Independent, small-scale merchants known as free-traders operated without affiliation. These individuals traversed the galaxy at their own discretion, engaging in commerce through the buying and selling of various commodities, constantly seeking advantageous transactions. For a free-trader, their starship served as both their residence and mode of transportation.
With the increasing control exerted by the Galactic Empire over the galaxy, free-traders experienced mounting pressure and an increase in limitations, as a growing number of previously legal goods were outlawed. To sustain their operations, certain free-traders resorted to obtaining loans from crime lords, while others engaged in smuggling illicit goods.