// TRADE COMPANIES

Free Margin Logistics

"No questions. Reasonable rates. Bring your own explanation for what's in the crate."

Faction: Free Margin Fleet (affiliated, independent)

Home station: Confluence Station; presence at nearly every mid-game neutral hub

OL range served: Full range (Tier 1–5)

Contract tiers: All tiers

Character

Free Margin Logistics is the commercial arm of the Free Margin Fleet, which is arguably the most dangerous organization in the known galaxy from an intelligence standpoint - they have been everywhere, talked to everyone, and owe allegiance to nobody. FML operates on the same principles: pure contractual relationship, no ideological position, complete operational neutrality.

FML takes no position on what's in the cargo. Their contracts include a standard "contractor assumes regulatory liability" clause that is enforceable under Concordat shipping law. FML has never been successfully prosecuted. Their legal team is very good.

This makes FML the most flexible company in the game. They run routes that other companies won't - into contested sectors, through Trigger Zone-heavy corridors, to stations that other companies' insurance doesn't cover. They also run completely normal cargo routes at competitive rates, because being known as the company that only does shady work is bad for business.

Working with FML means working with an organization that genuinely doesn't care what you do, which is either liberating or unnerving depending on temperament. Their reputation system is purely transactional - they don't have "trust levels," they have a track record. The more you deliver, the more they offer you. No ideology. Just results.

FML has the most route variety of any company and is the one most likely to have contracts available in any given sector at any given time.

Voice

Businesslike. Neutral. No warmth, no hostility. The register of someone who has been doing this too long to be surprised by anything.

"Package. Destination: Wreck Field Survey Station, cargo hold 2. Window: 40 minutes. Don't stop to inspect the manifest. It's not your problem. The contents are legal under Concordat charter article 7-C. Probably."

"Delivered. Credits transferred. No deductions. We don't ask about the dent on the cargo container."

"You're late. The cargo made it. We'll dock you 15%. That's the agreement. Nothing personal. We've had contractors who were late for worse reasons."

What They're Actually Moving

Officially: general freight, per-manifest. FML is the company where the manifest says "industrial components" and there's no further description. The goods themselves span the full legal spectrum - completely legitimate shipments mixed with cargo that exists in the legal grey zone created by the Concordat's deliberately ambiguous cross-racial trade regulations. Nothing FML ships has ever been officially classified as contraband. This is a legal achievement, not a moral one.

At Tier 4 and 5, FML runs contracts for clients with no listed affiliation - organizations that exist legally, but whose ownership structure is several layers deep. The cargo is sealed. The destinations are real stations. The clients pay extremely well. Contractors at this tier are not naive about what they're doing. FML doesn't ask them to be.

Reputation Tiers

Note: FML standing is tracked separately from Fleet standing. High FML standing does not automatically confer Free Margin Fleet affiliation - that's a separate decision with separate consequences.

Routes

Everywhere. FML routes appear in every sector except The Sanctum (hidden sector). They have light coverage of entry sectors, heavy coverage of mid-game neutral and contested space, and are the only company with active contracts in The Throat and endgame sectors.

Sample route names:

• Neutral: "Confluence Commerce Deck to Cinderhold Station - General Freight"
• Grey zone: "Wreck Field Depot - Non-Standard Cargo, Manifested per 7-C"
• Contested: "The Throat Forward Station - Priority Delivery, Accept Risk Clause Required"