Trade presses a button to call up a hologram, showing… Commodity transfers and prices.
"We've noticed that we're doing appreciably less trade with several member worlds than we were prior to them becoming members."
Because
those are the metrics that concern them more...
I nod. "Yes. We've arranged things so that vital materials can be traded more easily amongst member worlds, and most of them have reduced tariff barriers in response. We can secure our internal space far more easily than we can our external space. Outside that, we'd risk having our supply lines attacked by our enemies. And to be fair, attacking a ship carrying military supplies during a war isn't exactly unreasonable."
"Have you experienced any such attacks?"
I expect that piracy and privateers are a big concern for them. Not surprising.
"It's difficult to say. The Reach are experts in the use of third party agents and concealed attacks. Ships have gone missing, but it's… Not easy to tell the exact reasons. They go missing a lot less in areas we control, and we suspect that this is due to the greater concentration of armed patrols and the constant monitoring."
DA makes a frown-equivalent gesture. "Has N.E.M.O. imposed additional tariffs on external trade?"
And any missing ship is going to be investigated fairly in-depth, because of the war. Bad time to be a pirate right now, I bet.
"One moment." Ring? "N.E.M.O. as a whole has no external tariff policy. Member civilisations are free to determine their external tariff policy themselves. Out of… Several hundred members, three have changed their external tariff policy after becoming N.E.M.O. members and only one of them regularly sent ships here. If you're fishing for an invitation to our next internal trade talks, I can pass that on to the relevant people but those are.. generally members only affairs."
"But you don't intend to extend your protection outside of your own-. Your current borders."
Evidently not. That would likely be taken as an act of war by some belligerents...
"We don't intend to send warships into neutral space during a war, no. I mean, if there was an actual mayday transmission and someone was in range we'd probably send them, but we have a.. war to fight. Generally speaking, if somewhere wants to trade without having pirates and privateers take a cut one way or the other, they use their own security fleets. Or at least hire private security companies to do it for them. The Brotherhood of Zvort have quite a good reputation, if you're thinking of moving in that direction."
Bet mercenaries... Sorry, 'Private Security Contractors'... Are making quite the killing on the peripheries of both groups territory...
"No. We are concerned that the Brotherhood's Code of Conduct violates our neutrality."
"That's… Rather the drawback of neutrality. It doesn't guarantee protection from your enemies and it doesn't make you any friends. Have you considered offering shipping insurance?"
Heh. Sure,
you may want to be neutral... But that kind of depends on
others recognising that neutrality.
Public Order makes a gesture of mild frustration with his right hand. "A number of companies based here already offer insurance policies to shipping firms."
"But there's no enforcement. So a shipping company is going to look at a high risk journey here and compare it to a low risk journey within N.E.M.O., which… Might not offer them quite the same level of gross profit, but will have a lot less in deductions. And less chance of them dying. I mean, a big shipping company would probably be happy taking the money, but a lot of these are small traders. If they get pirated then it's their next of kin who get the payout, and they're not going to replace the ship that got destroyed."
Quite the incentive. It always comes down to the bottom line, doesn't it?
PO nods. "You want us to… Offer bounties?"
"I don't-. I can't clap my hands and reverse a trade deficit. I'm point out why -even without direct action by N.E.M.O.- the amount of traffic you're receiving is going down. And pointing out that you could remedy this." I shrug. "Or you can wait it out. The war won't last forever."
Not if OL has any say in the matter.
Defence Force switches the hologram to an approximate rendition of N.E.M.O. and Reach territory. "And how long do you see the war lasting?"
"Based on currently available technologies, and barring any revolutionary breakthroughs, something in the region of sixty years. Though.. after ten things will probably start normalising, because we'll be pushing into Reach space proper and their assets should be too hemmed in to carry out external attacks."
Optimistic. After all, as he says, that's assuming the Reach (and by extension, N.E.M.O.) don't go pulling out their
crazy stuff. And if they're feeling pressed, that will almost certainly happen.
"Ten years to normalise?"
"I hope so. My girlfriend and I have pencilled in our wedding for them. If we're not at that stage by then, I might have to do something really crazy."
Boy, taking the long view, eh, OL? Not surprising, really, given life-extension technology available.
"Like.. pursue a more aggressive policy?"
"Like eat their planets whole." I shrug. "Our secondary aim is to create a community that outlasts this war. There's no much point in destroying the Reach if everyone on our side immediately turns on each other. And I.. really don't like killing that many people personally. I've been involved in a couple of extermination campaigns and I-. Well, I'd rather not be in that position again."
Hopefully not by pulling out a Sun Eater or two. That might not go down well with the allied systems...
"You're planning on exterminating the people of the Reach?"
I shake my head.
Only if they insist on it, i suspect...
"Both of the pervious instances were clone-races with little individuality. The cost of occupying their worlds and altering their civilisations was simply prohibitive. With regards to the Reach, we intend to permanently remove their ability to make war. Whether that involves them surrendering and disarming or being bombarded back to the stone age is up to them. Though… If it helps, we don't plan on restricting their civilian trade."
"Ah. And if you lose?"
Starting to worry what'll happen if N.E.M.O. decide
someone's not being neutral
enough, eh?
"Then I'll be dead or mind controlled, so if the Reach continue to act as they have with their previous conquests I.. imagine that the resources of formerly N.E.M.O. will be extracted purely at the pleasure of our new Reach owners, who may chose to trade with external parties when profitable."
"We…" HCO deactivates the hologram so that she can look me directly in the eyes. "We would be willing to act as dispute mediators. We have already made an offer to the Reach ambassador, and-"
No, no, this is not going to be the sort of argument you can just negotiate your way out of...
"Negotiator."
"-they-. I beg your pardon?"
"Negotiator. That's their title. The Reach doesn't have ambassadors."
That implies they see their
future client races as equals, after all. And it's only a matter of offering terms they'll agree to. One way.. or another.
"Negotiator, then, and they have accepted. We were-."
"Hah!"
"We.. were hopeful that we could bring things to a close, and restore peace and free trade to this part of the galaxy."
Certainly confident. A pity they'll be disappointed.
My eyes glow orange as I take a closer look. She's-. No, she's serious. She's been involved in mediation efforts in belligerent stellar nations before and she…
Huh.
I wonder if she even grasps the scale involved here? Or the nature of the Reach's outlook on everything outside their space.
"Okay."
"O-kay?"
"Yes, I'm willing to attend mediation. I don't really think it will get anywhere, but I'm willing to sit in a room with a Negotiator and explain why in detail. When do you want to do-"
Give the Reach more rope to hang themselves, eh? Hoping they do or say something foolish? At
worst, OL gets to snark at the Reach Negotiator for a while until they get upset and storm out. At
best? Said Negotiator does something
stupid...
My ring blinks.
"-this? Sorry, excuse me."
"Honestly, I set my status to '
busy'. This is clearly
important.
"
I lift my left hand to my ear.
"Yes?"
"Lantern Drusa here. We have a problem."
And things are about to go ploin-shaped, aren't they?