Lonetrek region – Okela constellation
Tsuguwa system – Planet VI
Caldari Navy Assembly Plant Station
5 January YC 127
After my altercation with Purkkoken I didn’t expect to hear from him ever again – after all, he all but accused me of starting a full-scale war between the State and the Federation. So, imagine my surprise when this morning I got a call from him with a polite request to come to his office at my earliest convenience. I thought that whatever he had in store for me, I should better get it out of the way and out of my mind, and half an hour later I was sitting in the familiar chair in Purkkoken’s office. The agent was reserved but not aggressively formal as yesterday.
“You know we are on a threshold of war with Gallente Federation, Vlad,” he started setting the scene, “The situation is grave but salvageable. In fact, there is understanding on both sides that the current crisis developed from a really negligible incident at the embassy which eventually was blown out of proportion. Involvement of journalists didn’t help either as politicians were forced to take steps to save their faces. For this reason, all further actions will be strictly confidential. We are sending our envoy to begin secret negotiations with Gallente in an effort to stabilise the relationships and bring them down to the ‘normal’ cold war state.”
I scoffed, “Why are you telling me all this, if it is supposed to be ‘strictly confidential’?”
Purkkoken drummed his fingers on the table nervously. He then cleared his throat and said, “Normally, after what has happened, neither you or I would have been let anywhere near this operation. However, it was considered to be a good symbolic gesture if you, an active participant in the recent unfortunate events, were to transport our envoy to the negotiations.”
I laughed bitterly, “And if symbols matter, should I transport the diplomat in a Cormorant or in an Ibis?”
The agent looked at me sternly, “Don’t be stupid! Your Ibis is now like a red rag for the Gallentean bull. Hmm… on the other hand, it’s good that you asked. It wasn’t mentioned when we discussed the mission description internally. Anyway, it is of utmost importance to bring the envoy safely to the destination. I don’t have any intel which suggests complications but I will appreciate if you fly the destroyer.”
I nodded, “Anything else I need to know?”
“Just the destination – Minedrill Refinery station at Airkio IX.”
I met our envoy in the dock and escorted him into Merimetso. The diplomat was a middle-aged man with sharp eyes and thin lips. He shook my hand but looked disapprovingly at me.
“To be frank, Mr Korff, you would not be my choice of a pilot for this mission but my wishes were overridden by a higher authority. If you were a career officer in Caldari Navy, you would have been suspended from active duty and would be awaiting a court martial. But as you are a contractor, your reckless behaviour did not have any negative consequences for you, and you were even rewarded with a fee and increased standing. With such laissez-faire
attitude, pardon my Gallentean, which incentivises capsuleers’ antics, it is no wonder that we find ourselves on the brink of a war.”
I smiled wryly and said, “I am glad to hear that the State sends a real Caldari to negotiations with our enemy. Who else but a true son of the State would work himself into a lather about people demonstrating initiative and creativity in the execution of their duties? But here is a thought for you, Envoy, if you want everyone to toe the line, maybe you should take responsibility for making sure that that line is clear and visible?”
With that, I left the diplomat in the mess hall and walked to the bridge where I boarded the capsule. The destination was in the neighbouring system and the flight was uneventful. I docked at Minedrill Refinery and did not leave the capsule to see the envoy out, asking Aura to direct him to the exit. As soon as he disembarked, I closed the airlock and reported the successful completion of the mission to Purkkoken.
“Er… Vlad, I need you to come to my office for debriefing,” he said awkwardly.
“What’s there to debrief about?” I asked annoyed, “It was a straight two-warps-and-a-jump delivery mission. There is nothing I can tell you that is not recorded in the flight logs.”
“I understand it is a formality, but I have to insist.”
I shrugged with resignation and undocked. If a quick pointless talk with Purkkoken was needed to get my mission reward, I could play along. Soon I was in the agent’s office, determined to keep the conversation as short as possible.
“Thank you for escorting the envoy,” said Purkkoken, “If the negotiations are successful there won’t be any grand announcements. Rather, I expect that all the hubbub around this situation will gradually die down over the next few days. Anyway, I didn’t invite you to discuss politics, media or even the mission. First of all, I would like to apologise.”
I raised an eyebrow, “What for?”
“You see, the recent events triggered an internal targeted review of all the missions that I assigned to you. One of the findings was that my mission briefs were not detailed enough and left room for interpretation. You pointed it out several times in the past but I ignored your concerns. Therefore I take full responsibility for any deviations from the intended mission outcomes and apologise for any blame that was placed on you.”
I opened my mouth to object but Purkkoken raised his hand indicating that he had not finished yet, and continued, “Comparison of similar missions flown by you and my other contractors also revealed that any issues in the mission descriptions were amplified by your, I quote, boisterous nature, increasing side effects, both negative and positive. Such amplification was less pronounced in the case of other contractors. For that reason, I am instructed not to offer you any further missions.”
That was a shocker.
“Erm… Does it mean that Caldari Navy is not interested in further cooperation with me?” I asked grimly.
“No,” objected Purkkoken, “on the contrary, you may think of this as a promotion, as your missions will now be handled by my colleague, Ozanero Voiras, who is a Level 2 Security Agent. And, to be honest, I don’t think my missions are challenging enough for you.”
“That’s… unexpected,” I said slowly, digesting the news, “And what about you?”
The agent raised from his chair and came to me indicating that the conversation was coming to an end, “Me? I will be working on my performance improvement plan with other, ‘safer’ contractors,” he smiled humorlessly and added, “But I was given to understand that in exceptional circumstances I may call upon your services, with additional approvals of course. I hope you won’t turn your back on the old pal when he finds himself in a tight spot?”
I put my hand on Purkkoken’s shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly, “Any time, mate. We had our differences but running your missions was always fun. And I will be forever grateful to you for dragging me out of the world of baseliners back to the capsule.”
I gave the agent a hug and left the office.