Hoptor

Captain Hoptor does not speak much of his early life but to say that he once lived in a great city surrounded by water where he quietly tended his grapes. Then for reasons which are his own, he and his dear wife left this place to find their destiny among the stars.

Starting with a small ship and a cache of supplies, Hoptor and his beloved plied the tradelanes of Sirius. A jovial man with a kind heart, a shrewd eye and uncompromising business ethics, Hoptor made friends everywhere he went. As the years passed, Hoptor's fortune grew as did his family. The two boys, Edgar and Robert, grew quickly with their mother's good looks and Hoptor's charms. Life was good. Then the war came...and it changed everything.

It doesn't matter who started it, nor which side was "justified". The Kusari war machine swept through the Tau systems on a march towards Bretonian colonies. In the wakes of the Battleships, the corporations came through, more rapine than any pirates. The Outcasts and Independent Miners (IMG) who make these hardscrabble places their home took this all poorly and fought against the intrusion. During one of these fights, Freeport 6, a neutral base, was heavily damaged and Hoptor's wife and children were slain. It's called collateral damage, but Hoptor's family was anything but collateral.

Asked later about this time, and how it affected him, Hoptor had this to say.


 * I knew then, even at the funeral, that there were others like myself out there. People who had lost their homes, their families - everything.  The great Houses and corporations look after their interests, but who looks after ours?  Who do we have but each other?  It was then that I realised the seeds for the Browncoat Mining and Trade had been planted.  I just needed to find a few good men and women who would stand with me.

Taking what ship he could find and what money he could gather, Hoptor head away from the struggles in the Tau systems, landing in Liberty. From there, he slowly re-formed his old trading partners and accumulated new wealth. Not finding Liberty to his tastes, Hoptor head out to the border worlds. The Corsairs, Outcasts and Zoners welcomed him back, with new friends in the Junkers and even the Xenos. After assembling some associates with a like mind, the Browncoat Mining and Trade Corporation was formed.

You can find the good Captain anywhere in the border worlds these days. His Firefly, the Atlantis, is a welcome sight in most any port and it is not uncommon to hear that booming voice carrying through a docking bay "Mention my name in Freeport 6!!!"