And another minor miscommunication. Ford was trying to hint to Yayoi what she could do to help - but really didn't want to have to outright ask because she was just too proud.
------
from:jet.jaguar(a)Friggarock.fen
to:local-call.residents(a)friggarock.fen
Subj: State of the Rat 12....
We're Back from out Black. The ruling Junta has been overthrown and we're back to business as usual for the time being. A lot's happened, so there's a lot to get through.
This month on the State of the Rat: Politics again, Mission Arcadia, Speaking of Science, Population +1, Railways, Friggan Shippers, *that* Artist and New Years.
1: Politics again.
Good work everyone. You've saved Frigga. No really.
There's a lot of stuff happening. Not all of it we can talk about. Anika's got our request.
This is where I have to ask you to trust us. I know, I hate it too. When the politico's say 'Trust Us' it's usually the warning not to, but I really can't say anything else or it could blow this out of the water. Right now, the empass has passed and we're into new territory. Anika's still sitting on her decision. We have our planned endgame - those of us who've sat in on the council meetings know what it is.
Please, please don't talk about it. We need a little bit of secrecy for the time being. I hope you can understand.
If you can't, I'll speak with anyone in Private. But please don't go all wikileaks on this just because you can. You really will hurt our chances of getting this done, right. Sometimes a little opacity can help with negotiations. I amn't asking for any confidentiality agreements, or loyalty clauses - I'm asking as a personal favour. Please don't talk about anything in public channels.
I feel so dirty for saying that.
And this is why I fucking hate politics.
I know Ford has said a lot earlier. All of this hinges on Anika and what she wants to do. The way we've figured it is as follows:
If she wants to try and patch up things between crown and parliament, we're bolloxed.
If she's more concerned about maintaining public relations on Venus, we're bolloxed.
If she looks for a neutral party to try and keep both sides happy, it could be anything fromBaron Attim to Baron Zara... which is a complete coin-toss.
She might defer the decision. I've been told this is possible because it'll save Kayabuki's face.
She might take our side. In theory the Queen is supposed to be apolitical and a guardian of the constitution - in which case we get what we've been asking for. At least until the Kayabuki government keels over, but by then we're free and clear to navigate.
We might still get asked to make some concessions to save face for the government, and there're a few other things that can crop up that might kill us.
It's that simple. This can still go wrong. We are most definitely not out of the woods yet.
I'll post more when I know about it. And I can talk about it.
2: Mission Arcadia
So, One word sums up our mission. Mixed.
We achieved many of the direct goals we set out to achieve. We have the first, accurate gravity density map of Arcadia. We also succesfully performed several deep-ocean dives - most likely the first deep ocean explanet survey and certainly the first manned dive. We were the first expedition to recover samples of sediment, ore and even life-forms from the depths of an exoplanet.
It's safe to say that we've all earned our place in the history books with this one. Artemis is already considering a followup based on our preliminary reports and Lev intends to author a paper detailing his preliminary findings within the next few months.
Unfortunately, on the return journey, some of our samples were contaminated with 'wave by a leak in a tankard. These were offloaded at a specialist to see if they can be cleaned up or otherwise retrieved for scientific purposes.
Also, for all those who were concerned, A.C. has told me that Kasumi will be fine, and has extended her thanks to well-wishers - she was just a little overwhelmed by the, ahem, 'interior atmospheric and hygenic condition' of Lun. 30 people in a tin can for 30 days with limited fresh water for the last week can have that affect.
Never have I been so glad to be vacuum capable.
With a little luck, we can get clearance for another mission next year, where we can go back bigger, better and more prepared and do some real SCIENCE! We may also get charters from Earth-based labs and universities for more mundane research. We already have one charter with the University of Manchester to launch a volley of 6 sounding rockets on Earth to conduct high-altitude real-time three dimensional aurora mapping, with the ship booked for the entire month of April.
Photographs of our mission are on Lun's Livejournal here.... including flight, deep-ocean works and some of the unique lifeforms we met on the bottom. Also Lun's crew in bathing outfits, both male and female. We believe in equal opportunity fanservice.
3: Speaking of Science.
We have received an offical request from the Professor's handlers to dock for experimental reasons.
It involves a locomotive and a length of railway track - but to what end he's being fairly tight-lipped.
Do we wish to let him dock, or not? We will get paid. But I don't know what he wants to do.
4: Population +1
We have our very first full-blood native. Our first baby born on Frigga. Maria and Vincennes Contanzia are the proud mothers of little Rosarita, born at a healthy 7lbs, 12 oz. Congratulations can be sent here. Anyone looking to buy a gift for the happy family can arrange for something through JMC's portal here.
This also means that, with a population of 10 children, we're getting our first schoolhouse in the new year. My apologies to the children involved.
5: Snidely Whiplash
'Things being Crushed by a Locomotive' on the Snidely Whiplash Channel has become the surprise Viral hit of the last month or so. Which is a dry way of saying that a lot of people out there will click on a link to see stuff go kersplat in slow motion when tied to traintracks and hit by a good old fashioned train.
That's 40,000 credits into the public kitty which we can put back into infrastructure.
We're taking suggestions at the usual location. For things to do with the money, and for prospective victims. No, we will not tie effigies of SMoF's to the rails. That's too creepy.
Otherwise, an influx of railfen fascinated at the idea of a space-railway has ensured that, thus far, our railway is the only profitable public mass-transit system in history. We're looking at operating a rental service, so distinguished guests can have a meeting in absolute privacy. And comfort.
In related news, the train always has right of way. Anywhere. Unless you'd like to see what a thousand tons of steel going 50kph will do to your car with you inside it. We don't have crossing barriers. So be careful.
6: Motoroid Training.
Signups for motoroid training has been posted on the self defense bulletin board here. We've started building the vehicles themselves and should be ready to actually start training in the new year. Once the team comes online and passes GJ certification tests we'll have enough of a security rating to qualify for Tachikoma, or other decent quality defense equipment.
Training will be fairly tough - there's a high bar to reach as anyone who took part in the militia reserve course last year knows. We'll be building five in total, which means seats for five prime pilots and two reserve. Daryl and myself will be instructors.
It's also somewhat unpaid, but on the plus side you get to use some really, really hot gear and do some cool stuff.
As for the ethics issues raised. Would you kindly get your arse off that high-horse? Is the air thin up there? We issued a legal RFP and no responses met spec. Nobody could offer anything with Tannalloy batteries and our AnimeTech control system so we're doing it in-house. It's half the price to do them here because we're doing it at Cost. We're stretching a thin budget as far as it'll go, so if we have to bend the rules to do it, so be it. The more we do ourselves, the more we can do.
7: Friggan Shippers.
One thing we've noticed, is that we're getting a lot more light courier visits - which get ery expensive. The JMC have been complaining about a lot of mickey-mouse deliveries and it costs a lot of money to shuttle them out here. Bindi, Gabriel and Anika have set up a sub-board here where people can actually coordinate their shipping needs, so rather than getting multiple couriers visiting we can have the whole lot done once a week, or once a month as it's actually required.
That means we fill up a warehouse in Serenity, and then when it's all ready make it all just go splat at once.
Jeph's fairly happy with this. If we fill a Blue Midget we can get a very cheap rate - we just need to coordinate amongst ourselves what has to come and what has to go. Otherwise it just gets messy. When a lot's coming in, a lot has to go out. This keeps everyone happy. No empty returns means no surcharges.
If you really want next day delivery through Fenspace, fetch it yourself. Otherwise you're waiting on the weekly shuttle like the rest of us.
Speaking of which. We have a big ticket item coming from Earth in 2 weeks. It's on the board. If anyone wants anything from Earth at all, up to the size of a car, get it on this transport
8: *That* artist
He's lying low here for a few weeks after his identity was blown.
Yes. I know who he really is. He's asked for privacy. Let's give it to him. He's not *that* man. Leave the poor guy alone. He's offered to do sketches for ten credits a pop, with more detailed portraits or sceneries on a negotiated rate.
9: New Years
We're planning on a joint New Years party with CGI on the 31st. All are welcome. Let's celebrate 1 year of Millenium membership. Details to follow.
10: Deferral of ZOTT announcement.
We're deferring ZOTT announcement for a month. Because of the fuckups with Venus, something had to give. Zenith was it. Tune in next month for the official word.
--
Next month. That. Some of the other things that've fallen by the wayside, new year's plans and, of course, service, service, service!
-Jet
---------------------------------------
Zenith of Things Tournament. Any ideas? Both for sponsorship, and how people would expect it to work?
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
------
from:jet.jaguar(a)Friggarock.fen
to:local-call.residents(a)friggarock.fen
Subj: State of the Rat 12....
We're Back from out Black. The ruling Junta has been overthrown and we're back to business as usual for the time being. A lot's happened, so there's a lot to get through.
This month on the State of the Rat: Politics again, Mission Arcadia, Speaking of Science, Population +1, Railways, Friggan Shippers, *that* Artist and New Years.
1: Politics again.
Good work everyone. You've saved Frigga. No really.
There's a lot of stuff happening. Not all of it we can talk about. Anika's got our request.
This is where I have to ask you to trust us. I know, I hate it too. When the politico's say 'Trust Us' it's usually the warning not to, but I really can't say anything else or it could blow this out of the water. Right now, the empass has passed and we're into new territory. Anika's still sitting on her decision. We have our planned endgame - those of us who've sat in on the council meetings know what it is.
Please, please don't talk about it. We need a little bit of secrecy for the time being. I hope you can understand.
If you can't, I'll speak with anyone in Private. But please don't go all wikileaks on this just because you can. You really will hurt our chances of getting this done, right. Sometimes a little opacity can help with negotiations. I amn't asking for any confidentiality agreements, or loyalty clauses - I'm asking as a personal favour. Please don't talk about anything in public channels.
I feel so dirty for saying that.
And this is why I fucking hate politics.
I know Ford has said a lot earlier. All of this hinges on Anika and what she wants to do. The way we've figured it is as follows:
If she wants to try and patch up things between crown and parliament, we're bolloxed.
If she's more concerned about maintaining public relations on Venus, we're bolloxed.
If she looks for a neutral party to try and keep both sides happy, it could be anything fromBaron Attim to Baron Zara... which is a complete coin-toss.
She might defer the decision. I've been told this is possible because it'll save Kayabuki's face.
She might take our side. In theory the Queen is supposed to be apolitical and a guardian of the constitution - in which case we get what we've been asking for. At least until the Kayabuki government keels over, but by then we're free and clear to navigate.
We might still get asked to make some concessions to save face for the government, and there're a few other things that can crop up that might kill us.
It's that simple. This can still go wrong. We are most definitely not out of the woods yet.
I'll post more when I know about it. And I can talk about it.
2: Mission Arcadia
So, One word sums up our mission. Mixed.
We achieved many of the direct goals we set out to achieve. We have the first, accurate gravity density map of Arcadia. We also succesfully performed several deep-ocean dives - most likely the first deep ocean explanet survey and certainly the first manned dive. We were the first expedition to recover samples of sediment, ore and even life-forms from the depths of an exoplanet.
It's safe to say that we've all earned our place in the history books with this one. Artemis is already considering a followup based on our preliminary reports and Lev intends to author a paper detailing his preliminary findings within the next few months.
Unfortunately, on the return journey, some of our samples were contaminated with 'wave by a leak in a tankard. These were offloaded at a specialist to see if they can be cleaned up or otherwise retrieved for scientific purposes.
Also, for all those who were concerned, A.C. has told me that Kasumi will be fine, and has extended her thanks to well-wishers - she was just a little overwhelmed by the, ahem, 'interior atmospheric and hygenic condition' of Lun. 30 people in a tin can for 30 days with limited fresh water for the last week can have that affect.
Never have I been so glad to be vacuum capable.
With a little luck, we can get clearance for another mission next year, where we can go back bigger, better and more prepared and do some real SCIENCE! We may also get charters from Earth-based labs and universities for more mundane research. We already have one charter with the University of Manchester to launch a volley of 6 sounding rockets on Earth to conduct high-altitude real-time three dimensional aurora mapping, with the ship booked for the entire month of April.
Photographs of our mission are on Lun's Livejournal here.... including flight, deep-ocean works and some of the unique lifeforms we met on the bottom. Also Lun's crew in bathing outfits, both male and female. We believe in equal opportunity fanservice.
3: Speaking of Science.
We have received an offical request from the Professor's handlers to dock for experimental reasons.
It involves a locomotive and a length of railway track - but to what end he's being fairly tight-lipped.
Do we wish to let him dock, or not? We will get paid. But I don't know what he wants to do.
4: Population +1
We have our very first full-blood native. Our first baby born on Frigga. Maria and Vincennes Contanzia are the proud mothers of little Rosarita, born at a healthy 7lbs, 12 oz. Congratulations can be sent here. Anyone looking to buy a gift for the happy family can arrange for something through JMC's portal here.
This also means that, with a population of 10 children, we're getting our first schoolhouse in the new year. My apologies to the children involved.
5: Snidely Whiplash
'Things being Crushed by a Locomotive' on the Snidely Whiplash Channel has become the surprise Viral hit of the last month or so. Which is a dry way of saying that a lot of people out there will click on a link to see stuff go kersplat in slow motion when tied to traintracks and hit by a good old fashioned train.
That's 40,000 credits into the public kitty which we can put back into infrastructure.
We're taking suggestions at the usual location. For things to do with the money, and for prospective victims. No, we will not tie effigies of SMoF's to the rails. That's too creepy.
Otherwise, an influx of railfen fascinated at the idea of a space-railway has ensured that, thus far, our railway is the only profitable public mass-transit system in history. We're looking at operating a rental service, so distinguished guests can have a meeting in absolute privacy. And comfort.
In related news, the train always has right of way. Anywhere. Unless you'd like to see what a thousand tons of steel going 50kph will do to your car with you inside it. We don't have crossing barriers. So be careful.
6: Motoroid Training.
Signups for motoroid training has been posted on the self defense bulletin board here. We've started building the vehicles themselves and should be ready to actually start training in the new year. Once the team comes online and passes GJ certification tests we'll have enough of a security rating to qualify for Tachikoma, or other decent quality defense equipment.
Training will be fairly tough - there's a high bar to reach as anyone who took part in the militia reserve course last year knows. We'll be building five in total, which means seats for five prime pilots and two reserve. Daryl and myself will be instructors.
It's also somewhat unpaid, but on the plus side you get to use some really, really hot gear and do some cool stuff.
As for the ethics issues raised. Would you kindly get your arse off that high-horse? Is the air thin up there? We issued a legal RFP and no responses met spec. Nobody could offer anything with Tannalloy batteries and our AnimeTech control system so we're doing it in-house. It's half the price to do them here because we're doing it at Cost. We're stretching a thin budget as far as it'll go, so if we have to bend the rules to do it, so be it. The more we do ourselves, the more we can do.
7: Friggan Shippers.
One thing we've noticed, is that we're getting a lot more light courier visits - which get ery expensive. The JMC have been complaining about a lot of mickey-mouse deliveries and it costs a lot of money to shuttle them out here. Bindi, Gabriel and Anika have set up a sub-board here where people can actually coordinate their shipping needs, so rather than getting multiple couriers visiting we can have the whole lot done once a week, or once a month as it's actually required.
That means we fill up a warehouse in Serenity, and then when it's all ready make it all just go splat at once.
Jeph's fairly happy with this. If we fill a Blue Midget we can get a very cheap rate - we just need to coordinate amongst ourselves what has to come and what has to go. Otherwise it just gets messy. When a lot's coming in, a lot has to go out. This keeps everyone happy. No empty returns means no surcharges.
If you really want next day delivery through Fenspace, fetch it yourself. Otherwise you're waiting on the weekly shuttle like the rest of us.
Speaking of which. We have a big ticket item coming from Earth in 2 weeks. It's on the board. If anyone wants anything from Earth at all, up to the size of a car, get it on this transport
8: *That* artist
He's lying low here for a few weeks after his identity was blown.
Yes. I know who he really is. He's asked for privacy. Let's give it to him. He's not *that* man. Leave the poor guy alone. He's offered to do sketches for ten credits a pop, with more detailed portraits or sceneries on a negotiated rate.
9: New Years
We're planning on a joint New Years party with CGI on the 31st. All are welcome. Let's celebrate 1 year of Millenium membership. Details to follow.
10: Deferral of ZOTT announcement.
We're deferring ZOTT announcement for a month. Because of the fuckups with Venus, something had to give. Zenith was it. Tune in next month for the official word.
--
Next month. That. Some of the other things that've fallen by the wayside, new year's plans and, of course, service, service, service!
-Jet
---------------------------------------
Zenith of Things Tournament. Any ideas? Both for sponsorship, and how people would expect it to work?
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?