Thea's Diary: Entry 1145 (Mao 2518)

Dear friend,

What a boring week it's been. A lot of sitting around and waiting for things to happend that never did. When that Hong fella came and asked if I would help lead a trip out into the jungles, I was all kinda of happy. It was bout time somethin shiny came my way. I reckoned the fella they were lookin for was in the city, but turns out he's out in the bush. But for starters the train ride out there was misserable. That BOO hway-HUN duh PUO-foo Jasmine was coming with us for the train ride out, which confuses me as I thought I heard them say she was arranging things w/o them. Once we get on the train it's crowded and roudy, two of my least favorite things. Of course Jasmine has to be the center of attention for everyone. We finally start getting close when Mel and Martin disappear into the compartment behind us. I was reckonin on checkin on mei-mei when that jien hwo Jasmie comes up and throws a drink all over me. After sittin for hours in this mess, I was in no mood for her crap. I shoved her across the compartment and into some guy which started a brawl. Damn that gal is fast. Too crowded for a knife and I missed her with a punch. I was a bit shocked with how fast she moved, allowing her to land a good hit on me. Something strange was also happening, people were running out of our compartment. I sat down for a sec to clear my head, thankfully Jasmine stopped as well. I totally don't understand her. She is all kinds of Fong luh. Nothin a quick bullet to the brainpan wouldn't solve.

Looked like while Jasmine was causing a ruckus in our compartment, the rest were actually doin something in the next. By the time I figured it out, it was all over. Thank God the rest of the trip was uneventful. I know my Lord and Savior says to judge not, but that gal is a liar and cheat, and no good will come of her.

Once we reached town no one got off except for us. Sign one that this was all a bad idea. I wanted to camp out in the jungle, but somehow Jasmine convinved the rest that we should check into the local hotel. Don't know why they listen to her as she insists she's not with us. We get there and the inn keeper already who we were. Looks like our cover was already blown. Makes me wonder what all Jasmine told that guy back in port about us, or if someone on that Alliance cruiser betrayed us. Still, I was all for sticking with the plan. Show them that we aren't afraid. Martin wanted us to all share a suite, which I was somewhat against. Still, I figured I could at least count on the Major to guard the outer door, then I would just have to trap the inner door and windows to Mel's and my room.

Next mornin we met our guide. He looked experienced and like he was one tough hwoon dahn. We decided to hunt some Jaguar and so treked out into the woods for a week. It was SO boring. Nothing happened. With our cover blown, I expected an ambush or something, but nothing came. We came back to find Jasmine all beat up and shot, just a graze. Looks like she went and did something stupid again. How she managed to hide in this small town and not be noticed is beyond me. Why the Major and Egg also assisted her when she is jing-tzang mei yong-duh is beyond me. Talkin to the guide is was clear that someone had blown our cover. He wasn't willin to help us, figures, and didn't say how they all knew who we were and why we were here. Everyone wanted to head back to the hotel, which I thought was dumb. I was ready for the ambush, but again nothing happened. This is really making no sense.

MEMO 18087B: Reciept

Commpack: Long Range: 57 credits
Motion Sensor Array (2 x 33): 66 credits
Rain Gear (6 suits x 2 credits): 12 credits
Portable Shelter (3 man, 2 tents x 5 credits): 10 credits
Waterproof backpacks (6 x 2 credits): 12 credits
Food/supplies for 2 weeks in bush: 60 credits
Water purification crystals: 10 Credits

Total Expedition cost: 227 credits
Bringing in the bad guy: 5000 credits...

Mel's Second Letter Home

Mao 3, 2518

Hi Mom and Pop,

When I said I was in over my head, I really didn't understand just how over my head I was!!

So the Captain, he says we leave, break atmo, out into the black. Just like that. I have this wacky Jasmine girl begging to play on the controls. Now, an 03-K64 Firefly under even perfect conditions always has somethin', you know? Something vibrating, something muttering. The ship 'talks' all the time. Only way she can tell you that she's still going to do what she's gonna do. Like a horse that is always making some noise, so you don't forget where she is. Most of the time, she speaks for the sake of talking. But you do have to listen carefully, or she might be telling you she's sick. So the last thing I need to do is hand the controls over to this gal who is a half decent cook, and seems to do something to that Martin fellow betwixt the sheets, but shows no real inclination for flying. I don't know. Maybe she figures her friendship with Martin buys her a spot on the bridge, and she's not half bad company, but you don't want her flying. Right?

I finally convince her to stick to doing something that she knows how to do, halfway, leastways, and she goes and makes food. Tastes good, but made me sick something awful. Sometimes the folk selling food to ship crew aren't so careful about what they sell us. They figure we're going to eat it after we break atmo anyhow, and we're not really going to come back from space three months later mad about a set of bad eggs. It was bad, this time.

Still, we encounter a ship in space, Big Alliance Cruiser, Intrepid, and before I get a chance to tell the Captain that we're going to be boarded, routine customs inspection, that Deaf Major fellow gets on the horn and tells them we're okay. Next thing I know, we're all eatin' steak at an Alliance Captain's table. First decent thing the Alliance has ever done for me, really, providing steak at a particularly good time. Instead of fighting a war with the outer rim, I wonder if the war could have just been settled over Alliance provided steak. Anyhow, I met a nice fellow, and we spent a little time planetside. I don't think there's anything there, but we had a good time being tourists and the like.

I shouldn't try and worry you, but the landing there was rough. I was sure that with the high crosswinds and the blowing storm, that I was going to crush the gear below the Swan, but it turns out we landed and were fine.

Not much to tell here, we're going about business, and just doing our jobs, which is all Paw ever insisted that we do, really. Keeping my head above it, and I'm about 3/4ths the way through the Flight Manual for this model. I've had to read it in my bunk, where nobody will notice that the pilot has to read through the manual still. It's a boring read, and I think I'm much happier learning the controls by just fidging with them. That too, I have to do when nobody is looking.

I hear Thea and the Major talking about some expedition that takes us into the wilds out there. I wonder if that means camping out? That could be handled really well, with some dried meats, and strong coffee.

I see all the weapons and knives that Thea plans on taking, and I'm thinking we're going to be hunting something really big. Wish me luck!!

You don't need to worry about me. These are really good folk, and they all seem to be taking great care of me, especially Thea, who is like the grumpy big sister, who plays with knives that I never had. We're having fun!!

The Jasmine woman worries me a little. She seems nice and all, but I never know what she's going to say. When I got very sick, she was funnin' with me, she tried to tell me that she might have poisoned me. As if it were in her nature.

Well, Enough of my yakking into this mic. I'll record another letter soon.

Love to the whole fam,

Your little Mel.

Jasmine Entry: Mao 3, 2518

Jasmine Blank's attempts, through this past episode, were courageous and heroic. She stood out and made her suave actions known when successfully attaining a meeting with Detective Valdez. Her composure when scheduling an appointment could only be seen as enviable to her fellow shipmates. If given time and maybe a brain she thinks Marten would come to understand her importance on the ship. Perhaps he will realize that very little is successfully achieved without action from Jasmine Blank.

As Martin Reynolds and Major Hong were off gallivanting all over this rock, obviously not getting the job done, Jasmine was gathering information and essentially working hard to pursue her next target.

On her down time, while waiting to land on Green Leaf, Jasmine settled into her new spacious quarters. She shows no attempts to keep quiet as she knows her voice can sometimes be soothing to her neighbor, Martin.

After opening her gift from Major Hong, she has begun trying to translate the language, and wonders why he has given her a book about the history of the Jaguar Cults.

Player Says: I thought Jim's role playing was quite impressive when he was speaking to the alliance by intercom.

Thea's Diary: Entry 1142 (Mao 2518)

Dear Friend,

It's been a couple days since I last talked to you and a few interesting things have happened. This lousy piece of Fei-oo still has some flakey stuff going on with the sensors. Headin out to Greenleaf all heck breaks loose as soon as we leave atmo. Alarms and lights just a wailin away. Couldn't figure it out, at least not while flyin, and rule #1 is keep her flyin, so we headed on to Greenleaf. Thankfully, it's not a long flight. Along the way Jasmine made her biggest mistake yet. She poisoned Mel! Sure, everyone is playin it off as we can't prove it, but I know what she did and I won't forget.

Once we start getting close we were intercepted by the "Intrepid". That Mjr. Hong fella seemed to know some head honcho on that bucket and rounded us up some dinner invites. I wasn't all to keen on the idea of headin onto an Alliance ship, but I had me a plan formin on a way to either get more information on that BOO hway-HUN duh PUO-foo Jasmine, or maybe get her out of our hair permenantly. I must admit the steak was a nice change from those protein bars I've been eatin since Jasmine started doin the cookin. Ended up sittin next to two fellas. They looks like they were Leutenents, and so I tried to drop some hints about the nutter who was still holed up on our ship. But as typical Alliance officers they were dumber than a box of rocks and couldn't pick up on a hint of it walloped them upside the back of the head. Silly Mei-mei wasn't helping either. She kept chattin up the fellas about me, musta thought I was interested or somethin. What a disaster. At least Mel ended up with a date after. Once we got back we found Martin in the cargo bay, gun out and lookin all sorts of paranoid. He said somethin about us not being alone. We all searched, but couldn't find a thing out of place. Dylan was surprised when he found Jasmine hidin under the stairs. She is so fong luh. But I think it also confirms my suspicions that she's really an insane criminal.

Looked like the Major had gotten us clearance, so we headed out to land on the planet. I reckoned that during the landing sequence we would be most vulnerable if someone had gotten on the ship, so I sat in the galley with my gun at the ready, but no attack came. Odd. The landing was something rotten. I'm sure Mel did the best she could, but I was feelin lower than the belly of a potbellied pig and blew up a little at Mel. I felt really bad about that and went back to my bunk to think about a way of apologizing. And that's when I saw it, the bell pepper I had been savin for myself. I was gonna pick it and eat it soon, but I knew I had to give it to Mel to say I was sorry. She accepted it and seemed to forgive me.

The weather on Greenleaf was somethin fierce. Rainin and the wind blowin like I couldn't believe. I took the opportunity to tear apart the sensor system and figure out what was wrong with everything. Mel helped out a bit while Martin offered words of encouragement, and that screwball Jasmine also pointed out a few things. After a day I was beat and just couldn't see the end of it. I gave up and hit the bunk for the night, saying some prayers before bed. God was my guide yet again, and the solutions started to come to me in my sleep. The next mornin I knocked it out in just a couple hours. It was amazing. God truly is my guide and helper.

Shortly after I finished, the rain had stopped so everyone headed out into town. I could tell from the windows that it was just another big nasty port city, and opted to stay in. Heading back to my bunk I found some teas with a note from Martin. Maybe he ain't such a bad fella after all. Still, not sure I can trust him after messin around with that nutter. I had listened to them talkin to her before headin out, asking for her help. She was nuts, wanting way too much money. What a greedy hwoon dahn. Whatever, not my problem. I'm just paid to keep her flyin, and I earned my paycheck for this trip. I got cleaned up and headed down to see Egg and drink some tea. He was goin on about his normal gunk, Ango repression of Asian culture, blah, blah, blah. I gave up after a while and headed back to my bunk to organize my gear. While doing so I noticed he hadn't any immunization packs. It wasn't a huge concern while flyin around Santos, but if we're headin out to the rim and elsewhere, they could come in handy. That evenin' I watched Jasmine get all tarted up and head out. Mel still wasn't back from her “date”, and Dylan had already headed out to a club. I probably should have waited, but I figured if he was already drunk, it might be a good time to ask for money for those packs, but he wouldn't hear none of it. Later I ran into the Major, who was strangely sympathetic and offered to pay for the packs, so long as I didn't tell the Captain or Egg. I hate keepin secrets from the Captain, but this one might be for his own good.

The next mornin, everyone was back. Mel helped Jasmine get re-tarted up. Then they all left the ship early afternoon. While I had time and quiet, I decided to put a new sensor and alarm on the cargo bay airlock. Didn't turn out quite as I had hoped, but it's good enough for now. I'll come back to it later when I've read up some more on how to do the job right. The fellas and Mel came back first, and I noticed a flurry of activity back in the passenger area. Looks like that Martin fella had moved his still back into his old bunk and moved Jasmine out into another one. I personally wasn't too sure why he bothered movin her back in. I was ready to change the locks when she left, if they would only let me.

Still, looks like most of my work is done for now. I can just sit back, relax and just worry about workin in a little routine maint. No scroungin around some filty port city for criminals for me. Maybe while they're all up to their waists in crime and filth, I can get some time in out of the port. I hear Greenleaf has some amazing jungles. It would be nice to get a short hunt in.

Cortex Entry: Treefrog

http://doktorzen.geekgalaxy.com/skystudio2/treefrog/frog.pdf

Jasmine Entry: Mao 1, 2518

Jasmine Blank made a great showing when she single handedly found and caught her first bounty. As Martin Reynolds sat idly by and waited for his share of the bounty, Jasmine jumped into action and not only located the bounty, but also caught and subdued him. Her heroic measures will only be compensated through a small amount of money. This lack of appreciation may be due to her rocky relationship with Martin Reynolds. He has chosen to claim all the glory for himself, possibly due to the fact that she has kicked him out of the bedroom. How could anyone blame her for getting rid of someone who is obviously not equipped to handle the task? She has thought possibly he would prefer the company of Dylan Herron.

On a less heroic level Jasmine has been spending time showing her culinary skills to her fellow shipmates. By dedicating one meal to a certain detained shipmate, she has kept up morale through her efforts, unlike other shipmates that will remain unmentioned.

Dylan's Diary, Mao 1, 2518

What a go tsao de day. The new owners go off and have all the fun, and I'm stuck pulling Thea's irons out of the fire.

Smacking a deputy! What the hell's she thinking.

But, her hair trigger will probably be pretty useful on greenleaf. I am NOT looking forward to that trip. Met a Leafer back when I was running guns. They're all nuts. That individual was always chewing these leaves and talking about his 'walk with the jaguar'.

I certainly hope our bounty hunting maniacs have good connections with the alliance. Clearance to Greenleaf is gonna cost us, unless they 'know someone'.

Oh well. At least we get to fly.

Cortex Entry: Greenleaf

Background:

Terraformed and Settled in 2122, Greenleaf is an agricultural world specializing in pharmecutical products. The rare and difficult to grow plants from Earth-That-Was have found a warm and welcoming home on Greenleaf, which has a large band of tropical temperature zones. It makes a fine tourist destination, with it's culture which is unique in the 'Verse.

The world has a large tropical belt, creating massive jungles and rainforests. Tropical plants provide a variety of life savind drugs that cannot be easily synthesized in a laboratory. Major Drug Companies set up shop on Greenleaf, providing the bulk of the work for the locals.

Due to the specialized nature of the products on Greenleaf, space traffic is routed through Greenleaf station or the spaceport on San Salvador. Proper authorization is required.

Location: on the Rim

Size: comparable to Londinum

Largest Cities: San Salvador (100,000), New Paris (75,000)

Climate: tropical; hot, humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; two rainy seasons (Chen to mid-Wei, mid-Xu to mid-Zi)

Natural Resources: Gold, Diamonds, Emeralds, Agricultural products

Land Use:
Arable Land: 15% (Forest Crop)
Permanent Crops: 15%
Mining: 1%
Other: 69% (Mostly jungle and desert)

Natural Hazards:
Flash Floods
Wildlife


People:

Population: 10,000,000

Age Structure:

0-14 years: 26.4% (male 51.5%/female 48.5%)
15-64 years: 68.5% (male 47%/female 53%)
65 years and over: 5.1% (male 40%/female 60%)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 33.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 36.94 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 29.38 deaths/1,000 live births

Ethnic groups:

Hispanic 50%, black 36%, Amerindian 7%, white, Chinese, and mixed 7%

Religions:
Christian 50%, Buddhist 35%, Muslim 10%, other 5%

Transporation:
Spaceport: San Salvador
Note: Unauthorized Landing on Greenleaf is punishable by 10 years in Prison and a fine of 50,000 credits
Airports: New Paris, Walgreen
Railways: Between San Salvador, New Paris, Walgreen, Eckert, and Mazatlan.

Transplanetary Issues

Drug Trade: Greenleaf is a major source of illegal narcotics and other drugs. Takeoff and landing orders are strictly enforced by the Alliance High Command.

Terrorism: It has been a frequent target for Browncoat Terrorists, owing to the high visibility, presence of Alliance personnel, and the value of the products produced here.

Terrorism: The local government is also being attacked by a 'native'/religous group attempting to secure autonomy for the majority of the population.

Tourist Recommendation: Although Greenleaf has a truly unique culture and interesting sites, it is not advised that tourists make their way here. The administrative costs are prohibitive, and not necessarily safe.

Cortex Entry: Calendar

For those who want to use dates in their blog entries:

Anglo          New Chinese

January          Rat (Zi)
February          Ox (Chu)
March          Tiger (Yin)
April          Rabbit (Mao)
May          Dragon (Chen)
June          Snake (Si)
July          Horse (Wu)
August          Goat (Wei)
September          Monkey (Shen)
October          Rooster (You)
November          Dog (Xu)
December          Boar (Hai)

Each month has 28 days of 24 hours.

Londinium transists it's star in exactly 336 days, and is the basis for the
system.

Alliance Military simply uses a 336 day calendar, counting from 001 to 336. 
Often they'll put the first two digits of the year in front, so 18001 is Jan 1,
2518.