To the Government of Liberty

[Echo 7-7]

{SIGNAL ACTIVE}
{INCOMING TRANSMISSION}

To: Captain Volengos of the Maverick IV
From: William Hawthorne, Minister for Trade, Liberty Government.

Good day, Captain Jenson. It appears that I received your message since it was sent in a broad-beam pulse to all government ministers. Since I'm here now, I will try and answer your questions as much as I am able, and forward this on to those who can provide better help.

Whatever qualms you may have personally with the Bounty Hunters Guild is not our concern. That transmission does not provide us with any evidence of sslavery as some of the other parties claim. Therefore, we will not take action against you without concrete evidence.

Now, you may or may not be aware that the Guild has its origins on Planet Houston. Therefore, it is one of their largest centres of operation throughout House space, and we occasionally employ them for situations where criminals and other degenerates are beyond the reach of our law enforcement officers.

Last time I checked, we did not hand over control of Houston's planetary docking rings to the Guild. If we did, no one sent me the memo, and someone's secretary will have hell to pay. If you continue to be a good, law-abiding citizen, I do not have the authority to bar your landing rights on Houston. However, if you have a personal feud with the Guild, I can tell you that they are all over the Texas system. I would strongly suggest that you do not give the government cause to investigate this matter further and recommend you seek a peaceful resolution with the Guild.

Regardless of whether or not my advice yields any change, this transmission is being forwarded to the relevant law and security ministers.

William Hawthorne
- Minister for Trade, Liberty

{SIGNAL LOST}

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There was a sig here, once.