Wild Traders

Small empires are home to a breed of freelancer that operates as in interface between civilization and the Wilds. This spans the range of honest trade, odd speculation, barefaced treasure-hunting, exploitation, slavery, and feeding off of dead worlds.

Typical Wild Trader operations are to jump just outside of civilization, exploit Dieback worlds, and sell the goods inside the Republic. Some merchants make even better money by salvaging the ships left by other Wild Traders who got themselves killed in the wilds. Rogue Merchants are a sub-species of Wild Trader.

Customers of Wild Traders range from Strong Worlds (seeking parts to upkeep ships, or makers, etc.) to science outfits to researchers to museums to pirates...the whole gamut. They often prefer to call on the fringes of the “safe” zones, such as the Republic of Regina. One of the factors keeping Mora a strong world is its regular Wild Trader Auction (held quarterly). Most material is auctioned within a standard quarter (90 Standard Days) from its arrival. However, items of possibly unusual value (or known to be of value to regular bidders, such as the Republic of Regina Navy) are set for auction at a specific date (at least 180 standard days away). Notice is transmitted, and bidders send their proxied agents. Occasionally, an important bidder him-, her- or itself comes personally, though such bidders tend to travel incognito to avoid undue interest that raises the bid.

From the unpublished Galaxiad Library Data.