Belter storyline
The Belters - a loose collection of independent traders, prospectors, pirates, and privateers - share a common belief: that freedom from tyranny is the right of all humanity. Belters are a rough-hewn, unruly bunch of borderline anarchists. Led by unlikely hero Orion Sholes, the Belters pilot an odd mix of captured and jury-rigged equipment: the "Junkyard Armada."
IDEOLOGY STATEMENT
“Live free or die” sums up the Belter ideology well. They refuse to live their lives on anyone's terms but their own, and will fight to the death to preserve their individuality and freedom. In addition to their rugged individualism, the Belters' primary motivations are survival and personal enrichment.
BACKGROUND
The "Belters" - a catchall nickname for the more-lawless segment of human society - first appeared shortly after the FML uprisings on Mars. FML cells tended to spin off into new splinter groups under the latest political leader to rise in the labor pool; after Martian independence was declared in 2068, these groups merged and split several times.
By 2075, Martian prospectors were plying their trade in the Asteroid Belt, an experiment that paid handsome dividends after the 2079 Belt Conflict. Martian prospectors were indirectly involved in the inter-corporate Belt Conflict, and backed the claim that Earth law did not apply in space (particularly in regard to Free Martians). Free Martians seized a handful of orbital stations in the aftermath of the conflict (claiming "salvage rights.") Although most of the stations were in turn reclaimed by corporate security forces, these squatters were the first named "Belters."
Around the turn of the 21st and 22nd Centuries the number of Belter stations gradually grew, as a wave of new construction led corporations to simply abandon the oldest stations; Martian prospectors and squatters simply moved into the abandoned stations.
In 2113, a deep depression hit Luna as most of the corporate interests that colonized the Moon relocated to the new space platforms. The bulk of the population that relocated were white collar executives, and the wealthy and influential citizens of Luna. This left some blue collar workers and lower management to work the remaining industry (along with prospectors, service workers, con men, criminals and so on). Non-corporate employees had no financial way off the Moon, although the corporations did offer lift-off to contracted employees (said contracts amounting to years of indentured servitude).
Unsurprisingly, the schism between the “have's” and “have not's” led to political agitation and revolution. May 2115 saw the Lunar Declaration of Independence, which was immediately accepted by Mars and ignored by the UN. This was followed by the destruction of Lunar-orbit stations and a dud nuke launch against Earth. Coalition forces responded by attempting a Lunar invasion, which ignited a bloodbath. Taking advantage of Coalition force transfers to Luna, Crimson Shield attacked GigaCorp facilities on Io, and an intercorporate asteroid-hopping war bubbled up in the Belt. A two-year, three-front war raged between Coalition, Lunar, and Corporate forces ? on the Moon, in the Belt, and in the Jovian Moons. The Lunars were aided by Martian partisans, mercenaries, and privateers.
In 2117, the UN recognized the Luna Free State and the Iron Coalition negotiated a peace (which granted Luna sovereign rights over most of the Moon, with the exception of the Free Zones, craters left open to any landers and policed by the Coalition).
Shortly after, Luna and Mars signed mutual defense treaties and started feeding supplies, a trickle of money, and technical assistance to Belt enclaves in exchange for ore and He3. The Belters began small-scale piracy operations in the Belt and along the Mass Conveyor routes, snatching ore in transit and diverting it to Mars or Luna (“mass transit piracy”) or riding asteroids long enough to mine out rich deposits (so-called “vampire piracy”).
Some Belter groups also seeded their corporate and military enemies with short-term and long-term spies, taking advantage of a long standing corporate and Coalition offer to accept contractors willing to sign on for long tours. Some “moles” began feeding information back to their home groups almost immediately, while others worked their way into positions of power in order to launch sabotage programs; some such moles remained inactivate for more than a decade.
In the late 2120s, Martian media pirates began uploading radical political, artistic, information, and entertainment programs, and created the core of what would become a Mars-Luna-Belt media exchange. Early triumphs of the Mars "pirate stations" include an upload of the GigaCorp-Crimson Shield battle over the Solar Aleph, and eventually the Crimson Shield holodata of their initial Aleph probe. Pirate stations also routinely release real-life raiding and combat recordings, which turn out to be very popular. This sort of exposure led many Belters to mount media pods on their ships in hopes of attracting fans and followers.
After the 2140 Earth Disaster, Luna and Mars opened their borders to any Earth refugees and even launched rescue operations, recovering hundreds of survivors. (The corporations rescued thousands more, at a draconian price, typically a lifetime of indentured servitude.) The Disaster left Mars and Luna the primary agricultural suppliers in the System, which gave them tremendous bargaining power, but also made them targets for conquest.
In late 2141, a Belt prospector ship ran the Coalition blockade of the Solar Aleph. The ship claimed to be a Martian government contract prospector, a claim Mars belatedly backed up (establishing Belter Aleph-transit rights). A Lunar ship followed suit in the new year, and both Mars and Luna started issuing Aleph permits to independent prospectors, scouts, traders, and adventurers, a maneuver the Coalition had little choice but to allow or risk a massive famine after the agricombines cut off food shipments. GigaCorp was furious over the newcomers to interstellar travel, decrying the Belters as anarchists, socialists, or libertarians, but, suddenly dependant on Martian food, were also forced to accept the situation. The Bios consider the Belters genetic flotsam, and are not as dependant on Martian food, but see no way of containing them and are content to let the Belters kill themselves off in space, as the "anarchistic stalegenes are bound to do.”
The opening of interstellar space has created a new phenomenon among Belters: Tycoons. Some Belters have made it back to Solar space with huge fuel loads or ships stuffed with mineral wealth, making them instantly rich. The Tycoons reinvest most of their profits into new expeditions and head out to polish off rich claims or find new deposits, and after a few turnarounds can afford to retire or back others willing to take the risks. Tycoons are a new social group among the Belters and its hard to say how they will fit in over the long term.
Such an influx of material is a huge headache for GigaCorp, which wants to monopolize mineral markets and control prices. GigaCorp had hoped to eliminate competition with the death of Crimson Group and inevitable absorption of the smaller corporations, but the Belters are used to hanging on by their fingernails, and have dug into GigaCorp's side.
INTER-FACTIONAL RELATIONS
Belters are in fact not a true political entity, they are a loose collection of political groups, colonies and individuals who band together out of mutual interest. Belters frequently unite to do battle with the other factions. The Belters despise the other factions and consider all of them authoritarian entities out to crush individual liberty.
NOTABLE PERSONALITIES
ORION SHOLES
History
Orion Sholes (an alias) is a disreputable grifter with a flair for leadership and some small military ability. He began his career as a commerce raider, stealing corporate mining ships and ransoming crew and cargo back to the parent company. After the Lunar secession, he realized that he too could carve out an empire for himself.
As more and more people moved out into space and cast aside allegiances to Earth, Coalition, and Corporation, he found himself becoming more and more of a respected “public figure” - which has made him intensely uncomfortable.
Even more irritating to him is that, despite his checkered past, he can't help but stick up for the underdog, and engage in battle against oppression. Despite himself, he's become a true leader, and a good one, at that.
Physical Appearance
As far as we've been able to determine, Sholes is a scruffy man of indeterminate age, anywhere from his early 30s to late 40s. He usually has long, unkempt black hair tied in a ragged pony tail. He wears a customized space suit, as most Belters do, with odd ornamentation and slogans painted on. He is frequently heavily armed, though his fearsome appearance is softened by his personal charm and somewhat oddball sense of humor.
SIMON “BLACK HAND” LENNOX
History
Perhaps the greatest challenge to Orion Sholes' nominal leadership of the Belters is "Black Hand" Lennox. Lennox - formerly a military pilot who was drummed out of the service for blasting a squadron rival out of the skies - has had a very successful career as a pirate . . . though unlike Sholes, he is highly prone to violence. Target vessels are hulled and seized, as the crew suffocates or explosively decompresses. In addition, he hates GigaCorp and the Coalition and mounts frequent assaults on them just to blood his troops and bloody the noses of his enemies.
While many Belters find Lennox's methods deplorable, it is hard to argue with his success. Lennox is very wealthy, and shares this wealth quite equitably with his crew. The more lawless, anarchistic members of Belter society are drawn to Lennox; consequently, his troops are much more ready to fight than most Belters (who mainly want to be left alone).
Lennox has not made a serious bid for control of Belter space because he tends to be a tactical, rather than a strategic thinker, which has allowed Orion Sholes to outmaneuver him, at least for the time being.
Lennox is a true sociopath, but a genuinely entertaining and personable one. He appears to be the picture of the dashing, gentleman pirate, and he frequently behaves in a grotesque parody of courtly behavior. But when angered, his rage is fearsome indeed. Many of his pilots have seen Lennox decimate a colony asteroid with little or no provocation and have only remained in his service out of fear. Others, however, revel in the violence and conflict that surrounds Lennox.
Physical Appearance
Lennox is broad, stocky, short and muscular, and given to wearing rather elaborate clothing (the better to look the part of the pirate king). He has long blond hair, a neatly trimmed mustache and goatee, and carries a pair of pistols on each hip. He is quick to anger, quick to laughter, and especially quick to violent fights.
CAPTAIN LIAM WESTRAY
History
Another former military operative, Liam Westray runs a mercenary squadron based out of Vesta Station. Westrey's forces take contracts from virtually anyone, provided they are not affiliated with GigaCorp or the BIOS.
Westray was a newly-promoted captain in command of the Metis Station 129th Shield Squadron, a fighter squadron defending the facilities on the Jovian moon Metis, when GigaCorp launched an unwarranted assault. Westray evaluated the situation, commandeered a light carrier . . . withdrew his troops to Vesta Station, denying victory to GigaCorp. Keeping the unit name, 129th Shield Squadron, he gives price breaks for missions that involve harming GigaCorp, in defiance and sheer nastiness.
Westray has conducted several missions in other systems, including point attacks and claim defense ops; so far casualties have been light and less than half his squadron has mustered out. The 129th can field a full four flights (one veteran, one standard, and two rookie), plus the base command support unit, and is able to maintain combat readiness almost constantly. Unfortunately, the 129th carrier was destroyed in action in late 2149, and has yet to be replaced, so the squadron currently lacks its own transportation.
Physical Appearance
Westray is a muscular Scot in his late 30s - a taciturn man with a long grudge and an even longer memory. His black hair is kept short in regulation military fashion. He is never seen out of uniform, keeps his quarters meticulously organized, and seems to have little personal life . . . though he does occasionally go on R&R during base stops.
LI CHOW
History
The third son of a Chinese contract laborer, Li Chow broke away from corporate labor as a young man, joining the Free Luna movement in 2115. Chow fought for two years as a crater guerilla, surviving to see the birth of the Luna Free State. Suddenly without work, Chow moved to Mars in hope of gaining land, but found domesteading to be both dull and too expensive: With his guerrilla moonsuit experience he found work aboard a Belt prospector as an EVA specialist, which mainly involved jetting out to small asteroids, taking samples, and returning safely. Two years of crater fighting had instilled a great deal of EVA discipline into Chow, and he quickly became a valuable team member for his steady work speed and safety record. His teammates particularly appreciated Chow when claim jumpers tried to move in on their finds.
In time, Chow picked up some piloting and navigation skills, bought a small survey ship of his own, and gathered a team of prospectors to work for him. He had worked up enough money from his own prospecting to consider buying a newer ship when word that Mars was issuing Aleph permits circulated. He paid for a permit and was among the first Belters to strike out for the stars, hoping to stake a claim to a whole moon or megaton asteroid. His claim, however, has yet to pan out.
Currently, Chow captains a mining vessel called the Da Niao and sells claims to other Belter miners or independent corporations after extracting as much fuel as possible. This usually means leaving a small occupying force behind to defend the claim, so Chow hires mercenaries on almost every mission. Expenses are high, but profits are astronomical, and Chow can afford the occasional no-claim tour. Fortunately, most pirates are more interested in GigaShips than Belter ships, and the Da Niao rarely has to deal with ship-to-ship combat.
Physical Appearance
Li Chow is a medium-sized, broad-faced Chinese man in his mid-50s, although his short hair is still black and long periods in zero-g have prevented wrinkling, so he still looks like a man in his early 30s. Chow wears dark-colored undersuit coveralls most of the time, allowing him to get into his EVA suit with a minimum of fuss.
MORT GOLDBERG
History
Trade is vital in post-Disaster Known Space, since Earth no longer provides essentials like food or air. Traders move widely throughout human space, supplying demand and stirring the economy. Even GigaCorp doesn't have everything, and Belt traders circulate the goods that the larger corporations don't make a wide enough profit margin on. Belt traders are welcome at most stations - provided they don't cause trouble.
Mort Goldberg is one of these itinerant traders, moving from system to system, selling and bartering his way along. His battered ship, the Emporium, is a "customized" (some would say patchwork) hauler that wanders where Mort's whims and fuel supply lead. Mort is an eccentric middle-aged fellow whose stock mutates as he travels. Mort might have cloth, spices, holos, handcrafts, jewelry, or knickknacks, all of which he sells directly from his ship's hold.
Mort's customers are typically bored corporate employees, who comb the Belt traders for trinkets they can't get from the corporate retailers, often looking for something to personalize the sterile tubes and cubes they live and work in. One of his goals in life is to figure out what the Rixians have in plenty that humans want, and make a first-market killing, but so far he finds the Rixians opaque and difficult to communicate with.
Mort, a formerly-lapsed Jew, has become observant since the Disaster. He has a considerable database of Jewish literature in his computer, and observes Sabbath and holidays according to the dictates of a calendar program (based on Jerusalem time).
Physical Appearance
Mort is a kindly-looking, balding, chubby fellow with dark brown eyes and a scruffy beard. Since the Disaster he always wears his yarmulke. He wears carefully patched jumpsuits with corporate logos removed, mostly acquired in trade.
CHARLIE REMINGTON
History
One of the new Belter tycoons is Charlie Remington, a businessman from Alaska who escaped the Disaster by only a few days (while on a business trip to Io). Remington had virtually nothing in the aftermath, only a travelling kit, some GigaCorp stock, an assistant he couldn't pay, and his connections. Declining an offer to join GigaCorp, Remington made his way to Ceres Base, collected a small band of seasoned prospectors, swapped his GigaCorp stock for a ship, and started wildcatting.
His first three expeditions broke more or less even, but his fourth excursion found rich deposits of He3, turning enough profit to refit the ship and finance his next two missions. These two missions brought in a bonanza of He3 and even more rare elements, providing enough money to buy refinery ships, which allowed Remington to fuel his own ships and cut costs. Although one of his expeditions ended in a micrometorite accident, after another few missions Remington was able to send out contractors, and now only supervises occasional missions, when he feels like it. Most of his administration is handled by employees, and Remington can indulge in pet projects and investments.
His luck and success have made him an occasional target of less successful Belters, and he has lost shipments to pirates. Overall Remington has become a symbol of Belter bootstrapping, and is widely respected for his ability.
Physical Appearance
Charlie Remington stands 6'3", with sharp green eyes and sandy blond hair - a bit larger than most spacers. He uses isometrics to maintain his Earth-native muscle mass, but loses ground every year. Although he once wore frontiersman-business suits he now favors simple spacer's jumpsuits for their relative comfort.
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