- For other uses, see Sarah.
- See Hastings for other articles with titles that contain, either by relationship or by coincidence, this character's surname.
Sarah Hastings was a 23rd century Human woman, a noted Federation interstellar merchant and chair of the UFP/Independent Traders Association.
Biography[]
Born in the Federation, she was raised on Baker's World. When she was 15 years old, she became an assistant cook aboard a small freighter, having lied about her age.
By the 2250s, she'd become a long-time trader in the Affiliation of Outer Free Worlds and had acquired a merchant starship. During the Four Years War, she volunteered to leverage her contacts within the Imperial Klingon States to relay intelligence on the Klingon Empire. One bit of information prevented a Klingon ambush on a Federation weapons shipment, earning her a Starfleet civilian commendation and an AOFW Star of Valor.
After the war, she began operating within the Federation, transporting relief supplies to ravaged colonies bordering the Triangle sector. She joined the UPF/ITA, and on reference stardate 1/9901.01, she was elected to its board of directors to represent her operating region. She gave a heated speech against the Orion Syndicate's slavery trade on reference stardate 1/9911 which led to a vote of sanctions and a general trading boycott of Orion ports on reference stardate 2/0001.11.
Circa 2263, on reference stardate 2/0411.21, she was elected Chair of the UFP/ITA by a narrow margin. Her major initiative at the time was expanding independent trade at the frontier, but she died prematurely of Rigellian fever two years later, at 57 years of age, on reference stardate 2/0609.17.
Legacy[]
In her honor, her successor Jym Ggavittchh founded the Sarah Hastings Memorial Program, an apprenticeship merchant training regimen for frontier territories. Her biography by James Hopper IV, She Never Missed a Credit, remained in print through at least the late 2280s. (FASA RPG module: Spacelanes: The Magazine of Interstellar Trade)
Quotes[]
- "We are the lifeline of the pioneers."
- "Running a passenger-and-cargo ship can be like writing a joke book in Vulcan — a singular experience that is highly unprofitable."
- "There is always someone who will buy something new, pretty, and expensive. If the item also has some small amount of real value, consider that a slightly significant bonus."
- "Blessed are they who can sell things that never existed, for they are the true Heroes of Trade."
- "The only greater liar than an Orion ship dealer is the trader who says she got a great deal from one!"
- "I can sell an atomic heater to a Vulcan in the desert, but I may have to give him a big discount."
- "Give me three good Triangle runs and I'll make enough credits to buy my own planet. Give me four, and I'll make enough to buy one from a Vulcan."
- "Success in trading consists of knowing when you've been a damn fool before your competition finds out."