Dock Officer Bartram
Supporting Character in Stolen Freedom and Wings of Freedom
Dock Officer Bartram ("Barty")
Supporting Character / Dock Officer
Biography
Dock Officer Bartram serves as a security officer at Horizon Outpost, responsible for processing incoming vessels and ensuring compliance with docking protocols. Unlike the brutal guards of the mining colony, Barty is kind-hearted and jovial, with a genuine concern for those he encounters. His compassionate nature is evident in his treatment of Jack upon the boy's arrival at the outpost, providing him with food, comfort, and official documentation that allows him freedom of movement. Though his time in the story is brief, Barty represents Jack's first encounter with genuine human kindness outside of his parents and serves as a bridge between Jack's past life of oppression and his future of possibility.
Personality Traits
Appearances
- Stolen Freedom - Barty appears when Jack arrives at Horizon Outpost, helping him adjust to his new surroundings and providing him with official documentation that grants him freedom of movement around the station.
Key Relationships
Jack Abbott
Barty quickly develops a protective attitude toward Jack, seeing beyond the dirty, malnourished boy to recognize a child in need of compassion. His kindness toward Jack represents a turning point in the boy's understanding of human relationships beyond the brutality of the mining colony.
GigaSource Corporation
Unlike Victor Drayton, Barty holds no allegiance to the megacorporations and expresses disgust when he reads the indenture inheritance letter given to Jack. His stance reflects the broader tension between independent outposts like Horizon and the oppressive corporate entities.
Horizon Outpost
As a dock officer, Barty represents the face of Horizon Outpost to new arrivals. His friendly demeanor and professionalism embody the outpost's values of independence and community, in stark contrast to the mining colony's brutality.