From: Captain Holloman of the space ship Byzantium, of the Kingdom of Zuta To: The Confederation of Southern Freeports, Legal Representative Subject: A clarification on new Freeport laws
A good day to you. I am Captain Holloman of the space ship Byzantium, of the Kindom of Zuta. I require information regarding these new Freeport laws. Several of my crew have served as security forces on Freeports in the past. They tell me that the new laws are very similar to the old laws, with one notable exception.
Quote:9. Those judged to be in violation of the law are subject to penalties that include, but are not limited to: destruction of the vessel, fines, bounties, and denial of docking rights at all Zoner stations Sirius-wide.
Fines are listed as a possible punishment for transgressions, but no further detail is given. Therefore, I have two questions:
Firstly, what are the applicable fines and other punishments for the various crimes listed in the Freeport laws? Please provide a full table of fines and other punishments for all possible crimes at various levels of severity.
Secondly, to whom does the revenue from fines go? From my prior experience with Freeport security forces I would expect that proceeds from fines would be completely distributed to charitable causes, but this is not clearly stated. Please provide all the names of those individuals and groups who receive money from fines, and the reasoning behind their entitlement.
My apologies for taking up some of your valuable time, but I insist of having my records up to date. My thanks to you.
From: Captain Holloman of the space ship Byzantium, of the Kingdom of Zuta To: The Confederation of Southern Freeports, Legal Representative Subject: A clarification on new Freeport laws
My apologies for bothering you again. It is not unlikely that my request was lost under a mountain of legal documentation that you undoubtably have to work through on a daily basis. However, I very much require the information that I requested, so if you could contact me as soon as possible, I would be most gratefull. Many thanks for your time.
You appear to be aware of the laws in place around the Freeports, this is at least a step in the right direction. However we do not hand out our internal table of consequences to anyone who asks, and even if we did the fines are still largely situational, the numbers suggested there are a guideline only. The money gathered from these fines goes towards repairing damage done by the offender to the Freeport and environs and reparation to the families of those involved.
If you with to enter further communications with us requesting additional information, I would like to know what exactly you are, I most certainly have not seen anything like you before, at least nothing sentient. Are you perhaps another one of those who has come from Kusari after genetic modification? I would also like to know what your stance is towards the Confederation of Freeports and the Zoners in general, I certainly cannot hand out information to someone who is of unknown origin, unknown species and of unknown political alignment.
Respectfully; James Church
Administrator Freeport XV
From: Captain Holloman of the space ship Byzantium, of the Kingdom of Zuta To: James Church, Freeport XV Subject: A clarification on new Freeport laws
A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Church. I of course understand your... apprehension with speaking to me. The Byzantium's identification papers are the following:
I believe that will be more than adequate to calm your nerves regarding our stance to the wider Zoner population. As to who we are, I shall explain.
I am Captain of the Byzantium, the ship of Prince Amadeus. We hail from the Kingdom of Zuta, on the Planet Primus, located in the Omicron Kappa system. I must admit, I am surprised you have not met one of our people before, considering your proximity to us. There is a reasonably sized community that surrounds the space port, and they conduct trade with Zoners from the nearby Freeports on a fairly regular basis. The Kingdom of Zuta, however, is on the other side of the planet, and we have only fairly recently made contact with the technological world. And yes, we are human. Though we exhibit particular traits unique to those who have lived on Primus for many generations. For more about our history, culture and appearance, I defer to the knowledge of our ship's Chaplain, Hutan.
I feel I have sufficiently addressed your concerns. If you would transmit the requested information at your earliest convenience, I mould be most grateful. You see, for many onboard the Byzantium it is their first time off-world, and though any trouble is extremely unlikely, I have found it is always best to be prepared. Though I will make one observation. From my time as Lawgiver, I have found that laws tend to be their most effective when the exact punishment for breaking the laws are freely known by everyone. Then there can be no claims of unfairness, corruption or brutality.
From: Captain Holloman of the space ship Byzantium, of the Kingdom of Zuta To: James Church, Freeport XV Subject: A clarification on new Freeport laws
Evidently you are a very busy man, Mr. Church, so I shall be brief. Please send the requested documents as soon as you have a moment free to do so. Thank you.
I shall send the data to you, Keep in mind that all that is in that document is confidential and any dissemination of this data will be taken as a hostile act. As to your identification, you identify yourselves as Zoners but you yourselves are not Zoners, perhaps Freelancer identification papers would serve you better.
Respectfully; James Church
Administrator Freeport XV
From: Captain Holloman of the space ship Byzantium, of the Kingdom of Zuta To: James Church, Freeport XV Subject: A clarification on new Freeport laws
Mr. Church, My thanks to you. I have received the documents and now everything appears to be in order. Though I do find it somewhat odd that such information be kept secret, I will of course adhere to your wishes. As to our identification, it is quite correct and proper. We are indeed Zoners. Our ancestors were explorers and settlers, Zoners before the term was conceived. Our King, under the guidance of the Prince Amadeus and his dear friend, the late Major William Baker, declared the Kingdom of Zuta to be amongst the Zoner peoples. It would be my pleasure to send envoys to Freeport XV to educate you about us. When we conclude our voyage to the northern Freeports, feel free to contact us again. Such cultural exchange can only be beneficial.