57:11] Felicity.Willing: Black Cloud? Is it some sort of a special vessel?
[31.08.2018 00:57:27] Felicity.Willing: Given the source of that veseel - a Hel cruiser, i would assume.
[31.08.2018 00:57:44] NO-I-Green.River: It was built off a Hel frame, at least.
[31.08.2018 00:58:04] NO-I-Green.River: It houses a number of scanners and defensive electronic warfare systems, but the exact details are kept quiet.
[31.08.2018 00:58:24] Felicity.Willing: That's understandable.
[31.08.2018 00:59:05] Felicity.Willing: Anyway. Since you house a certain number of Pacifica refugees... have Natio considered any active operation in regards-
[31.08.2018 00:59:21] Felicity.Willing: -to assisting Alster Union with moving them?
[31.08.2018 00:59:53] Felicity.Willing: Given you have the direct contact - you should be pretty much aware of the Harmony's blockade.
[31.08.2018 01:00:01] NO-I-Green.River: We have a ship enroute to ascertain the situation and begin humanitarian assistance.
[31.08.2018 01:00:26] NO-I-Green.River: We have heard of the blockade, but we're attempting to get more information before fully moving in.
[31.08.2018 01:00:49] Felicity.Willing: Well, i can update you on the situation as i have arrived to Canberra straight from Pacifica.
[31.08.2018 01:00:52] NO-I-Green.River: While we doubt the Union is intentionally decieving us, we would like a clearer picture of the situation.
[31.08.2018 01:01:01] NO-I-Green.River: That would help.
[31.08.2018 01:01:47] Felicity.Willing: Harmony have fallen to open hostilities with the Union. Pacifica suffered a launch of Nuclear EMP payload, supposedly - by the-
[31.08.2018 01:01:51] Felicity.Willing: -Hellfire Legion.
[31.08.2018 01:02:29] NO-I-Green.River: Odd. That fits with expected Legion resources, but I'm wondering *why*.
[31.08.2018 01:02:36] Felicity.Willing: Internal blockade have been instilled and any vessels trying to trespass and moor on Pacifica are either turned back - or shot-
[31.08.2018 01:02:38] Felicity.Willing: -down.
[31.08.2018 01:02:59] Felicity.Willing: I've had a chance to talk with Legionnaires.
[31.08.2018 01:03:18] Felicity.Willing: They seemed to be eager 'to get rid of the plague on the Liberty outskirts'.
[31.08.2018 01:03:31] Felicity.Willing: Bringing up Union's Texas raids as an excuse.
[31.08.2018 01:03:46] Felicity.Willing: Which is, honestly...
[31.08.2018 01:03:56] Felicity.Willing: A very weak excuse for such harsh measures.
[31.08.2018 01:04:22] Felicity.Willing: I assume Harmony 'asked' them to do this.
[31.08.2018 01:04:27] Felicity.Willing: As in 'provoked'.
[31.08.2018 01:05:04] NO-I-Green.River: I've yet to get a good reading on Harmony; they broke off from Liberty during our time in isolation.
[31.08.2018 01:05:04] Felicity.Willing: Blockade have been inflicted soon after, intercepting any incoming convoy intending to help Pacifica.
[31.08.2018 01:05:09] Felicity.Willing: Gaians, mostly.
[31.08.2018 01:05:55] Felicity.Willing: Harmony? A bunch of rogue Liberty Security Force pilots obsessed with the idea of Liberty Navy's infection.
[31.08.2018 01:06:06] NO-I-Green.River: I feel like I've heard that exact story before.
[31.08.2018 01:06:10] Felicity.Willing: Not the whole Navy, of courrse, but their higher ranks, that is.
[31.08.2018 01:06:20] NO-I-Green.River: ... since when does the LSF have "battlegroups"?
[31.08.2018 01:06:43] NO-I-Green.River: Nevermind, that's tangential at best.
[31.08.2018 01:07:03] NO-I-Green.River: It sounds like the Hackers aren't exactly friendly with Harmony, then.
[31.08.2018 01:07:07] Felicity.Willing: Back in the Nomad War, Harmony was a battleship of a Naval battlegroup. During their exaltation, LSF backed them up.
[31.08.2018 01:07:34] Felicity.Willing: More like neutral at this moment.
[31.08.2018 01:08:05] Felicity.Willing: Their agression is not tolerated, yet this is not just another simple case.
[31.08.2018 01:08:11] Felicity.Willing: The course of action is yet to be picked.
[31.08.2018 01:09:01] NO-I-Green.River: It is a complicated situation.
[31.08.2018 01:09:58] NO-I-Green.River: It's rather distant from us, but we have reasons to be interested. I'll see what we can dig up.
[31.08.2018 01:10:06] Felicity.Willing: There is another thing. Johnatan Kalh, that fool is... troublesome, to say the least.
[31.08.2018 01:10:27] NO-I-Green.River: We've had limited contact with him. He seems to have a one-track mind.
[31.08.2018 01:10:37] Felicity.Willing: He also should be dealt with, and reminded of his place in the universe.
[31.08.2018 01:11:17] Felicity.Willing: We would not like to attract external assets to this, but, perhaps, you know someone capable of providing us with a Mark IV-
[31.08.2018 01:11:18] NO-I-Green.River: I take it there's been a recurring issue, there.
[31.08.2018 01:11:21] Felicity.Willing: -Jump Drive?
[31.08.2018 01:11:53] NO-I-Green.River: Hm. The only contact we have that we know has the capacity to produce them is Crayter.
[31.08.2018 01:11:55] Felicity.Willing: *Inhales* Johnatan Kalh's Harmony milksop.
[31.08.2018 01:12:37] Felicity.Willing: Perhaps, we will need one such device soon enough.
[31.08.2018 01:13:33] NO-I-Green.River: Crayter definitely has the capacity to produce them. The willingness to part with them, that's another matter.
[31.08.2018 01:14:11] Felicity.Willing: Show people the money and they fall for it. Crayter is no exception, no matter who's in charge of it.
[31.08.2018 01:15:02] NO-I-Green.River: Fair, especially with how they've treated their other military technology.
[31.08.2018 01:15:03] Felicity.Willing: Oh, and remind your vessel to be extremely cautious in Bering.
[31.08.2018 01:15:20] Felicity.Willing: Harmony is way more trigger-happy now than they were before.
[31.08.2018 01:16:05] NO-I-Green.River: We have ideas for that, but we'll have to go over the exact details internally.
[31.08.2018 01:16:40] NO-I-Green.River: The Hackers haven't taken a side, but you do seem to be leaning toward the Unioners.
[31.08.2018 01:17:03] Felicity.Willing: What i am certain about is that they will not, most likely, engage any ship escorted with our assets.
[31.08.2018 01:17:22] Felicity.Willing: Yes, we are leaning towards The Union.
[31.08.2018 01:17:35] Felicity.Willing: Their stance in the conflict is what we find more justified.
[31.08.2018 01:17:55] NO-I-Green.River: What exactly started this whole situation?
[31.08.2018 01:18:32] Felicity.Willing: Of what i know - it started off a Hel cruiser that Harmony requested, later on supplied it's construction, but never received-
[31.08.2018 01:18:36] Felicity.Willing: -the end result.
[31.08.2018 01:19:02] Felicity.Willing: Then the Hellfire interfered, first shots from Harmony's side were fired...
[31.08.2018 01:19:21] Felicity.Willing: Actually, Harmony's officer given an order to terminate Union's vessel.
[31.08.2018 01:19:38] Felicity.Willing: Supposedly, Legionnaires took their part in the show.
[31.08.2018 01:20:18] NO-I-Green.River: Hm. I wonder if perhaps the Legion had a hand in pushing it toward open hostilities.
[31.08.2018 01:21:26] NO-I-Green.River: If they're the ones who supposedly EMPed Pacifica, and claimed it was in response to raids on Texas... but, that's speculation.
[31.08.2018 01:22:07] Felicity.Willing: They not 'supposedly' NEMPed Pacifica, 'we' know they did.
[31.08.2018 01:22:13] NO-I-Green.River: My mistake.
[31.08.2018 01:22:41] NO-I-Green.River: Our intel on the events in Bering has been spottier than I would like. The problems of distance.
[31.08.2018 01:23:00] Felicity.Willing: I ended up getting in touch with former Pacifica administrator on quite a sensitive matter.
[31.08.2018 01:23:18] Felicity.Willing: Once accomplishing it - i've picked up another patch of the information from him.
[31.08.2018 01:23:36] Felicity.Willing: To have the full view and make a better judgement of the situation.
[31.08.2018 01:24:19] Felicity.Willing: As i have mentioned - i suggest extreme precaution if you are willing to send blockade runners.
[31.08.2018 01:24:49] Felicity.Willing: Use Freighters for their speed, use unpredictable routes - given the circumstances, the one through Rheinland and Puerto Rico-
[31.08.2018 01:24:55] Felicity.Willing: -would be the best one.
[31.08.2018 01:24:56] NO-I-Green.River: We have considerable experience in the field, don't worry.
[31.08.2018 01:25:19] Felicity.Willing: I am not putting your experience to a doubt.
[31.08.2018 01:25:29] NO-I-Green.River: On that note, though
[31.08.2018 01:25:35] NO-I-Green.River: do you know what the Junkers' angle is on the situation?
[31.08.2018 01:25:39] Felicity.Willing: It's a 'better safe than sorry' kind of advice.
[31.08.2018 01:25:45] NO-I-Green.River: If we're to pass through Puerto Rico, it would be good to know.
[31.08.2018 01:26:19] Felicity.Willing: Right. Unfortunately, i lack that piece of information. But i doubt they will mind your minor traverse.
[31.08.2018 01:26:34] Felicity.Willing: I haven't seen them assisting Harmony in any way lately.
[31.08.2018 01:26:47] Felicity.Willing: So there is a high probability of getting on their good side.
[31.08.2018 01:27:16] NO-I-Green.River: They are generally easy enough to work with.
[31.08.2018 01:27:44] Felicity.Willing: Unless you really, 'really' piss them off.
[31.08.2018 01:27:57] Felicity.Willing: Which is quite difficult to perform.
[31.08.2018 01:28:08] NO-I-Green.River: But, that's the Bering matter addressed, pending updates.
[31.08.2018 01:28:17] NO-I-Green.River: Did you have other questions?
[31.08.2018 01:29:13] Felicity.Willing: I would ask you again if you plan to direct any transports with humanitarian supplies or for the sake of evacuation, but-
[31.08.2018 01:29:26] Felicity.Willing: -i assume it to be pointless at this point in time.
[31.08.2018 01:29:38] NO-I-Green.River: As I said, we have to ascertain the situation first. If the situation allows, we likely will.
[31.08.2018 01:29:57] Felicity.Willing: I am grateful for your honest answers, Taskmaster.
[31.08.2018 01:30:02] NO-I-Green.River: It's less a matter of diplomatic concerns and more a matter of *tactical* concern.
[31.08.2018 01:30:14] Felicity.Willing: Tactical concern.
[31.08.2018 01:30:20] Felicity.Willing: Care to elaborate further?
[31.08.2018 01:30:37] NO-I-Green.River: Simply ensuring there *is* a feasible way around the blockades without losing our ships.
[31.08.2018 01:30:45] NO-I-Green.River: Which there likely will be.
[31.08.2018 01:30:56] Felicity.Willing: I have proposed at least one opportunity.
[31.08.2018 01:31:11] Felicity.Willing: Have one of our escorts tagging along with your convoys.
[31.08.2018 01:31:25] Felicity.Willing: That increases your probability of success drastically.
[31.08.2018 01:31:47] NO-I-Green.River: That is a viable option, yes.
[31.08.2018 01:31:59] Felicity.Willing: I understand that we've had some uneasy terms in the past, but there you'll need to have some trust in us.
[31.08.2018 01:32:27] Felicity.Willing: Not for our sake, but for the sake of people secluded and suffering on Pacifica.
[31.08.2018 01:32:43] Felicity.Willing: I assume you understand.
[31.08.2018 01:32:45] NO-I-Green.River: There is a saying, "trust but verify." My job is to verify. Kane, I'm sure, is willing to dedicate aid to the cause.
[31.08.2018 01:33:17] Felicity.Willing: A very good saying, to be blunt and honest.
[31.08.2018 01:33:56] Felicity.Willing: Anyway, i suppose we've discussed pretty much everything we could at this point.
[31.08.2018 01:34:18] NO-I-Green.River: We will send a ship in the near future. Exact timing is usually not disclosed for obvious reasons.
[31.08.2018 01:34:49] Felicity.Willing: Understandable.
[31.08.2018 01:35:11] Felicity.Willing: But, perhaps, that would be a perfect moment to see if our escort will make some effect.
[31.08.2018 01:35:22] Felicity.Willing: To kill two rabbits with just one shot.
[31.08.2018 01:35:48] NO-I-Green.River: Barring any unexpected tactical problems, I believe the aid will be delivered. Hold on, I'm getting a message...
[31.08.2018 01:37:04] NO-I-Green.River: [he sighs] Civilians...
[31.08.2018 01:37:21] Felicity.Willing: Anything requiring your attention?
[31.08.2018 01:37:27] NO-I-Green.River: No, I don't believe so.
[31.08.2018 01:37:55] NO-I-Green.River: There *may* be a ship available now, but I'm checking on that.
[31.08.2018 01:38:17] Felicity.Willing: I believe i could send a word to one of my trusted colleagues to meet your vessel of choice and escort it.
[31.08.2018 01:38:43] Felicity.Willing: I personally would like to stay on Canberra for a while longer before departing.
[31.08.2018 01:39:33] NO-I-Green.River: We may have someone available, a ship passing through Coronado .
[31.08.2018 01:40:05] NO-I-Green.River: It's the... am I reading this right?
[31.08.2018 01:40:21] NO-I-Green.River: OTS Run Like Hell. I suppose it's appropriately named.
[31.08.2018 01:40:50] Felicity.Willing: Hm.
[31.08.2018 01:40:53] Felicity.Willing: Fits the cause.
[31.08.2018 01:41:14] Felicity.Willing: Perhaps they should be put on a standby for now, however.
[31.08.2018 01:41:31] NO-I-Green.River: That may be for the best, actually, I"m getting odd reports of hardware issues on their end.
[31.08.2018 01:41:49] NO-I-Green.River: Minor ones, but best fixed before such an endeavor.
[31.08.2018 01:42:12] Felicity.Willing: True that. Everything should be working perfect on such a risky endeavour.
[31.08.2018 01:42:43] Felicity.Willing: Even through Spyglass picks no Harmony signatures within Bering...
[31.08.2018 01:43:03] Felicity.Willing: It won't take them long to appear should somehting unidentified try and get through.
[31.08.2018 01:44:55] NO-I-Green.River: Anyway, now I do have matters to attend to. You are of course still welcome on Canberra.
[31.08.2018 01:45:09] Felicity.Willing: Very well.
[31.08.2018 01:45:15] Felicity.Willing: Until next time, Taskmaster.
![[Image: Taskmaster-Escher.png]](https://files.cordilon.net/disco/vagrant/oic/Taskmaster-Escher.png)
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