Yoko's eyes widen by the moment as Cait describes her liner, and are nearly as round as one of the hors d'oeuvre saucers on the table before them. "A Palace!? Kami, you have no idea how jealous I am. I tried to get my hands on one once and it was just impossible, no matter what I did. Those things are gorgeous, sure, but on top of that all the best parts are under the hood. I mean, you know that, but... gosh. Just the noise control on the engines alone... I'm amazed you can hear anything." She swallowed hard before continuing to gush. And I can only imagine how they've advanced in the last, what, 16 years it's been? Um, it's not within the scope of the meeting, but if you ever wanna show it off I'd about die with joy."
The High Logarch raised his eyebrows at her. "Well, if my niece's reaction is anything to go by, that's quite impressive indeed. I'm afraid I am not personally familiar, but I am a military man and have rarely had cause to visit Bretonia. Regardless, your proposal works for us. We can forward it to the accountants to draw up the contract with whichever shell you prefer once we part."
As he spoke, Yoko kept silent at last, but her excitement was practically palpable. The contrast between her and her more reserved holographic uncle was stark.
Hisoka sat quiet himself for a moment, deep in thought. He closed his eyes, considering for nearly a full minute before leaning forward again. "I understand that such an expedition would be a considerable risk for you. But first, let me explain further. We have no need for a full liner—only a small crew. You are familiar with the Spyglass, yes? A Navy project my old commanding officer was responsible for, built into a battleship known as the Ragnarok. At the turn of the century he was betrayed, and we fled with it. That is old news—the origin of the Hellfire Legion. While we did share our technology with groups like the Order and Lane Hackers (the latter of which we would come to regret), the Spyglass is inextricably linked with the Hellfire Legion. When our seventh generation of Spyglass-class battleships were replaced with the modern Arbiter-class, integrating it into the frame was our first priority." He let out a long sigh. "Unfortunately, our situation has left us without any of our Arbiters. Some survive, of course, but the LSF satellites in Vespucci have rendered our mothball yards inaccessible by Task Force-tagged ships. While we cannot revive all of them, we have found the resources via trade and diplomacy to sustain one: The HFB Pandion. Our allies have indicated they may be willing to fly parts into the system under the flag of neutrality, but people are far harder to move subtly—unless you already have a long history of moving eccentric people to unusual places, in which case the only thing that needs obfuscation are their identities."
He stopped of a moment to let the information communicated thus far process. He turned and stared out over the ocean, his holographic eyes watching the yacht floating across the paradisaical landscape. "Our Spyglasses are our lifeblood. With the shifting of jump holes, we have Xenos on our doorstep, and our scout ships have to run a blockade to escape Inverness. To have access to our traditional advantage again would save lives. For that, we are willing to share that advantage with you. While it is unlikely that we will be able to grant dedicated time on the scanner to you, we can share information we gain on pirate patrol routes and potential threats to your liners. This, too, would save lives.
"However, our offer is more extensive than that. Your predecessors and my successors once worked out a rather cunning deal. With our consent, you offered the LSF an opportunity to spy upon us by embedding an agent on Barbados. You actually came out of the other side better off for it. Between us, I think we can work out a similarly agreeable arrangement, no?
"We will, of course, pay the fees for the private cruise. They will travel under civilian identities. They need only refloat the ship and install a jump drive; once handled, it can jump out of the system without ever leaving the Guerrero, long after your vessel has returned to Barbados. As far as the LSF know, it will have been simply a normal trip by a wealthy freelancer to see the new anomaly that recently opened in the system.
"Due to its importance, we can offer a bounty of rewards in return for this one trip. The easiest, of course, are ships." He nodded to Yoko, who flicked a switch on the projector. Immediately he disappeared entirely, replaced by a rotating model of a Prosecutor fighter. "While I doubt you need them, the Prosecutor is one of the more unique ships in Sirius, hybridizing Libertonian and Border Worlds technology. Likewise the Inquisitor"—the model was replaced by that of the boxlike gunboat—"is another fascinating ship, though this may have a more practical use. Since it fell onto the black market in the wake of the Insurgency's failures, we have noted a handful of pirates using it as a boarding craft. Access would give you not only the opportunity to use it, take it apart and look at it, et cetera, but also the ability to look at the boarding blade composition and harden your liners' hulls against it."
The projector flicked back to Hisoka, returning his image to the couch. "Second, we offer business. We are about to begin the process of contracting with a large company we cannot name for security purposes. Due to the shifting winds of trade, Inverness has become a key stopover on numerous trade routes from the Taus, and we are planning to sponsor a new copper refinery there that will outcompete the others in the area through sheer convenience. We are willing to, as part of the deal, add the stipulation that they must contract your company to supply their base. Should the deal go through, it is sure to be a lucrative supply contract, as it is but a short trip from Freeport 14 or Invergordon Shipyards.
"Third, as I mentioned before, is data sharing. And of course, we are open to further suggestions. We can offer much, but ultimately only you are privy to your internal needs of the moment." He finally fell quiet, piercing eyes fixed upon the Chairwoman's face.
