Oriko Belkor's Links
I don't care that these notes are 'breaking the fourth wall' and 'nobody except for strange aliens from another universe is going to read them', I'm not telling you how I feel about Kraa.
[The author will use this space to deny Kraa's assertion that Oriko "does not like them in a romantic way". Much like Kraa, Oriko doesn't do a very good job at inspecting his own emotions, but it probably doesn't count as entirely platonic to suddenly feel warm & fuzzy about your best friend after several years, and start fantasizing about whether, after you both get tired of bounty-hunting, you could buy a house together and start a family or bounty hunting academy or something.]
My best friend and longtime business partner! Before I come to Earth, we do freelance interstellar bounty hunting together. The author doesn't know yet if we're going to end up having a huge falling-out that irreparably wrecks our friendship, or get married. I hope it's the latter, I love Oriko and would follow him to the edge of the known universe. In a friendship way. Because I know that Oriko doesn't like me in a romantic way, and therefore there is absolutely NO reason to even think about whether I'm attracted to Oriko or not.
Yeah, so me & Kraa probably saved Nefu's life. What about it? Anyone else should have done the same thing in that situation.
Oriko is one of the bounty hunters who found me after I'd just become self-aware. He is like family to me, and from the very beginning, I have seen a different side to his personality than what he presents in public. Many other people on the First Contact team would be skeptical of my assertion that he is a good person, if they were to meet him. It would be good to avoid such a meeting.
I didn't quite trust that this maintenance technician that Nefu had found on the aethernet was the real deal, but turns out she's just as good at reverse-engineering unknown technology as the reviews promised, and she acted only a little bit weird about meeting a sentient AI for the first time. Why would she go to Earth? Her talents are surely wasted there.
Not gonna lie, when I first met Oriko I was terrified! But then I saw the way he acted around Exif and his partner, and I realized, he's just a bit intense right now because he's worried I might hurt his friend. I love when my first impressions are proven wrong!
How I feel about Pal Latsov? Let's see...
1) Atrocious taste in literature.
2) Her pacifist ideals are hypocritical. People like her get the credit for ending the war, when everyone knows that interstellar peace negotiations only work out in your favour when your side is winning.
3) Discovered the English language and somehow concluded that it could be used to do diplomacy with Earthlings, even though its grammar is so bad, it actually manages to violate our Constitution.
Yeah, I don't have to meet her to know we wouldn't get along.
The fact that Oriko is a freelance bounty hunter tells me, at the very least, that we have a different outlook on life. If he's never committed murder, he's merely a victim of the capitalist gig economy. Having to pay for all expenses and only getting paid a fixed sum if you bring back the fugitive is patently unethical, even before we get into the whole "dead or alive" business.
It must have taken a lot of bravery to call my tattoos "an affront to the Creator" to my face. Most people need to hear about my psionic implants before they start accusing me of modifying my body in disrespectful ways. Just for that, I will keep off my gloves so that he can enjoy the full design.
When I look into this killer's eyes, I see nothing but hate. There's not a shred of remorse, not a grain of respect for the gift of life. They stained their scales with symbols of death and display them proudly. Most people can change their ways, but I fear it's too late for this one.
Joe's a naïve fool, and he deserves nice things. Don't ever let him know I said that.
He's kind of scary looking because of the "resting bounty hunter face" he's got going on, but I already knew that he was actually friendly before he knitted me a pair of socks, because that is DEFINITELY the astronomical symbol for Earth tattoo'd on his shoulder. That's like Pal and her "Earthling Symbol of Peace and Nuclear Disarmament", except he can still show off his peaceful intentions when he goes to the beach :)