Editor’s note: This article contains spoilers. If you have not read Starlight, this may give you information that consists of spoilers relating to that book.
Longarm are a secretive terrorist organisation, guilty of many crimes, including trafficking of stolen artefacts, kidnapping, torture and murder. Originally formed as a private security arm of the rogue organisation Starfall Resources, Longarm separated from that company on its eventual demise, continuing and broadening its operations into wide ranging and often mercenary criminal operations.
With each Longarm agent highly trained and well equipped, entering a base of the Longarm organisation is foolhardy for those ill prepared to fight for their lives in a ruthless battle against unenviable odds. As Longarm spreads its influence and its dealings beyond human space, they are growing harder to track and infinitely more dangerous to the peace of the FSC.
For this reason, an automatic bounty has been declared on all suspected Longarm agents, and suitably qualified civilians can seek a civilian law enforcement license from the UFH’s Union Investigative Corps, should they wish to pursue these criminals in order to claim such a reward. These licensed bounty hunters may also chase other fugitives, but they must operate strictly within the constraints of civilian law, and must always defer authority to the UIC or the FSC’s FIU in situations when official investigations may be impacted by the activities of CLE license holders.
At one point Longarm had managed to infiltrate deep into other legitimate operations, both government and private sector, thanks largely to their status as a protected branch of the company Starfall Resources. With the fall of that company, Longarm lost many of its key operatives who held powerful positions, including the head of LOCSA, the Lunar Orbital Craft Safety Authority, a body responsible for pilot and engineer licenses which were valid throughout human space. After Annette Forbes-Smythe’s sudden forced resignation from that post and eventual death in action as a Longarm agent, Longarm no longer had an easy source of license documentation for its agents, which no doubt has since hampered their ability to provide such documents for purposes of subterfuge. Where previously they had access to unlimited pseudo legitimate documentation, manufactured within LOCSA itself, they now have to rely on counterfeits from other criminal organisations, meaning that Longarm are no longer able to operate in the same isolation that they had enjoyed from the broader organised crime community.
Longarm’s ongoing operations speak for the power wielded by the secretive group, and the manner in which they had outgrown their parent company. To date of this writing, five years after the demise of Starfall, Longarm continues to threaten the peace and prosperity of Human space, and its tentacles reach now into other regions. For this reason, the UIC and the FIU are working in close collaboration to bring a halt to all Longarm operations whenever and wherever they are found.
Previously Longarm agents took a new name when they became agents, usually with the surname Longarm added to a normal sounding first name. Since the presence of Longarm as a threat to public safety has become widely known, we believe that this practice has stopped in public dealings, however continues within the organisation itself.
Longarm agents were required to wear the Longarm uniform at all times during Longarm operations in the past, however it is believed this rule has been relaxed such that they now are only required to wear the uniform when on Longarm property, such as bases and other installations, or aboard spacecraft. In this way, agents who previously held anonymity as mere private security from Starfall, can now continue to avoid scrutiny by posing as civilians when not in Longarm premises, committing their crimes without any apparent links on them to the organisation.
Should you suspect that a Longarm agent may be operating within your local community, please contact the home office of the UIC in Liberation City, Earth, and speak to one of our trained investigators.