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.

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“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.

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“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.

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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.

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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.

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“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.”