Ben Laowai

Ben Laowai
Profile
Origin	Corsairs
Affiliation	Corsairs
Born	Unknown, Planet Crete
Died	Missing, presumed dead.

Ben Laowai is an independant member of the Corsair Council of Elders having been appointed to this rank in 810 A.S. He is known to speak on behalf of the numerous Corsairs who do not nominally belong to any of the Corsair Houses owing to the fact that he himself has never flown under any badge other than his own. During his tenure in this office he has been a key negotiator in several instances of bitter Corsair in house conflict and been directly involved in the terms of their resolution. More recently he has participated in the framing of the Corsair Laws Document codifying many of the hithero disorganised articles of Corsair legislature. He is a known proponant of the ancient Corsair codes of conduct and is on record as asking Corsairs to voluntarily subscribe to these. [1]. Laowai has amassed considerable personal wealth owing to his many and varied investments and as such has gathered a small but noticable collection of vessels under his personal command, he is also known to sponsor the careers of many inexperienced independant Corsair pilots, who have been known to subequently assign their personal loyalties to him. He is known to reside in a Hangar complex outside the Capital City of Crete and is also thought to own several other properties on Crete and in other locations which he holds under psuedonyms.

Bio Summary

Very little is known about Laowai's early years and this is not helped by the fact that he is deliberately evasive about it. What is known is that he was probably born on Planet Crete sometime between 765-785 though the exact date is unknown. He was born of mixed heritage; The son of Corsair Captain Raul Dominguez and a Kusari woman named Zhang Lei. The name "Laowai" it seems was a word in the Kusari dialect of his mother that meant "Outsider" and was known to have been taken voluntarily by his father in protest at his own families' reaction to his taking a non-Corsair woman as a wife. His father was killed at a young age in The Huerta Raid on Malta and Laowai and his sister Isabel Ren-Laowai were raised by their mother until her death sometime in the late 700's. He suffered considerable racial slurs and prejudice owing to his ethnicity from the notoriously intolerant Corsairs and as such was allowed to take his trials only at the later age of 18, often considered too late for most Corsair's to take them. He managed to gain his rank however and was stationed across various Corsair ports for much of his life, most notably a posting at Leon Base which often put him in the thick of the action against the Hessians in Omega 41 and 47. His familiarity with Kusari dialects and customs often saw him being drafted into negotitions with the Hogosha during his early career and he is known to still maintain several close working relationships with members of that organisation.

Never a great combat pilot, Laowai's ability to negotiate as well as his steadfast adherance to the ancient Corsair code and his considerable technological skills (He was exposed as having hacked the records of the Council on at least one occasion) however soon brought him to the attention of senior members of the Corsair council and his advice was known to have been sought on several occasions by members of the council prior to his elevation to the rank of Elder. That said, a notable feature of his life to date has been his struggle to justify his place in Corsair society in the face of suspicion of his racial heritage, however this has become less of an obstacle in recent years.

Laowai's perchant for drinking is well known, he specially imports a potent Kusari drink known as "Baijiu" to Crete and is a frequent patron of the Brotherhood maintained bar in Capital City. His business links and investments are considerable although specifics are hard to come by it is known that he contracts several trade vessels as well as having financial dealings within Kusari and suspected financial ties to independant busineses in Liberty. In recent times it has been noticed that he has been amassing personal stores of various commodities both civilian and military though his exact purpose for this remains unclear. He is also rumoured to be in possesion of an increasing supply of Gold bullion.

Although married (His wife, Zarita Crusellas has almost no records in the Corsair archives and her origins are unknown, she is however known to be younger than her husband and is suspected to reside with him at his Hangar complex on Crete) Laowai has no children of his own. He is however an uncle, his sister Isabel is known to have at least one son.

Sometime after relocating his wife to Planet Crete Laowai disappeared and was presumed killed. Although no trace of his body was ever found. His wife too was reported as missing and it was presumed that they may have been together when they disappeared. Laowai's assets were frozen and his vessels passed to his senior commander Phillipe Alberto although notably his command ship the Battleship Venganza was also reported as missing. It too was presumed destroyed.

Political Career

Laowai was appointed an Elder of the council by popular internal vote at a relatively late stage in his career. He has been known to regularly attend council sessions and is still active in the Corsair foriegn relations area. His voice is often a counter weight to the sometimes heated world of Corsair house politics and he has been known to mediate in this area on more than one occasion. He has forged close personal and working relationships with senor members of all the Corsair houses and is often brought into internal negotiations on matters that may concern the Empire as a whole. While specific information is hard to come by, it is known that he is a known consultant and financial contributor to many areas of the Corsair intelligence networks, which are known to have greatly expanded during his time in office.

A profound imperialist, Laowai is known to subscribe to the idea of Corsair dominance throughtout much of Sirius, he is on record as claiming direct Corsair soveriegnty of the Cambridge system as well as being a constant proponant of Corsair expansionist policies. As a notably outspoken member of the Council on these matters he has as a result been the target of many bounty attempts and is known to have prices on his head from several other Sirius pirate factions as well as being a regular target of the Bounty Hunters Guild. He is often noted for mixing idealist policies with a type of political pragmatism but is staunch in his unwavering belief in the unity of all Corsairs regardless of their house affiliation. He is on record as stating that he will never fire upon a Corsair flagged vessel and to this date it is thought that this is the case.

Corsair Creed

Laowai was known to have penned a pledge known as the "Corsair Creed". This was taken by many Corsairs upon completion of their Malvada trials or afterwards and has periodically fallen in and out of use.

We are Corsairs. Descendants of the lost crew of Hispania, Children of Crete. Our struggle has been great and our trials and losses equally so. But forged in the fire and conflict we have risen as the greatest of humanity among the stars. Our people know no fear and we bow to no power other than our own. We are swift and violent in vengeance, yet magnanimous in mercy. The wise fear us; fools die before our wrath. We lay claim to all that is before us, we take what we need, and we destroy those who stand in our way. Our birthright is the stars in heaven and all that lay among them.

All Corsairs are born with an equal right to glory and wealth. It is the duty of every Corsair to stand by their brother and sister corsairs against their enemies, to aid and defend them in times of need. It is the duty of every Corsair to defend their people and seek to expand their own power, wealth and prosperity, but never before that of the Corsair Nation, for which every Corsair would gladly lay down their lives. It is the duty of every Corsair to expand the power, wealth and glory of the Corsair nation, to write its name in the galaxy in the blood of those who would stand before us.. Our people are of many houses, of many families, we have all struggled and fought to survive, we have each carved our own place among the heavens, yet we say in one voice, resolute and unshakable:

We are all Corsairs.

Viva Los Corsairs!

Known Vessels

Battleship Venganza

Xibanya Nuren

The Outsider

See Also

• Outsider - The Chronicles of Ben Laowai
• Council of Elders