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The proliferation of bounty hunters within the Galactic Federation is due to its very nature. The incredibly vast distances, number of available uncharted places to hide, and the sheer amount of resources that would have to be spent in order to finance the existing police force with enough manpower to cover every corner of charted space dictated that another option would have to be pursued to keep any semblance of law. Even with the Star Hunter Corps, there were too many possible situations where the use of Star Hunters and their talents could be seen as a misuse of specialized and limited resources.
With the emergence of the hunter guilds in the years following the Machine War, and the growing popularity bounty hunters were gaining, it was decided that bounty hunters who registered with the Federation Police would be given a new legal status, one that would expand previous rights and add many others so that they could handle the additional responsibilities being placed upon them. This attempt was a failure because even though bounty hunters had many rights, the accountability of hunters when they made mistakes was poorly defined, as was who had authority when local militias or the Confederation Armed Forces were involved. When there was collateral damage and civilian casualties involved, the issue of who was legally responsible was brought into the courts again and again and settled in an inconsistent manner. While the hunters needed to be afforded certain powers, they were not swearing ultimate loyalty to the Federation as the Star Hunters were, and could not be trusted with comparable legal authority and freedoms. It was obvious other steps would have to be taken.
That step was to redefine the authority and status granted to registered bounty hunters, in a way that regarded them as non-legal entities when on government assignment or criminal pursuit, but not when on private contract. The difference between being "on assignment" and "just another citizen" wasn’t as simple as merely having a bounty contract during the time of an illegal act. If a bounty hunter committed an act that nominally would have been illegal, but is directly related to pursuing a federally contracted bounty, they are not legally considered responsible, depending on the context. For example, property damages incurred in the pursuit of a government contracted bounty, collateral damage, civilian injuries, and the like, are considered part of the job and are typically excused from record of violation. However, theft, direct undue assault and/or outright premeditated murder are all violations not excused by provisions of government bounty contract. These provisions only cover direct contracts with the Galactic Federation, Federation Police, or local region governments. Private contracts and open bounties are not treated with the same release of restrictions.
The system that tracks and promotes open bounties on criminals, as well as regional and federal bounties, is financed, monitored, and overseen by the Galactic Federation Police, while the private bounties are tracked by a network supported and maintained by several of the Guilds. The largest independent information channel is the Big Shot Network, which services the majority of independent hunters. Financed by several prominent corporations, Big Shot promotes and broadcasts information on open bounties throughout the Core Systems and into the Expansion Region, as well as advice blocks for new and inexperienced hunters. A small but prominent group of channels are operated by guilds, both registered and unregistered, and handle guild-offered bounties in the same general way as the independent channels, but with a higher guarantee of service. Guild channels run a by-the-hour update on the condition of every active member. This contains all relevant facts in which a contractor might be interested researching such as a bounty hunter's mission handle, record, starting price, and current status or personal details like biography, psych-profile, and previous employer references.
In exchange for a prearranged monetary fee, the hunter carries out their contracted duties. This could include elimination, recovery, collection, negotiation, escort or security detail—anything requested in the contract. However, overtly requesting an illegal service in a private contract is considered extremely bad form, as this makes it relatively easy to prove that the contractor was indeed instigating any illegal actions and therefore easier to hold both said contractor and the hunter responsible. Because of this, euphemistic language has become commonplace. Instead of "theft", a contractor asks the bounty hunter to "acquire" a specific item. Instead of an "termination", the contractor issues a "dead or alive" bounty, emphasis on "dead". Such terminology makes it much more difficult to prove in courts that the contractor intended there to be any serious offense, and almost impossible in cross-system matters. Most private contractors also make sure they can pay the appropriate bribes in case of unexpected damages and overt violations.
There are four categories of bounties:
Open bounty – The most common of bounty. A bounty put on the head of a person or group of people, typically placed by the GFP, open to anyone who will accept it. Because there is no advance and all is paid upon delivery, these types of bounties are only taken by those in desperate need of money. The risk is that after spending a great deal of time, effort, and money tracking down a bounty, there might be absolutely no compensation profit for the hunter. Any registered hunter can pursue such a bounty as no prior qualifications are asked. By definition they are open to anyone, but in practice only an independent would ever accept one. The single advantage to a bounty hunter is that failure to capture an open bounty is not put on one's record.
Private Bounty – The second most common type. The contractor requests a specific bounty hunter for a specific job and directly negotiates the terms. This typically occurs with the guilds or Star Hunters, as they are by reputation worth the money that goes into a private contract, as well as the fact many private bounties skirt, or outright violate, many federal and local laws. In order to guarantee the hunter's services, contractors often offer more money, pushing up the price a bounty hunter will receive in order to cover local bribes and fines that may be incurred.
Regional Bounty – The second rarest type of bounty. Local governments make a request and contract for a matter internal to a planet or star system, usually in effort to avoid Federation involvement for one reason or another. Typically these are geared toward guilds or specific hunters based on record and reputations, often involving a manhunt, but occasionally they are contracted for silencing loose lips or making certain individuals quietly disappear. Protections from legal repercussions typically are promised up to ‘self-defense’ kills if a termination is not explicit in the bounty contract. If successful, this helps set a precedent for the hired hunter, and thereafter they can expect at least that much per job. Regional bounties are a key factor as to why guilds are successful and why upper level guildsmen bounty hunters become so rich.
Federal Bounty – The rarest type of bounty contract. When the Federation Police are out of their league, but the task maybe be not quite the caliber to require a Star Hunter, or its considered to be too much risk for too little success, a federal bounty contract may be written up. Typically these are made with specific hunters who have a history of working with local region governments or the GFP, and are known to be trustworthy with the level of authority these contracts bestow during active assignment. Often the hunter is contracted for long term periods, or a very high-profile mark that is of importance to the Federation. A fair number of Star Hunters received their nominations from repeated bounty contracts for the Federation, and as such, to be repeatedly contacted for this type of contract is a favorable sign.
The bounty hunter scale is category coded accordingly to provide quick visual classification of all bounty hunters listed.
Zeta - The absolute worst. Zeta class is at least ten failed missions on career without success. Most don't reach this without retiring. Tau - Bad. Many more failures than successes. Gamma - Poor. A few more failures than successes. Alpha – The starting point. Reserved for unproven rookies. After three or four missions, will be moved into either Gamma or Iota range depending on success or lack thereof. Iota - Competent. The upper echelon of independents and bottom of the barrel guildsmen. Theta - Good. Reliable, will get the job done, but limited in the types of jobs they can take. Psi - Gifted. Just on the verge of greatness. By default, all Star Hunters are given this category in deference to their position. Omega – The elite. These are top Seguru bounty hunters and members of "major league" guilds. Many veteran Star Hunters are considered in this category out of respect for their official positions as special agents of the Federation government.
At any given time, there are approximately three hundred and twenty-two million bounty hunters of various races registered with the Galactic Federation Police. The vast majority are independents who are registered with the Federation Police, while about thirty percent are affiliated with the Guilds, and an unknown number guessed to be in the several millions are unregistered due to either illegal contracts and guild affiliations, or being off the official grid.
HUNTER GUILDS OF THE ORION SPUR (Section in Progress)
The Cygnus Furies "For honor, the people, and a fat payday."
Guild Leader - Sov Gra'kr
A well known Psi category Hunters Guild with a long standing relationship working with the Galactic Federation Police, the Furies were founded in 2932 under a human named Franklin Markus, a former Confederation Special Forces Marine who found bounty hunting and the reduced authority oversight involved to be far more his taste than continued military service. The current guild leader, Sov Gra'kr, took over after Markus was killed by Kromus invaders at the onset of the Kromus War, and has run things much as Markus did. Their relationship with other Guilds is mixed, but Sov maintains an attitude of professional respect for the other Guilds, unless they warrant otherwise with their actions.
Formed in late 2973 primarily of extra galactic "migrants" in the wake of refugees from a distant galaxy which somehow collapsed in the recent decade, Kyr'tsad has become infamous for its demands of respect that is often accorded to Guilds with decades of work and reputation behind them. Percieved arrogance aside, the members of Kyr'tsad are ruthless, often brutal, but highly competent and impressively talented for their as yet small numbers. They are known for the distinctive 'T' shape of their helmet visors and particular design of their armors. They seem to be working their way into greater weapons authorization access due to many of the arms of their home galaxy breaking down due to a lack of certain minerals and gases used, as well as a noticeable gap of power in said weapons compared to many found in the Sol-Daiban Galaxy.
