(D3 FMS) See a Man about a Mine

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

Bomilcar walked through the area with his comrade for the evening approaching their destination.

[Kannon]

Pad 9. This is where Bom had been told to look for Manx. It seemed that the man had moved up the miner ladder quite a bit. As a Sandmaster he didn't have to live in a cabin down the cliff, but actually had own office here at the Splintered Rock. The work wasn't any lighter though, just more responsibility.

[Reyyan Ebrahammi]

As one of the escort, Rey had decided to accompany Mister Thorvald on his little journey. Personally, once she'd learned where he'd been going. It had been a place she'd wanted to check out for herself. She wore her armor... after all, who would ask a Levenbrech to go unarmed and armored? Certainly not Harkonnen would be so foolish.

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

"Up ahead, Tivor Manx," Bomilcar said, leading the way to the office. He'd talked to the man in the past on many occasions. He had a sort of kinship with him as Manx seemed to appreciate a man that knew when to listen rather than talk, and Bom much preferred to listen. People like Bom made the Dune Man's job easier, passing information back and forth without fuss or jockeying. They were both pretty straightforward with how they operated.

[Kannon]

"Bomilcar!" Manx was actually leaving his office space toward the pad when he came across them. "I figured you'd turn up!" He then noticed the Sardaukar and moderated his openness a bit. Arrakis obviously changed him. He was leaner, desiccated even, more rugged even by Thorvald mining standards, but also gained some aura of dignity, as if the planet imbued him with some charisma. Inadvertently, his eyes picked up a bit of the blue tinge, a sign he was unlikely to ever leave this place ever again.

[Claudius Reins]

Addison has tagged along with the group heading to the mines with the plan to take a look at the records at the office.

(Free Addison Scene for th4e day>

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[Bomilcar Thorvald]

"Looking good, my friend," he replied with a light smile, extending a hand to him. Though that might indeed be a wide smile for him. "Reyyna and Addison," he says in introduction. "Got time?"

[Kannon]

"No, but I'll make it for you." He paused. "And your friends here. I know what you've come for, roughly."

He barked some quick words in miners' vernacular to the Pad 9 personnel, and then showed back into his office.

"We haven't got much time, especially if you want me to speak about stuff the Harkonnen won't like me telling. Mouth wide open is a lethal condition here, my friend." He instinctively glanced toward the fortified guard post at the elevator up the cliff.

[Claudius Reins]

"Would it be easier if I got request the books to audit, therefor giving us an official reason for our visit to provide you cover for your conversation?"

[Kannon]

"It wouldn't hurt, but what I can tell you is not in the books, not the ones I have at least. Omri keeps most of that."

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

"Thank you," he Bomilcar replied with a nod. He clears his throat, whick Manx knew meant he was about to say more than he usually did and it was going to be a bit painful for him. "Give us a name. Someone you don't like. If we need to give up a source, they can take the fall for you. I'd rather keep you safe."

[Kannon]

"Czigo, the Harkonnen officer up there in the refinery?" Tivor laughed curtly. "It doesn't work like that here, though, Bomilcar. The Harkonnen aren't stupid. I wish they were."

He sat at his desk, showed toward the bunk for them to seat. Not much other sitting space.

"So I'll give you the big picture and you then ask me about what's got your interest, okay? I assume you know near to nada on how spice mining operates. It's not much like cryomining, Bomilcar. I had to learn a lot."

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

He nods. He really was not good at this stuff. He was glad to have someone that understood helping him with it.

[Kannon]

"So, things have gone quite bad around here, after the surtax. I mean, they have never been really 'good', this is Harkonnen we're speaking of, but it's almost like they've stopped caring about all this. Parts don't come, harvesters degrade, plenty of otherwise good equipment is lost to the desert, even without worms coming right away, because of avoidable failures. They only send one-two spotters on every mission where four used to be the norm, and they man them with Bluejacks. They've redirected most of the pilots for spice-searching missions deeper into the desert even though I think there's been enough spice blows reported in our perimeter. There's this thing my pal Aneirin told my just yesterday, he's a helmsman on one of the heavy lifters, it's one carryall per two harvesters now, and in separate spots, as if they are happy to risk whole loads. It's like they've decided to flip on the Emperor and the Guild and let the output decrease. I mean, people say it's how they try to play us, squeeze us because of unionising, to get a firmer hold on the personnel. Indeed, they have been scattering sandmasters, foremen and helmsmen all around, False Wall South mostly. Also, people have got addicted, it's normal, and now they even cut the spice for beer short. I know men who want to be on missions just to inhale or scoop some straight from the sand."

Manx was getting a bit agitated.

"There's another thing. This is the most developed spice processing place on the whole of Dune, pardon, Arrakis, and they seem to be deprioritising it, sending equipment pulled by Paymon into Wind Pass way away, letting us die here by a thousand cuts or whatever they say about decaying slowly. Even though Wind Pass is just east of here."

Tivor rubbed his temples. "Maybe it's because it's Rabban, he is not an economic genius if you know what I mean. Perhaps things will be righted when the Baron returns, he wants us to appreciate him or something. Because I can't believe the Harkonnen are giving up. They of course can always blame the Fremen, and they keep doing that. I mean, the Fremen retaliate for Rabban's atrocities, perhaps more than usual, but this cover story for the mounting negligence and mismanagement is getting old and works against them over the long haul. What kind of siridars are they if they can't tame the nomads."

He looked at the Sardaukar. "You can actually tell this to your Emperor, though don't quote me. I think they're bulling him in some way. I think they have always hoarded on the side, but it's something different now."

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

"Have a stockpile, trying to hurt others?" He asks. "Preparing for a move?"

[Kannon]

"You tell me. That's no longer about mining, but politics way above my pay grade." Tivor shrugged. "Their mentat has a reputation, you know. Maybe you should get your own?"

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

"Group has one," he says with a nod. He looks to Addison and Reyyan to see if they caught most of what he said. Bomilcar had, had takin it all in, but if it wasn't obvious to the other two by now it should be clear that he didn't avoid talking out of personal preference. Such a long explanation would require him to write it down for the group or one of the other two here to explain it.

"Addiction rising or more apparent?"

[Kannon]

"That is pretty much constant. You can't escape it in this line of work. But people fear withdrawals. Of all people, we the miners will pull through, but the rest of the Imperium will be in worse shape soon. After the surtax, the thing is just hell too expensive." He didn't bite his tongue, and regretted it. He was now looking at the Sardaukar, fearing her reaction to this indirect critique of the Padishah Emperor.

[Claudius Reins]

"Do you believe they might be setting up a second facility up there and mining spice less then officially?"

[Kannon]

Tivor might have some thoughts on that but for now he was too scared of the Sardaukar's reaction to open his mouth.

[Reyyan Ebrahammi]

"It all seems backwards; If the surtax goes up, the reaction would normally be to work your people harder. If your interest is profits of course. If it really is moving everything to 'unofficial' sites to avoid the surtax instead, then there will be a reckoning. And the Harkonnen should be smart enough to know it would be found by this mission I would think."

[Kannon]

"...I don't believe that, sir." Tivor picked up. "But I can't dismiss it either. The Harkonnen have a way of getting away with what they do. I am not sure how much they can dare. If they have set up such a secret facility, I can't tell where it is. It would have required a lot of work that couldn't be squeezed between the imposition of the surtax and now."

Manx rubbed his temples. He was smart, but not mentat-smart, and they were asking him to do the mentat work here. "Maybe they want to be censured? Maybe they have a strategy to emerge from that better off?" Either way, he felt relief for the Sardaukar not to press the matter of his slip.

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

Bomilcar looked to Addison to see if she had any contributions to make, questions wise. "Inspection? During better hours if you want?"

[Claudius Reins]

"I will definitely stay and take a look at the books, drop by the Union-bosses office. I sat next to him at dinner the other night and we got along well. I am more of a data analyst then a hands on person, not sure what exactly you want to inspect directly"

[Kannon]

[This thread has so far granted a Legitimate Suspicion]