Does it ever end?

I knew when we left for Ariel that things wouldn't stay settled. They never do out on the Rim. Always some kind of drama. Broken dreams. Broken hearts. Broken bodies. Part and parcel to life out here.

Just figures that one of our regulars would end up drawing the attention of some wartime Alliance assassin turned bounty hunter. The Indies had called her "Shadow" according to Podwangler. The most feared Assassin the Alliance had. Except that could have described half a dozen Black Ops intruders and a couple of freelancers who just took jobs for cash. Could have described me at a couple points, back during the war, except assassination wasn't my primary and the Indies didn't have any special name for me.

She'd hit Hale's looking for Duncan. A lot of noise and fury. Put a round into Jin to make her point, which made it personal. No one hurts one of our kids. No one.

When she came back, we were ready for her. The Jien Huo managed to graze Imrhien with a stray and she was smart enough to stay out of line of sight of my perch in the tower, but Duncan managed to take her down and Lily ended her.

So much for "the most feared Assassin the Alliance had."

I'd run the ident later and figure out who she'd been during the war. But damn. Does it ever end?