Vagabond Mercantile / VGBDMRC

The Old West was the ever-expanding frontier of 1800’s America, and in those entrepreneurial times there was one company that established itself as leading logistics bravely into the new world. In a modest San Francisco shop front, in the sunny western state of California, the Bridges Family founded Vagabond Mercantile. Initially a general store, the booming success of the outpost rapidly spread the word across the frontier, and soon Vagabond Mercantile expanded into importing specialized goods requested by the local populace, rare commodities and other goods deemed luxuries by those of distinguished tastes.

As the Old West gave way to a more modern era, Vagabond Mercantile went from strength to strength, even during the difficult “Great Depression” of the 1930s, widening their scope to country-wide imports and exports for shareholders, private citizens, and corporations alike. Commissioned by the American Military when U.S. Forces entered World War II, Vagabond Mercantile was honored to be trusted with critical supplies such as munitions, heavy equipment, rations, and medical supplies across the European theatre, which in turn set the foundation for the company’s first international concern in Toulouse, France. Post-war, with the keys to the gates of Europe in their hands, the Bridges Family elected to expand their trucking and shipping empire into logistical aviation services, and before long, Vagabond Mercantile had established itself as a Global Enterprise.

As the 2075 technological breakthrough of the emerging Quantum Core Engine Technology allowed humankind to traverse the corners of our solar system with relative ease, Vagabond Mercantile followed suit and was instrumental for planting the first foundations of Earth’s future among the stars.

Becoming a subsidiary of Roberts Space Industries in 2113, the Bridges Family finally let go of their legacy, selling Vagabond Mercantile for a substantial sum of Global Economy Credits. With RSI now at the helm, it was believed that Vagabond Mercantile would know no limit to their prosperity. Fate, however, had other plans.

The Economic Crash following the Mars Terraforming Tragedy of 2125 saw the Roberts Space Industries owned Vagabond Mercantile fall into desperate times. Realizing that the subsidiary had spread its wings too far, built a fleet too large, and whose focus was far from the original ideals, Vagabond Mercantile filed for bankruptcy in 2131. A long and prosperous era had ended. The name then fell into obscurity for over 200 years. Perhaps fate had a change of heart, or perhaps it was just blind luck, when Harold Bridges, a far and distant relative to those founding Bridges of the Old Western San Francisco, stumbled on the shipping concern while searching ancient family archives. He was amazed by the centuries of tales of the daring transportation firm that built itself up from the smallest of starts, to a premier conglomerate of the pre-interstellar travel Old World.

Pooling what he could of his family’s fortunes; Harold resurrected his family’s birth-child, buying back the company for a meager fraction of its true value, restoring Vagabond Mercantile to the practices that the company was originally built upon. Reducing its shipping footprint, choosing smaller, easily crewed freighters over the behemoths of the earlier incarnations, Vagabond Mercantile once again became a prominent trading cartel, by brokering deals and linking companies, organizations, military and security forces, and private citizens alike, across the rapidly expanding Human Colonized Space. By the time of the formation of the United Nations of Earth in 2380, it was clear that Vagabond Mercantile was back and better than ever.

Now, almost 600 years later, Vagabond Mercantile continues to thrive and live by its doctrine, as established by the Founding Family. Vagabond Mercantile is well known throughout Human Colonized Space and has a good standing with the current ruling democratic empire, the United Empire of Earth. Under the Stewardship of the current CEO, a distant relative of the original Bridges bloodline, a citizen known by the name of Pariah13, Vagabond Mercantile offers efficient and competitively priced logistical shipping and transport services, with a fleet of smaller cargo vessels and expanding their operations to include resource procurement as well as security services.

In addition to always being on the hunt for like-minded freighter pilots, the company also seeks medics, miners, fuel refiners, escort pilots to provide additional services to its members. Today, Vagabond Mercantile has etched out a place among other trading organizations with a strong fellowship of members focused on making a fair deal and turning a fair profit.

Vagabond Mercantile – Bringing the Universe to You.