{"data":{"id":12750,"title":"Cassandra's Tears: Issue #2","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/serialized-fiction\/12750-Cassandras-Tears-Issue-2","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/12750","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/12750","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"Cassandra's Tears","images":[{"id":109,"name":"CalMasonFI_Crop.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/dzgf0umox510mr\/source\/CalMasonFI_Crop.jpg","alt":"","size":2001824,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2013-07-19T05:28:41+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/109","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/109\/similar"}],"images_count":1,"translations":{"en_EN":"In our last installment, a distress call went out as Vanduul raiders hit the Centauri system. Cal Mason went against Admiral Showalter\u2019s orders and hopped in a fighter to help Penny and her wing while the Gemini braced itself to clash with a Vanduul flagship.\nCal\u2019s ship jolted the second it hit Yar\u2019s atmo. Penny and the rest of her wing had already punched through and disappeared into the dense clouds of the upper atmosphere. His comms went screwy as he sliced through clouds. Cal kept his bearings and held firm until he burst through.\n\nRight into the middle of a brawl.\n\nFighters on both sides screamed through the air as they coiled and twisted around each other above the craterous planet of reddish brown rock below. One of their Zippers took a hit to its thrusters, clipping its speed, i.e. the one strength they have. Before Cal could even react, two Vanduul pounced and busted him up. He saw Penny mixing it up with a raider and decided it was his turn to jump in.\n\nOn the bridge of the Gemini, Admiral Showalter watched the approaching Vanduul flagship.\n\n\u201cTalk to me, Corporal.\u201d Showalter said, his expression barely moving. Corporal Whitacre studied his SIG-INT scanners.\n\n\u201cWeapons were powering up before shields overtook them, sir. Looks like it\u2019s shifting course just a couple degrees.\u201d\n\nShowalter glanced the sphere, at its new trajectory. \u201cIt\u2019s trying to cut us off from Yar.\u201d He plotted a trajectory of his own on the Nav and shot it over to the deck-pilot. His eyes went wide.\n\n\u201cSir, that will put us into the upper atmosphere. I don\u2019t think we\u2019ll be able to resist the planet\u2019s gravity if it gets ahold of us.\u201d The deck-pilot shouted.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t care. I\u2019m not letting our people drift. Max shields to port, I want to slide in before they get dig in and spin up those Arc-cannons.\u201d\n\nThe massive Typhoon engines fired, launching the Gemini toward Yar.\n\nDown below, Cal twisted through the air avoiding Raider fire from his six. He kicked his compensator thrusters to induce a swerve. The Vanduul raider on his tail suddenly swung into his sights. Cal squeezed the trigger. Energy burned through the sky, the Vanduul tried to weave around them but there were just too many. Six shots punched through its wing. The seventh hit the cockpit square. The Vanduul started that long fiery trip down.\n\nCal took a moment to suss out the situation. Right now, it was anyone\u2019s fight. One of the Anvils was gone. The other pounded out heavy arty rounds, slow but packing a big damage radius. Two Cestus pilots were tangling with a Raider. Its main wing looked like it was dipped in black warpaint. While he\u2019d never seen Vanduul markings like that, it didn\u2019t matter. That raider wasn\u2019t going to last much longer. Cal knew one of the pilots, Poll, and he was as slick as they come.\n\nPenny just blasted her second Raider. Past her, Cal saw the distant pop of ships breaking through atmo. The clouds were still messing with his scans, so he couldn\u2019t get a clear lock. He started to intercept. If they were Vanduul, he wasn\u2019t going to let them sneak up behind-\n\nThey were. About a dozen more Scythes and a couple Crawlers.\n\n\u201cHeads up all. We got some company.\u201d Cal looked down just in time to see the Vanduul Raider, Mr Black Talon, dance-fire his mod-thrusters in a ridiculous combination to weave him around the combined firepower of Poll and the other pilot. He sliced Poll\u2019s ship in half with his wing and unleashed an aimed burst at the other Cestus. The energy bursts whittled the shield down enough for a rocket to connect. Cal had never seen a move like that. Whoever this pilot was, he was serious.\n\nMeanwhile, on the Gemini, impact alarms were blaring. Some yeoman was desperately trying to shut them off. Showalter had swung the Gemini within spitting distance of the Vanduul flagship.\n\nThese two titanic ships were in a nose-to-nose boxing match, trading bodyblows at point-blank range. The space between them flashed as the massive shields flared up to divert or absorb the heavy shots, illuminating the entire bridge.\n\nThe plan had worked though. For the moment, the Gemini had wedged enough of itself between the Vanduul ship and the planet to keep an escape avenue open but the Gemini\u2019s starboard compensators were firing at full burn to keep it from falling into Yar\u2019s atmosphere.\n\n\u201cSir, shields at thirty percent. Generators aren\u2019t going to be able to sustain a full-burn and our defenses.\u201d The deck-pilot reported.\n\n\u201cNoted, lieutenant. Finch, what\u2019s the damage?\u201d\n\nFinch, the weapons officer, was locked on his scanners, coordinating the massive amount of firepower.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re whittling them down, sir.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot good enough. We need them to back off so you hit them with everything. If you need to put on a suit, climb out and shoot at them with your sidearm, you do it. Clear?\u201d\n\n\u201cAye, aye, sir.\u201d\n\nBack on Yar, Cal turned back to the Vanduul reinforcements, ready to\u2026 they weren\u2019t attacking. They were speeding towards an old settlement on the ground.\n\n\u201cPenny. Any idea what\u2019s over there?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot the time, Cal.\u201d She muttered. Her tracking systems finally beeped with missile lock. She squeezed. A stream of tiny AP rockets hissed from the rocket pod, tracking and exploding another Raider. Cal saw something else.\n\nBlack Talon was heading for her.\n\n\u201cPenny! Six!\u201d\n\nPenny didn\u2019t hesitate and dove her ship. A full burst of shells screamed through the air she had occupied milliseconds ago.\n\nCal traded some shots of his own. Eight missed, three caught but the shields ate them up.\n\n\u201cOh boy.\u201d Cal sighed.\n\nHe now had Black Talon\u2019s attention. . . . TO BE CONTINUED","de_DE":"In unserer letzten Tranche ert\u00f6nte ein Notruf, als Vanduul-R\u00e4uber das Centauri-System trafen. Cal Mason ging gegen die Befehle von Admiral Showalter und sprang in einen K\u00e4mpfer, um Penny und ihrem Fl\u00fcgel zu helfen, w\u00e4hrend die Gemini sich darauf konzentrierten, mit einem Vanduul-Flaggschiff zu kollidieren.\n\nCal's Schiff ruckte in der Sekunde, als es Yar's Atmo traf. Penny und der Rest ihres Fl\u00fcgels hatten sich bereits durchgebohrt und verschwanden in den dichten Wolken der oberen Atmosph\u00e4re. Seine Kommunikation wurde verr\u00fcckt, als er durch die Wolken schnitt. Cal hielt sich fest und fest, bis er durchbrach.\n\nDirekt in die Mitte einer Schl\u00e4gerei.\n\nK\u00e4mpfer auf beiden Seiten schrien durch die Luft, als sie sich \u00fcber dem Kraterplaneten aus rotbraunem Gestein unten winden und umeinander verdrehen. Einer ihrer Rei\u00dfverschl\u00fcsse nahm einen Schlag auf seine Triebwerke und kappte seine Geschwindigkeit, d.h. die einzige St\u00e4rke, die sie haben. Bevor Cal \u00fcberhaupt reagieren konnte, st\u00fcrzten sich zwei Vanduul und verpr\u00fcgelten ihn. Er sah, wie Penny es mit einem Raider vermischte und entschied, dass er an der Reihe war, einzuspringen.\n\nAuf der Br\u00fccke der Zwillinge beobachtete Admiral Showalter das sich n\u00e4hernde Vanduul-Flaggschiff.\n\n\"Sprich mit mir, Corporal.\" sagte Showalter, sein Gesichtsausdruck bewegte sich kaum. Corporal Whitacre studierte seine SIG-INT-Scanner.\n\n\"Die Waffen liefen hoch, bevor die Schilde sie \u00fcberholten, Sir. Sieht so aus, als w\u00fcrde sich der Kurs nur um ein paar Grad verschieben.\"\n\nShowalter blickte auf die Kugel, auf ihre neue Trajektorie. \"Es versucht, uns von Yar abzuschneiden.\" Er plante eine eigene Trajektorie auf der Nav und schoss sie auf den Deckpiloten zu. Seine Augen wurden weitsichtig.\n\n\"Sir, das wird uns in die obere Atmosph\u00e4re bringen. Ich glaube nicht, dass wir der Schwerkraft des Planeten widerstehen k\u00f6nnen, wenn er uns in die Finger bekommt.\" rief der Deckpilot.\n\n\"Es ist mir egal. Ich lasse unsere Leute nicht treiben. Max Schilde an Backbord, ich will reingleiten, bevor sie sich eingraben und die Arc-Kanonen hochdrehen.\"\n\nDie massiven Taifunmotoren feuerten und starteten die Gemini in Richtung Yar.\n\nUnten angekommen, drehte sich Cal durch die Luft und vermeide das Feuer des Raider aus seinen Sechs. Er trat seine Kompensatortriebwerke, um ein Ausweichen zu induzieren. Der Vanduul-R\u00e4uber auf seinem Schwanz schwang pl\u00f6tzlich in sein Visier. Cal dr\u00fcckte den Abzug. Energie brannte durch den Himmel, die Vanduul versuchten, um sie herum zu weben, aber es waren einfach zu viele. Sechs Sch\u00fcsse schlugen durch den Fl\u00fcgel. Der siebte traf auf den Cockpitplatz. Die Vanduul begannen diese lange feurige Reise nach unten.\n\nCal nahm sich einen Moment Zeit, um die Situation zu verstehen. Im Moment war es jedermanns Kampf. Einer der Ambosse war weg. Die anderen schlugen schwere k\u00fcnstlerische Runden, langsam, aber mit einem gro\u00dfen Schadensradius. Zwei Cestus-Piloten verstrickten sich mit einem Raider. Sein Hauptfl\u00fcgel sah aus, als w\u00e4re er in schwarze Kriegsbemalung getaucht. Obwohl er Vanduul-Markierungen wie diese noch nie gesehen hatte, war es egal. Der Raider w\u00fcrde nicht mehr lange durchhalten. Cal kannte einen der Piloten, Poll, und er war so clever, wie sie nur kommen.\n\nPenny hat gerade ihren zweiten Raider zerst\u00f6rt. Vorbei an ihr sah Cal den fernen Pop von Schiffen, die durch die Atmo brachen. Die Wolken verwirrten immer noch seine Scans, so dass er kein freies Schloss bekommen konnte. Er fing an, sie abzufangen. Wenn es Vanduul w\u00e4re, w\u00fcrde er nicht zulassen, dass sie sich hinten anschleichen.\n\nDas waren sie. Etwa ein Dutzend weitere Sensen und ein paar Crawler.\n\n\"Achtung, alle zusammen. Wir haben etwas Gesellschaft.\" Cal blickte gerade noch rechtzeitig hinunter, um zu sehen, wie der Vanduul Raider, Mr Black Talon, seine Mod-Triebwerke in einer l\u00e4cherlichen Kombination tanzte, um ihn um die kombinierte Feuerkraft von Poll und dem anderen Piloten zu weben. Er schnitt Polls Schiff mit seinem Fl\u00fcgel in zwei H\u00e4lften und entfesselte einen gezielten Burst auf den anderen Cestus. Die Energiesch\u00fcbe haben den Schild so tief geschnitzt, dass eine Rakete sich verbinden konnte. Cal hatte noch nie einen solchen Zug gesehen. Wer auch immer dieser Pilot war, er meinte es ernst.\n\nIn der Zwischenzeit, auf dem Zwilling, waren die Aufprallalarme heftig. Ein Yeoman versuchte verzweifelt, sie abzuschalten. Showalter hatte die Zwillinge in unmittelbarer N\u00e4he des Vanduul-Flaggschiffs geschwungen.\n\nDiese beiden titanischen Schiffe befanden sich in einem Boxkampf zwischen Nase und Nase und handelten mit Bodyblows aus n\u00e4chster N\u00e4he. Der Raum zwischen ihnen blitzte auf, als die massiven Schilde aufloderten, um die schweren Sch\u00fcsse abzulenken oder zu absorbieren und die gesamte Br\u00fccke zu beleuchten.\n\nDer Plan hatte jedoch funktioniert. Im Moment hatte sich die Gemini zwischen dem Vanduul-Schiff und dem Planeten genug von sich selbst eingeklemmt, um eine Fluchtallee offen zu halten, aber die Steuerbordkompensatoren der Gemini feuerten bei voller Verbrennung, um zu verhindern, dass sie in Yars Atmosph\u00e4re eindringt.\n\n\"Sir, Schilde bei drei\u00dfig Prozent. Generatoren werden nicht in der Lage sein, eine vollst\u00e4ndige Verbrennung und unsere Verteidigung aufrechtzuerhalten.\" Der Deckpilot berichtete.\n\n\"Vermerkt, Lieutenant. Finch, was ist der Schaden?\"\n\nFinch, der Waffenoffizier, war auf seine Scanner fixiert und koordinierte die gewaltige Menge an Feuerkraft.\n\n\"Wir reduzieren sie, Sir.\"\n\n\"Nicht gut genug. Sie m\u00fcssen sich zur\u00fcckziehen, damit du sie mit allem schlagen kannst. Wenn du einen Anzug anziehen musst, klettere hinaus und schie\u00dfe mit deinem Unterarm auf sie, dann tust du es. Klar?\"\n\n\"Aye, aye, aye, Sir.\"\n\nZur\u00fcck auf Yar kehrte Cal zu den Vanduul-Verst\u00e4rkungen zur\u00fcck, bereit,.... sie griffen nicht an. Sie rasten auf eine alte Siedlung am Boden zu.\n\n\"Penny. Irgendeine Idee, was da dr\u00fcben ist?\"\n\n\"Nicht die Zeit, Cal.\" murmelte sie. Ihre Ortungssysteme piepen schlie\u00dflich mit Raketensperre. Sie dr\u00fcckte. Ein Strom winziger AP-Raketen zischte aus dem Raketengondel und verfolgte und explodierte einen weiteren Raider. Cal sah etwas anderes.\n\nBlack Talon war auf dem Weg zu ihr.\n\n\"Penny! Sechs!\"\n\nPenny z\u00f6gerte nicht und tauchte \u00fcber ihr Schiff. Ein voller Granatenschrei schrie durch die Luft, die sie vor Millisekunden eingenommen hatte.\n\nCal tauschte einige eigene Sch\u00fcsse aus. Acht verfehlt, drei gefangen, aber die Schilde fra\u00dfen sie auf.\n\n\" Oh Mann.\" Cal seufzte.\n\nEr hatte nun die Aufmerksamkeit von Black Talon.\n\n\n. . . WIRD FORTGESETZT","zh_CN":"In our last installment, a distress call went out as Vanduul raiders hit the Centauri system. Cal Mason went against Admiral Showalter\u2019s orders and hopped in a fighter to help Penny and her wing while the Gemini braced itself to clash with a Vanduul flagship.\nCal\u2019s ship jolted the second it hit Yar\u2019s atmo. Penny and the rest of her wing had already punched through and disappeared into the dense clouds of the upper atmosphere. His comms went screwy as he sliced through clouds. Cal kept his bearings and held firm until he burst through.\n\nRight into the middle of a brawl.\n\nFighters on both sides screamed through the air as they coiled and twisted around each other above the craterous planet of reddish brown rock below. One of their Zippers took a hit to its thrusters, clipping its speed, i.e. the one strength they have. Before Cal could even react, two Vanduul pounced and busted him up. He saw Penny mixing it up with a raider and decided it was his turn to jump in.\n\nOn the bridge of the Gemini, Admiral Showalter watched the approaching Vanduul flagship.\n\n\u201cTalk to me, Corporal.\u201d Showalter said, his expression barely moving. Corporal Whitacre studied his SIG-INT scanners.\n\n\u201cWeapons were powering up before shields overtook them, sir. Looks like it\u2019s shifting course just a couple degrees.\u201d\n\nShowalter glanced the sphere, at its new trajectory. \u201cIt\u2019s trying to cut us off from Yar.\u201d He plotted a trajectory of his own on the Nav and shot it over to the deck-pilot. His eyes went wide.\n\n\u201cSir, that will put us into the upper atmosphere. I don\u2019t think we\u2019ll be able to resist the planet\u2019s gravity if it gets ahold of us.\u201d The deck-pilot shouted.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t care. I\u2019m not letting our people drift. Max shields to port, I want to slide in before they get dig in and spin up those Arc-cannons.\u201d\n\nThe massive Typhoon engines fired, launching the Gemini toward Yar.\n\nDown below, Cal twisted through the air avoiding Raider fire from his six. He kicked his compensator thrusters to induce a swerve. The Vanduul raider on his tail suddenly swung into his sights. Cal squeezed the trigger. Energy burned through the sky, the Vanduul tried to weave around them but there were just too many. Six shots punched through its wing. The seventh hit the cockpit square. The Vanduul started that long fiery trip down.\n\nCal took a moment to suss out the situation. Right now, it was anyone\u2019s fight. One of the Anvils was gone. The other pounded out heavy arty rounds, slow but packing a big damage radius. Two Cestus pilots were tangling with a Raider. Its main wing looked like it was dipped in black warpaint. While he\u2019d never seen Vanduul markings like that, it didn\u2019t matter. That raider wasn\u2019t going to last much longer. Cal knew one of the pilots, Poll, and he was as slick as they come.\n\nPenny just blasted her second Raider. Past her, Cal saw the distant pop of ships breaking through atmo. The clouds were still messing with his scans, so he couldn\u2019t get a clear lock. He started to intercept. If they were Vanduul, he wasn\u2019t going to let them sneak up behind-\n\nThey were. About a dozen more Scythes and a couple Crawlers.\n\n\u201cHeads up all. We got some company.\u201d Cal looked down just in time to see the Vanduul Raider, Mr Black Talon, dance-fire his mod-thrusters in a ridiculous combination to weave him around the combined firepower of Poll and the other pilot. He sliced Poll\u2019s ship in half with his wing and unleashed an aimed burst at the other Cestus. The energy bursts whittled the shield down enough for a rocket to connect. Cal had never seen a move like that. Whoever this pilot was, he was serious.\n\nMeanwhile, on the Gemini, impact alarms were blaring. Some yeoman was desperately trying to shut them off. Showalter had swung the Gemini within spitting distance of the Vanduul flagship.\n\nThese two titanic ships were in a nose-to-nose boxing match, trading bodyblows at point-blank range. The space between them flashed as the massive shields flared up to divert or absorb the heavy shots, illuminating the entire bridge.\n\nThe plan had worked though. For the moment, the Gemini had wedged enough of itself between the Vanduul ship and the planet to keep an escape avenue open but the Gemini\u2019s starboard compensators were firing at full burn to keep it from falling into Yar\u2019s atmosphere.\n\n\u201cSir, shields at thirty percent. Generators aren\u2019t going to be able to sustain a full-burn and our defenses.\u201d The deck-pilot reported.\n\n\u201cNoted, lieutenant. Finch, what\u2019s the damage?\u201d\n\nFinch, the weapons officer, was locked on his scanners, coordinating the massive amount of firepower.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re whittling them down, sir.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot good enough. We need them to back off so you hit them with everything. If you need to put on a suit, climb out and shoot at them with your sidearm, you do it. Clear?\u201d\n\n\u201cAye, aye, sir.\u201d\n\nBack on Yar, Cal turned back to the Vanduul reinforcements, ready to\u2026 they weren\u2019t attacking. They were speeding towards an old settlement on the ground.\n\n\u201cPenny. Any idea what\u2019s over there?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot the time, Cal.\u201d She muttered. Her tracking systems finally beeped with missile lock. She squeezed. A stream of tiny AP rockets hissed from the rocket pod, tracking and exploding another Raider. Cal saw something else.\n\nBlack Talon was heading for her.\n\n\u201cPenny! Six!\u201d\n\nPenny didn\u2019t hesitate and dove her ship. A full burst of shells screamed through the air she had occupied milliseconds ago.\n\nCal traded some shots of his own. Eight missed, three caught but the shields ate them up.\n\n\u201cOh boy.\u201d Cal sighed.\n\nHe now had Black Talon\u2019s attention. . . . TO BE CONTINUED"},"links_count":0,"comment_count":52,"created_at":"2012-10-26T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"13 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-14 15:38:38","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":12749,"next_id":12751}}