The Official Private Messages Thread.

Encrypted PM to User: ArchmagusDepends, whereabouts are you stationed right now? Been spending the past month on Omega myself.

Message to STINYONE@HAHARCHY.EX From: <Demon Thunder> Sure random extranet person...

Cerastes is the (assumed) name of a drell info-broker working for Revenant Co, info below

but I guess you know that, what you may or may not know is that the guy contacted me out of the blue for info on some volus called Rom Anbel, the guy's a fugitive of the Hierarchy, treason section 9 and 12, StateInt stuff.

Asked around to my friends but they don't seem to know much more than I do, just your run of the mill drell info-broker that plays his cards close to his chest. He frequents a news board called cerberus daily news, other than that; you probably have more luck with an actual info-broker how has contacts with the Illuminated Primacy and not just some random merc.

-ALH

To: The Boss Hey boss,

Thought you might want to know some guy's been asking around for information on an information broker of all people... Anyway that info-broker a drell calling himself Cerastes asked me some info about that volus Rom Anbel, thought you want to know.


Ali

"Vigilant" Hey.
I'm trying to get a job in the military. I may have a colleague that's putting a good word in for me, so - I don't know how to say this. You've really helped me out, and I know I may have just signed on, but I'm trying to find my part in the world and that's in the military. I'm sorry, sir. This is my two week's notice.


Sarah.

Intra-ship message to user: Demon Thunder Don't tell anyone anything.

-S

To: The Boss ... Oops ...

Ali

Forwarding you my reply:

Message to Demon Thunder. From: STINYONE@HAHARCHY.EXThank you.

Encrypted Message to ADMINISTRATOR@HAHARCHY.EX Recommending provisions of commendations and/or commuted sentence to C13 and C26 should they return to Hierarchy Space.

Message to Cerastes Hey, pal, sorry to take so long gettin' back to ya. Had to talk things over with my boss.

So I gotta level with you, that 36 hours thing, well, it ain't gonna work.

Here's the deal. I'm a small time dealer, but my employer's one of the proper labs behind all the shit. As you probably know, in the drug scene everybody is trying to make the latest, most premium shit, just to get the edge for a little while until it's replicated by every dumbass with a chemistry set. We had a prototype design that we're juuuuust about ready to let into the market. Just one problem, a volus pal of yours. He caught wise and got a copy of our data. We caught wise and caught him. Funny story: we found some video footage left on his omnitool where he and you was having a conversation, and he was saying he was gonna give you some premium data.

You making the same connection I'm making, pal?

So here's the deal. I'll offer you twenty, straight up, no strings, for you to delete that data before you crack it and let me run a tracer to verify it's not on your systems.

Whatdayasay, pal?

"Encrypted Message to HallexHybrid" Mr. Hallex:

I am uncertain of delivering this data to you before it has been cracked. Once I know what we are dealing with, I can more adequately price it.

Give me two hours. The situation that was occupying me has just resolved itself, and I am now on my way back to a location with adequate sources to crack what I received from Rom. For all we know, it's nothing.

Sincerely,
Cerastes S.

ENCRYPTED MESSAGE to Vohkaidin Knox Don't think this is over yet fuckface

Intra-ship transmission to user: Demon Thunder Of course.

Thanks for letting me know.

-S

Message to Cerastes Thaaaaaat's a big negatory on the cracking. I know what you're trying to do, and I did lowball on ya, but that's how it works pal, I lowball and you highball and then we meet in the middle, right?

See, you're a drell pal. That means the moment you look at that data, you have that data, whether you delete it or not. Which means you can still sell that data to our competitors, and I can't do shit to stop you. That's bad business pal. I'm paying you to remove information, not sell it. Not your usual job, I understand, but this is not my usual line of work either. So we're both a little out of our element here.

Thirty. Twenty up front and ten after tracer verifies the checksum is out of your systems.

"Encrypted Message to HallexHybrid" Mr. Hallex:

How creative.

The fact that you just jumped ten thousand credits without even knowing if I have the data for certain tells me it's worth much, much more than that. Try again.

Sincerely,
Cerastes S.

Message to Cerastes What? Ten thousand? No, no, no. Thirty credits.

Ha ha ha. Nah, I'm just messin' with you pal.

How about this. You dream me up a number and I'll tell you if it's realistic or not.

"Encrypted Message to HallexHybrid" Mr. Hallex:

One hundred plus supplemental information on your contacts.

Sincerely,
Cerastes S.

Message to Cerastes Okay, let me call my boss and clear it with him, and I'll have him cut you a check.

Hey boss. Yeah, he wants half the development cost, plus benefits.

...My boss hung up. I think I heard him cock a shotgun. I think I better change offices.

Look pal, we're willing to pay for secrecy, but it's only worth so much, since we'll get caught up on within two months anyways. Dream smaller.

"Encrypted Message to HallexHybrid" Mr. Hallex:

I thought you were familiar with negotiating.

Counter-offer. I am not here to simply shout numbers at you until you decide you are satisfied. If you cannot provide me with what I deem is a respectable price, I will find another buyer.

Sincerely,
Cerastes S.

PM TO FETCHQUEST
Hey, just got the pieces. Thanks for the help. Don't know if you got my package yet, so let me know when you do. I don't know if I can get this thing running or not, but you've been a big help. Thanks again!

- Job

PM To User: JobOoh, good to know! Ol' Danny - that'll be the leathery old guy you made the trade with - just came back, and he tells me you gave him a good deal! I wouldn't know, but that's why he's the salvage expert and I run deliveries! :P

Lemme know if you do get that hoverscoot up and running, yeah? Y'know, if that's not a problem or anything. It's nice to know that I helped with something!

Message to CerastesYou caught me pal, I'm a terrible negotiator. Like I said, this is a little out of my standard line of work.

Here's the deal, I can haggle and haggle and you can high and I can low and we can be here all week. So here's the deal. The cost for developing something like we were working on is in the two to three hundred range, at least. That's including scientists salaries and preliminary trials. Mind you that's not counting equipment or other personnel, safety checks, general upkeep, ect, ect that goes into general business cost. Now, any competitor you go to with this information knows he's not paying for first shot at the market, since we've still got our data. On top of that, he's going to have to pay and wait for trials of his own, since the complete trial data isn't in with your package, just the prototype chemical composition. That's at least half the cost right there, you go with a hundred kay to them, they'll laugh you off as hard as I did, because for that much they might as well fund their own attempt at a temporary market coup.

Any place that's going to run it without clinical trials is either small time who won't pay you that much, or gives no shits about people and will wreck you rather than let you sell the info to someone else. They miiiight promise you dividends, but that's a major risky business. Want to see what happens when small house tries to market coup without any backup? Look at that glut of yellow stuff that batarian pushed on to the market pre-war. You see the yellow stuff or the batarian on the market anymore? No, you don't.

Now, if you find someone who's really confident that this ones going to be a buster and will take the market they might offer you sixty, top range. As it is, even we're not a hundred percent on this, so our competitors won't be either. Lotta stuff goes out and just fizzles. If I'm adding another half to the cost just to secure the data, and this project sinks hard, well, both you and I are in some serious shit with old money. And you know how old money is.

So that was a lotta words for what? Well, quite frankly, fifty is the final offer. Twenty thirty split. Take it or leave it. That's a quarter. You're not going to do much better. It's more than our competitors would give you, 'cause you'd be just a gift xenma, not a sunk-cost.

"Encrypted Message to HallexHybrid" Mr. Hallex:

Sixty-five if you do not include the additional information (that being the data on your associates).

Given what we are dealing with, I would like to remind you that attempts on sending these associates after my person will result in a decreased number of staff for your employer.

Sincerely,
Cerastes S.

Message to Cerastes Sixty. That's ten of my own.