"I do have questions." Marco voiced, wooden pipe put aside while talking to his 'illustrious' guest for the sake of politesse. He then went straight to the point while keeping his tone level. "First, may you tell us your name or how you wish to be addressed? And second, will you delegate the leads untaken to other agents or crews?"
The first and the third were the most interesting ones for him. While he didn't doubt his ability to play the heretics against each other if he wanted, that'd still feel wrong unless as a last-ditch option. He'd rather annihilate them and have their foul gods collect on their damned souls instead, which would likely make the mission that much harder.
"Third, any leads as to how we could 'acquire' further ships without indisposing ourselves with the Imperium? Warship cemeteries hidden in corners only your kind knows, aliens willing to exchange information for favors, pirates whose back we could break, perhaps a Dynasty in deeper struggles willing to form an alliance?"
"Ah, are you worried that your prize may be stolen from you? You need not be. This arrangement we've forged is something special. Few houses have been chosen as candidates, fewer still accepted the offer. Those that did are spread across the galaxy. You are the only ones currently active in this general area. There was another, but she seems to have run off after breaking our deal. Paths untaken will remain options in the future. Perhaps the more volatile situations will evolve in your absence, but those that have been stable for centuries will continue to be stable. You are free to pursue one lead, drop it half way to follow another, then divert yourself to something else entirely and come back to the first if you so choose."
He puts his finger to his chin in an exaggerated thinking pose.
"All my recent intelligence gathering has been in a much different direction and taken all of my time. I know of no such conveniences, though if I should give you the coordinates of the
Headless Aquila perhaps you could prey upon those wishing to make use of its unholy services. I imagine the Imperial Navy outpost would hardly find it 'indisposing' should you ask your friends in the Battlefleet for a list of pirates, should you not want to enlist their aid nor attempt to barter for their ships. I'm sure a man of the void like yourself can think of many ways to 'acquire' a ship, many more than little-old-me could possibly dream up. If you want to find a Rogue Trader or alien ally I'm sure you know better than me where to look."
He gives a broad smile.
"And first but not least I'm afraid I lost my name long ago. This may seem strange to humans, but I've taken so many names over the many years of my life I can hardly be expected to remember something as trivial as which one I took first. Call me any name you like, I will never deny it."
Symonne tapped away at her slate, making sure everything said was recorded for the sake of posterity. Oh, the autoquill was doing the same thing with the aid of a vox recorder, but the seneschal rather trusted her mind over the device's sometimes slow machine spirit. A corner of that mind couldn't help but be awed by the strange Eldar jester's performance skills; she didn't know exactly what purpose they served at this meeting but it was undeniably impressive.
"I have some questions of my own, if I may. First off, while building a larger fleet is all well and good, we will need someplace to gather and supply said fleet until we are ready to locate and disable this 'Eternal Hope', assuming we do wind up going after it. A feral world wouldn't be able to support starships long-term, and depending on which allies we wind up gathering a proper Imperial port might ask awkward questions. Could we perhaps use this moon as a rally point? If not, do the Eldar know of any suitable anchorages?"
"Second, you mentioned payment. I would like some figures attached to each of these jobs as a starting point, something to aid in the decision-making process." Symonne smiled politely, taking on her role of majordomo.
"Third, are there any reasonable demands that we can meet while you are a guest aboard our vessel? Furnishings, dietary needs, things of that nature. The journey may be long, like you say, but there it doesn't have to be too uncomfortable."
He shrugs, lifting one foot. His bells still don't manage to jingle.
"I am but a humble diplomat unable to make such decisions. If you want to continue to use this fine base you'll have to ask the Prince in charge of it. I'm certain you can find many other anchorages of varying quality throughout the Expanse."
He then makes the 'money" gesture with both hands.
"As for pay.."
He goes into a detailed description of what the payout for each mission is. Each has a different set of goods, promises, and contracts as part of a payment package. Some are certainly novel, like the right to a limited tax of Corsairs in a certain region, while others are completely standard like a truckload of Gelt.
In game terms the
Hunt for the Eternal Hope and
Headless Aquila missions are worth 5 Profit Factor, while
Rook's Crown is worth 3.
"As per our contract I will take room and board similar to the Trader's Retinue. Human food suits me fine, and I'm able to make myself comfortable. Still my race's pride would not let them settle for anything lesser than what respected members of the ship would receive. I certainly can not expect more than that."
Author
Topic: Rogue Trader: Laughing Gold (IC) (Read 34568 times)