Ravens of Eternity

298 Grand Horizons, Pt The Ravens sat at a rather long and luxurious table. The table itself felt solid and powerful, and was made with a beautiful dark-stained wood. It wholly reminded Eva of those classic boardroom tables back from her old Earth.

Which made sense, considering Eris was who she was. She imagined that the pirate queen had the table custom made, and probably cost hundreds of thousands to make.

Across from the Ravens was Eris along with a few of her officers. Directly to her right was a holographic projection of someone who appeared to be some kind of official. He appeared to be watching the proceedings with a keen eye, but otherwise hardly made a sound.

Besides the official, all of them were in talks regarding the Trade Agreement itself, and everything seemed to be going splendidly. Each of them held a datapad, which held the terms of the agreement on them. And the terms of their agreement were far longer than any of the bounty contracts she had ever signed. It was certainly far more complex as well.

Eva did her best to read what was on her datapad, but the agreement was little more than a jumble of words to her. Tiamat’s Transcendence made sure that she could hardly comprehend it, and made her mind fuzzier and fuzzier the harder she tried to understand.

Just as a headache began to form, she simply put it down and pushed it away from her.

“Let’s go over the details one more time,” she said. “Just to make sure I’ve got things right. So you get Azrael’s ultrafentanyl formula, right? And in exchange, we get a percentage of the profits, an investment infusion of 50 million ducats, an introduction the Hegemony’s council of Great Houses, and a nonaggression accord?

“I’ll be honest, it sounds incredibly one-sided just from the line items alone. Either you’re gonna be making billions on just the drugs, or you’re not telling us something.”

Eris grinned lightly at Eva.

.....

Unlike Miko, Claire, and Lucifer, all of whom had great minds for business, Eva was clearly the least interested and least invested. That sentiment showed with her every action and question. Not that she particularly cared about Eva’s business acumen, but she did find it amusing.

“Generally speaking, yes,” Eris said. “I will be making a great deal from sales, and there’s other things I’m not specifying directly. You should know however that this deal isn’t as one-sided as you think.”

“I also want to clarify that we’re not giving the Discordians Azrael’s ultrafentanyl formula,” added Claire. “We’re licensing them a slightly modified version, and that’s what they sell.”

“Exactly,” said Amal. “Eris gets an absolute license to manufacture and sell my 99% pure version of ultrafentanyl. But there is also a 98% version which we will be using to create and sell analgesics with.”

“The Discordians don’t have any need to sell medicine to the colonies or random civilians,” said Eris. “Any meds we do have will remain as stock for Discordian use. Otherwise, I want the ultrafentanyl primarily for recreational purposes. Also for highly competitive ones as well.”

“Violently competitive, you mean,” said Xylo.

“I didn’t invest in a wartime fleet for nothing.”

“You’re still giving a whole lot more than you’re receiving,” said Eva. “And I’m not sure I can trust that.”

“One of the other caveats in the Agreement is simply that the Discordians have the right of first refusal in terms of selling and distributing any technologies you Ravens develop,” Eris replied. “At least, assuming you want to sell them commercially.”

“But we aren’t making anything.”

“Not yet, no. But I’m almost certain that once you do, you will.”

“This is true,” Miko chimed in. “I certainly plan to sell some of my discoveries, mostly to help fund any future projects.”

“Same with me,” added Amal. “I mean, I could develop a more potent single-use combat stim. That could be pretty useful for the Discordians. Or for anyone.”

“That would certainly be quite profitable,” said Eris. “Pharmaceuticals and technology. They’re the two biggest and most profitable commodities in... well, all of history, across any galaxy. Nothing improves the quality of life more than those two.

“And having the right of first refusal is far more important than you might realize. Having exclusivity, or being the first to market is a massive advantage.”

Although Eva heard all of what Eris was saying, she didn’t really get much of it. It wasn’t just that she didn’t have a mind for business – she also ultimately didn’t find it interesting. And she didn’t find that she needed to know it. That’s what the other Ravens were for.

Still, she did what she could with what she understood.

Throughout their talks as they put this Agreement together, she kept an eye out for anything she felt could be weird. Such as the apparently great deal they were getting.

To her, someone like Eris didn’t get to where she did by being nice and generous. She gained her power by squeezing every last credit she could, from everywhere she looked. If she was truly giving them this much, then what she got in return was going to be even more fruitful than that.

She just couldn’t see what that return was, and it bugged her deeply.

“What about leftover credits and other assets?” asked Xylo. “Would you give us a line to exchange ours on the cheap?”

“I could do that, sure,” Eris replied. “But why? You could easily shop around to find a great exchange rate. The Hegemony’s great at that. They have the most powerful economy among the galactic powers, after all. I don’t think it belongs in the Agreement.”

“I’d rather have a line item that writes off your investment in our little heist,” said Lucifer. “That one cost quite a bit, and it’d be nice if we didn’t have to pay you back on that one.”

“Oh Luci. You’re such a cute lil merc sometimes. How about I do you one better? I’ll up the initial investment infusion to 100 million ducats, on top of writing off the bankroll to your heist. In exchange, the Ravens will seek statehood in the Hegemony.”

The Ravens were all taken by utter surprise. The deal they were going to get, as far as they could see, was well in their favor. This new addition by Eris tipped it even further towards them.

Both Miko and Lucifer were alarmed by it, and with Eva’s objections, began to question Eris as well.

“100 million,” said Lucifer. “Seriously? Is our statehood really that profitable to you?”

“Haven’t you all been talking about building your fleet out?” asked Eris. “I’ve heard you all talking about taking on more crew, and all that. Why not take it one step further and build a nation-state around your fleet?”

“Is that why your friend is here?” asked Claire. She gestured at the holographic official next to Eris.

“Partially,” the official replied. “I’m primarily here to observe and notarize the signing of your Agreement. I’m also observing your Declaration of Severance from the Sol Federation, which is an important step . Finally, I can also serve as a witness to the formation of a nation-state, or in this case the simple discussion and consideration of it.

“However, there is a problem with the current setup. The Conspiracy of Ravens cannot be a vassal to the Temple of Discord. To become a nation state, you must first be sponsored by either a Great House or a Major House.”

“Sadly, the Temple’s too young to be considered a Major House,” said Eris. “Even if we do qualify from a ledger standpoint.”

“Hey, remember Just Max?” Xylo blurted out. “He said he was part of some house, right? Maybe we could send him a comms and get a sponsorship from him?”

“Yeah, he said he was a de Jardin,” Amal replied. “Maybe they could help?”

“D-de Jardin?” stammered the official. “You know a de Jardin? Well, I should say you’d have no problems getting a sponsorship from them. They’re one of the Great Houses of the Hegemony.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Eva said suddenly, and interrupted everyone. “The Temple of Discord is a nation in the Hegemony? I thought you were pirates!”

Eris grinned widely, and wickedly.

“We’re pirates, certainly,” she replied. “To the Sol Federation anyway. Otherwise, the Temple of Discord is a Minor House in the Hegemony, with letters of marque.”

“You’re privateers?!”

“Oh yes. And our business is sowing chaos in the Federation. It’s the best job in the entire galaxy.”

Eva sighed as she realized why the deal seemed so incredibly one-sided. By signing it, it would make the Ravens unofficially sponsored by the Temple, even if they were officially sponsored by another House altogether.

It was brilliant, and also quite risky. After all, Eris was surreptitiously competing against a technically superior House.

“So that’s your game,” she said to Eris. “Make us your by-contract-only vassals. You earn the majority of profit from our efforts. Or, in other words, you deny those profits from a Great House. Which elevates you that much more. It’s good.”

Eris was surprised at Eva’s sudden perception of the deal, despite her lack of deep understanding. Then she looked over at Lucifer and Miko, who seemed to be coming to the same conclusion as well.

“Cheeky little...” she murmured. “But yes. And also no. The Temple’s influence would definitely grow. That’s my main goal and primary concern now and forever. I’ll do what it takes to get ahead, and if it means undercutting my competition by a few points, then I’ll do it. Their loss now is my gain later.

“This Agreement is also only 5 years in length, with the option to renew or renegotiate. So it isn’t very long, and it won’t do as much damage to anyone as you might think. But I’m hoping that you’ll eventually see the wisdom in holding to that deal over time.”

“So you can cause Chaos in the Hegemony too?” said Eva.

“Not really, no. This is just business. Think of it this way instead: you and I grow a ridiculous amount by signing. You would benefit from both my investment infusion and the de Jardin’s investment infusion at the same time. Wouldn’t you agree that would be good for the Ravens?”

“Oh, I agree, that’s for sure. It’s a whole lot of money, and we could easily use it to start building out the future we want for ourselves. But if you’ve got the right of first refusal on what we’ve got, what could we possibly offer whoever’s actually sponsoring us?”

“You’re building a fleet, aren’t you? You can easily offer your services. You could work directly for the de Jardins, as some kind of gopher, cleaner, or whatever need they have. And they’ll have plenty, don’t you worry.”

“Do not forget,” Miko interjected, “we also have our ‘Cast. We could perhaps use its existence to our benefit.”

Eva leaned back in her seat and thought things through. It was a deal that none of them could refuse – it was simply too good.

“Alright then, I’m convinced,” said Eva. “Let’s sign this thing.”