To: GNI officer "Duke V," Freeport 6 | From: Task Force Prometheus

[Denelo]

Incoming transmission...

Identification: Yoko Mori
Source: HFL Ichihara
Encryption: 3R-13

Beginning voice transmission...

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Hi there. We spoke in space earlier, while I was on the Lonely Sparrow. It was definitely strange, hearing you talk as though you're separate from the regime as a whole; I was under the impression you were pretty similar to the LSF or KOI in your role, but it sounds like there's something radically different in your structure. I'd love to hear about it. How do you work? What are your interests in general? Obviously the security of Gallia, but it sounds more intricate than that. We can consider this a starting point for amicable relations, like you said, and general information-sharing.

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Looking forward to hearing back,
Yoko Mori (she/they)

[Lord Caedus]

//: Secure Connection Established

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Name: DUKE
Identification: Gallic National Intelligence
Encryption access: EYES ONLY
Location: REDACTED
Subject: Initial Contact

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Miss Mori,

I have to say, it was quite a pleasure to speak with you the other day in Inverness. Seeing remnants of the old Commonwealth flying under their own banner instead of that of a third party was a pleasant surprise as well. Hopefully this can be the begining of a more long term relationship. For now I'll answer your questions to the best of my ability, then follow up with some questions for you in turn.

To answer your largest question first, the GNI is not a part of the Gallic Navy, commonly refered to as the Combined Fleet after the consolidation of the Gendarmerie into their ranks. We operate independently from the Combined Fleet with almost no oversight, and we answer directly to the Maréchal, serving the people of Gallia directly through him. We are not part of Gallia's military, like the LSF and KOI you already mentioned, though we do recruit many of our own officers from various military postings. As for our interests, currently we seek to expand our information gathering apparatus, it having deteoriated rather significantly following our recent internal conflict. Gallia's intelligencee community was fractured during these times, and we were only reformed in an official capacity shortly before the recent visit of Rheinland's Emperor to Gallia. Unfortunately by the time we were given our mandate, the details of the visit had already been leaked by several different sources, and the ensuing attacks on the ships were unavoidable. Due to this, one of our primary areas of focus is into that of the aliens you Sirians commonly call the Nomads.

Hopefully that answers everything you asked, so now I'll move on to the questions I would ask of you in return. Does the Task Force possess information on the Nomads that they would be willing to share with us? If so, I'm sure there is some information you would request in exchange, or perhaps even some minor exchange of technology. Would your Task Force be willing to engage in covert operations on our behalf in Liberty or perhaps Bretonia, this would only be simple information gathering if your people are up for it, unsurprisingly it is rather difficult for us to operate covertly in their territories. Beyond this, I believe we have no more pressing questions to raise at the moment, and we look forward to your respose.

Regards,
Duke
Director of External Operations

//: End Transmission

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[Denelo]

Incoming transmission...

Identification: Yoko Mori
Source: HFL Ichihara
Encryption: 5N3-4K1-357

Beginning voice transmission...

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I really appreciate the information. Gallia's internal goings-on can be a bit of a mystery to many outsiders, and there's still a lot of resentment from the war. Still, I have high hopes that that kind of gross prejudice can be overcome with knowledge.

We can fulfill two out of three of your requests for sure, but the third is more in the air. For Nomads, there's not a lot of better people you could have come to about that. I'll have to consult with our own intelligence apparatus to be sure how much I can tell you, but the Commonwealth - through the Hellfire Legion before us - has a long history of interaction with Nomads, both negative and even sometimes positive. That connection's only gotten stronger with our alliance with the Technocracy. We don't trust them, like many Technocrats do, but I think that's more out of an, um... how to say it nicely... let's say a closer connection with humanity than our allies. In short, we can give you a lot on them, both historical and present, I just need to talk to SOARD to be sure of the details.

Liberty, too, we're happy to share what we know. The LSF gets up to a lot of dirty business, and we have a long history of sparring with them on an intelligence front. Our intelligence network there is expanding by the day; we're happy to look into what you need.

Bretonia is more complicated. They're a traditional enemy, but one we'd like to appease this time. We have a number of mutual enemies, sure, there's even a Gaian (Bretonian eco-terrorist) base in our home, but more importantly part of the reason the Insurgency was destroyed was because Liberty and Bretonia were able to attack with a pincer movement from Kansas and Magellan, leaving little room for retreat. That's not an ideological agreement with them; we'd just rather not repeat the strategic mistakes of the military dictatorship that destroyed our home.

I'm not sure where you stand on them, but we can also provide information on the Outcasts and their cardamine network. It's an old problem - the old Hellfire Legion was close with the Lane Hackers, and when we distanced ourselves, the Outcast bloc became a perennial enemy. We have both old internal information and newer external knowledge, and have already clashed with them a few times as part of trade missions.

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In return, what we need most right now are two things: Access and logistics.

Our trade ships are spreading across the sector, but our tense relationship with Rheinland has made trade with Gallia very difficult. We need products like bio-neutral processors that Gallia alone can provide, and have access to raw materials like copper and platinum in return that you might otherwise struggle to access due to geopolitical tensions, but the closure of the gate between Languedoc and Tau-23 and the problems with access via Zurich have kept our logistics fleets from bringing that business to Gallia.

We also need to start rebuilding in earnest. Part of the reason the old Legion was so successful was a series of deals early in their history that allowed for the construction of major production and residential facilities like Phoenix Shipyards and Monterrey Base, as well as the acquisition of a number of warships, some of which are still some of the most iconic ships in our fleet today. If we want to do this better than them, we need to focus even more on that, especially the logistics part. A number of our warships are out of commission due to age and poor maintenance, and while we can provide the materials and expertise for repair, we have nowhere to actually do the work. We can only do so much at Invergordon; ultimately it's more scrapyard than military shipyard. We need to repair our fleet and start laying the groundwork for the construction of our own bases. With our traditional tension with Ageira, I can even see this turning into an opportunity for EFL-built infrastructure in the very long term. We'll see.

So how about it? What do you think?

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Looking forward to hearing back,
Yoko Mori (she/they)

[Lord Caedus]

//: Secure Connection Established

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Name: DUKE
Identification: Gallic National Intelligence
Encryption access: EYES ONLY
Location: REDACTED
Subject: An Exchange

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Miss Mori,

In regards to the Outcast situation, I believe we already have that fairly well in hand. They are not as subtle as they would like to think they are, and we're certainly quite aware of their smuggling operations taking place in the Taus. Once you've talked to your own intelligence branch, since I'm assuming that's who the SOARD group you mentioned is, we'd be happy to take any information in regards to both the LSF and the Nomads that you are willing to send to us. The Bretonians are less of a concern, they certainly seem to be having their own internal issues currently, so we don't particularly see them as a threat to our interests.

In regards to the requests you made of us, I have both good news and bad news about both requests, so I will get to that straight away. Technocracy vessels are allowed into Gallia for the purpose of trade at this time, though you may not be allowed to transit through the Jump Gate between Languedoc and Tau-23, but that is a matter for the government to approve directly and we currently don't have enough sway to guarantee that being approved. You may need to use the Giant's Causeway in Orkney in the meantime, which will add a significant amount of time to your journey.

On the matter of logistics, I'm afraid the GNI cannot, at least at this time, be of particular assistance in the matter of providing a facility for you to conduct your repairs at. We only have one facility of our own presently that would be capable of providing the long term maintenance that your ships would need, and until we have a more established relationship between our groups, we wouldn't be able to allow your ships access. Do not take this as an outright refusal though, the GNI would be interested in allowing such access in the future, and the facility there would at least be capable of handling anything up to the size of a battlecruiser or a liner without problem. Unfortunately any vessels larger than that would require us to reallocate resources that we already have tied up in one of our own projects, so we wouldn't be able to allocate resources for a ship that large until our own project is complete. Once said project is complete though, I believe our people would be happy to assist with your own ships, though we may ask for a bit of a technology exchange in return.

With that said, I believe I have handled everything at issue at this point in time, so I eagerly await your response.

Regards,
Duke
Director of External Operations

//: End Transmission

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[Denelo]

Incoming transmission...

Identification: Yoko Mori
Source: HFL Ichihara
Encryption: 5N3-4K1-357

Beginning voice transmission...

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I've gotta say, this is pretty disappointing, but we can work with it. I wasn't aware there was a passage through Orkney, so we can take that route, but you're right, it is long and very dangerous. As for your project, we'd be willing to help it along to get sooner access, but again, we'd need to be able to get into Gallia.

All that said, I maybe have a proposal that'd solve many of both of our problems in the short term: A trade depot and listening post, located either right inside Orkney or in Tau-23. We have the logistical capability to help set it up and maintain it, though not the force projection to protect it, and it could serve as a hub between Gallic corporate ships on short runs through the gate and our ships on longer runs to and from the other Houses. Not only can we bring materials to help maintain the base and push the timelines on your construction and maintenance projects forward, but we can also import resources Gallia has limited access to like platinum, copper, silver, and diamonds, more exotic materials like iridium and azurite gas, and alien artifacts both benign and active for research purposes. Our allies in the Technocracy also have access to Molly gold—in rare supply right now.

I think this would be a good start to our relationship, and would help build trust and resources for both of us to develop information-sharing agreements in the future.

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Looking forward to hearing back,
Yoko Mori (she/they)

[Lord Caedus]

//: Secure Connection Established

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Name: DUKE
Identification: Gallic National Intelligence
Encryption access: EYES ONLY
Location: REDACTED
Subject: Use of Facilities

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Miss Mori,

Your proposal is certainly an interesting one, and I have both good and bad news in regards to that at this time. While the GNI currently doesn’t have the resources to facilitate opening another station, we would be willing to assist with operating a base in the Taus if the Legionnaires decided to start operating one of their own, in addition we do have access to one operated by some of our associates and can forward the location of it to your people. You will receive a package shortly that constraints the location of the base in question.

Ease of access to imported goods would of course be extremely welcome in the Gallic market, and your proposition is certainly one that we could get behind assisting with in the long term. Let us know when you plan on opening a facility of your own and I can assign some support staff to it for the purposes of information gathering in the region. Said support staff would of course need to be protected by our own assets, so we would also need to station ships at such a base to provide this protection. If this is all agreeable, then I look forward to a continuation of this discussion.

Regards,
Duke
Director of External Operations

//: End Transmission

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[Denelo]

Incoming transmission...

Identification: Yoko Mori
Source: HFL Ichihara
Encryption: 5N3-4K1-357

Beginning voice transmission...

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Okay, so here's where we stand on that: Our supply lines are long and our logistics bristling with all the firepower we need to bust down blockades, as you saw with your own eyes yesterday, but everyone is better off if it falls under the flag of Gallia. Less chance people are gonna come for a whole House than some random task force from half the sector away, yeah? We can fully manage and maintain it, we just don't wanna plant a flag in the Taus or Orkney. It'd give people the wrong idea. We can share military and support work, and once we have the manufacturing capability again we might even be able to manage to scrape together a new Spyglass to make it a better listening post.

I really appreciate the location of that base down in our area. I'm a little surprised GNI is so practical as to work with that group, but glad for it too. Other than Bretonia, most of the House intelligence branches are a little too into ideological puritanism for my tastes—which must sound weird coming from a Legionnaire, because most of our people are too, but that's why you're talking to me and not one of the old-timers. Glad to hear that you can see the bigger picture too.

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Looking forward to hearing back,
Yoko Mori (she/they)

[Lord Caedus]

//: Secure Connection Established

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Name: DUKE
Identification: Gallic National Intelligence
Encryption access: EYES ONLY
Location: REDACTED
Subject: New Facility

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Miss Mori,

After discussion with the Directorate, National Intelligence has approved to the opening of a small installation in Tau-23 for the purpose of facilitiating trade with outside groups. We would be happy to administrate this facility, with the understanding that the primary moving of supplies to it will be done by Legionaries. You should be receiving the location from a secure courier shortly, and initial operations can commence at your earliest convenience.

Regards,
Duke
Director of External Operations

//: End Transmission

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[Denelo]

Incoming transmission...

Identification: Yoko Mori
Source: HFL Ichihara
Encryption: 5N3-4K1-357

Beginning voice transmission...

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Sounds good. We're already loading up the transports with everything we'll need, and we'll head out once they crews have all had some sleep for the journey.

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See you tomorrow,
Yoko Mori (she/they)

[Denelo]

Incoming transmission...

Identification: Yoko Mori
Source: HFL Ichihara
Encryption: 5N3-4K1-357

Beginning voice transmission...

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Okay, with Amelie all set up and running as an "independent" station, shipments are moving and we can move into closer cooperation. In return for this, I've been authorized to tell you these things. I don't know how much you know, so I'm gonna start with the basics.

• Nomads are aliens who are the successors of the Daam Ka'vosh, an ancient creator civilization responsible for many of the wonders in Sirius. The Dee Kays tried to seed Sirius for the Nomads, but the Nomads never woke up.
  
• Rheinland accidentally woke up the Nomads 34 years ago while on a research mission somewhere in the Omegas, and it's been everyone's problem ever since.
  
• Nomads are capable of 'infesting' humans. If an 'incubus' comes in contact with a human, they can force their way into their body and puppet them. People call these Infiltrators. The Wild are infiltrators and their thralls who are operating in the open.
  
• They communicate psychically. Too much exposure to them can result in dreams, and this can eventually cause thralldom. There's no known cure, but thralls without a nomad can lie dormant like regular people until they're exposed again.
  
• They're a hivemind species, using some kind of FTL communication called a Mindshare—they call it their 'song' a lot of times.
  
• There are two known Mindshares right now: The K'Hara Mindshare and the Vagrant Mindshare. K'Haras are genocidally anti-human, but Vagrants are more curious—you can actually talk to them, and they're pretty friendly if you're nice to them. Still don't trust them, though, they do still make Infiltrators too. Wild are a mixed bag 'cause you never know what Mindshare they're a part of.
  
• A lot of organizations experiment with and on nomad material, and there have been breakthroughs using hybridized nomad weaponry. Not everyone trusts it, though.
  
• Our organization has a lot of history with Nomads I've been told not to give details on, but we can answer a lot of questions you might have.
  
• There are two kinds of nomad relic: Artifacts, which are dormant and mostly harmless novelties, and Xeno Relics, which are active, very dangerous, and should never be outside the hands of intelligence organizations.
  

Lemme know what else you might want to know. If I can answer, I will.

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Stay safe,
Yoko Mori (she/they)