San Rafael Tor the Man, the Myth

Most of the stories surrounding Rafael Tor are pure conjecture, either colorfully told by the media, those he helps by smuggling illegal goods, or by the man himself. However, one does not rise to a position of leadership without doing some things to win those accolades. Rafael Tor is no different. He has always been a rascal and a scoundrel. He smuggles many different cargoes and has built an empire of starships to perform these illegal operations. Many people know that the cargoes his ships carry are circumspect but they are either bribed to keep quiet or blackmailed to allow them to travel between worlds. If officials or inspectors try to stop the flow of Tor's goods they have been known to disappear, which only adds to Tor's reputation as an evil man. Among the many goods that Tor smuggles, military hardware has always been a top priority.

A stylized picture of San Rafael Tor taken in the nineties.

Tor however, believes that he is helping the less fortunate of the Empire. He believes supplying guns and military equipment to those that would want to fight against the governments in power is his calling. At some point in time, the story goes, that Tor was sending guns to a moon in the Delta Hydra quadrant. Here he ran into one particular inspection agent who stopped or seized three separate shipments to the moon Kore Bethia 3. Miners on that moon had ordered some guns from Tor in order to rebel against the company that owned the mining rights on the moon. This was a cause that Tor could believe in deeply. He had watched his own parents flounder in a lifetime of work on the moon that he was born on. His father had died in a mining accident and it was only after this point that he could convince his mother to give up her career in mining and come live in his palatial estate.
As the story goes, Tor himself traveled to the moon Kore Bethia 3 and had the official who was stopping his shipments brought before him. Of course this man, being of high moral character refused to take a bribe from Tor saying, "Your a real saint aren't you, arming these men against the company they have signed a contract with."
To which Tor replied, "Did you hear that boys, I am a saint. Yes that's me San Rafael Tor." At which point he shot the man, or had him taken away to be dumped jettisoned into space by his men. The story varies on how the company official died but from that day forward Tor proclaimed himself San Rafael Tor.
Some people joke, not to his face, but behind his back that some men would have added savior of the miners, or the smiling saint, or some such moniker to his name. However it is believed that Tor is much is too dumb to even come up with that kind of a saying. It took a dying man to give him the idea of adding the San to the beginning of his name as it is. In the end time will judge the deeds
of San Rafael Tor.