Commodities Exchange (Stellar Enterprises/Gestalt Colonies)


The Vice Commodore sat with his back to the wall avidly studying a data-pad spread out across his lap. A myriad lights display danced in the air before him, resolving itself into a holographic rendering composed of various economical observations and statistics provided by, and of, the Colonial Government via internal revue which had, incidentally, been requested by Lance Shipwright himself. Behind him a massive, floor to ceiling window looked out across Shipwright Shipyards and the rampant construction going on within.

He had been forced out of his own office, unable to gather his train of thoughts in the cluttered room which had become the information nexus for all activities conducted by Colonial Technologies and its host nation, the Gestalt Colonies. The piles had grown, once again, mountainous and as much he preferred to keep his finger on the pulse, his ear to the ground, it had just become too much for one man to handle. Androids could only be of so much help. On the positive side of things, however; the increased information was indicative of a steadily growing entity possessing its own economy, sociology and ideology. Regardless, the Vice Commodore had taken up residence in an out-of-the-way alcove located just aft of the primary transportation junction for the whole of the shipyards. His little box over-looked the network of conveyor belts, tractor beams and personnel lifts on one side and gazed out into the blackness of space, across the western edge of the shipyards, on the other. A steady stream of information kept updating itself on his data-pad, streamed from his own office by a crew of Delta-unit androids shuffling through the accumulated gulf of information.

This working environment, he reflected, was much more conducive to the sort of work he had done his whole life. From here he could look out and see almost the whole of the creation he helped to facilitate, to see manifested. Down below, currently on the night-side of the planet, the Capital of the Gestalt Colonies, the Seven Cities Area looked up at the stars with a face comprised of lights so bright and densely crowded that, from this high vantage, one could see the faces of the cities themselves. Gestalt I, not the first planet in the system but named as it was the first colonized, was the center of the Colonies and the Seven Cities were its heart. Off in the distance, invisible to the naked eye over such vast distances Gestalt II, the gas giant, continued its slow orbit around Primus, the Gestalt star. David Colony floated in the murky atmosphere of that planet and, aside from the Seven Cities Area, was the most densely populated center the Colonies could boast of. On the other side of the star system, almost dimorphic in its opposition to Gestalt I, was Wells Grey, or Gestalt III (among the locals). Wells Grey, much like Gestalt I, was a very habitable planet, very. Unlike Gestalt I, however; it had been set aside as a Colonial reserve. And then there was The Ring, an asteroid mining colony located amidst the cluster of debris that once, eons ago, had been a planet. The Ring, as an entity, had spread itself across the asteroid field and established cooperative branch operations on Gestalt II, refining and mining gasses alongside the people of David Colony.

Tens of millions of people, a 98% human population, lived under the banner of the Gestalt Colonies. A remarkable achievement when one considered that almost one hundred percent of that population had been recruited, previously transient or immigrant stock, from the displaced populations of a constantly war torn galaxy.

A summary report oriented itself in the air before Lance. The computer itself had begun updating its already impressive store of data and this had been streamed in by his assistants to fill the void between updates; a task usually taking no more then half a minute or so. It was a review, commissioned by someone in the Ministry of Ethics, an external review of the Gestalt Colonies conduct.

Bright words like “insular”, “isolationist” and “xenophobic” were common in the parlance of the report and he reflected on the truth of those simple observations.

Outside of Kashan, the Gestalt Colonists conducted the vast majority of their trade internally. The skill sets represented by the population reflected a burgeoning, multi-faceted economy. These were people, again mostly human, who had seen the ugliness of the galaxy for themselves and, in return, had chosen a life style less inclined to provoke outward hostilities. The Provisional (Colonial) Government upheld a strong post-Imperialistic tradition that echoed in the hearts and minds of its people.

But it wasn’t enough.

Kashan was a very, very powerful trading partner. Corise Lucerne, Commodore of the Kashan Defense Fleet, was a very close personal friend of Lance Shipwright and, by extension; their two nation-states had enjoyed an area of unbridled success and prosperity. What the Colonials could not acquire on their own, the Kashans contributed and vice versa. However, and though he was loathe to admit it, the Vice Commodore knew that their lack of diversified trade could become a weakness. The answer to the problem had presented itself on a previous occasion through an introduction made by Commodore Lucerne where in Lance was able to meet a man of similar interests.

He called up all the relevant information on Stellar Enterprises and their Chief Executive Officer, Rob Stellar.

Stellar Enterprises had been awarded multiple trade contracts with the Gestalt Colonies and the Kashans alike, but nothing on the scale that each party hoped for and knew to be possible. Current negotiations between the Colonies and Stellar Enterprises were to cover the sale and trade of multiple Stellar-constructed stationary platforms and other system/planetary defenses. In exchange Stellar Enterprises would be given increased operational freedom, trade-wise, within the Colonies as well as a substantial monies.

Vice Commodore Shipwright was not satisfied with this negotiation and he knew that Rob Stellar would not be either. It was only a microcosm, a small piece of a potentially delicious pie, and he imagined that both of them would want more in the end… because it was there to be had.

Lance smiled and tapped at his virtual keyboard and called up yet another summary report.

A small planetoid resolved itself and began to rotate slowly. The designation “MX-101C2” appeared above the planet along with a scrolling marquee which in itself seemed very interested in the mineral composition of the celestial body in question. According to the amendments it had been discovered only last week by a deep Sector Study patrol group. The Colonies had already applied for the rights under the Coalition charter, but then a better, more enterprising idea struck him.

“Get me a meeting with Rob Stellar,” he spoke into his communicator. “Set it up ASAP.”

Thousands of kilometers away from the slowly spinning sphere of Gestalt I hyperspace opened in order to allow a single ship to slip by. The black hulled vessel emmited no sensor radiation of any kind and had all its weapons and shield systems powered down, but in standby mode. It slowly glided through space with its thrusters ignited but only at only at quarter speed.

As the ship slowly towards towards the planet for a more direct route, two small triaginal shapes droped from the frigate's belly. These two EagleEye Recon drones slowly seperated and powered up their new spectrographic sensors. They moved away slowly with their ion shutters engaged, stattering all traces of their exhaust so that they couldn't be detected. As they seperated and moved in different directions their hulls scattered all sensor energy coming at them, not letting them be seen on the enemy screens. They were also hard to spot visually with their small slender size and profile as well as their space black carbon composite hull.

"Recieveing data from EagleEyes sir." Called out the sensor officer while looking at a screen in front.

As the man stated this fact, the large holo display at the center of the Corona class Frigate's started to change and expand. New viewpoints were being shown and new targets displayed as they became known. The ship's centeral control systems reacted almost instantly as each new contact was located. Since the ship had entered the system, the holo projector had not stopped working. There were so many ships there that the Captain was quiet surprised. Gestalt was one busy world indeed and by the looks of system traffic things were going very well on the economic level. It was no wonder Rob Stellar had wanted this meeting to happen.

While Captain Galihan stood and watched the image before him, hundreds upon hundreds of systems became visible. Most of them were merchant travel that were moving in and out of the system. The computer program colored these ships in blue, indicating they were noncombatants and were no threat to the ship Other ships, however, were moving in regular patterns aorund the planet and around the system as a whole. These were in turn labeled in grey and were combat vessals of the Gestalt defense forces. Each ship's information was also getting gathered and transfered into the displace allowing the Captain to distinguish between classes and know how a ship looked from the outside.

These three dimentional images were being recorded from high powered electro-optical scopes around the frigate. When a new target was located on the spectrograph sensor array these telescopic lens rotated towards it and zoomed in on the single ships to record their images and features. The images were then tranfered into the internal computer banks and made into a three dimensional holo image which was displayed on the bridge holo projector. Now inside the system there were defensive ships ranging from large cruisers and destroyers to smaller patrol ships and fighters.

"Contact Three two, Four Six, and One Seven are changing position sir. They are turning towards us, but not at the drones. Looks like two squadrons of fighters are veered towards us as well."

"Very well, I think it is time to contact our hosts." Captain Galihan said as he watched the holo in front of him start to shift and show the ships and fighters moving towards his frigate.

"Sir.. I have Gestalt space control."

The Captain nodded and smiled, taking the comm into his hands. "Gestalt Space Control and Space Defense Forces, this is the Corona class Frigate Star Voyager of Stellar Enterprises. I am Captain Galihan and I am delivering Rob Stellar to a meeting with Vice Commodore Shipwright. If you would, please inform the Vice Commodore that we have arrived."

He paused and looked out towards the planet through the viewport. "Also, could you relay us to an area safe area so we don't get in the way of the systems space lanes?"

Galihan turned away and moved slowly towards the command chair. He sat down and looked at the holo display still moving at the center of the bridge. They ships were still coming forward and he waited for the Controler to reply. He was glad, however, that no ships were moving towards the stealth drones. They would not pose a threat to anyone, but they would gather data and test their abilities.

"Inform Mr.Stellar that we have contacted Gestalt Control."

“Sir, I’m detecting a reversion in Alpha sector.”

The report, in and of itself, was not entirely surprising. With the increased revenue between the Colonies, Kashan and the rest of the Coalitions South-Western Provinces traffic in the Gestalt Star System had increased exponentially. What was surprising, and unexpected, was the location and timing. In their own isolationist fashion the Colonists had enforced harsh traffic laws on all inbound, outbound and internal traffic. Furthermore, and given the limited access in and out of the system, the majority of all hyperspace departure or arrival was confined to the two sub-sectors of the Gestalt System which had been cleared for safe reversion. The primary thoroughfare was relegated to the Corellian Trade Spine/Hydian Way junction. The Kashan-Gestalt hyperlane was only slightly less active. An entry in Alpha sector was not unheard of, but it was unusual; it was generally indicative of a trajectory originating ‘below’ the galactic plane.

Aboard the Colonial, on her bridge during a late rotation, Captain d’Foose quirked a curious eyebrow and bit her bottom lip. She studied her tactical officer, Lieutenant Adrian. For his part the junior grade officer tried to appear passive. He had been running EW duty for a full six hours already. They had played this game countless times.

In keeping with their near xenophobic approach to external contact the Colonial Defense Fleet, active now only within the Gestalt Star System, had been running interdiction and counter piracy missions. Generally they were kept busy chasing ghosts; criminal activity within the Gestalt Colonies was near non-existent… ever contributing to the utopian lifestyle within the Colonies even if that same reputation caused them to regard with much suspicion within the Coalition. All the same, maintaining that security required constant vigilance.

The Captain seemed to reach a conclusion.

“Transfer it to my panel,” she said while simultaneously swinging her command-chair mounted projector into position. “Begin a full scanning sweep at maximum intensity.”

Lt Adrian and his duty crew manipulated their instruments. The eight hundred odd meter destroyer bombarded the new arrival with a plethora of scans. An alarm buzzed in response.

Adrian looked up from his screens, “We’re having some trouble here ma’am. Their hull composition is not standardized and the configuration is not in our database.” He pumped a toggle, “I’m sending you what I’ve got.”

Captain d’Foose studied the readings and was silent for a moment, the she replied, “Well then Lieutenant Adrian, I guess you’re really going to get a chance to test out these new ‘advanced’ sensor suites. Program for invasive scanning and…”

“We have additional movement,” he interrupted her before pausing, audibly, himself. “Or… I think we do.”

“Get on those scans,” she reminded him.

The ship displayed on her command console was not indeed unfamiliar but its design was not completely unique, she had come across a very select few similar hull configurations in her career as a space captain. It was a Corona-class frigate. Rotating through the scanning spectrum she was even less surprised to find that the higher the level of the scan the lower the returned data resolution supplied. Her equipment was modulated for more modern equipment. It would be a simple matter to adjust for the old formats.

“Ma’am, I’m picking up comms from the UO,” informed the communication officer, another junior grade lieutenant. “They’re directed at flight control.”

“Supersede their authority,” she commanded. “Inform Colonial Control and update our situation computers.”

Because of the nature of their charter and the wide breadth of responsibility within the Gestalt Colonial star system the CDF, or Colonial Defense Fleet, could take direct control of almost any situation within their jurisdiction. And because their jurisdiction was so wide, if relegated to Colonial investments, the CDF could effectively do their job wherever they operated. Ever single colonist, civilian or in service, respected the authority of the CDF.

“And do not identify yourself,” she added as something of an afterthought. “Let them believe that you are Orbital Control.”

Prior to her interception of the unidentified transport a trio of HyperFighters dispatched on patrol had also detected the hyperspace reversion. They had moved to intercept and would soon close to within visual range.

“Gestalt Space Control and Space Defense Forces, this is the Corona-class frigate Star Voyager of Stellar Enterprises,” repeated the incoming communication. The voice echoed across the bridge. It sounded human. “I am Captain Galihan and I am delivering Rob Stellar to a meeting with Vice Commodore Shipwright. If you would, please inform the Vice Commodore that we have arrived.”

Normally, without prior verification, it would take some time for even a highly noted commander like d’Foose to sort through the command structure and chase down the validity of this newcomers claim. But d’Foose had her own lines of communication. Her direct link to Lance Shipwright, a widely known secret (were such a thing possible) treasured by the Colonists and often disputed in the Gestalt media, was solid as ever.

“They are authentic,” spoke Captain d’Foose when, knowingly, Lieutenant Adrian looked to her for an answer. The Vice Commodore had been aboard the Colonial only two days earlier… for exactly eight hours… between the hours of 2100 and 0500. “Put me through to those pilots.”

She gestured to the HyperFighters even as, probably thinking the same thing, the unknown ships Captain Galihan requested a clear flight vector, “Also, could you relay us to a safe area so we don’t get in the way of the system space lanes?”

“This is Red Wing One Five,” interrupted the tinny voice of the HyperFighters lead pilot from almost a hundred and fifty thousand kilometers away. “Go ahead Colonial.”

“Red Wing One Five this is Captain d’Foose. I am personally authorizing you to contact the target and inform its commander that you will escort him to Gestalt I. That ship has diplomatic clearance, level beta four, you are to escort it without delay to landing in the Seven Cities government sector. We will update your flight computer with the exact location shortly. Colonial out.”

“Roger that,” acknowledged the pilot before switching his microphone over to a new channel. The Captain was still able to listen in.

“Star Voyager, this is Red Wing One Five, Colonial Defense Fleet. Welcome to Gestalt I. I am authorized to direct you without delay to berth in the Seven Cities diplomatic sector. Sit back and enjoy the ride, Voyager. If you care to inform your passengers; the skies above the Seven Cities are clear and sunny… the view should be excellent. Again, welcome to Gestalt I.”

Captain d’Foose took a moment to reflect, with some amount of pride, on the generally amicable mood of the Colonial Defense Fleet of late. Much like their civilian counterparts the men and women of the CDF had been enjoying a period of unbridled enthusiasm… and profit. And then quite unexpectedly she found herself contemplating those outside the Colonies, those who might seek to exploit their peaceful, if insular existence.

She turned back to Lt Adrian. “Now, tell me about those readings…”



On the landing pad, a high rigged affair that jutted out from the ivory sky-scraper, Lance Shipwright studiously examined a seemingly unremarkable area of sky. By all accounts the building was just another structure clustered among a dense skyline that, even on a linear perspective, seemed to radiate outward from seven distinct epicenters. And indeed much of that Gestalt sky was cluttered with traffic of all sorts. From their high vantage, hundreds of meters above sea level, Lance could look out in almost any direction and see the expanse of the Seven Cities reaching to the far horizon in every direction save towards the sea. In the far distance he could see the snow capped mountains.

His eyes narrowed to mere slits. He locked his eyes on the sky in a spot where there appeared to be no traffic of any sort.

A black dot appeared.

Lance smiled.

“Your guest has just entered the atmosphere,” said one of the Delta units accompanying Shipwright, needlessly. “The landing struts are prepared.”

This particular flight deck had been reinforced for small-scale capital transport, large enough to accommodate even a Tribal-class LDC without problems… and with room left over. It was designed for the ‘old school’ and was, in truth, little more then a massive oval shaped deck. Despite its apparent rudimentary design the deck offered many advantages not found in more modern portal-to-tunnel connectors.

Lance was dressed in a light brown uniform that harkened back to the garb of the air guard; rolled sleeves, short pants and minimal rank insignia. He had donned a plain white laboratory jacket over this for some unapparent reason. The meeting was, in many ways, informal. No official representative of the Provisional Government was currently present.

His half dozen Delta-unit human replicant androids wore mixed uniforms, most representative of the various production divisions of Colonial Technologies. From the outside they looked like an ordinary group of six jump-suit and cover-all clad technicians of various human description, each with his own nametag.

The Vice Commodore closed his eyes against the blowing winds. “Here they come.”

"We are getting scanned extensively from Contact Five Five sir. It appears to be a command ship of some sort." Relayed the Electronic Warfare Station officer as soon as they recieved the extensive scan.

"Display it on the pad please." Called out the Captain as he sat at his command station and looked over the bridge slowly.

Within seconds the information was received on his datapad and started to display for him. He was proud of his crews efficiency and knew that the time and money spent on them wasn't going to waste. With a little smile, Captain Galihan shifted his leg and brought it up to rest on his other thigh as he leaned back against the chair. The image on his display pad started to slowly rotate and allowed Galihan to zoom in on any part.

The statistics gathered so far indicated the ship as being a cruiser/destroyer type roughly 850 meters long with a thick dorsal spine. From the passive spectrographic scans it was known that this ship type posessed a thick armored hull and even its full composition was listed in a table just below the image. What impressed Galihan, even all this time with Stellar Enterprises, is the technology that was being utilized. With a press of a zoom buttom he could look at the ship scanning them as he was right outside. The advanced photo-optic telescopes carried on the Star Voyager allowed him to see even individual weapons emplacements on the outside of that ship.

The Captain knew this was a pieceful mission, but he had not gotting to this position by being stupid. He would sit and analyze every piece of data he could just in case he would have to use it. It would also help him out in case a deal with the Gestalt Colonies was reached. If it was their two forces might someday be interacting and helping each other out. For this reason it would be nice to know what your ally had in the way of equipment.

"XO why don't we send our scanners a greeting." Captain Galihan smiled and said to the Executive Officer as the middle aged officer that stood beside the Holo Projector.

The man nodded with a slight grin and walked over towards the EWS officer to issue his commands. Once this task was accomplished the woman seated at the Electronic Warfare Station started to type away at the keys in front of her. Information was streaming into this station every seconds from countless small sensor recievers all over the ship's hull. These recievers intercepted and analyzed every sensor emmision directed at the frigate. As soon as a scanner passed over the ship's hull these receivers were able to determine from where they came and how powerful these scanners were.

While these receivers were generally used for analysis they had a defensive purpose as well. They were able to absorb almost all scanner emmisions without sending back reflected pulses. In a sense they worked like a sensor mask system that would not allow any feedback to bounce back and reveal the ship. When completely turned on the ship would become a virtual hole in space, as if nothing was there. Usually this technology was not revealed until completely necessary, but the Captain had a feeling these negotiations would go well and would be no harm in showing them off a little. He thought it would actually be a courtisy to the other commander, almost like a friendly gesture of knowledge exchange.

As the Colonial's emmisions washed over the Star Voyager, the exposed side would slowly start to change on the screens of those personal that were monitoring it. small sections of the side seemed to wink out of existance, but left the rest of the ship exposed. This was done in different places along the length of the ship and if the officers were absevent would spell out a morse code type of transmission. The disappearances varied in time and length to spell out letters and words.

What they spelled was: Greetings Gestalt Naval Vessal

All this happened as the Corona Class slowly turned towards the planet and followed its assigned escorts. Galihan could see some of the fighters just outside his bridge's viewports. Their shapes and statistics were already being monitored and recorded as they flew through space around the Star Voyager. Spectrographic passive sensors were analyzing their structural atomic composition as well as their propulsion trail. These propulsion emmissions were looked at carefully to observe their ionic composition and their speed of exit from the thruster nuzzles.

The analysis would tell a lot about what fuels the Gestalt Colonies used and how these ions were created from the fuels before being accelerated out into space. During this routin scan one of the fighters registered an anamaly and the computer system quickly informed the proper bridge officer.

"Sir, one of the escorting fighters is eminating more heat than the others. It appears that the fighter's engine is showing signs of overheating."

"ARe you sure?" Captain Galihan asked as he sat up and looked towards the sensor station.

The man seated there nodded and looked at this screen once more. On it he could see the readouts from the spectro scan which showed the temperature of the fighter's hull and this redder area that was hotter than the rest. In comparison with the other engine, it appeared to be running a lot hotter and as a result was radiating this heat into the surrounding hull plating.

Galihan picked up his comm unit and activated it quickly. "This is Star Voyager to Gestalt fighter to our starboard. We're reading an increasing excess of heat build up on in your port side engine. Perhaps it would be wise to shut it down and have it checked out later. If you require any assistance we will be more than happy to offer it."

He sat back and watched them close on the planet as their escorts lead the way. It was truely a beautiful sight to behold. With clear skies the Captain could see towards the surface and even from this high up make up a vast expense of cityscape. As he watched he slowly smiled and look in the beauty that was before him.

For a closer look Galihan lifted his datapad and accessed the ship's forward photo-optic array. This array was in fact a large pod on the lower hull of the ship and could rotate in all directions. Under his direct control the pod moved slowly and an realtime image of the city below them appeared. Magnifying the image allowed him to look at the towering skyscrappers and heavy city traffic as it ran through massive city blocks. To one side he could see a vast sea where the city growth ended, but to the other side it did not. The Seven Cities stretchs on and on towards a large mountain range off in the distance.

The Captain felt the ship shudder as he kept watching his datapad display. He knew they were now entering the planet's atmosphere and would soon be setting down. Focusing on the area they were headed, Galihan could see a massive ivory tower looming up from the surface. Atop and slightly to the side of this structure set a large platform that looked to have been designed for supporting ships even larger than his Corona Class. Zooming in further he could make out a group of men dressed in jumpsuits and coveralls standing around what appeared to be a man in a lab coat.

Through his display Galihan could study the man's face. It was the face of not a technitian or lab worker, but of a long time warrior. Of a man that had faced many challenges and had succeeded through them. This was probably the man Rob Stellar would be meeting with. Galihan pushed a button on his pad and a holo picture of the man's face and figure was taken for the ship's records.

It took only a few moments for the ship to gently settle on the landing platform before a hatch slide open on the belly of the frigate and a platform decended down slowly. Onboard this platform stood four large Combat droids in a box formation. Their heads, with red glowing eyes, moving slowly from side to side covering all angles. They all carried weapons, but these were held to their chests with barrels pointing down in a defensive and not offensive manner.

When the platform settled to the landing structure and no threats were detected the two forward droids moved aside in a professional display to reveal a tallish man with dark hair. The man wore an open black suit with a bluish shirt and no tie. His dress shirts collar was undo for comfort and there was a warm smile on his face as he started to move towards towards the group of men. When he moved, two human guards in dark suits walked behind him and the four droids behind them.

Rob Stellar moved towards the Vice Commodore with a smile and extended his hand slowly. "Vice Commodore Shipwright, its a pleasure to meet you once again."

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While this happening on the surface, high up in space the two EagleEye drones were still doing their work. They had moved away from each other and were now using passive sensor arrays to scan space continuously. Upon detecting the sensor emmisions from the Gestalt forces these small ships powered down their drive systems and proceeded to slowly drift through space while their almost undetectable sensor suites scanned every target that could be located inside their designated zones.

They would drift quietly until they detected that no more sensor emmisions were directed their way before slight altering their course towards to deeper space.

Naturally and accordingly, the representatives of Stellar Enterprises were not alone in their curiosity. Indeed, for every scan or recording that they beamed back a dozen or so Colonial documents arose to counter the flow of intelligence.

And this was all just so indicative of a promising future, an interaction brimming with potential.

In simple fact, so simplified against the scale of such an event, the Colonials were observing their guests on three distinct and clear observational fronts. The first watched from orbit, a mixed mélange of sensor feeds being streamed from the various orbital satellite networks that orbit Gestalt I, the escort HyperFighters which ran in very close formation with the frigate and the comprehensive internal security grid that was responsible, in large part, for the general assurance of safety among the local populace.

The Provisional Government, in their own corner, had their own vested interest in any such matters though, by and large, their scope of responsibility covered such a wide area of duty that such a small event as this could go unnoticed while simultaneously being extensively documented and archived. Turrets both automated and manned tracked the new vessel as it made for dock. Such was their duty; to rigorously patrol all insecure sector traffic such as this. Hosts of sensor feeds worked in tandem with the cities defenses. Every event was catalogued and archived and nothing got through. Through the Provisional Government and indeed from within it Colonial Security Intelligence Service affected their own investigative protocols in the interest of protecting the local peace. Their authority began and ended at the atmospheric terminus of each Colony.

Beyond that the general directorate authority of the Colonial Defense Force took over and their powers of observation were not insignificant.

Third and possibly the most clandestine of the three were the ever watching eyes of Lance Shipwright for it was he, unlike any other, who had his fingers wrapped firmly around the Gestalt Colonies. The combined measures of both recognized powers could not match the grasp and breadth of information possessed by the Vice Commodore. If there could be a societal nexus it was he.

For her part, however; Captain d’Foose was significantly less interested in the vessel (which had gone atmospheric only moments earlier) itself and considerably more curious about the objects her Lieutenant Adrian had reported only seconds earlier. The local powers, of which Lances were certainly not the least, could handle any planet bound queries. Indeed, she had to remind herself, it was in the best interests of the Colonies to see this business meeting succeed.

But damn them, she countered. Damn them if they thought to violate the vehicle of trade to meet some unknown, evil purpose. But to what ends would or could Stellar Enterprises want to gain the upper hand, strategically? Their deal with the Coalition as a whole had only recently been approved and as far as d’Foose herself knew the Kashans and Colonists alike had established provisional oversight committees to watch the conduct of Stellar Enterprises on Genon. It just didn’t make sense…

Then too there was also the matter of the visitors ‘report’ on the unsafe heat readings of one of d’Foose HyperFighters. All HF-10’s ran dual hyper-cores. To an outsider unfamiliar with their systems this could, when running a defrag cycle, make the HyperFighter appear as though it were running unusually hot… which explained their concern, if not their awareness. Apparently the ambassadors from Stellar Enterprises had been running their own intensive scans…

Captain d’Foose rested her chin in the palm of her hand, an elbow propped on the edge of her command chair. Her fingers coiled, scratching her chin. “Give me resolution, damn it.”

“I’m trying,” responded Lieutenant Adrian while furiously fighting with his panels. “Every time I send anything out they just disappear, then when I dial down they seem to get more substantial but… my dials are too low to read anything beyond that.”

Two black dots, roughly geodesic, had been painted in grainy, low resolution colors on the arm panel of the captains command chair. It was almost impossible to determine their shape, size or texture. The resolution was simply too low to be of any use.

“Damn these new fandangle sensors,” exclaimed Lieutenant Adrian. “What I wouldn’t give for a set of tube-based triangulates from the old Colonial.”

Captain d’Foose chuckled. Adrian, despite his skills (which were considerable) was a stickler for the old days. “We can redirect those HyperFighters,” she suggested. Checking her console, she added, “They can be here in forty five seconds once they clear atmosphere.”

Adrian nodded.

“Make it so.” The Captain stood and moved towards her navigators. “Helm, move us towards Lieutenant Adrian’s bearing at point oh five on course. Ahead one quarter.”

The upsized Colonial Mk II Destroyer closed on the targets.

“And it is a pleasure to meet you,” replied Vice Commodore Shipwright. “Greetings and salutations on behalf of the Gestalt Colonies and Colonial Technologies. Welcome.”

Lance took the proffered hand in his own and shook it with a certain vehemence that denied the ultra-thin gloves that encased his own fingers and palm. Tight, black and permeable only in one direction, they were the hallmark of a typical OCD diagnosis. More over, they did not match with lab coat nor uniform.

At the show of unification presented by the armed guard androids brought by Mr. Stellar the cadre of on looking Delta-Units contrived to look impressed. They did this for two reasons. The first was simply to camouflage their own potential intent. The second, and more effective of the two, was simply so that Lance did not have to. While they repositioned themselves and wore mixed expressions of worry he stood stalk still and completely unimpressed with the affair.

Additionally, and with great due diligence, Lance made a show of fastidiously and studiously examining the sizable starship docked on his landing pad. His face, whether by intent or reaction, moved through the whole range. Hands manipulating nothingness, he traced invisible lines across the surface of the thing as though he were following the veins and arteries of the beast… at least, where he imagined it’s pieces would be.

At length he admitted, “That is one rare starship, Mr. Stellar. It is exceedingly hard to come by such a design these days and, though I can only imagine it from the inside out, I must say that you have done an excellent job in preserving her lines for the aesthetic appeal.” And he managed to sound sincere about it before adding, with some dubious inflection, “though I would hope a man like yourself would be interested in preserving such a thing… and not corrupting it for such things as many would today.”

He waved a hand at the sky. “Anyway, come along. This way.”

The group moved towards a set of opulent, tall, transparent doors. A Delta-unit, his name tag reading “Ulmer” moved to intercept the guard ‘droids. “You can feel free to remain here. Your charge will be well tended by the people of Gestalt. More over, we do not allow weapons inside.”

Lance paused at the doors and smiled. “Oh come now Ulmer, I am sure that is not required. Your extensive scanning protocols will suffice, I am sure.”

The Vice Commodore had referred to the internal security sensor emplacements that lurked in every recess or alcove of the white tower. Business, after all, had become warfare in today’s modern industry and it did not do to have your trade secrets slipping loose.

All the same he paused, still smiling, and awaited his guest, the CEO of Stellar Enterprises.

Rob Stellar stood near the Vice Commodore and watched him look over his ship. He smiled a little as the man took his time to examine every outside detail of the beautiful Corona class Frigate. It had taken some time to find a ship he really liked, but once his eyes settled on the Corona class he knew that would be his personal ship.

"Thank you for your comment. I can see your a man of detail as well as a lover of fine design. For me, I am the same. I love art and this ship was so nicely sculped it would have been a shame to alter it from what the designers intended it to look like."

Rob smiled at he looked over his black hulled ship and followed the center lines that ran along its edge. As he did his ear implant started vibrating. The vibrations were quickly interpreted by his inner ear into sound that could be heard by only himself and no one else. While also enhancing his hearing to the point beyond regular humans, it could also be used a comm receiver and transmitter.

As his brain started to interprate the vibrations he could hear that it was the command droid relaying information to him. No doubt this information was getting shared with his guards as well. The droids he had brought with him had appearantly done their duty well. They had been monitoring everyone on the platform both visually and also with their sophisticated olfactory sensors. These droids had taken in everyones smell and had detected an anomaly with the other persons on the platform. Their smell was not the same as of typical human beings. It appeared to be a synthetic smell. In response they had informed Rob that these "men" might in fact be possible androids or at least something not human.

Rob looked at Lance and smiled gently, "I'm glad you approve. Coming from a man such as yourself, that means a lot. Perhaps after this meeting, if you wish, I could give a tour of the inside."

He turned to follow Vice Commodore Shipwright, while holding one of his hands inside his pants pocket. As they walked towards the hangers exit, he eyed the jumpsuit wearing companions. As they got to the door and he listened to the security measures, Rob knew it would be well to do if they complied. It would show these people they trusted them and could be trusted themselves.

"Thank you Vice Commodore, but it is quite alright. We will comply with any security procedures you have." He turned towards the guards and stepped aside, nodding towards them.

The human guards stepped fowrads and pulled out a high powered blaster each, as well one hold out blaster, and a single vibroknife. They handed these to Ulmer and readjusted their black suits without a word or expression on their face. They acted professionally and moved back into their formation a little behind Rob and to each side.

Rob turned back alittle and looked at his droids. "You stand here and guard the ship. Understood?"

"Affermative. New directive, guard the ship, acknowledged." The droid commander responded with a metallic booming voice.

As soon as the droid responded, commands were wireless sent to each of the other droids and they turned quickly to move back towards the ship and take up positions around it.

"Is there anything else Vice Commodore?" Rob asked the man as Lance stood off to the side.

Flaunting is fun. Never forget that.

Lance Shipwright chuckled, smiled at Mr. Stellar and bowed his head slightly. “Nothing else, nothing else at all…”

Suasion, new to Lance in many regards, had become something of a game for the Vice Commodore of late. Practicing on his top aides and advisors whenever and wherever possible he had thus far managed to cajole the Brigadier General assigned to ensure Tower Security (a sub-division of Colonial Technologies and mandate alike) into hiring on a squad of beast-handlers to roam the outer grounds despite the fact that aside from the appearance of men roving the territory with chained beasts at their heels, they did little to increase security. That had taken some work but regardless of the complications he’d pulled it off.

“If you will come right this way,” Shipwright gestured through a high, angular set of doors. “I thought perhaps a brief tour would be in order before we get down to business.”

The group moved through the doors largely unaware of the barrage of scans that pummeled them, intangibly, as they moved past the arches. Bio-rhythm recording devices clocked and measured internal temperatures, blood pressure and blood typing. The reasons for this, less clandestine then one might imagine, were in fact relatively simple; on the factory floor there existed many hazards and, in the event of an accident, the medics could be provided with a complete medical work-up on the patient. Further scans, these decidedly more questionable in nature, also invaded their bodies. From the thread-count of a tunic to the amount of perspiration presently on a person’s skin, a plethora of information would be collected, tabulated and archived. Archiving of such information had become a standard practice in the outwardly utopian Gestalt lifestyle.

Once through the arches, on the other side of the doors, an expansive, multi-story factory loomed up before the party. Literally a thousand feet tall and packed with manufacturing equipment multiple levels of production looked back down upon them. Crewed and operated almost entirely by purpose-designed and built robots only a scattering of human supervisors could be observed from their low vantage point. A roar overcame them upon stepping through the arch, the roar of a dozen different factories pumping out their wares at amazing speeds.

It was like looking upon an incredibly noisy ant-farm, cross-sectioned for the viewer and stacked level upon level into a sky of steel girders hardly visible from the distant floor below.

Pipes, conduits and conveyor devices linked one floor to the next and formed a web like structure of jutting alloys that glistened in the light while dripping grease and grime like so many clogged veins. Towers of smoke and fume ascended through the haze, vented through massive duct fans in the ceiling.

It was as though some giant had taken an industrial landscape, moved it indoors and stacked it upon itself until it reached the sky.

Lance hoped his guest was suitably impressed. Fetching a hard-hat and pair of ear-muffles from a rack near the door, Lance offered these, with a good natured wink, to Mr. Stellar. He then clipped a small microphone to the breast of his lab jacket and, making it evident how this was done, instructed the visitors in donning their own microphones. Once done Shipwright flipped a toggle on a side board and spoke…

“Can you hear me?”

His voice was filtered and synthetic but free of background noise and piped directly through speakers in the ear-muffles worn by the party members. Nodding in conformation, the Vice Commodore added, proudly, “Excellent. Let’s be on our way then shall we?”

Just then, as if on cue, a small wheeled vehicle idled up to the group and stopped before them. A set of doors on each side of the cart swung open to reveal a series of bench seats turned to face one another. The spherical wheels on the buggy appeared as though they could orient themselves in any direction required and operated on some gravity field (as there appeared to be no direct linkage between wheel and chassis).

Lance hopped in first then gestured that Mr. Stellar sit next to him, explaining “The closer we are the less grainy the microphones sound.”

And with that they were off on a tour of the factory floors. Their conveyance moved with incredible speed and agility but possessed an internal compensator to keep the passengers from being thrown off balance by the sharp turns and abrupt stops. They moved past massive constructs of ultra-chrome and Ferrocarbon, past conveyor-based construction lines which seemed to be building computer components at amazing rates. At one point, high up on the twentieth level, the cart paused near the precipice of a high, vaulted ledge which allowed them an excellent view of the ‘web’ of junctions connecting one floor to the next. It was all very impressive.

A dome of transparent energy had to be erected around the conveyance in certain areas to protect from various potentially harmful things of all sort. Radiation areas they meandered through, wet areas too were of little inconvenience. It was all very impressive.

And what was the point? Hopefully it was not lost on Rob Stellar of Stellar Enterprises.

Twenty minutes later and done their sweeping tour through the factory, the cart pulled to a stop at another set of arches not unlike the first. After disrobing their hardhats, their ear-muffles and microphones the group moved through the arches. They had been mostly silent during the tour, Lance interrupting to point out something of interest or answer the query of another. The Vice Commodore had observed at one point how this was only a microcosm of a greater machine, a sampling of a much larger picture.

The tour wound to a stop and the party disembarked into a room, a pre-chamber, which itself opened up into a much larger area with wall to wall glass, a buffet and drinks bar and beset in the middle by an oblong table around which were arranged a series of chairs with their own computer inlays along the arm. Thick red carpet crunched under their feet; a million nano-devices cleaning the gunk from the shoes of the party.

A cool gust of conditioned and simulated wind blew through the chamber perfectly matching the climate to that of a cool, grassy meadow. Quiet ambient music played in the background while pictures and swirls of color danced along image-ready walls. Myriad sensors and scanners monitored the visitors and adjusted the environment to match their electro-chemical moods.

Lance started towards the drinks bar where an android tender waited.

“Before we get started, again, anything I can get you to, as they say, whet your whistle?”

Rob, along this his guards, followed behind the Vice Commodore and went where he led them. The structure they now entered was massive and cavernous, riviling the largest factories that Stellar Enterprises had constructed. Looking around the work space before him, Rob could see that every station was working and not a single one sat still.

Much like his own production systems, Gestalt Colonies seemed to rely heavily on droids. Perhaps at one time in the future they could get together and work upon making an advanced assembly droid machine that would benifit both Stellar Enterprises as well as the Gestalt Colonies. The sight of all these droids working as one to produce different structures that would later be fit together was something Rob Stellar admired. It was malvelous to see plain raw goods turned into something great and worthwhile. Something that could later be used and admired.

As he watched the machines around the factory floor proceed with their duties, Rob lifted up the helmet and placed it upon his head. After securing it to this chin, he put on the headphones and placed the mic on his suit. As soon as he had competed his task, Vice Commodore Shipwright's voice came through the headphones.

Rob acknowledged that he could hear the man just fine and listened to his talk as the moved towards the cars that met them. He took a little time to admire their design before stepping inside with the Commodore and taking a seat. Once seated the doors closed around the group and vehicle slowly took off for a tour of the tremendously large factory.

As Lance talked and explained everything that was happening, Rob kept looking around and taking mental notes on the equipment and the objects they were manufacturing. He was impressed with the speed and amount of work the factory could put out. These colonies were not like other planetary governments. They were most advanced and had a great deal of knowledge on how to run operations at a very effective level. The Gestalt Colonies would indeed be very good partners to have.

The purpose of this tour was not lost on Rob Stellar. He understood what the Vice Commodore was doing and would have to make friends with this man. They had only just met and it would take some time to build a bridge of trust between them both. A trust that could last and grow strong over time. A trust that could lead to the Colonies and Stellar Enterprises conducting large amounts of business together and prospering. This was the true and number one reason for this visit. The friendship outside of business would have to follow after, however, Rob hoped it would be sooner than later. He had no wish to make enemies with anyone.

Rob's thoughts were put to rest when the transporter that carried them stopped and the doors opened. He proceeded to get out ahead of Lance and stood at the side in order to cordually let the Vice Commodore go ahead of him. They moved together towards the large set of doors and one his shoes were cleaned, Rob head and saw the doors opening before them.

The cool air that hit him was most refreshing and after adjusting his suit slightly, Rob proceeded into the large room after Lance. As the music and ambiance surrounded them, Rob let out a small smile. This was a beautiful room and Rob was greatful to be inside it. He looked around slowly as he moved with Lance towards the bar and smiled at the man's comment.

"I'll have a glass of Charde if you have it." Rob paused, knowing he had to tell the Vice Commodore something important. Something he was holding in for the right moment, but he saw that he would have to earn trust of this man. The best way he saw to achieve this goal was to be truthfull.

"Mr. Vice Commodore, before we drink I feel I would tell you something important. Do not take this the wrong way and I'm sorry if I offend you or the Gestalt Colonies in any way." Rob swallowed a bit and took a breath. "When we entered the system, my ship released two stealthy drones. They were not designed to cause any harm to your ships, but only to monitor some of your traffic and act as a sort of real world demostration in the hopes that it would demonstrate my companies technologies. I was going to reveal this information later on in the hopes that you might be impressed somewhat with their ability and purchase some for your forces. However, at this time I feel that it was wrong on my part to do something like that without first notifying you. In the interest of building a relationship between us I would like to offer this information and provide you with the locations of my drones. They will cease their operations immediatly."

Rob looked upon the Commodore, hoping that he would not upset the man too much. Hoping that his honosty would get him some leway. With that said, Rob slowly reaching into his suit and pulled out a thin square box. He opened it from one end and turned it towards the Vice Commodore. Inside was a beautiful shimmering red jewel that had been sculpted from rare jewels located on Centrala to resemble the symbol of the Gestalt Colonies. The one piece jewel changed to different reds from every angle and upon being looked at from straight on appeared to have the color moving through it as if in a wave pattern. It was the first of its kind to be seen outside of Centrala.

"This is a small gift from Stellar Enterprises to you. Again, I am sorry for the drones business and promise that nothing like it would never happen again. It was a flaw in my judgement. I hope we can put it behind us and build trust between us to enhance our relations."

Vice Commodore Shipwright stood frozen in mid-pour, one hand wrapped about the slender neck of a fine liqueur and the other clasping for a pair of fluted glasses. At the CEOs request Lance had moved off towards the miniature bar to fix a pair of beverages and so, as Rob Stellar confessed his apparent transgression, it was to Shipwrights back which Mr. Stellar spoke. Upon mention of a perceived possible insult on the part of Stellar Enterprises against the potential parties; the Gestalt Colonies and Vice Commodore Lance Shipwright, Lance himself ceased pouring and turning at length, fixed Rob Stellar with a penetrating stare.

Confessing his trespassing, Rob Stellar wove a tale of stealth drones and auxiliary deployment professing almost genuine regret that had allowed such an event to be carried out if there were any chance that it could compromise the future dealings of Stellar Enterprises and the Gestalt Colonies. Initially shocked beyond response the Vice Commodore simply stood, bottle and glasses in hand, and listened while trying to muster a look of nonplused indifference. This rather abrupt turn of events had to have been motivated, or so the Vice Commodore guessed, by outside developments which had occurred without his own direct knowledge. Truly this was a dynamic turn of events and one which Lance was not immediately prepared to deal with. As if the confession were not enough in and of itself the erstwhile Chief Executive Officer pushed right on through, going so far as to present the Vice Commodore with a gift.

His resolve failed and the Vice Commodore actually blanched. Jaw slack, lips split open to speak, he offered little more then a bemused gurgle while his eyes searched the air between them for the words which had escaped him.

Something had transpired here which was completely beyond the Vice Commodore. Staggering to regain his footing, hoping for a moment to recoil and ready him for whatever might come next, Lance moved towards the conference table and set the glasses down. So intense was the momentary silence that the crystalline tingle of the flutes chiming together filled the dual chambers. Lance poured.

He had left Rob Stellar without a reply and, at first, resigned himself not to examine the proffered gift. The expensive liquid tumbled into the waiting flutes. Lance took them up in each hand and returned to the CEO.

“You’re Charde,” he replied and offered Stellar his drink. “And that is a very nice trinket indeed.”

And then, quite shockingly, he seemed to dismiss the whole thing.

“But let us get down to business shall we,” he smiled. “What can Stellar Enterprises offer the Gestalt Colonies and vice versa?”

The Vice Commodore had come to a conclusion about Rob Stellar, Chief Executive Officer of Stellar Enterprises, one that he had formulated only moments earlier and one that seemed in perfect correlation with his observations so far; Rob Stellar would do whatever was needed to see that his corporation succeeded. Stellar Enterprises was the manifestation of one mans dream and desire much as the Gestalt Colonies had been the vision of one man also. Each man reflected something in the other. This was a man he knew he could trust, one he could count on to always act in the best interests of Stellar Enterprises and so long as those interests coincided with those of the Gestalt Colonies…

Lance motioned towards the table and its many chairs simultaneously taking a seat for himself. Now he took a moment to appreciate the quality and attention to detail that had gone into it. It was a beautiful piece that did honor to the Colonies in its own small way and Lance found himself wondering at the sincerity of the gift alongside what Stellar had previously declared. He found himself more inclined to trust then to mistrust however uncharacteristic and recounting the fact that Rob Stellar had been introduced to him through Corise Lucerne (and Lance trusted few others as dearly as he did the Kashan Commodore) which spoke to his better nature. Lance concluded to give Rob Stellar the benefit of the doubt.