Junkers...

[ugliestmoose]

It seems there's two almost unrelated arguments going on here - can the Bounty Hunters attack Junkers and can they fulfill contracts set forth by the AFA? In other words, are the Junkers and AFA lawful or not? So here's my .02 cents:

The Junkers, for all intents and purposes, can be considered an unlawful entity that's not openly prosecuted but also not exactly given much shelter by the law. How many times in real life has law enforcement turned a blind eye to the killing of one gangster by another? (highest profile case I can think of is 2Pac's slaying...I know, bad example) Or to cases of vigilante justice? Though they may not acknowledge it and publicly condemn it, I imagine the police would welcome a "shakeup" of the Junkers provided to them free of charge by an outside group, the Bounty Hunters Guild. In my opinion, the Junkers should be fair game to the BHG should a lawful contract on the Junkers be offered. The House authorities would surely turn the other way and let the BH and Junkers go at it without stopping such an act.

However, if we can agree that the Junkers should not be considered lawful, then we must say that the AFA is unlawful for many of the same reasons. They are tolerated by the government because they are connected to powerful politicians and because they are primarily damaging to foreign groups such as Synth Foods. But make no doubts about it, they are still criminals, just as in real life organized crime often has its hands deep in the pockets of "legitimate" politicians and businessmen. On top of all that, they openly ally themselves with the biggest criminal group in Sirius in the Corsairs.

My point here is this: because the AFA should be considered unlawful, then the BHG cannot fulfill any bounty contracts set forth by them; in fact, the specified target in the contract is completely irrelevant to this. However, the Bounty Hunters would be able to fulfill a contract on the Junkers if it was issued by a lawful organization.