In the times of tomorrow, there will be heroes and villains, and their roles will be clearer, unlike today. Humans will be diversified across the stars, having relatives, friends, and comrades light years away after Humans master space travel. For some, these heroes are the ESTF, widely known as the Space Marines, who stop pirates and rogue governments from taking over worlds and stopping trade. For others, it is the courage, skill, and adventures of a few private citizens who go above and beyond their calling as people to fulfill a greater good.

One of these people is Guy Grene, a Staker of some fame. Stakers are planetary scouts that record the features of a planet that is ripe for colonization and industrialization. While most Stakers fall in love with their planets or another person and settle, some of the best and most famous make a living off of the trade. Guy was one of these, though he didn’t gain his fame through describing mountains and hunting local wildlife. Grene had a nickname: Gust.

His legends came when he was young to his trade. His thoughts were filled with money, fame, and fortune. After scouting his first planets, he realized it was not as glorious as he thought it to be, and he became bitter and angry because his dreams had not been fulfilled. Brews became his friends, and he became known as a drunk. One day he picked a fight with the wrong man after having had too many, and despite his will, Guy constantly found himself grounded. He did not know the man with whom he quarreled, and it wasn’t until he awoke in a cell that he realized that his opponent had been John Clench, the greatest of Stakers. Clench forgave the young Staker for his actions and told him to value his time in between planets, instead of drowning when he wasn’t working. There was life in between planets, the Staker King taught him. But Guy was a stubborn one, and cast aside the aging man’s advice.

Not a day passed and Guy found himself in another bar. But before the liquor touched his lips, the station he was on came under siege by pirates. They were the nastiest lot and the station security were all hanging from the top of the station within minutes. Women fled and men were killed, beaten, imprisoned, or defected, joining the pirates in their plunder. But Guy wouldn’t join the Pirates, and in his youthful arrogance he refused to be pushed around, either. Stations that were frequented by Stakers almost always had a weapon vendor, and Guy had misplaced his own gun before the attack. Posing as one of his enemies, he helped loot one of the largest, claiming a handful of the weapons as his own, each seemingly unimportant.