
Obtaining Vincenzi Technology
-----------------------------

   Traders and travellers coming to Vincennes for high-tech goods won't
   be disappointed in the selection but they may be a bit miffed by the
   amount of bureaucratic red tape they have to cut through to buy any of
   it. The planet's high-tech market sells TL-16 goods primarily at the
   planet's orbital starports and Vincennes Down Starport.
   
   Most would-be tech purchasers are usually surprised by the level of
   interference from the Vincennes Trade and Commerce Commission (VTCC).
   The VTCC is one of the more intrusive trade management bureaucracies
   in the Regency and maintains strict guidelines by which sale of
   high-tech goods may be made. Regency citizenship is required for any
   purchase and all computer, communications and robotic equipment sold
   on Vincennes undergoes thorough examination by local RQS officials
   before export. The VTCC's primary concern is quality control and the
   level of technology proliferation. Most VTCC bureaucrats support a
   controlled-growth economic philosophy.
   
   The VTCC's primary opponent is `G,' the main distributor and exporter
   of Vincennes' advanced technological goods. G has recently begun to
   build a spin-off company, `H,' whose primary concern is creating
   venture capital for Vincenzi companies working on TL-17 prototypes and
   marketing these products to offworld interests. Because of the
   bureaucratic warfare between the VTCC and the more laissez faire G,
   and the rigidity of trade regulations, small lot purchases of Vincenzi
   technology are often difficult to arrange. Alternatively, tech-hungry
   adventurers may want to make friends with the more established free
   traders of the Vincennes Cluster. Many of them make large-lot
   purchases of Vincenzi tech and given the right price, are often
   willing to sell small or individual quantities of high-tech goods.
   Small-lot or individual purchases of Vincenzi equipment are therefore
   made, for the most part, not on Vincennes but in nearby systems.
   
   Vincenzi starships are renowned for their quality and ample use of
   TL-16 technology. Because of the planet's proximity to Depot Alpha and
   Depot Beta, Vincennes manufactures very few warships. A few escort and
   frigate variants are manufactured on Vincennes for the purpose of
   defending tech shipments or agricultural products from Paven, but for
   the most part, Vincennes concentrates on producing traders, liners and
   exploratory vessels. Perhaps the most well-known of Vincenzi starship
   designs is the 300-ton Gushiken-Class Free Trader. The Gushiken uses
   TL-16 technology to minimize the volume taken by drive and electronic
   component and maximizes cargo space. The ship was originally intended
   for microjump transportation of grain from Paven to Vincennes but has
   since been adopted for more universal use.

