The Bounty Hunters Guild, who we are and what they say about us. Interviews with bounty hunters, employers and criminals alike.
In the news:
[[ NEWS ARCHIVE - 801 A.S. ]]HOUSTON -- Criminals who've gone bad and have no problem hunting down their own join the Bounty Hunters Guild. Every crime organization in Sirius has lost many of their numbers to this group and will lose more. The worst insult to most pirates: Once the Bounty Hunter was just like him or her but now is a lap dog to the corporations. Hunters know the Jump Hole networks and how outlaws operate, which makes them more dangerous than police or military. If you have the opportunity to kill one of them, don't hesitate.
[[ NEWS ARCHIVE - 801 A.S. ]]HOUSTON -- They say the best way to catch a criminal is to hire one, and that is exactly what the Bounty Hunters Guild is doing in the following months. Guild masters will be coming in from New York to recruit new Bounty Hunters into the organization. For many this is an excellent opportunity to leave Texas and make their fortunes adventuring in space. Any applicants who qualify will receive training and benefits, although all pay is earned exclusively through successful bounty collections.
[[ NEWS ARCHIVE - 801 A.S. ]]SHROPSHIRE -- Emma Harris, one of Bretonia's most successful Bounty Hunters, passed away at her estate on Sunday evening. From humble beginnings, Harris became renowned for her incredible skill as a pilot, including her daring tactics. She was catapulted to fame when she killed five Mollys single handedly and captured one of their top leaders, Seamus O'Riordan. Harris amassed great personal wealth from hunting and retired at the age of 57. Never one to sit still, Harris began a crusade against what she called "the social bigotry of our society."
[[ NEWS ARCHIVE - 801 A.S. ]]DESHIMA -- Liberty native Bounty Hunter Bill Parker will stand trial for manslaughter and criminal negligence next week for the slaying of two unarmed civilians aboard Deshima Station. According to reports Parker killed two and wounded three more when he fired a small high explosive-tipped rocket at a fleeing criminal. The rocket went wide and instead of striking the intended target, veered into an open doorway and exploded. If Parker is convicted, he will serve ten years aboard Fuchu.
[[ NEWS ARCHIVE - 801 A.S. ]]RIO GRANDE -- A scuffle broke out aboard the Battleship Rio Grande three days ago between Navy crewmen and several Bounty Hunters. Apparently the exchange began when one of the Bounty Hunters made a negative comment regarding the condition of the Liberty battleship and the poor quality of the patrol craft that Navy pilots fly. The argument escalated when several punches were thrown. Soon, the ship's bar had degenerated into an all out brawl. Five were treated at the battleship's infirmary for various minor injuries.
Good or bad these are the bounty hunters.
There is a law in the Bounty Hunters Guild that must never be broken. The proper authorities can't ever be told the location of the Jump Holes. Any Bounty Hunter who breaks this rule is expelled from the Guild, and is usually the victim of an accident.
My father was a Bounty Hunter and so was his father before him. Dad started taking me hunting with him when I turned fourteen. I've been doing this ever since, and I've bagged over four hundred criminals in that time.
Your past does not matter when you become a Bounty Hunter. Once you join the Guild, all is forgotten. For many it is the only chance they have to turn their lives around. I'm not saying life is all roses from that point on -- far from it -- but it's better than going back to the Newgate.
Liberty space is the training grounds for all Bounty Hunters. As a Hunter becomes more and more accomplished, they will begin to move out towards the edges of Sirius. Only the very best should be going up against Corsairs and Outcasts.
The LPI doesn't have the guts to come into the fields very far. First sign of trouble, and they're hightailing it back to Denver. That's where we come in. Since a lot of us are Rogues who did time in Sugarland or Huntsville, we know where the Jump Holes and bases are. Guild rules are that you tell no one or you may have a little "accident" out there.
Bounties used to be for bringing back the offender dead or alive. Somewhere back when the Lane Hackers started itching old Ageira and IC, it changed to dead only, please.
I haven't really put many inmates in this prison; that's more of a police job. The chaps that I've collected my bounties on are dead. It's just easier like that and that's how most companies prefer 'em.
My first trip to the Newgate I spent some time wearing a number. I decided then to go straight. After I finished serving my time I knew I'd never come back -- not as a prisoner at least.
I've been contracted by Cryer to come down here and kill a few Corsairs for them. Their base, Atka, got hit a few weeks ago. Usually it's the Outcasts who hit Atka, but this time it was the Corsairs. Corsairs, Outcasts -- it doesn't make any difference to me.
I was a Red Hessian for many years. I became pretty good at killing Corsairs, so I decided to get paid for it. Besides, I had grown weary of piracy. I became a Hessian for political reasons, before they sold out.
My brother joined the Bounty Hunters Guild a few years ago. He's not tough enough to take on Corsairs yet; he should still be popping Rogues. The idiot sent me a message telling me he was ready for the big leagues in southern Sirius. I'm trying to find him before he gets killed.
I was born on planet Hamburg originally, and lived there for quite a few years. My father was an executive for Republican Shipping while my mother worked in the offices that Universal Shipping has on Hamburg. They were killed in 807 A.S. by a Liberty Rogue ambush on the Texas side of the jump gate when their transport was destroyed. I considered joining the Rheinland Military, but they're too strict and they can't operate in Liberty, so I joined the Bounty Hunters Guild. I mainly target the Liberty Rogues and look for information on Rogue hideouts, and eventually I'll find out which ones killed my parents and they'll get their comeuppance.
When I got out off the Wall I didn't have many choices ahead of me, at least no appealing choices. I knew I didn't want to go back to making clothes on the Huntsville. I also knew I didn't like most of the scum I did time with.
Being a Bounty Hunter is a tough job; nobody likes you and a lot of guys would enjoy killing you. But, that's why I like it. Bounty Hunters don't really operate like they used to. There was a time when we were paid to bring criminals in -- now we are paid to make criminals disappear.
Most of the Hunters in our guild are Hunters because this is what they want to do -- at least the good ones are like that. I like working on my own terms and not answering to anybody. That's my style -- no bosses.
IC thinks we're scum, but they need us. They never set foot outside their sanitized offices. Wouldn't last a second out where they send us.
The military personnel on this ship are always looking down their noses at us Bounty Hunters, but the truth is that if they could do their job well enough, BMM wouldn't be forced to hire us to do what the military can't.
Bowex pays me to protect their shipping convoys at Freeport 1. I also get paid by BMM. That ain't completely allowed according to Guild bylaws, but I ain't just in it for the Guild. I'm here to make money. Besides, who cares if I split my time? Either way, I'm saving lives. That makes me a good person.
I used to be a BMM miner in the Somerset when I was a young bloke. Then they shut us down for good 'bout 10 years back. Some of us went to the Mollys and IMG; I joined up with the Hunters.
If you choose the life of a Bounty Hunter, you should know that you'll never win any popularity contests. The crooks hate you cuz you make a living of putting them in the past tense. The police and military envy you because you can take on the jobs they can't always do. The corporations dislike you because you don't follow the rules, and other Bounty Hunters might not like you because you are their competition.
I'm not bound by jurisdiction, so if a company puts a contract out on you, I'm going to hunt you down. And when I find you I'm gonna kill you, because that's how I put food on the table for my son.
I'm from Texas. You get lots of sun and wind there. Beautiful in a stark sort of way. This place is too cold and gray. Then there's that frosty disposition of the Rheinlanders. They aren't the friendliest of folks, especially toward the Guild.
I can sympathize with the LWB, I'm a Rheinlander. I don't like those Synth Foods Liberty vultures coming here and despoiling the most beautiful planet in our space, but it comes down to the money. The fools in New Berlin sold Stuttgart away fighting the GMG, and I sold my allegiance to who had the most cash.
BMM hired me to kill Outcasts. I'm glad I'm not a company man; they're pretty dirty. They paid me extra to use an IMG identifier on my ship. That way it will look like IMG is attacking them.
My old man was a Red Hessian. He was the one who taught me all their Jump Hole networks, and when to hit them when they were carrying Diamonds. He left the Red Hessians because they were changing. My father wasn't a pirate; he was a Daumann political opponent.
Obviously you have the skills required to survive if you have come to the edges of Sirius. As a Guild instructor I train newbie Bounty Hunters the skills that you and I already have. The first thing I teach them is that becoming a good pilot is a gradual process.
The trick to killing Corsairs is taking them head on. They aren't used to someone getting in their face and fighting them squarely; it throws them off balance. Then you have the advantage. I know. I've killed two Corsairs already.
Fighting an Outcast is like fighting a Corsair: they're both armed to the teeth, mean as hell, and can pilot a ship as well as anyone you're gonna find. That's why it's best to take them on with two-to-one or better odds. And if the guy you're flying with gets popped, that means more money for you.
I've killed Red Hessians in Rheinland; Rogues, Lane Hackers, and Outcasts in Liberty; Mollys in Bretonia; Hogosha and Blood Dragons in Kusari; I've even bagged a few Corsairs. But I've never brought any of 'em in. Bounty Hunters aren't paid to capture criminals; we're paid to kill them.
There's no way I'd ever wear a uniform or salute some stuck-up jerk every time he walked by just because he has a few more pieces of metal on his chest. Bounty Hunters have to work harder because we don't have a fleet behind us. But if you need someone dealt with, we do the job.
The navy doesn't get it; you can't just patrol for the criminals. Sure, that helps, but if you want to solve the problem you have to seek them out -- hunt them at their lair. And once you're there, you kill them all, every single one. That's how you solve the problem.
The Guild has members in almost every system of Sirius. Once you get off the Trade Lanes, we're it as far as law and order goes, though some types might take offense to that. They would say that we're the problem. Don't matter to me.
I used to live planetside on Houston. They're always going through some drought. Worked in the phosphate Fertilizer plant for a while as a supervisor for the LPI, then I switched to Consumer Goods. Let me tell you, I wouldn't buy any of that junk they produce in there. So here I am with the Guild, where I belong.
To be a decent Bounty Hunter you have to know the Jump Hole networks that span all of Sirius. There are two Jump Holes in this system. The one leading to Kyushu is in the Saiun on the northern end of the system. In the south you will find a Hole to Galileo tucked into the Keiun.
I'm pretty new to the Bounty Hunters Guild. They call me a "reformed" Rogue. Spent ten years in Sugarland rolling Sheet Metal. Now I'm out here hunting my old comrades down. At least it's legit work. I can live on a real planet instead of inside a stinky rock somewhere out in an asteroid field.
The navy guys don't give us access to a lot of this ship. Guess they're suspicious of a lot of the Guild members; a lot of them have done time in Texas. I don't blame 'em, some of the Hunters can be pretty rough looking.
Bounty Hunters have a difficult job and we certainly aren't a very popular group, but the best of us are the finest pilots in all of Sirius. Many will look down upon us, because most of our ranks were once criminals, but that is their mistake. It is just as honorable to fall and rise again, than never to fall at all.
I'm a second-generation Bounty Hunter. My dad was famous; he made it all the way out to the Edge Worlds before gettin' toasted by those Outcast bastards. Me, I'm going to hunt them down till the day I die. I'm gonna stuff that Cardamine down their throats until they gag.
I used to be an IMG miner in Cardiff. This is much better work -- yeah, a little more dangerous, but a lot more rewarding. They recruited me for my knowledge of the Grasmere and Keswick Clouds. I grew up on Cambridge, so I know 'em like the back of my hand.
Plenty of Bounty Hunters have spent time on an LPI ship making Consumer Goods, but that is where I learned to think like the criminals that I hunt down. You see, before I went to the Huntsville I wasn't really a criminal. When I got out I had three choices: mine Boron, join the Rogues, or become a Bounty Hunter.
A lot of them damned technocrats turn their noses up when a Bounty Hunter walks by, but they sure do get friendly when they need someone nabbed who's been stealing their goodies.
My buddy works for the LPI. I used to, but it was lousy pay and a bunch of corporate crap. I prefer the freelance life of a Bounty Hunter. You can make a killing at this, if you don't get killed first. He'll still be doing time with LPI when I'm retired and sipping a California Breeze on the beach in L.A.
Kelly Nielson was one of the top female Bounty Hunters in the Guild, always trying to prove herself to the guys. Because of this, she tended to take more extreme risks than most. After one of her flights in the Viking deep into the Outcast home system, she told of a mysterious debris field. Later, she returned and brought back a piece of metal that she claimed belonged to the long lost Hispania. Eventually her luck ran out. The ship is most likely floating somewhere in Omicron Alpha.
Jessica Stephenson was a former Bretonia Police Authority prison guard who yearned for a more exciting life outside of the walls of Newgate. A quick study, she joined the Bounty Hunters Guild and quickly rose through the ranks, eventually taking on the most challenging assignments the Guild had to offer in the Edge Worlds. She was based out of Freeport 10, which is a risky post for a Hunter given the dominating presence of the Outcasts in the area. It is said that they laid a trap for her in the Bermejo Cloud.
"Lucky" Logan Conner was one tough nut, as anyone will tell you. He would take on an entire patrol of Corsairs, picking them off one by one. Based out of Freeport 5 to be close to his favorite prey, he liked living life on the ragged edge. His luck finally ran out in 780, when he ventured too far from the safety of the Gredos Cloud in the Corsairs home territory of Omicron Gamma. A mass of Corsairs pursued him back into the nebula. It was rumored that they didn't actually dispose of Conner on the spot, but merely disabled his ship and let him die a slow death by asphyxiation.
The legendary TBob Biggs was known as a cautious man, but he willing to take big risks when necessary. Close to retiring, he had one of the best ships in the Guild. A certain Outcast pilot by the name of Juan Gonzalez had been implicated in a number of attacks within the Sigma-19 system. Biggs had a lot of reservations about taking the job, but the bounty was high. On that fateful day, he flew into the Donryu Cloud and was never heard from again. It is assumed that he finally met his match out there in Outcast territory, a fitting end for a Guild ace.
Jesse Casas was truly an original. Captured as a young Corsair on his first mission to the inner house systems, he spent years imprisoned in Vierlande. He eventually renounced his Corsair vows and joined the Bounty Hunters Guild. Flying the Rebel, Casas used his intimate knowledge of the pirate ways to full tactical advantage. He finally met his demise somewhere in the Napo Cloud in 791.
A Libertonian Bounty Hunter, Luke Grafton, was shot down and subsequently taken prisoner towards Kofu's western edge yesterday morning. I saw Grafton when he was brought in; I'd expected a crude, loud-mouthed boor, but encountered an honourable foe, courteous in defeat. As far as I know, he's being treated for his various injuries; his ship was swallowed by the dust cloud, and may yet retain some of its equipment.
We captured a bounty hunter called Luke Grafton out in the Kofu Cloud recently. He was in bad shape when we brought him in, with multiple internal injuries and several broken bones, but he survived. I was always lead to believe that all bounty hunters were ex-criminal gaijin who were only in it for profit, but Grafton seems to be a well-educated idealist who joined to fight crime and injustice. If all humans believed in freedom and justice like he does, we wouldn't be having to fight them in the first place.
That gaijin bounty hunter Luke Grafton really earned his nickname! When we engaged his lone vessel, we outnumbered him by eleven to one. He took out four of us before we finally crippled his vessel. The unusual thing is, most bounty hunters that we encounter tend to fire on our escape pods rather than risk us being rescued by our own, but Grafton let them be. It seems that not all bounty hunters are honourless scum.
The Bounty Hunters will hunt down and kill just about anybody for the right price. A lot of talk around here makes them sound more like hit men than Bounty Hunters. Sure, they nab a lot of criminals and make Liberty space safer, but they smoke plenty of innocents, too. Just because you are wanted by a corporation doesn't necessarily mean you did anything illegal; you might have made the wrong enemies is all.
The Bounty Hunters in this system have been paid a lot of money to kill Gaians, and I love it. Bounty Hunters are not kind, and it makes me feel safe to know that my corporation has hired them to exterminate the Gaian threat. We are a noble company at heart, but sometimes you must deal with the repugnant to destroy the repulsive.
The Outcasts have been attacking some of our runs. For this reason we invited the Bounty Hunters to use our ship as a forward base. They are not exactly the kind of guests we like to have on the Shetland, but sometimes one has few choices
Most Bounty Hunters you run across have either been hunting for a few years and know the ropes, or they're green -- in which case they'll probably be dead within a month or two.
We encounter a good deal of Bounty Hunters hired by BMM to kill the criminals we can't lay a beam to, but they are as shady as the criminals at times, plus I think they enjoy their job too much. I kill because I have to; these sadists kill because they enjoy it
Bounty Hunters refuse to come to this base. I can't say that I blame them, but I'm glad they don't. We have enough criminals in these parts as it is. Most Bounty Hunters have done a turn or two at one of our prisons. How do you think they know all the underworld secrets that they do?
Some Bounty Hunters are alright, I suppose. Others are rotten and will kill anybody if the money is right. Basically, they are assassins that companies hire to kill the criminals we haven't had the chance to apprehend yet.
The Bounty Hunters Guild, though perceived as not entirely trustworthy by some, is very helpful to us. They handle all of the nasty work that goes into insuring the progress of Sirius and Liberty.
The Bounty Hunters are filth-ridden foreigners, but I must admit they are very good pilots. They kill many of the worst pirates in this system, and for that I am thankful. It should be Gaijin killing Gaijin anyway. Why must I risk my skin fighting smelly outsiders?
The Bounty Hunters you see here are pretty good; we're near the Badlands and I've seen these guys around before. Usually you only see green Bounty Hunters once.
I don't know why they call them Bounty Hunters -- in my book they are assassins, plain and simple. You hire them to go hunt someone down and kill them. Very rarely are they required to bring someone back alive -- and that's usually the runaway son of some executive.
I'm thinking of joining the Bounty Hunters Guild. They always have the best stories, and you get paid much better to boot. Sure, some of them did time in Huntsville or Sugarland, but it ain't always their fault with all the LPI roundups going on all the time.
The Bounty Hunters here are a rough lot. I heard them joking about how they killed a group of Xenos in the Denko Cloud a few days ago. It sounds like Bounty Hunters really enjoy doing their job; it's just frightening how much they enjoy it.
The Bounty Hunters here are filthy chaps who curse and drink too much, but it makes us pilots feel a bit safer to know that they are nearby. More than once my ship's hull has been close to imploding from pirate attacks, when one of these boys swooped in to help.
Bounty Hunters - the scourge of Sirius has begun to encroach upon Kusari. It sickens me to think of how these lice-ridden dogs penetrate all that was once tranquil and peaceful - even now, they taint Okinawa, and are so audacious as to be sighted here in Kofu from time to time.
You can't kill anyone onboard or in the immediate area of a Zoner base. That's why the Bounty Hunters are still breathing here. I would like nothing better than to walk over to a Bounty Hunter and eliminate them with my Daumann Devastator.
The Bounty Hunters at this base are fools. Granted, we cannot attack them while they are here, but most of them will soon find themselves in Corsair ambushes when they have left the no-fighting zone that surrounds this place.
Tailing Bounty Hunters is not the most sought after job in this joint, but if we don't watch what they are up to we could lose our jobs in a second. There is no paycheck if your boss gets murdered.
Having a Bounty Hunter Guild station so close is a problem for the inhabitants here. Many more bounties are collected on Gaians in Manchester than Edinburgh.
The Aberdeen Police Station and the in-system Bounty Hunters are the only things that stop us from completely destroying Planetform's operations in this system. Maybe the Green Front will be able to garner enough public support for us on New London so that we don't have to contend with the police anymore.
The Lane Hackers and Rogues land here to get supplies. The Bounty Hunters are always hovering around the station, watching their prey mosey right by them. That's the way it is with Freeports.
The Bounty Hunters at this base keep an eye poked in our direction, but they won't do anything while we are here. They wouldn't be able to come here any more if they crossed IMG by attacking a Molly at this base. I don't mind 'em here, but if they cross me out in the fields, I'll put an end to 'em.
Several weeks ago I dragged a Bounty Hunter through the edge of the Negra Pequena and watched his ship disappear into the darkness -- quite enjoyable. His last distress call was sent wideband, so I was able to hear the fear in his voice.
I have killed more than a thousand men and stolen a kingdom of riches. Even now there are two veteran Bounty Hunters that stalk me: one for revenge, the other for reward. They will have to follow me across the stars, for I am bound to another place. Neither one will live beyond Tau-37; Benitez will see to that.
We run supply shipments of Food, Oxygen, Consumer Goods, Pharmaceuticals, H-Fuel, and Water to our base out in the southern asteroid fields of this system. Just watch out for Bounty Hunters.
If yer in a fix and you're gonna get caught, get caught by the LPI. Bounty Hunters will like as not put a bullet in your head, but the LPI needs to keep Huntsville producing. Remember, for every live Xeno that goes into Huntsvillve, three come out.
This base keeps the northern Xeno alliance alive. Those Zoners are our saviors, although they share the base with those vile Bounty Hunters -- the scourge of the Sirius Sector. We ship supplies from here to our Denko Cloud base -- basic needs, such as Food, H-Fuel, Oxygen, Pharmaceuticals, and Water.
The vile Bounty Hunters are everywhere in this system. They're worse than the LPI because they follow only one rule: Secure proof for every Xeno vaporized. They evidently know about the Jump Holes and always hang out in the no-fire zone around Ames. They often ambush us on supply hauls, so we usually send rookies to limit our losses.
