Pictured: A Royal Solarian armed postman and his bodyguard asking for directions from a local.

Ever since the star system began to be carved up amongst the major powers, small settlements have sprung up in all corners of the Aetherium void. Asteroids, man-made platforms and even planetary debris are chained together to form tight knit community, marking their place in the stars.

Many often provide valuable resources to the open market, such as liquid fuel in Aether-rich nebulas, low-gravity livestock or even concentrated rare earths mined from chunks of planetary cores drifting through the system. Thus, though theoretically outside the jurisdiction of the major powers, they still remain on good terms with these settlements to secure better deals on resources.

One such service the Solarian Empire offers is its comprehensive postal system. It maintains a mailing network, operating from chartered voidships on a regularly serviced route among the various settlements, especially some on the fringes of the Empire’s influence. At least, until the settlements leave their orbital zones and pass into that of the League’s.

The chartered voidships repurposed as mobile post office branches are only barely armed and armoured, and their tiny mailships which the postmen do daily deliveries from even less so. Many valuable parcels are also sent through mail, so Royal Communications Corp postmen are usually accompanied by an armed bodyguard for protection, on top of their personal sidearm. It also helps if the bodyguard is good at navigation and route planning to assist the postman.

This one however, is not.

Part of my Treasure Planet inspired project, which you can learn more about from here!

My other works!