Part 11
HISTORY OF NOSH
The Quaso Mutta have revealed that millions of years ago, Nosh used to be a small star. The planet was literally a ball of fire, fuelled by its own superheated core. However, when a rare solar snow storm collided with the planet, showering it with ice, the fire on the planet's surface was extinguished. The planet naturally cooled over the next million years, leaving behind huge fuel reservoirs. That fuel is what drove the initial expansion of the New Realm and helped to make Kukubia into a thriving colony.
The irony is that today, Nosh doesn't produce enough fuel to meet its own needs, and must import 99% of its energy. Just a hundred years ago, Nosh was actually producing most of the fuel consumed in the western half of Gogg. However, this natural resource was so recklessly managed that within a short time, the planet went dry. Today, all fuel must be imported to Kukubia using large tankers. This accounts, in part, for the high fuel prices and erratic supply.
When a fuel tanker enters Kukubia, it typically lands on Nosh, where the raw fuel is unloaded, refined and stored. In most parts of Kukubia, the price of fuel is fixed. However, on Nosh, you can almost always find a wholesaler, who will sell the fuel at a discount price. This is why most merchant ships have incorporated Nosh into their trade routes.
Look at that, Slev. Exactly 110 tons of Kryptoons at the lowest possible price. This is a thing of beauty. We should have this framed.
Mm. And if we're going to be carrying cargo this valuable, perhaps we should think about buying some insurance? Yeah, maybe.
...well? I've thought about it. The answer is no.
Sirs? There is a gentleman outside who requests an audience with you, sirs.
Did he make an appointment? No, sir. Okay. New rule. Anyone comes here wanting to see us without an appointment, you tell them to piss off. Starting with this guy. Tark'la, don't be rude. We have plenty of time for him, whoever he is.
That's not the point. We, you and I, are now a corporation. We're professionals. We're not students having friends over at the dorm. If we just let people show up and speak to us whenever they feel like it, we're not gonna be taken seriously. Ah, I am not sure he will accept "no" as an answer, sir. I believe it is to do with the matter of overdue t-
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AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Can we help you? AAAAAAAyou haven't paid your taxes. What? You haven't paid your taxes! Bad things happen when you don't pay your TAXES! ...
Tark'la? This is literally exactly what my nightmares are like. I mean, exactly. Right down to the horrible comb-over. We will come down on you like a ton of bricks if you don't pay your TAXES! We're entitled to fine you twice the value of your BACK TAXES if you don't pay your TAX- Alright, we understand! We'll get that taken care of right away. Sorry about the delay. Oh. Well. Good. ... ... TAXEEEEEEEEEEEEEES You know, tax collectors really don't deserve their negative image. I need to sit down somewhere.
So what kind of charges are we looking at here?
2% on exports, 3% on imports and 15% on all income from passengers. Can you believe that? ...that doesn't really seem so bad, Tark'la. It's friggin' daylight robbery. Look. Taxes are a necessary institution of a capitalist society. You can't expect to just- I know, Slev. Everybody knows that. But you complain about it anyway, because that's just how life works.
Whoa. That's more people than we can even carry. Maybe we could bump the price up a bit further.
Fine.
Alright. Now would be a pretty good time to refuel. After that we'll get these Kryptoons sold off, and...
...yeah. I think we should have enough now. Enough for what? Enough to pay a visit to a certain "friend". ...oh.