Robert smiled as he saw the other man’s face change slightly. “I should warn you. You have to be careful, with those things. The heat output is 50 percent higher than the normal Hellstars you make for your MAD-3Rs. If you just replace one of the Hellstars with one of these on your Marauders? That would be a surprise for anyone. If you get some of those Freezers the FedCom is making? You might be able to mount a pair on each, and it would not roast the pilots when they fire both of them off. But you will have to put enough of those Freezers on the damn things. You also might be able to make an updated SHD-2K, that would out Kurita the Kuritas.”
McDonogh now was sweating. They spent the next hour talking about things that ranged across a boat load of different topics. They also arranged for a VIP tour of the main manufacturing facility for Robert and his key staff. They did not close any deals at the table. They would wait until Lora could be there to help with any surprises, which were sure to show up.
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After Robert and Jess left the Le Chiffre’s. They went back to the dropships without making any side trips. Lora was due to meet up with them in less than an hour. When they got out of the taxi, a hover car was parked in what was called the shaded side of the White Rabbit. Robert was worried, because he could not recognize the craft. Other than it was an expensive looking transport, it was an enigma to him. Two of the massive infantry troopers, with sidearms and light body armor, were watching the car from the hatchway of the dropship. That was where Robert saw that Lora was chatting up a third grunt, not far away inside the cargo main hatch.
Lora saw the cute and tall trooper’s face go blank and this back went ramrod straight. That was the only hint that she got, that said someone important was coming up behind her. The sound of the drop port had easily drowned out the approach of the taxi. Lora turned in time, to see Robert stepping threw the main cargo hatch. Lora did not have to put a smile on her face, it just was there. She was happy to see them, and not just the man that was leading the small group. She was happy to see more of her people again.
“Captain Copeland, so good to see you again!! I hope we can do some more business together while you are on planet.” She was staying in the story, just as she thought she should do in a situation like this. Besides she had her reasons.
Robert stopped walking and looked at the woman. He knew that something was wrong. It took him a minute for him to realize it was the tone of voice she had just used. They were friends and that was not a friendly tone, but it was a working tone that he had heard her use before. That was when he saw her tap the little noteputor she always had with her. He had remembered that she had said it was as expensive as it was helpful to her work. Robert’s eyes gave her his best “what the frak look” without saying a word.
“Yes, Miss Noone. We did very well together last time. I hope that we can have a repeat of that performance on this trip.” Robert was tap dancing and trying to play along with whatever game Lora was playing.
Now Lora was rapidly tapping the thin device, but not touching it with her fingertip. Jess noticed it, and she felt her heart race a little faster. “Miss Noone, you know that we don’t let personal electronic devices into any of our meetings. Why don’t you leave it with the hatch guard? They will make sure that you retrieve it before you leave.” Jess knew that this was not true, but she had also noticed that something was off with Lora tonight.
Lora let out a little bit of breath and nodded her head up and down. She still had a very fake smile on her face as she looked over to Jess. “Oh!! That’s right!! I forgot about that. I will just put it back in my car, I’ll be back in a few.” She did a little hand wave and exited the dropship hatch heading to the hover car. More than two sets of eyes watched as she went down the cargo ramp and headed for her grounded hover car.
Robert and Jess were still waiting on the inside of the hatch, when Lora came back up the ramp. They went the rest of the way to the meeting room without saying too much to anyone along the way. When Robert took a seat in the briefing room, the Captain of the Blockade Runner was knocking on the hatch before his butt had put a dent into the leather pad of the comfortable chair. “So much for letting me enjoy a little food coma.”
“Sir! We have picked up some new friends. It looks to be two groups, again. One group is in one of the warehouses not that far away, and the other one is in a type of hover enclosed cargo van. Both groups are using Star League scouting equipment, not unlike what we saw the last time. We think that we have one larger group, which has split up into two different locations. We also think they are talking to each other while they wait.”
Lora was nodding her head up and down, but she still had the frown on her face that she had been sporting after dropping off her data pad. Her voice sounded a little tired when she spoke up. “I’m not surprised. I had some computer issues, and when I took it to a friend. She freaked out. Someone was bugging my little helper. About the only thing she could tell me, was that they “owned” it. I was just carrying it around with me because I did not know what else to do with the damn thing. I only didn’t want whoever it was, knowing that I knew about the bug in the first place. Besides I spent too much money on it, to just put it in the recycle bin.”
Robert had a poker face on. He looked from Lora back to the ship’s Captain. “Okay, keep an eye on them and forward all information to the security squads. Tell them if something happens? I would like one of them alive and talking, but not at the risk of one of our people getting even a hangnail. They are to shoot first, shoot second, shoot third, and then ask questions if anyone is still breathing. Those are the orders of the day.” The tone of his voice brought Lora’s head up to make eye contact with the man. The tone was one she had heard a few times before, but not from this person. It was more than a little frightening.
Robert took the look and returned it levelly to the local member of the family. She did not ask any questions. He filled the empty air of the briefing room. “Okay, first things first. Lora, what have you got for us? Did you get our HPG message marked Red 6?”
Lora blinked twice and then she got her feet back under her. “Yes, I did. I had no idea that you were out by New Dawn, again?”
Jess smiled and winked one eye at the other woman. “We were not. We were just testing a new toy, and you were the first chance we had to test it. From your statement, I think that it worked as designed. We want certain groups to think, that we were anywhere but where we were, when we sent that missive to you.”
Lora had no idea what Jess was talking about, and she doubted that she would ever know. In truth? She did not really want to know. If she did not know? Then she could not tell anyone or let it slip where someone else might hear it, as her bugged device had shown her. There were very few “safe” places for her to speak. She gave herself a mental shake and focused back to business that needed to be done.
“Well after the ComStar freaks, got me off the blackball list. I was able to gather about 40 tons of tools that match what you needed on the last list that you gave me. It comes up to just under two million, in cost. I also found a local buyer, for the Cheetah. She is offering 1.6, but only if it passes a third-party inspection. The price is about what a new one cost, so I think it’s a good deal.”
Lora was going off of her memory alone, over the last few months. She had been going back to some old school skills her mother had taught her, with only a little bit of very high-tech mixed in. “I know that I told you, that if you give me some time. I could move higher ticket items. The Cheetah sale was one that had come looking for me, after you left. She was pretty let down, when she found out that she had missed you. I checked with her again, when I got your message about you coming back this way. She about kissed me, when I said you were coming back, and that you might have the fighter for sale.”
Lora took a sip of the water from a glass on the table. She was about to drop a bombshell on Robert and Jess, and she wanted to savor this moment. “I was able to contact another “Family member”. It took some time, but I got a reply to my first attempt to contact some of them. They worked to line up a possible sale of the Merchant class ship, you warned me about. I sent a recheck message, that it was a go and an estimated timeline. It works out better for the sale that it went to Canopus. They will be on Canopus in 60 to 70 days. It would have taken longer for them to come all the way out here, but HPG’s are alot faster.”
Jess pulled out her thin computer and did some numbers. “Sir that would work. That is about four days after “they” get there. If they don’t have any issues, along the way.”
Robert nodded his head to what Lora and Jess had said. “Okay, that sounds good. I also need to let you know that we will be opening and leaving open bank accounts from now on with major amounts. High Command does not feel that sending a Mammoth or other larger dropship would be conducive to our people’s needs.”
Robert knew as soon as the words left his mouth, that he had not been able to bleach the contempt for that decision out of his voice. He was still a little bent out of shape about not getting the larger dropship for this mission. “So instead? We will be using the Mule and making more trips between this part of space and home. That means, that we will not be able to use all of the capital that selling the JumpShip and dropship should raise all in one shot. With what we had left over from the last trip, and what we have raised so far on this trip. That means that we have over 50 million C-bills in cash or bank transfer notes of different kinds, to work with already. I want to put over half into the banking system, but I want to keep about 15m in cash like items in my ship’s safes. We can use that between stops, that don’t have access to an HPG in a timely manner. What do you think, Lora?” Robert and his small staff had learned a few things on the last run, but he wanted to know if a second set of eyes and brains might have a different idea.
Lora was thinking. She was not used to being asked a question like this, but she had been around this type of market for 2 generations. “If you keep a lot of cash on hand? It will get out, to maybe the wrong ears. That much money would draw a lot of attention, by some not so nice people. All who would like to take it off of your hands, and they might not be too worried about leaving a lot of blood on your decks to get at it. After all it’s not like you have a battalion or more of armed troops to keep them away.”
Robert took in the information, as was his job. “It they want to try something like that? They will not enjoy the experience. Have you been able to set up any other buys, yet?”
Lora knew how to handle this. “Yes, and they will start coming by around 0900. I have already talked to the dropship’s Captains and Cargo Masters about it. I have also passed along a list of businesses, that have items you wanted on your updated list. You will have people heading to them tomorrow. MMM put the word out, that they would be actively looking to work with you. It was a few hours after I got your message about being headed this way after your last stop. I think they had a premade press release ready to be sent out, as soon as they got the word. That changed a lot of minds about working with you at the drop of the hat. I know it was support from MMM, that helped me find some of those items you were looking for.”
Robert was now all smiles. “That is good work, Lora. You’re earning your pay already. Go ahead and make arrangements to have the items you have already picked up shipped to us. I will make sure to let our contact over at MMM know, that we appreciate their help in getting all of us off the local blackball list.” Lora already knew about the meeting with the President of the local office of MMM and Robert. Still it would not hurt to let the word float around that Captain Copeland and MMM had truly patched things up.
The meeting went on for some time, as the three worked out a few items. Lora left just as the second moon rose in the night skies, and the second set of crewmembers was heading out to shop in the big city and have some fun. Robert, Jess and escorts went out not long after Lora, spending time and money as they went to all of the local shops in the main shopping and tourist area of Londinium. Jess was asking a lot of questions about how and what to buy. When midnight sounded on the town’s massive clock, all of the crews had returned to the grounded dropships.
While the crews of the dropships were settling in for their first night on a new planet, others were not settling in. The two ROM teams of ComStar personnel were keeping an eye on these strangers, very closely. They were collecting data, but bets were being made on when or if, they would be given the word to do something…more active against this group. Both teams had been briefed on the past actions teams’ results, or more to the point. The lack of results, that were positive on those last two actions. Each of these two teams thought they would do better, and that somehow the other teams had somehow screwed up the operations. While the ComStar team watched the dropships, the dropship’s crew were watching and listening to them.
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When the sun came up over the drop port. It was a beehive of activity and the two newest dropships were just as active as everyone else. Outside of the two egg-shaped ships, loaders exited hatches loaded down with cargos of all kinds. Cannons, guns, and a few computers were off loaded and put on display. It would not take long for word to spread, and even people who did not have the money or need would hear about what was going on. They all would stop by to checkout, what everyone on the planet was talking about. On this planet, they did not charge any sales taxes or other fees on weapons made by third parties. In theory, anyone could have bought what was on display. In Theory, that is.
With a major manufacture of battlemechs and combat vehicles in the form of the Pike, Manticore, Po, APCs, and LRM and SRM carriers all on one planet. The total production was not that much compared to New Circe. But when you add that in with all of the skilled techs from around the system and on this planet. It became a major hub of trade, in this part of space. The Captains and the Cargo Masters would alternate closing deals around the two dropships. Soon they were getting to buy some things, to spend the money that was coming in by the bucket loads.
The first purchase was three trailer loads of Fuel Cell powered cars and light trucks. As they were inspected, they were loaded into shipping containers that Robert had used on the last trip. That is if they were not in them already. MMM picked up another three dozen Ultra cannons, and on the side over a dozen H-class Extended Ranged PPCs were stealthily packed away. A few different mercenary units were shopping, but they claimed that they could not afford the price being asked by Copeland’s people. By now information about new Star League Tech weapons were in all of the news books, and word said that more and different types were coming out of the factories every month all over the Inner Sphere. The price was just too rich for the units out on the edge of space. That was looking to change soon, but not for right now. The market was still limited, if Robert did not want to blow his cover. He would have to keep the prices on the higher side, to just under insane levels. After all, some units had already been able to scrape the money together.
That afternoon Robert, Jess, and two escorts were given a VIP tour of the MMM Shadow Hawk plant. MMM was very proud of what they could do in that now fully repaired facility. At the edge of the Inner Sphere, it was an impressive site to be able to see in operation. But Robert and Jess had seen the top of the line Star League plants, that the Star League in Exile used and could even reprogram to make different types of war machines as their need or technology changed over the years.
In those types of facilities on New Circe. All you had to do was load those tons of different ores, some of what Robert’s ships had brought back. They just needed to be loaded into one end of one of those beasts, in the right openings. Robots would automatically take what was needed to make whatever was planned or programed into the automated factory. And out of the other side would pop out a finished product. In less than a month all of the ores were used up, that Robert had brought back. All to make more new weapons to fight the Cylons.
Jess and Robert smiled and made the right noises, as they were shown around the ancient building. It was during one of the dogs and ponies shows about the base defense, that Jess asked if they were keeping an eye on things going on around the drop port. The briefer stopped her briefing midsentence and looked to one side of the room, at what Robert thought might have been the head of security. Robert knew that Jess had just asked something off of the cuff, but it seemed to have struck a nerve somewhere.
The board but tough looking woman let her eyes narrow as the question sunk in. She was only kind of used to being in this type of show, and she had not been fully paying attention to the proceedings after the first two hours. She knew that this group had been attacked, twice now. “Not normally. Why would you ask that?”
Robert looked at Jess, but it was a valid question and it did not break any of the protocols. He stepped in, to turn the focus to him. “We picked up two teams of people that looked like they were keeping a close eye on us. We had thought, that they might be your people. From your face’s expression. I would say that they are not your people after all.” Robert had not thought that they were MMM, but he said so to cover up the fact that his people thought that they might be related to ComStar.
The hard-looking woman looked at another suit. and then started to step away from the rest of the group. Just before she exited the room, she called out over her right shoulder. “I will have to send someone to check on that.” She was gone out of sight a few seconds later. She was about to kick over some rocks, and she knew right were to start.
While the rest of the tour was wrapping up. The tour guide was let down, that these VIP’s were not looking to buy any of the Mechs that she had been showing them for the last few hours. That just did not seem right to her world. She had been warned that these merchants were not the normal group, and they knew what they wanted. More importantly, they would pay for whatever they wanted the second they saw it. They also had things that very powerful people in MMM wanted from them, and they wanted to keep getting stuff from them. She had played nice and done her song and dance, just like she had been asked to do on short notice. Now she was sending them to “The Showroom”, via an armored convoy of four cars. She would not think that much more about them by the time she had left for home.
When Jess and Robert showed up to the now familiar looking building. They were met by Dawn again, but this time she was in a lot more expensive dress suit. Instead of the “Normal” show, that she would do for any of her normal clients. She took them right to the items on their wish list or stuff that was close to it. This time she was ready for them, and she was going to make sure that she did not waste anyone’s time.
In less than two hours after getting out of the hover convoy. The pair had bought another two-dozen industrial mechs from The Showroom. They ranged from construction, farming, lifting, and moving types of machines. It was not a record-breaking day. But it now made Dawn the number one and number two for the top sells in any given day, as measured over the last century. She was a very happy woman, when Robert and Jess had left the “Showroom”. They were again, in the four armored cars supplied by MMM on a high-speed run to the drop port. They cleared the main gate, just as the sun was going down. It had been a very full day for the off-planet group.