[STORY] With Liberty And Great Justice...

[robkelk]

From: Noah Scott (big-cheese@stellvia.lib)
To: Col. Mal Fnord, USSRAF (23@globalfrequency.fen)
Subject: Re: I'd like to say you're wrong, but...
Date Posted: May 19, 2013

* First of all, I want you to know that whatever happens next, I've got your back.

Thanks, Mal. Coming from you, that means a hell of a lot.

* Secondly, if you're feeling any guilt over having set this firestorm off, *drop it.*

I don't feel guilt about it; what I feel is a sense of awe and wonder that people take my ramblings seriously. I wonder what would happen if I tried going into politics full-time... no, I've got a station to run.

* Money & resources are a problem... in terms of raw material goods, if we staked a claim on one of the larger asteroids and mined it to death, that'd take care of our supply of metal and organics for decades.

We'll need some way to refine the ores we pull out of that asteroid, and Wiregeek's posts make him look like he's firmly in Suzumiya's camp. Maybe we can work a deal with one of the Mercury smelting companies...?

* Paying for training - or just salaries! - is trickier. Have to think about that one.

Like I said on the public channel, I can provide seed money. But that'll only last for a couple of weeks - maybe a month if I raid Stellvia's operating funds.

* Still not sold on the idea that we need a Fenspace-wide government to handle this, or that we need give up our newly-forged traditions in the face of expediency. If you think I'm full of it, convince me.

Somebody's going to have to pay for it all... and I doubt that "taxation without representation" will go over any better in Fenspace than it did in the Thirteen Colonies.

If we can come up with a way to pay for it that doesn't involve taxation, then we've got clear ether. But I can't see a way to do that. Yet.

* Whoever's running Boskone is playing a very long & deep game. Suzumiya, from the very little time I spent working with her directly, is about as deep as a dry puddle.

I can't argue with that...   But that doesn't eliminate the possibility that somebody else in the SOS-dan is playing her and us for fools. Who else? Damned if I know.

* No, our mystery player is someone with access to men, money and materiel that are just as good as the major factions. Corcoran's message suggests they've got some serious firepower in the wave engineering department, too. That says to me 'Danelaw, authorized or not. And *that* is something we have *got* to get on top of ASAP, the rantings of a spoiled brat aside.

Which means we need Ninja who know what they're doing, or some other "sneaky agents" who can get into and out of secure facilities.
(Ninja. Why did it have to be Ninja?)

* PS: If you can spare the time, there'll be a small symposium on spider hunting in the back room of the Paragon City Saloon on the 22nd, starting at 1300. Mr. Schrodinger will be joining us. You might find it... informative.

You know, it's been over fourteen months since I last had a vacation... I think I'll mention that on the public forum, and announce I'm taking a week off to play tourist. See you Wednesday.

* PPS: I know what kaboomite is, but that's only because I'm the guy hired to repair the damage Kohran did extracting the main ingredient in the first place. Don't worry, your secret's safe with me.

I knew Kohran got back from that scavenging trip too quickly... (She was supposed to clean up after herself. I hope she paid you well.) Okay, in the highly-unlikely event that we find any fissionables on that asteroid we claim, I call "dibs".

--Noah