20140302, 14:16 – This is totally what Greg was talking about in details -16-. Nine years ago. Also some details of the CUNNING PLOT MECHANICS that keep the crew on the Daedalus and allow for the re-use of existing sets in the back half of the chapter.

Pell probably could let the Daedalus dock and let the crew come aboard but that’s not the kind of thing you do without leaving some kind of record or trace and one of the things that keeps the Colonial Authority system working is adherence to things like the TCACIAEA, which effectively takes the secrecy out of what would otherwise be collusion between cartels.

I suppose a local equivalent could be the MPAA finding the employment of “private security” an economically viable alternative to demanding that governments do the enforcement for them. The reality here is a bit more insidious – the state, tasked with the responsibility of governing in spaaaace, has found it more efficient to outsource many functions of the government to private industry. To prevent flagrant abuse of the system, Colonial Authorities are administratively separate from their parent companies, at least on paper.

Next week: Tune in for MORE PLOT WORDS!

Mastering notes, 2016.12.07 – Rewrote West’s line in panel three.