I have just noticed that Spaz kinda ninjad me, so I'll respond to one of his points I find a bit problematic.
Freeports being far is nice and cool and I could accept it as an excuse for houses on why not to patrol around and secure the area, but in case of Freeports lying in between houses it just doesn't seem to hold it's ground. Freeports may be far but if they are in between the houses, that means the houses themselves are even further from eachother, then here comes that houses are obviously interested in commerce between eachother, and because of this also in maintaining a somewhat decent protection of trade routes. Because of this I firmly believe one could rightfully expect lawful control over trade lanes directly connecting the houses (at least in one case if there are mutliple routes, here I'm thinking of the independent systems between Liberty and it's neighbors).
The above would mean that - aside from Bethlehem and FP14 - Ames, FP1, FP2, and FP6 would also have higher (than usual) chances of meeting lawful patrols occasionally checking the nearby lanes, while Corfu, FP5, FP9, and every Zoner installation in O49, O74 and Baffin would be more left alone by the houses. That's just four Zoner stations the houses would still care about because they are in the way to other houses. And I say they care at least that much, for reasons I explained above.
Indeed, houses would be interested in keeping their commerce safe. Which is why you see so many bounty hunters - a house-neutral faction saturating those places, no doubt paid for to do the work for them without the possibility of between-house conflict. That would be one way to look at it. And of course they use the Freeports as their base of operations, another reason for the houses not to smite them.
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