The Shimmering Petal Mercenary Company was all too eager to answer any questions TAUBENMUTTER sent their way, as long as they figured it didn't harm their chance to get off the planet and anywhere where they wouldn't get bled dry for every scrap bolt and nut for their 'Mechs as they were currently being bled here. That didn't mean they could give TAUBENMUTTER and, by extension, the Furina De Fontaine everything the same hoped to obtain. There were limits to their knowledge.
However, the thing they could tell with 100% truth and authenticity was their history.
Created in 2798 by a group of disgruntled Ronin within the Draconis Combine (an apparent Japanese Ethnostate harking back to the Edo-Era of the Japanese Islands re-created in this universe), these Ronin gathered their Battlemechs and what retainers and soldiers they could bring along to first plunder along the border to the Lyran Commonwealth (a sort of...mercantile neo-feudal German culture-esque nation), before fleeing the consequences of their actions to the border near the Federated Suns (a mix of British and French culture wrapped up in "one neat package of hypocrisy, self-important superiority, and colonial exploitation in the name of "FREEDOM!"") and Capellan Confederation (a...Chinese(?) Dynasties-Era Slave-State with castes and a Heavenly Throne) where they plied their trade for some years before running through the Free Worlds League (a mishmash of hundreds of star systems united under one umbrella because they couldn't figure out how to kill each other and take over without getting eaten by the Cappelans or Lyrans) before ending up in the "Eastern" Periphery, making money and taking contracts for the next two centuries while they slowly migrated "South" through the Magistracy of Canopus (a matriarchal nation that depends on tourism to stay afloat...despite the apparent difficulty of interstellar travel that this universe has) before slowly sickering into the Deep Periphery while they took contract after contract from the "Mercenary Review Board" (an organization set up by ComStar to ensure that the Neo-Feudal nations of this crapsack universe would have plenty of mercenaries to call upon that could be relied upon whenever they were required) before taking the plunge into unlicensed mercenary work to obtain the money they needed after a turn of bad luck after bad luck.
When asked for star maps and data on the places they had been to, the Shimmering Petals replied with a question about employment and contracts. They wanted to get the hell off this planet and were willing to give the maps and information...so long as they were brought off-world.
TAUBENMUTTER asked if they wished to have a garrison contract for the second world of the UNSC instead, with free repairs to their Battlemechs to the best ability of the nation and the agreement of their technicians added on top. They would be paid in money and travel to a port of their choosing within reason the moment they decided to terminate their contract.
...
The Petals agreed and shared two maps. One of the nearest slice of the
Periphery, and another of a general map one of them managed to scrounge up from their data banks on the state of the
Inner Sphere.
Discussions were had, and eventually, offers were made to the Council of Ten. Medical technology of the likes they had never seen before, Seismic scanners that could accurately predict emerging earthquakes days in advance if enough sensors were scattered around, Consumer Goods in large quantities from entertainment to exotic foods and luxury items, Broadcast Syndication of UNSC IPs (though nothing that wasn't seen as rudimentary already), Raw Materials set to be shipped on a yearly and percentage basis by the colony to each of the Council Members, alongside Educational Primers to lift their people from their slow technological decay.
The Council of Ten agreed without reservation to this first offer, likely fearing that trying to barter would end up driving the Furina away, thinking they had made out like bandits and thieves in broad daylight.
Still, they would check the systems and information religiously, editing and cutting out all parts they found too subversive and too anti-ethical to their grasp on the planet. They thought the strange spacers had shot their shot and had their attempt at subverting their people and captive customers neutralized for now.
They did not know that TAUBENMUTTER could barely restrain its disappointment that they had failed to catch any of the worms and viruses hidden within the data packets that were spreading through their systems. None would be activated for now, of course. That would be left for when the planet could be properly flipped, as the Heads agreed that the current political system of Affati could not be tolerated. Yet, they had to ensure its people would rectify it themselves, lest their saviors be seen as conquerors.
So...what now?
(6-Hour Moratorium)
[] Seek Another Member (Write-In)
[] Return To Gunhallow To Restock And Pass Time
[] Search For Colony Sites
