Lecardunoie Cattering and Event Management Ltd.: highs and lows.
15 May 2022Claude Lecardunoie
Zachary Rackham wants to squander money on luxury goods, i'll deliver!I left last wednesday Reorte to this man's home system, Beta Hydri. I stopped on the way in Uzsaa to pick up Tree Grubs, one of the products on Monsieur Rackham's list. I completed my cargo with some other stuff and drove Estafette, my T-6, to Beta Hydri. Again, a poorly planned route made me get rid of all my freight but the Tree Grubs to lighten my ship.
That was just a small problem compared to whay came next. I programmed my final jump to Beta Hydri, but I was denied the entrance there. It was not completely unexpected, as I knew they'd ask for a permit. Ok, no problem, I probably needed to get it from a nearby station. I docked my ship in Nelson Terminal, a Federation Port in LHS 531. I started to post permit demands to the local Spatioport Authorities, and Rackham local subsidiaries headquarters. Well, nothing, no answer.
What! Is this whole thing a diabolic scheme to artificially raise commercial traffic in systems around Beta Hydri? Is Rackham evil? After all not so long ago, he said that he would buy Witty Bird social network, kind of an outdated social media, only to put the operation on hold two weeks later...
Or am I getting paranoid and complotist?
I was on the dock, sitting on the stairs of my ship, having all these crazy thoughts, when a group a pilots called me. I recognised among them the merchant from Orrere.
- "Hey, how are you. We met last week in Reorte remember me?"
Yeah, well of course, I remembered him!
- "Sure. Actually I even remember that you said something about temporary permits to beta hydri, and see here i am, blocked here with some tons of Uszaian tree grubs."
- "Not my fault, and we are all in the same situation. But come with us, we are going to the Federation Consulate. A mob of angry merchants, that is allways more efficient than official requests sent through administrarion forums. Federal Bureaucratic circus at his best!!!"
Spatioports, no matter which kind, they all have similar layouts. Especially around the landing pads area, which is actually a huge well along the rotation axis of the station. At the same level, you find, traffic management control towers, repair shop facilities and big warehouses, just next to the Toll and Customs center. Main powers, big consortiums and smaller local factions or corporation would all have a desk there, controlling ships and merchandise. Lots of noise from welding and honking forklifts moving containers to the station freight elevators.
If you leave the landing pads, and move one level further, it gets much quieter. Depending on the station, you would find Universal Cartographic desks, sometimes this new private mercenary company, Frontline Solutions, vessels modules retailers, ships manufacturers representatives or passengers waiting lounges.
One level outer, that's the Legations and Consulates district. Fédés, Imperials, Alliance, big corporations like Sirius. Sometimes, even a Marlinist delegation. That was our destination. And more specifically, the Federation Consulate. We entered the building, then walked to the Immigration, Visas and Trade Permits office. All of the desks were busy, even the digital kiosks, not a surprise. So my companions started complaining loudly about the Federation hypocrisy, promoting free trade and free movement policy, but actually blocking honest merchants and businessmen when it comes to entering Federal main systems etc.
Was it because I was quiter and a little bit away from the main group, but a lady came to me. She was in her seventies, large glasses, puffing on one of these old e-cigarette.
- "Ok dear, follow me. You know your friends won't make things easier for them by yelling and arguing."
- "Yeah, may be. But, they have a point. Temporary permits where supposed to be granted. I came all the way from Reorte."
- "Oh poor thing! I understand. But Mr Rackham informed the Federal Administration too late. You, know it is quite a big machinery. Such special requests, they have to be processed by a dozen of different services: food and drugs administration, legal department, environmental agency, ships and vehicle regulation, flight traffic manag..."
- "Ok, ok I got it, but how long before having that visa"
- "Two or three days i think, trust me, I know the drill"
Her name was Glossy McIntyre. She was 75, but she had to work as a civil servant for the Federation administration, because even after a whole life dedicated to Core Dynamics corporation, her retirement pension was not enough to live in an expensive system like this one.
She checked, yes, i was on the list and would get my permit in the next two days.
Flying to Beta Hydri