by gerald hall
“Well, that is not quite true, Angela. We have thousands of farms and towns on Libertad. The fact that so many of us continue to farm during at least part of the year and because of the peculiar accent that we maintain, that a lot of people in the Orion Arm think of us as ‘hicks’, uncultured or ignorant.
My people have many industries there within the Libertad system, just like other worlds do. But we put all of our heavy industry out on our moons and orbital platforms instead of scarring our land, poisoning our water and fouling our air. We mine for virtually all of our vital minerals from our moons and various asteroids, in spite of the available mineral wealth on our planet’s surface.
What we refused to do was allow outsiders to try to influence our decisions about the use of our world and its resources. We feel that it is important to take care of our world. It is the place where we raise our children, grow the food to feed our people and provides those beautiful places for us to rest and restore ourselves in safety and comfort. God provided this wonderful place for us. We just feel that it is very important that we take care of its environment for our descendants. We value having clean water and air. But at the same time, we still have plenty of technology at our disposal. Much of it is in space or out of sight though.”
“Why do any of you ever even leave such a wonderful place then? It sounds so peaceful and beautiful.”
“We live in a universe where there are billions of human beings and untold billions of other intelligence species also live. We know that our people simply cannot live in utter isolation, economically, diplomatically and socially. As a result, our ships travel among the stars to trade the goods that we produce in exchange for other goods that we need and want.
But we also send out people on our ships to see what is going on the rest of the universe. Sometimes, we go out openly on our own jump tenders and cargo shuttles. Others, like myself, travel clandestinely to explore and learn through a variety of other platforms. Together, we provide our leaders with the information necessary to plan for the growth and security of our people.”
“From the sounds of what you have described, many people would refer to you as spies, Sweetheart.”
“Perhaps so, but we seek information not to harm others, unless they seek first to harm us. We are more like the people that the leaders of Israel such as Moses and Joseph sent out to learn about the lands before them and the people around them. But the leaders of our world have a special name for us as a group.
They call us ‘The Eyes of Libertad’.”
Cast of Characters:
Alec Martinson: Commander of Martinson Mercantile Group (MMG) and owner of the jump tender Alacrity
Claude Wisp: Representative of independent Kepler colony and employer of MMG
Colin Sampson: Captain of the battler Orca
Tessa Hart: Captain of the battler ‘Hart’s Challenge’
Joseph Kent: Tau Ceti bureaucrat for Earth Fleet
Joanna Tallmanz: Alacrity’s navigator and second in command of Alacrity.
Ethan Moran: Alacrity’s pilot
Brandon Kiel: Alacrity’s bridge sensor technician
Major Daniel Compton: Commander of MMG ground and spaceborne combat personnel.
Jonathan Murrel: (Galactic Expeditions researcher/explorer)
Sarah Bucholtz: First Officer of Jump tender Black Diamond/Second in command of Farrow's Furies.
Lieutenant Carole Traeger: Captain of Buccaneer's Dream
Lieutenant Warren Marshall: Captain of Hidden Blade under pirate command.
Angela Collins: (pirate tech, former TTW acolyte)
Adam Teach: (pirate crewman)
Terri Muldoon: (pirate crewman)
Demi-Precentor Mirabella Lucas: Commander of The True Way raiding company
Adept Victor Stern: Captain of TTW Jump tender: Purity of Flame
Adept Omega Ursula Tureau: TTW Commando
Acolyte Gregor Moran: TTW tech
Captain Jackson Farrow: Captain of Jump Tender Black Diamond/Commander of Farrow's Furies
Lieutenant Julia LeGrande: (pirate crewman)
Jessi: (pirate commtech)
Emilio Franklin: (pirate crewman)
Acolyte Terrance Wilson
Moriarty (pirate tech)
Acolyte Martin: TTW tech
Lieutenant Martin Winters: privateer (Martinson Mercantile Group) technical team leader and commander of the Hidden Blade.
Sergeant Tony Wallace: privateer technician and security systems tech
Sergeant Julian Arromanche: privateer security team leader
Emily Carson: commander of the MMG Archer-class battler Tomahawk
Catherine Ashe: commander of the MMG Archer-class battler Paladin
Lindsey Buckman: Belair Syndicate Executive Vice-President for Operations.
Ships of the Martinson Merchantile Group:
Terrance-class Jump Tender Alacrity
Bulldog-class Combat Tender Golden Phoenix
Tramp-class Jump Tender Fireball formerly Purity of Flame
Narwhal-class heavy battler Orca
Longbow-class medium battler ‘Tess’s Challenge’
Converted Conestoga Q-Ship Hidden Blade
Converted Conestoga Q-ship Buccaneer’s Dream
Archer-class medium battler Tomahawk
Archer-class medium battler Paladin
Refitted Lu’non light battler Mosquito
Lion-class heavy battler Orca II
Dromedary-class cargo shuttle Salamis
Dromedary-class cargo shuttle/Q-ship Papillon
Dromedary-class cargo shuttle Saint Louis