Thea's Diary: Entry 1148 (Mao 2518)

Thou shalt not commit murder.

I've tried sleepin off the events on Greenleaf, but this commandment keeps repeatin in my head. It's there, as plain as Chinese, in Exodus. Does this mean that I've commited myself to an eternity of damnation for my actions? If so, then how did it feel so right at the moment? How is it that the Bible is full of Holy Warriors fightin in God's name? Is that what I am, a Holy Warrior? It felt right "smiting" the evil and deliverin justice, but it also felt good and if I know anything in my soul it's that the only thing worse than takin a life is enjoying takin a life. Plus I don't feel like a Holy Warrior. Most of the warriors in the Bible were fightin to keep or regain their Holy Land, what was I killin for? Why did it seem no different at the time between sightin those men and sightin the Jaguar? Someone not of the earth and woods would probably say somethin about intelligence, feelings, emotions or a soul being what separates men from animals, but I've seen how soulless men can be, and how intelligent and carin animals are. Has God sent me on this path to bring justice into the verse, or have I become another tine in the Devil's pitchfork bringin chaos and death.

Dylan is givin me some time off. I had been lookin forward to spendin some time by myself, grounding myself again with nature, but maybe my time would be better spent at one of the Abbeys for reflection and discussion of God's will with others of faith. Am I to be a Bounty Hunter who is Christian or a Christian who is a Bounty Hunter? Is there even room to be both?

Incoming Wave 18110: Colonel Grainger

To: Major Jungmao Hong (ret)
From: Colonel Grainger
Re: Greenleaf incident
Date: 18110

Jungmao:

What the fuck were you thinking? Do you realize the shitstorm you stirred up on Greenleaf? You KILLED 7 locals, put 8 more in the hospital! Three from headshots, 2 from GRENADES, and 2 from various injuries. From the looks of things, 4 of them never even got off a shot. Law enforcement doesn't shoot first! I thought you were here on the part of a bounty hunt, not some kind of killing spree! One of the fuckers HAD HIS HEART RIPPED OUT!

Now I've got the local government breathing fire at me, and since you've left orbit, you're under Alliance jurisdiction. I think I can smooth it over, but you're facing 7 counts of murder unless I get some credits to calm this down. I'm going to need about 3000 to make sure it's done correctly. Two of the men you killed were wanted, so I was able to prove this was a law enforcement action gone wrong, but Jesus Buddha Christ on an antigrav board, what were you thinking? The war is over! I recongnize your signature in this, just like at Du-Khang. No matter what I do, there's gonna be a mark on your record. Law enforcement isn't gonna look too kindly on you from now on.

I sincerely hope you were simply taking advantage of the terrorist action, and not in league with them. If I get wind you were working with the terrorists, I'll have no choice but to put out a warrant for your arrest. And you don't want to end up on the other side of the law.

Wave me with an account number so I can get this cleared up. Your credit is good with me, but this is the last mess I'm cleaning up. Next time you pull this shit, you better be on some podunk rim world. Either that, or you've got to stay within the law!

Thea's Diary: Entry 1147 (Mao 2518)

When bad goes right?

Dear Friend,
Please forgive the ramblin in this letter. My mind is reelin with questions and confusion. The last couple days are mostly a blur now. After huntin we were somehow drugged and carried off. I'm still not really sure what happened. I waited on the food and saw no ill effects on anyone else, but sometime in the night I heard the alarms goin off but just felt like I didn't care. Even as they were carryin us out of our rooms and into the jungle, I didn't care. It was like when mama and papa died, not a thing in the world mattered, except this time it wasn't the pills or the alcohol. Once we came to, we found we were in a cave and Martin wasn't doin too well. I scouted some things out, but couldn't find a way out, but Martin was so bad no one wanted to wait, so Mel went to sweet talk the guards and got us help. Turns out that while they weren't on our side, they were lookin to help. Reckoned they were part of the so-called terrorist group, but I ain't never been an Alliance backer anyhoo. So, they figured they would be able to draw the attention of everyone in this fella's compound with some kinda diversion. I wasn't too excited about this, but it seemed like the only way out. The plan was The Major, Jasmine and me we gonna sneak down around the back and cut him off before he made it to his bunker. My biggest concern wasn't that we could take out the guards, but I just knew in my heart that Jasmine would betray the team somehow and possibly kill the mark. I talked to Major Hong about it and decided to keep her between us. The trip down was easy. The bunker was only moderately guarded. The major showed me a new breathin technique to use while holdin a site. We were each to get the outer guards while Jasmine ran past and took out the machine gunner. I had a beauty of a shot, he had barely hit the ground before I was off to my next position. I could hear more shots from The Major, I figure he needed to take out the tower guards. I had hoped to just sneak passed them. Jasmine was also takin longer than I expected, but after that mean jab she landed on me on the train, I reckoned she could take care of it. Still, I was on my own when our mark started to move. He had four guards with him. I knew it was a long shot, but I had to try and take as many out as I could, as fast as I could. After my flash grenade went off, I squeezed off three quick rounds and landed two. It was better than I would have hoped for goin in, but if I'm goin to cut it with this group I need to do better. In the end I almost blew it. After another volley the others started showin up. I tried to keep him out of the bunker, but missed tryin to tackle him, thankfully Jasmine dropped down in front of him. As I grabbed him and took cover back behind the wall, I heard more people comin into the yard. I looked and saw five guys runnin in, and The Major layin on the ground. I knew I couldn't save him and fend off all these guys, so I just lobbed a grenade. I'm still not sure how it made it there, but it did. When I opened my eyes back up, Jasmine was layin across The Major and shielding him. I have to admit to being more than a bit confused by her sudden willingness to work as a team. This was nothin like the Jasmine I had spent the last few weeks with. The cavalry finally arrived in the shuttle, but as I was tryin to get him loaded in the bastard stabbed me. I landed a good punch on him, if we hadn't needed him alive I would have slit his throat for that. Again, Jasmine helped and then Dylan finally took him off my hands. I her Mel shoutin somethin fierce as I was grabbin our gear. Jamine went to the bunker, then the next thing I know I hear a Londinium shattering explosion and see her body flying through the air. I found out later that we had been locked down and she took out the system with the blast. I went over to her body and right before she died she pulled somethin out of her arm and gave it to me. I'm not sure what it is, and I haven't even told Mel about it yet.

I think after all of this I need a few days to walk with nature and clear my head. Killin a man somehow sticks with you longer than killin an animal. Sure, I've wanted to kill plenty of folk, and come close a few times, but this was different. I also don't understand the sudden change in Jasmine. She'd spent the last few weeks proving herself all kinds of untrustworthy, just to come through in the end? What if this means I was wrong about her? I know in my heart I wasn't, but people don't suddenly change like that do they? But I reckon I did after mama and papa's deaths. What would papa really think of me if he saw me now? I'm doin better than I was right after, but this still ain't livin. Hell, I'm twitchier than a tourist on Jiangyin. That ain't the way I was raised. Back on Lilac the only thing you knew you could count on when the Reaver alarms went off was your family and friends. So what's it mean now that someone like her could care more about the team than me? When the shit came down, all I could think of was what was the best plan to keep my own hide in one piece.

I reckon I'm gonna need a few days to sort some of this out. I hope Dylan can do without me. The last job is done, and the ship is runnin fine, so I should have a little down time comin my way. I know I swore off the stuff, but I could probably also use a drink. Small steps Thea. Small steps.

Looking for Jaguars as part of a Bounty Hunt?

Hi Ma and Pa,

Okay, I don't understand these folks. Luckily, your little girl is getting paid with a salary, so these folks can walk around in the jungle, looking for Jaguars. There's this fellow, mean, has thugs, everyone worried about him like he owns this place, and rather than let me fly the Swan in and land somewhere nearby, they want to take a train to the joint. Why? The Swan is home, The Swan is protection, why wouldja leave her behind?

So, we walked around, trying to, well, I guess, get the guide to be on our side, which he were never going to be, you know? I'm starting to think that these Manhunters aren't nearly as good as they think they are. So, we spend a week in the jungle, camping out, drinking bottled water, wishing we were just in the Swan. Then, we end up not getting the guy, but when we got back to the hotel we found Jasmine, scratched up and with a bullet wound. Apparently, she wandered off and got into a bit of a scrape. Maybe she challenged the local chef to a knife duel. Sorry. That was catty of me. I don't mean to think of her that way, but she's so odd, you know?

Enough of the crew. Let me tell you about my bird, she's not the most graceful of things to look at her but she's just all there, pluggin' and chuggin' away, you know? Thea keeps her hummin' along, but there's something in this ship that just wants to keep us alive and aloft, and just keep going.

Firefly-Class, there are so many of them out there, but our Lazy Swan, she's a piece of artwork when she flies, and I just love flyin' her. Still enjoying that part of the job. I wonder if I can try to convince the captain to supplement our flying with some cargo. Seems like a waste of space to fly around from planet to planet, with a hold full of nothin', trying to catch these awful bad guys. I'll bring it up with my captain, who I love. He's so nice to all of us, such a sweet teddy bear.

Well, that's about it for now. Please send my love to the whole fam. I'm just finishing up the last novel that you all sent me, and it was fantastic!

Loveya!

-Mel