The Merchants for Hire Agency began as a small firm dedicated to the distribution of odd jobs to freelance merchants, originally created by Lieutenant Flightpath in an attempt to create honest jobs for pirates all over the Star System. The power and skills of the top trained pirates surprised the most influential members of the NTHC. The New Tropoli High Council eventually took complete control of the MHA and now uses it as a guise for top-secret covert operations that might otherwise appear malicious to the public.