"Very well friend. You have yourself a deal. Of course you understand there will be a trial period first. I mean I don't know you any more than you know me, so we must build up some trust."
Jarvis returned the smile, relieved. "Of course; I wouldn't have it any other way."
"If everything goes well than in the future I will loan you more resources and provide you with more jobs. For the time being I think it is best if your group operated in the space before Belgaroth and Rendili, including Ojom of course."
Jarvis nodded in agreement. "That's the general area I had in mind."
Stellar motioned them toward the table, and they began walking toward their seats.
"When the time was right, I was going to establish a small base of operations within the Ojom system, so perhaps you would be willing to start one there for your base? It is central to the region as well as the trade route, therefore prove very strategic.
"We've already spoken to officials at Ojom," Ferril said, just happy to get to contribute to the conversation. "We have been given permission to establish a base of operations on one of their orbital spaceports. We'll be able to begin setting up as soon as Ojom confirms that we're working for you."
"Oh and of course you will always inform us any new developments of pirate activities within this space. If, lets say, one of your team locates a pirate staging area, you would be sure to tell us of course?" Rob smiled.
Jarvis looked a little surprised. "You tell him," He said quietly, looking over to Ferril.
"There is one thing about that," Ferril said to Stellar, a little nervous.
"Please, have a seat and indulge. Would you both care for something to drink?"
They sat, once again a little nervous. "Water," Jarvis said, "water would be best."
"Yes, water," Ferril echoed, hoping Stellar wouldn't mind the next suggestion. "You see, Mr. Stellar, in regard to information, staging areas, and such, we were hoping to deal with those things ourselves. Of course," He added quickly, "we would submit full reports to Stellar Enterprises concerning any pirate engagements, and any information we gain that relates to pirating outside of our realm of influence would be turned over to you immediately, so they could be dealt with properly. And of course, any information that we would not be able to put to immediate use on our own would be turned over to you, so these threats could be removed with utmost hast.
"We ask this for several reason. The first is simply that we have a few—though only a few—contacts within local pirate groups, and they don't feel comfortable working with anyone other than us. In addition, captured pirate vessels could be repaired and used to supplement or replace our existing forces, and any captured bases could be used by our own forces to effect a greater degree of security throughout the region."
"As you said before, we must build trust," Jarvis said just as Ferril finished. "You are free to inspect any aspect of our operation at any time, and if you would like, you can even station Stellar Enterprises officials on our ships to monitor our actions and ensure that we aren't doing anything wrong. Actually, we would appreciate any help you could give us in identifying and returning any stolen cargo we might acquire from attacks on pirate bases and staging areas. I know this may sound risky to you, but right now, the only thing you have invested in this is the safety of your freighters, and they're already at risk. If we fail, or do something wrong, don't even worry about paying us; just fire us. But if this works, you'll have safer spacelanes and cheaper protection for your convoys."
Jarvis looked down at the table, remembering that he was supposed to be eating. He selected a few things, put them on his plate, then looked back to Stellar, hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst.
