Ripcord.

[Marcus Lindberg]

*A quiet, almost whispering, but raspy voice is heard*

"I finally got this voice log thing to work, after three days...I can't believe I wasted that much time on this thing. I don't even know why I have a voice log really, no ones gonna listen to it. Or maybe someone might find it if get shot...at least I won't have to type the crap anymore."

"Amanda had a voice log back in her Merc days. I guess I should mention that in case somebody finds this when I'm dead. She was a mercenary, for a pretty damn long time. She basically went into the business when she was 18, straight out of school. Her parents didn't want her to, hell, I wouldn't have let her myself..."

"We knew each other for years, she tagged along with us when we went rogue huntin' countless times. I always enjoyed it with her, we had a lot in common. She wasn't like most of the other women - civilians - who I went out with. She knew discipline. she could understand me and why I did the job I did. She wasn't in it for the money, the merc business I mean. She had enough to a lifetime by the time she was 24. She went in for the thrill. She wasn't without heart too. Too many people judge mercs that they can kill coldly, that's not true, not for her at least. She once got paid nearly 1.5 million to take out a rogue kid who pirated an idiot trader. She didn't go for it...she told the bastard to go f*** himself."

"How the hell am I ever gonna get over her...keep thinking about her. I just wish she were still here..."

"She gave up the merc business 2 years ago, that was when we officially met, when I found out her name. I was on leave, got my fighter, I was gonna go to vacation on Planet Baden Baden, before the war started of course. I missed my liner, so I had to go in my fighter. I was just on the trade lane from Planet Houston to the Bering jumpgate when I got a distress call. She was...screaming at the top of her lungs, constantly bursting into tears loudly, over and over again. I cut the lane and punched the cruise button. When I got there...3 gunboats. I couldn't believe my damn eyes, 3 hacker gunboats were on her tail. She was in her fighter, trying to run, but she couldn't. I dived straight in, she turned back and started fighting too, her ship wasn't in bad condition as I thought. We took down one of the gunboats, but we were exhausted. The other 2 gunboats were still there, we were out of bots and batts, our hull...was basically not there."

"But we survived."

"She was at her craft, just crying and crying...I didn't know what to say. I got on to my spacesuit, and opened the cockpit. I spacewalked all the way to her ship, knocked on her cockpit. She got into her spacesuit and got out. And then I just held her, tightly, and she stopped crying."

"She stopped putting her own life at risk for 'thrill' straight from then on. I'm glad she did, I got to spend a little more time with her..."

"We got married a year later...lots of people thought we were rushing, but I didn't care. A month later, we found out she had some kind of disease...it didn't affect her in anyway, but she'd die in a year. I don't know...I guess it made us stronger, but, I still miss her so much...instead of being able to talk to her, I'm talking to this stupid machine."

"I should've stopped all the Navy nonsense a year ago when we found out...I should've worked on getting her the meds. I just didn't have the money...she did, but she said she didn't want to use it. She said other people needed it more than her...I should've convinced her not to donate all that...I should've found a way to get the money myself if the government wouldn't pay...The government could've payed..."