LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
Rae Jerroll Menelas
Cdr, Orca gunboat
To all concerned parties:
I, Rae Jerroll Menelas, being of undisputed soundness in mind and body hereby, upon my death, bequeath my worldly possessions as laid out in this document.
To my sister, Bekka Seara Call the following:
1) The sum total of all my liquid assets (of which see attached documentation).
2) My ranch, The Old Hearth located in Far Oaks Plantation on Planet Houston, along with all livestock, fixtures and equipment therein.
3) Such odds and ends of my personal gear as she may see fit to possess, and which have not been otherwise bequeathed to other parties herein.
To the good and faithful crew of the Orca gunboat, namely: Kreggan Moore and Veronya Tchocovich, the following:
1) The Orca gunboat, all fixtures, equipment and supplies lodged therein.
To Sledge McLeod the following:
1) My share of the profits from the cruise.
Respectfully,
Rae Jerroll Menelas
Cdr, Orca
Postscript:
My present course of action, I do not expect to survive. I am, however, assured by qualified experts that it is the only viable course. My decision to undertake this hazardous act is born of carefully considered desperation. Both of my hardy crewmen have volunteered. But it is my responsibility. For it was I that put my ship in a tracking position to monitor the Hessian micro-magnetar device (albeit at the request of higher authority, but I was in command). And now Orca is trapped by the monster’s huge magnetic field. Unable to free herself, she is spiralling slowly but surely to a tragic end. Rostock (along with the 232 souls that could not be evacuated) is doomed as well unless my task succeed.
These aforementioned 'experts' assure me of an 88% chance of stopping the monster by the methods they have prescribed. I will follow their instructions. I have no other option, though they describe my chances of surviving the affair as remote at best.
A parting shot:
To Sledge, my oldest, best friend: Sorry about the harsh words and the harsher judgement I laid on you brother. It seems now as though I was in error in many ways. (For instance, it appears that it is I that will go out with a spectacular suicide rather than you.) Stay cool old buddy!
The captain of the Orca finished the final note and flipped a switch on his console which did three things: sealed it, certified it and transmitted it to Bounty Hunter Central Command.