Martin Esteban

The Story
I was born and raised on Planet Crete, in Omicron Gamma, but figured out early that the Corsair life was not quite right for me. I struck out in a used freighter to make my fortune. I have Christened several ships with the name Fantasma to date. I do so out of honor to my old ships, as I tow them into deep space and set them to self-destruct when I purchase a new ship. I do this to ensure secrets stay secret. I'm sure, if the Outcasts knew my planet of origin, I would be stripped of my landing privileges in Omicron Alpha, and of my life in short order.

About the time I purchased my first Transport class star ship, maybe a month after saluting my last Freighter class ship as it exploded into oblivion, I started to venture further from my familial home. I came to know a sect of people with whom I could identify. The Junkers. Here I found a new home because I wasn't pressured into victimizing others every day, although they promised to be helpful should the need to pirate arise. I found that I would no longer be ostracized for wanting a more normal life than constantly running from the law.

I also learned new ways of flying around the law too. This is when I was introduced to smuggling.

The first time one of my new brothers led me to Omicron Alpha was a day I can never forget. I was raised to both fear and hate Outcasts and here I was, flying into the heart of the Outcast nation. I also remember feeling a sense of awe at the sight of the Hispania, broken but still floating in space near Planet Malta. I, too, remembered childhood stories of generations past, living and serving on board that fated vessel.

A fellow Junker gave me a devise that I was to wear on my face, to help blend in with the Outcasts. I looked at the thing in disdain until we came close to, and had contact with, the first Outcast patrol to question us. While my amigo assured me it was cleaned and sanitized, I just did not feel it right to wear such a thing. I quickly changed my mind. I now keep it in the compartment in my arm rest and don it whenever I venture into Outcast space.

Being of Corsair heritage, I actually make more credits, per trip, when hauling cardamine. I was neither raised with the drug nor have I ever become a user. This means that 100% of my load arrives when I make dock, none left out for personal use. When asked about this in New York, I simply say I keep a personal stash in a separate, hidden compartment in my ship. Not being addicted also leaves me with a clear and attentive mind, which has proven valuable on many an occasion. The very lawfuls who buy my cargo on the black market, and who would love to score some free drugs if they caught me, are not as quick to pick up on my scent as I am to theirs. I have never been caught running contraband and keep a sharp mind to keep it that way.

The name of my ship, Fantasma, started as a way to demonstrate, to my family and friends back home, that I do know how to fly. I often played games with them; they would try to prevent me from arriving at port and I often had them chasing my ghost, as I called my trick, in the wrong direction as I made port. These early games did much to hone the skills necessary to, later, become a smuggler.

Now it has even more meaning because I don't always haul scrap metal. I stay well out of sight of lawfuls when my cargo is contraband, and so I become a ghost in the background of space. Rarely seen or heard from. Yet I am not shy when I am carrying a legal load. I will even strike up conversations with the lawfuls I avoid on a regular basis to learn new patrol routes and new dangers discovered. They do tend have a loose tongue, after I've generously paid for a few rounds, in the bar on Planet Manhattan.

So far I am very pleased with my chosen line of work. I, often, help free slaves from their Liberty oppressors and help them escape to Planet Malta. It is quite an elaborate underground railroad and I do not have all the details of how they are freed from their captors. I do know that freed slaves are taken to all corners of Sirius to escape Liberty. Isn't it ironic? The very nation that names itself "Liberty" is the same that commits the worst acts of taking liberty from their citizens.

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Martin's Advise
There are plenty of ways to make a buck around Sirius. I'll tell you some secret Junker Trade Routes for the right price. Just don't let the secret get around or others might bring down the profits I love so much!