MF Max Intel Ch. 06-10

"I would be a fool not to accept! We will set everything up and you can work out the initial payment with Commodore Phillips who will be in charge of the ship meeting you in two days time. I must say, though, I am not used to a merchant being so trusting."

"We are attempting to create jusst such an atmossphere here on Freeport. I am pleassed we have a deal. Alsso, once we have gone through our own refit, sshould the Terran Federation have any material needss, pleasse do not hessitate to call uss? We will be developing relationshipss with very influential and varied traderss in the Minor Empiress and will be happy to broker a besst cosst deal for the Federation."

Charles smiled, "I will put you at the top of my list of contacts. Thank you, Administrator Soumii."

Soumii nodded, "Jusst Ssoumii iss fine, Admiral."

Charles nodded, "Thank you Soumii, and it is just Charles."

"We look forward to doing good bussinesss with you, Charless."

"And we with you. Call me if you have any issues with the transfer and thank you for considering us with your Tyrenium."

With that, the call ended and Soumii looked to Agatha, "Wass that a wisse transsaction, Agatha?"

Agatha smiled, "It was perfect! I have estimated our refit will cost around 1.5 billion credits and take around four months, so we can pay for the refit in three installments and still be able to run Freeport while we undergo the refit."

0o0

Bract depot 03 never really slept: which meant Agatha had to go dreamscaping every 6 hours for two days to ensure she had all of the requisite information before speaking with Mary. As she suspected, 24k was very active on the Bract Trading Depot and they, along with their mercantile fronts, had violated almost every Bract Trade Regulation. She also now had the locations of all the incriminating evidence to substantiate her claims.

While at the evening watering hole, Agatha made the rounds before she walked over to Minsu and handed her a 500-sheet packet of blank paper. She then warbled to her Skerawk compatriot, "I was made aware you were in need of some special paper and I have brought you a ream."

Minsu was most excited and warbled back, "My Esteemed Sister Is Naturally well informed (M.E.S.I.N. message and well supported?)."

"Yes, thank you for your compliment (Correct. I have included all the documentation I could, but the information is very accurate and up to date)."

Minsu bobbed her head and smiled as she warbled, "I will be sure my staff gets it as soon as I return to my quarters. Thank you so much for your kindness. (I will pass on this information to the Sharik-Sah network with highest priority)."

Upon leaving the watering hole, Astrid walked to Mary's, having informed her through a dream that she would be visiting with extremely important news and that Bob should be present. Agatha had brought a large container of dried Wunai Moon tea leaves with her for their tea party.

"Agatha! It is so good to see you again!" Mary greeted the Star Child with genuine enthusiasm.

Bob was already there, and Agatha handed Mary the tea, "I thought I might bring some Dau Wunai Moon tea for our little get together. I hope you find its delicate flavors pleasing. Hello Bob, I am so happy you were able to join us this evening."

Bob responded, "I will always attend meetings at the Star Child's request."

"Please, just Agatha? I don't want to be thought of as an aloof or overbearing person."

Bob's antennae vibrated softly, "I meant no offense, Agatha. Our people owe you and your associates a great debt."

"Which is paid in full with just being good friends," Agatha nodded with a broad smile.

Mary entered the now somewhat cramped living area of her quarters with a steaming pot of tea and served everyone. Upon her first sip, Mary was entranced with the nuanced flavors. "Agatha, I hope you intend to leave the rest of your tea with me? This is delightful!"

"It was intended as a gift, Mary." Agatha replied, much to Mary's delight.

Bob agreed the tea was very good but wanted to get to the point of the meeting, "Please Agatha, why am I here?"

Agatha looked at Bob and smiled, "Are you familiar with the crime syndicate 24K?"

"Vaguely, we do not concern ourselves with Terran crime families."

"Well, I have confirmed beyond the shadow of a doubt that three nodes of 24K are active on Depot 03 as we speak, and they are circumventing or outright breaking your trade laws. I found out it was 24K who gave the pirates of Freeport the information needed to hijack your freighter as well. I was wondering if you would like to know the details?"

Bob, as much as was possible for a beetle-like Bract, leaned forward with both antennae pointed directly at Agatha, "Please," was all he said.

Agatha proceeded to tell Bob and Mary of all that 24K was involved in and doing on Depot 03 as well as where the evidence was stored and who had access to that evidence. She also included a list of other 24K cells on the other Depots, though she did not have information on where their evidence might be located or who would have access to it.

Bob was trembling in his seat by the time Agatha was through, "This creates a very serious problem for us as those three organizations you say are fronts for 24K represent over 90% of our trade with the Terran Federation. I am not even sure moving against them would be wise."

Agatha smiled and replied, "Indeed, it creates a very sticky situation for the Bract. I do have a possible solution, though. If the Chair is interested?"

Mary took another sip of her tea, closed her eyes, smiled, and said: "The Chair is VERY interested."

"I would have the other Depots begin covert intelligence gathering to secure all the information they need to arrest these criminals and then have a coordinated attack between the Depots. I would, upon said attack, tell the Terran High Command why they were detained, what evidence was found, and that these entities may no longer have anything to do with the Bract Conglomerate either with direct or indirect trade."

Finally, since Freeport has just been granted most favored trading status with the Terran Federation, I would suggest the Bract Conglomerate contact Freeport and immediately secure all trade transportation rights between Freeport to and from the Terran Federation as well as any Federation trade to any of the Minor Empires with a Freeport relationship. The arrangement to undergo a full review for continued services every 5 years."

"I would have all this finalized in four months time as that is the length of time it will take for Freeport to finish their upgrades, move to a centralized location within the M.E. and establish itself as a duty-free smelting factory and as a primary trading source between the M.E. and the Terran Federation."

"I am also aware that Freeport is willing to provide free docking space to all Bract trading vessels as well as a duty-free office space, built to Bract specifications, for their use to coordinate their transportation schedules."

Mary asked, "What about the Trankarans?"

"They are being approached very soon with a proposal of their own."

"What about security?"

"Ambassador Jooniper Smith is in the process of creating the Minor Empires Security Information Network, MESIN, and the famed Sharik-Sah are already in the fold. We would also like to include the Bract ship Captains in the MESIN as information gathering assets. Needless to say, the family will be very, 'engaged' with any threats to the profitability of Freeport, to include safe shipping."

"This whole venture, beginning with the Bract, is an attempt to eliminate crime and corruption from the merchant guilds of all M.E. nations as well as the Terran Federation."

Mary smiled, "It seems you have found your way around the political issues with your previous offer of a diplomatic agreement of cooperation that meets our needs and is sensitive to our niche in the Universe. Most admirable, Agatha."

"So, we can count on your favorable introduction of our plan to the Board?"

"Indeed, you can. I do not see any viable complaints with the Board's agreement this time. Frankly, the Board is a bit embarrassed now with their earlier denial...given the return of our freighter and the safekeeping of our secrets." Mary smiled as she glowed with the prospect of giving the Board a way through their predicament with the House of Anders.

0o0

Soumii then connected a call to the Trankaran Republic. This was an agreed upon contact with Agatha as a part of the startup of Freeport.

It did not take long for the sigil of the Trankaran Republic, a molten planet with the face of their new Queen overlooking the planet as if she were a benevolent sun, to appear and be replaced by what looked like and sounded like a talking rock, "This is the Trankaran Mining and Trade Directorate's communications line, how may I be of assistance?" The rock said in a gravelly voice.

"Hello, I am Ssoumii, the Mayor and Chief Operationss Officer of the mobile mining and trade facility called Freeport. I would like to sspeak with your persson in charge of mining and trade with the intent of brokering a deal with the Trankaran Republic, pleasse?"

"I will put you through to the Minister of Trade and the Minister of Mining together, please give me a moment."

The sigil reappeared for a few moments before the two ministers coalesced. "Hello Mayor Soumii, I am Broackerden, Minister of Mining."

"And I am Arrgoreaen, Minister of Trade. What can we do for you today?"

Soumii bowed politely, "Ass I mentioned to your very kind communicationss officer, I am the new Mayor of Freeport. Are you familiar with our facility?"

Broackerden replied, "We are aware of the facility, yes. Has the facility changed hands recently?"

"Actually, yess. Freeport wass a den of thievess up until the new ownerss cleaned out the place and disspatched all the killerss, thievess, piratess, and slaverss. Thank you for sso delicately broaching that ssubject. The kindnesss of your sspeciess is well desserved."

"Thank you Mayor Soumii for letting us know. How can we be of assistance to the new owners of Freeport?"

"If you wissh confirmation, Ambasssador Jooniper Ssmith/Anderss can verify our new sstatuss ass an honorable merchant. You can contact her Firsst Ssecretary at the Sslarmian Terran Conssulate. Ass for thiss call, I wissh to offer the sservicess of Freeport ass a duty-free ssmelting facility capable of ssmelting ssmall planetss or entire moonss down to the individual elementss or required compossitess."

Broackerden leaned forward, knowing the smelting of their mining was the major cost of the whole mining operation. To have a duty-free station capable of smelting their entire output made the additional transportation of the raw ore more than profitable. "Duty free you say. How is this possible?"

Soumii smiled and leaned back in her chair, "Being of a sscale to ssmelt entire moonss givess uss an economy unmatched in thiss part of the Universse, sso our cosstss are comparatively minimal. However, we are alsso ssetting up a huge trade Emporium with all the Minor Empiress and the Bract have agreed to provide any needed transsportation at a negotiated price."

"Not only are the Minor Empiress going to be sselling their waress; but Freeport has been granted mosst favored trade sstatuss with the Terran Federation, opening up that market to all your mining productss, which you don't even have to sstore, while giving you access to wholessale pricess for Dau electronicss, Asshanath FTL drivess and antigravity devicess...the lisst is endlesss. We would ssimply assk 10% of ssaless to your cusstomerss ass a fee to allow Freeport to continue doing bussinesss."

Broackerden, Minister of Mining said, "Our smelting costs run 45% of sales, we would be foolish not to agree to a contract."

Arrgoreaen, Minister of Trade agreed, "We would drastically reduce our shipping time as well as eliminate the costs of storage which adds another 10% to the costs of our products. So, we would be looking at a minimum of a 40% savings in our costs, considering we will be shipping raw ore instead of smelted metals. When can we begin sending you shipments?"

"We are currently undergoing a refit of the facility but sshould be online in a centralized location within 5 monthss time. Sso, we have an agreement?"

Arrgoreaen smiled, "We will bring this immediately to our Queen and the Senate, but I foresee no problems with your proposal passing. It will be a pleasure doing business with you, Mayor Soumii."

"Pleasse let the Queen know we are alsso sseting up a diplomatic set of ssuitess for all the Minor Empiress. We would appreciate the Trankaranss being part of that."

Both the ministers smiled, knowing full well the Queen had such an idea for some time.

"We will let you know of our final location when we are ready. Alsso, just Ssoumii, please."

"Until we speak again, Soumii, and I am just Arrgoreaen"

"Likewise, just Broackerden."

Soumii was pleased with the way business was shaping up. With Agatha's guidance, she had called a Male Largath by the name of Logo who was willing to set up a cattle trade station on Freeport along with sending a Largath representative for the diplomatic mission.

This led to the Ashanath jumping onboard with both trade and diplomacy when told of the huge animals which would allow them to feed their new Marine recruits a constant supply of fresh meat without having to farm the animals themselves. The only fee for joining was to supply Freeport's refit with 30 of their largest and best power cores...the cores were arriving in two weeks' time. It was not lost on Soumii that the waste from the Largath's cattle would be desirable to the Bract.

Soumii was particularly proud of the power core deal. Getting them donated reduced the cost of the refit by a quarter billion credits. Those cores were eight times as efficient as the ones on Freeport and would reduce their smelting costs by 75%. The deal with the Trankarans and other species for a 10% fee for selling smelted ores would now give them a 5% profit margin on the smelting alone. With the sales and docking fees of all the other goods and services, Freeport would be raking in a substantial profit within months of opening.

0o0

Logo was sure this was Vika's doing. This was one of the reasons Vika had made Logo purchase such a large Trankaran merchant ship. He had to contact the other tribal leaders of the Largath and convince them to massively increase the breeding of their livestock.

Logo also instructed his herd to begin looking for Uko eggs, taking only half from each nest from around the shores of the lakes, and to begin raising them in tanks to slaughter them and sell the meat.

The Bract Parsley grew at nearly a foot a day and was a very densely packed source of plant protein, making increasing the cattle herds and feeding the Dragon Turtles an easy, even necessary task. Logo would let the others raise their cattle. Vika had helped him realize the real money was in raising Dragon Turtles.

While adult Dragon Turtle grew to over five thousand pounds, the young hatched at only 10 pounds but grew rapidly. In a month, a young properly fed Uko would be over 150 pounds and the meat was one of the most exotic and sought after delicacies in the Minor Empires.

Additionally, their polished shells had a Terran 'Mother of Pearl" quality to them along with being very light and almost as strong as Terran homogenized stainless steel. The shells, when soaked in vinegar for a week, became temporarily pliant and could be shaped into molds, flattened, or connected together; making them highly sought after for jewelry, gun stocks, flooring, or tabletops...their uses were endless. They sold for 50k a square foot which meant one 150 pound Dragon Turtle shell would bring 500k apiece after polishing.

A thousand sales a cycle was an easily reachable target and would bring in 400,000,000 credits of pure profit just from the shells alone. The meat of the Dragons ran 100 credits a pound with a 150 pound Turtle producing roughly 50 pounds of meat. At 1,000 head, the meat would bring in 4,000,000 credits of profit. After three years of careful husbandry Logo knew he could be sustainably raising 10,000 head a year for a profit of over 4,000,000,000 credits of pure profit a year.

Vika had foreseen all of this and had prepared Logo well. This new venture would catapult him into a position where he was the one who pulled the herds of Largata into one nation and lead them into a glorious future. The ten-year plan Vika had given him just kicked into overdrive and Logo was ready.

0o0

Life aboard the Deirdre again took up its normal routine during their time traveling. The twins spent a lot of time in the cargo hold working on their new fantasy class abilities and learning how to work with the rest of the family as a well-oiled assault team.

By the end of the first day of travel, the family had decided that Nike and Emma needed to work as a two-person team. They had more combat time working together than all of the rest of the family put together since they had been doing the battle circuits for years. Nike was in the process of throwing flame darts out of the open cargo hold while moving instantaneously from one point to another around the bay when she stopped cold and looked at Max.

Max had been thinking about the two sisters being such a deadly duo and was proud of her sisters when Nike replied in her mind, *Thank you sister. That is most kind of you to feel that way. I feel we can be a real asset to the team should any threats arise.*

Max's eyes got big, *Well that happened quickly! I wonder why everything is coming to the two of you so fast.*

Nike mused, *Emma and I have been in cyber contact like this for a few years now so it really isn't anything new to either of us. I guess being familiar with it along with having some of Agatha in our bodies has accelerated our development.*

Emma laughed, *Yeah, Nike can be a bit of a boss when it comes to tactical situations. I usually let her lead so it works out pretty well.*

Joon added, *Nike and Emma, that is just fine as long as you follow the general plan and work towards the goals set by Max and agreed upon by the family. No going off mission without a quick confab as it could put others in jeopardy.*

Vika had been working in several 2-hour sparring sessions a day with Emma learning the staff and Nike learning the sword. *I am pleased with your continuing advancement with both your balance and quickness. Emma, your learning blocks and strikes will be invaluable against gifted opponents, particularly a Sorceress or Wizard. Nike, your strikes with your sword can engulf any you strike in fire and brimstone. Just both of you be aware of your weaknesses.*

The warning was not lost upon the twins as they had already learned through practice with the family that the magical weapons of Vika and Max could harm them while Astrid's bubble could weaken them. Also, Paula could affect them with her fortune ability as well.

0o0

As the Deirdre lowered itself on the back side of the same archery range as before, Agatha set the camouflage skin to mimic the trees in the area. Vika was with Joon and Max in the dining area and she asked them to set up a numbered account with the Henry Voss Corporation's interplanetary banking consortium and to include all the family on the account.

They did so immediately and without further questions, knowing Vika had a very good reason to request it.

As soon as the Deirdre had entered the system, Joon had sent an activation code to her car still parked at her parent's home and had it rendezvous with them at the archery fields. One Agatha at a time was on stealth perimeter patrol in nanoweave while Samira, Max, and Joon took her car and drove it to a special dealership.