The sun was shining bright already even at this early hour. The courtyard gave a little shadow though. Whilst Edward was enjoying his Breakfast Ronaldo walked in accompanied by two what looked to be bodyguards.
Ronaldo was in a kaki suit this time with a pair of transport Pilots sunglasses.
" Good morning, I hope the headace isn't to bad. Drinking with the Benitez tends to cause such pains I hear. I have ground transportaton standing by to take us to the quarry. They'll drive us through one of the towns nearby so you can see how the average Cretan lives."
The four made their way through the building. A comfortable wheeled vehicle stood on the driveway with a friendly Smiling driver.
"This is Pepe, my private chauffeur and great comedian! Andale pepe, lets go, before the sun goes into super nova!"
There used to be pictures here
once known as Richard Farbridge, OBE and Ronaldo Benitez
Brisbane climbed in to what could only roughly be described as a limousine. Unlike others he'd seen on Manhattan this one bore the unmistakable signs of Cretan styling, sleek yet rugged with a luxurious interior. Ronaldo climbed in after him, taking up a seat directly behind Pepe, gesturing to the seat opposite. The moment Brisbane was seated he tapped on the divide.
"So where are we off to Ronaldo? I've been looking..."
Edward's words were cut short as Pepe span the wheels and rocketed the vehicle forward with a cry of "Vamanos!"
Ronaldo was flung through the limosine as Pepe accelerated like he was driving an ambulance!
"PEPE, comfortable, not only speed, gracias!"
Ronaldo smiled to Eddy who was putting himself back onto his seat as well.
"Mi scussi, as I said, he's somewhat loco. Anyway we're heading for one of the quarries and the central workshop. The closest ones ofcourse, we have several across the planet including one that can only be reached by local airtransport. We should be reaching the site shortly. "
Outside the first houses of the nearby town became visible. The architecture seemed similar to most of the outbuildings of Myrthos villa.
"The estate has a great view of Europa, the planets defacto capital city but Sparta, the small town we're passing through now is closer in terms of distance. The majority of the population works for the family in some way or the other. The few arrable fields in the area produce great local wines. "
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once known as Richard Farbridge, OBE and Ronaldo Benitez
"It's quite alright, I have someone equally...Spirited...on board the Belisama, my first mate in fact; Lieutenant Jameston.
Interesting man, Bretonian, fought in the Tau war. Not much combat for him in our line of work but he can spot trouble a hundred kilometers away.
Brisbane brushed himself down as he settled back onto the seat.
"As I was saying, I'm looking forward to seeing one of your quarries, it intrigues me how artefacts are uncovered. Are they found like marble or slate in large veins or do you find them in buried structures?"
The few vineyards of Sparta could be seen as the vehicle reached the edge of the town.
"I take it this is where the wine we enjoyed last night was produced? It is still somewhat alien to me, seeing your food and drink being grown. Absolutely charming."
He nodded as the first buildings of Sparta passed by the window.
"Its one of the few ways we can produce foodstuffs locally, the old traditional way. If only we would be able to procure some of the technologies of Synthfoods and produce our own paste. From what I hear and read the stuff thrives in hardship, a bit like the corsairs. Would solve our food problem in one simple go. "
The Limosine rode further through the town and passed what looked to be a schoolbuilding.
"The majority of the findings are from what you could consider veins and layers. The civilisation that made them lived on said levels. Every now and then we find old structures. These usually contain the richest and most important finds. Most pits on the planet register all their finds. Archaeologically important ones remain within the empire. There are a lot of non-affiliated pits owned by locals that don't adhere to the average quality though. It still remains unclear what is found each year on the planet. "
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once known as Richard Farbridge, OBE and Ronaldo Benitez
Brisbane nodded solemnly as his eyes lingered on the schoolhouse.
"Were the sector a better place...
I have sought those crops for quite some time, much like tradelane components they are by reputation impossible to obtain and utilise, an excellent reason as any to procure some. Sadly that reputation rings true despite my best efforts.
It is nothing short of infuriating.
He clenched his jaw at the thought, a lot of time and money had been lost in those endeavours. The contemptuousness of being denied a priceless commodity annoyed him intensely.
As Ronaldo told him of the artefacts origins, Edward's mind began to explode with questions. Until this point he had never thought of Crete as anything but the home of the Corsairs and their artefacts as simple marble from a different world.
"Astounding. To think beneath our feet may lie the ruins of an alien civilisation. Have your excavations shed any light on who or what they were?"
" Science and specifically archeology is not a case of them and us Amigo. Information about our findings get shared across the sector to universities. Though usually via several parties. I don't want to have house intelligence agencies come here snooping around unless they are invited.
From what I've gathered these settlements are remnants of the Daam K'vosh, they settled several planets in the area. I'm no expert though... "
The limosine turned onto a main road. Signs showed routes towards large settlements and Traffic got much heavier with Large wheeled cargo transports driving by.
" We're still close to Europa. Traffic on most of the planet is much lighter as passengers get shipped by air. "
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once known as Richard Farbridge, OBE and Ronaldo Benitez
"The Daam K'vosh, I believe I've heard that name spoken in passing rumours. Idle chatter overheard in bars is not an overly reliable source of information as you can well imagine. It's a surprise that one would prove to be correct, I suppose if enough tall tales are told eventually one is bound to ring true.
Until now I thought artefacts were created by the Nomad aliens, to find out there are two races living or have lived in our little corner of the universe, well it's something to write home about.
Brisbane followed one of the large vehicles as it rumbled past.
"To think, had I been born planetside I may very well of been driving one of those. Anyway tell me more about Europa, I imagine life in a Cretan city must be...Challanging.
"One thing is for sure amigo, we're not alone out there. "
Ronaldo looked at the huge wheels that rumbled next to the side of their limo as pepe overtook the large truck
" Life on Crete can be hard at time in general. Europa is quite comfortable in comparison to some of the towns and cities on the other side of planet. The weather is warm, hot for some even, and there is not much rain but it is the capitol of the planet with all the logistical and economical benefits. Off-planet foodshipments arrive here first. Political tensions can turn the city into an uproar every now and then though, especially if food does not reach the masses. Another thing that adds to these tensions is that no group reigns supreme in the city, most other towns have a clear allignement but this differs per area in Europa.
The limosine had overtaken several trucks and took an exit towards the next town.
There used to be pictures here
once known as Richard Farbridge, OBE and Ronaldo Benitez
"If the city is not ran by a single family how is the imported food distributed evenly? I'd assume each area sends shipments to their associated towns, it must be a logistical nightmare. I'm rather tempted to see how it's done."
Brisbane relaxed into his seat, glancing at the traffic wiping past the window.
"Come to think of it Ronaldo, we haven't had a chance to get to know each other, aside from our mutal enjoyment of fine cigars. If I may, how did you become part of the Benitez family, I recall you mentioned they are not your blood relatives."
