"That is a valid point. But here's a fun fact about the outcasts: They're not as numerous as you'd imagine. Cardamine makes them live well over a 150 years, but their birth rates are incredibly low. They utilise us as pawns, as you know it because of the same reason. But if they can't do that, and perosnal involement is too dangerous, we're golden. And for their caps, we'll need to strike a deal with the Blood Dragons. They weren't too much of a fans of the 'casts in the first place, and now that the Chrysantheums attacked them, I'm quite sure they've had enough of cardamine. And if they'd want to go thorough the Taus to get here, Crayterians will make one hell of a surprised welcoming commitee"
The transport's image was now replaced with a star map, showing Liberty, and the neighbouring space as well. But not only the common systems, but the ones that did not have a frequent jump hole connection either.
"For our farming, I'm thinking biodomes in one of the more abandoned systems. Can be planetside or a station. The con is, we'll need to secure a rather large number of Synthfoods biodomes for this. Oh, and don't worry about the loss of profit, I've got ideas for that as well."
Ampere made a growling noise as he tried to sit up in his chair because of his injuries.
"You do realize.. that we will lose a lot of good people in this? I'm not saying that we cant put up a good fight.. and I certainly don't like that in these days where there is soo many options we can't live without a month or two payments of Cardamine... that will just boost up the sales later on. But if we want to go against one... we will go against all."
Ampere reached to the inside pocket of his coat and pulled out a hydro-syringe pressed a few small buttons on it before injecting painkillers to his system. A deep sigh made his breathing relaxed.
"Sorry.. i must say I got beaten up badly this time.. miracle your guys managed to find my wreck heh..."
Ampere leaned back and put the syringe down the table.
"Go into the details... It will be a lot of work but.. if we push this trough... we make history"
"I don't say it will be an easy, or fast thing to do. At this rate, I'm counting on a decade to get it done on our own"
He closed the map, and the ship's image flipped back in, slowly spinning. Dixon checked on the datapad in front of him, to see where Belial was by now.
"It will take commitment, willpower, and brains to pull this off. But I'm not willing to risk that one day the outcasts decide that we're no longer useful, and start backing up the Xenos, or worse. I don't count on the Lane Hackers at this scenario, mind you. Their cardamine shipments seems to be for themselves only, not for sale. We'll need to find a way to get back the missing profit. And most importantly, I will need you to be here, both physically, and mentally"
"I'm with you on this. The Lane Hackers are too high headed for any of this. And ye they sniff more than one mid-life scum on Manhattans streets... The financial we can take care of I'm sure... and this will take a decade for sure. But in all fairness, if we wanna get it done, we just need to play our cards right"
"Better start the plans then" -Dixon looked at the tab, by the looks of it Belial was still a few minutes out- "I have a little gift for you, too." - He causally pointed at the hologram - "The Sojourner. Send it out to do your search, it's a long range ship afterall, and it will certainly take beatings better than you do."
A small smile ran through his face, while the pain slowly eased away fully.
"The pressure in our turfs are larger and larger... the insurgency.. the other folks.. Xenos are causing problems to the bunkers again so I trust that you have a good plan figured out?"
"For the insurgency, only ideas. I doubt two generations of Liberty Navy washout on the southern fringes will cause too many problem for us." -Dixon closed the cigarbox's lid, and put it away. He finally opened the black porcelain bottle, and poured some into their glasses, and dropped some ice into it, too. "For the xenos, I have." - winked - "And if we play our cards right, it will turn all potential recruits towards us, and the navy's reflectors towards them. By the way, recruits. We should give our new guys proper training, and stop that archaic hell week concept going on. It's more like the trials of the hundreth idiot anyway. Are you familiar with that?"
![[Image: 4OVivIl.png]](https://i.imgur.com/4OVivIl.png)