>>>Incoming Transmission<<<
Comm ID: Richard van Pelt
Location: Rochester, New York
To the good armed forces of the Queen;
I come to you today, a humble Junker, with disturbing news. During a routine scrap operation of the Southhampton debris fields, we came under fire from a bounty hunter, call-sign BHG|Lambda.
None of us suffered particularly large amounts of damage, but this event was most troubling for us on account of two reasons. The first, being that we were engaged in an operation to the benefit of the Bretonian crown. Your shipyards have produced countless tonnes of industrial waste, and without operations such as our own to clear it up, no doubt would this scrap eventually drift over to the trade lane system, disrupting the Bretonian economy.
Many of we Junkers are citizens of your house, and even more pay taxes to conduct business inside her borders. We hope that Bretonia will act appropriately in regards to this assault from the Guild.
Author: Elaine Gainsborough, LL.D
Source: Planet New London, New London
RE: Kusari Bounties in Bretonia
To the honourable ladies and gentlemen of the Bretonian Armed Forces;
My name is Elaine Gainsborough, and I have been charged with representing the Junker Congress during the legal proceedings surrounding this incident.
As my client previously stated, several Congress vessels came under attack in the Southampton Debris Field by a member of the Bounty Hunters Guild - claiming his justification was that there was a bounty posted on all Congress vessels in Kusari (which, as many of you will no doubt guess, is most likely the result of the Sigma-13 incident and the consequent actions by both Kusari and Junker-aligned forces).
Up until recently Bretonia has taken a lenient attitude to Bounty Hunters in Crown space, given that they do perform a valuable service in assisting the Armed Forces and the Police Authority in their duties by clearing up vagrants. After these events, however, I charge that the Guild needs to be reprimanded and some fundamental legal shifts need to take place.
Firstly, we believe that this Bounty Hunter should be prosecuted on the grounds of Clause II of the Combat and General Conduct provisions of the Bretonian Charter of Interstellar Law, being that "Assisting any enemies of Bretonia, either through direct hostile action or trading with their bases, will result in a fine of 2 million credits". As such, we hold that pursuing a bounty posted by Kusari or its agents is tantamount to aiding the State of Kusari through hostile action and that the Hunter in question is thus culpable.
Secondly, we hold that henceforth all Bounties posted by an enemy of the Crown (i.e. Kusari or its agents) should be treated in the same manner as an unlawful bounty, our justification being the very preamble of our legal charter, that "all persons and organisations are granted, so far as they conduct themselves in a manner that does not inhibit these same rights in others, the rights of protection under the law, freedom of assembly, passage, and transport". Like it or not, the Junkers do perform a valuable service in the scrap fields of Bretonia and also contribute to the war effort by recyling much of our waste for reuse in materiel, and conduct themselves in a manner appropriate to guests of the House of Bretonia.
The recent actions of the Kusari state and its subordinates towards the Junkers are, we believe, reprehensible and representative of the superiority of our attitudes to theirs. We should not glorify Kusari's prejudices by allowing their bounties to be pursued at whim in sovereign space, especially against a people that perform a valuable service for the Crown.
Comm ID: Director Regis Lawson Location: New London Encryption:Extremely High Subject:
Mister van Pelt, and Miss Gainsborough,
Admiral Ralston is a busy man, and while I understand this transmission has been directed to the Armed Forces. I'm letting you know that we are well aware of this situation, all organizations of the Bretonian Crown are, and we will be acting upon it once we're able to settle a few things. Rest assured, I will inform Section Five Agents to keep an eye on Bounty Hunter activity in Bretonian space. If they see them acting in any manner threatening the civil liberties of the Bretonian People, subsequently that of the Junkers, you can be assured that my Agency will act on it.
I hope this answer is acceptable for the mean time. Admiral Ralston will be forwarded this in case he's missed it. I believe he'll reply once he's back from visiting his family.
Signed,
Director Regis Lawson Home Office of Military Intelligence
Author: Elaine Gainsborough, LL.D
Source: Planet New London, New London
RE:
To the honourable Director Lawson
My client and I are thankful for the swiftness of your reply, and appreciative of your efforts to prevent further incidents of this nature from occuring. It is pleasing indeed to see that Bretonia still retains its civility in an era when so many others are succumbing to prejudice and paranoia.