{"data":{"id":12766,"title":"Cassandra's Tears: Issue #4","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/serialized-fiction\/12766-Cassandras-Tears-Issue-4","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/12766","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/12766","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":"Cal Mason gave a last look at the Gemini, still working its way free from Yar\u2019s gravitational pull, at Penny and the rest of the wing fall into a landing formation.\n\nIt\u2019s worth it, Cal thought. By the time he convinced Admiral Showalter that there was more to the Vanduul raid than simple thievery, the Vanduul Clan would have disappeared back into their territory and Military Command would never authorize an operation in enemy space. So that would be that. \u201cIt\u2019s worth it,\u201d he repeated to himself and loaded the appropriate NavPlan file.\n\nThe computer assumed control as Cal dove into the jump-point. Now all he had to do was wait while the computer weaved through interspace with programmed perfection and hope that the Vanduul weren\u2019t sitting on the other side, guns ready to blast any brave idiots who tried to follow them\u2026 hmm\u2026 probably should have considered that before.\n\nCal watched the countdown on his monitor. He slowly took hold of the flight controls. A finger hovered over the shield-booster just in case.\n\nHe popped out the other side, ready for anything, then breathed a sigh of relief. All good. He could see the flagship rejoining the rest of its clan; a fleet of junker transports, freighters, small destroyers, and tankers, all of them probably the spoils from hundreds of fights over the decades on the drift.\n\nCal shut down any extraneous systems to minimize his energy signature and cut his engines after pushing toward the fleet. He should be able to get pretty close unless they change their trajectory. In order to see him, they\u2019d have to look out their window. According to their scanners, he was simply empty space. People relied too much on their scanners and the tech to watch their back. Cal couldn\u2019t count the number of times he gotten out of a jam because people didn\u2019t trust or even use their senses.\n\nCal coasted over the fleet, ready for any indication that he\u2019d been spotted. So far so good. He passed what looked like an old farm vessel, probably held the grow-farms for the entire Vanduul Clan. It was chugging along, leaking a trail of fumes in its wake.\n\nCommand tried building databases of each Vanduul clan but they were always struggling for the raw data. For as long as humans have been fending off the Vanduul, Cal was always amazed about how little we knew about them. It didn\u2019t help that the species itself was so fragmented. Even though each Vanduul Clan\/Fleet had its own set of traditions, diplomatic affiliations, even religions, there were a few consistencies. Their fighters were eerily similar, same with their flagships. Many an analyst went nuts trying to figure that one out. It was almost as if their designs were imprinted in their DNA. Which had been suggested.\n\nAll the same, not many people had been in Cal\u2019s position and been this close to a Vanduul fleet. So he was making the most of it, snapping and tagging each of the ships as he passed them. Military Intelligence was going to have a field day with the data.\n\nSuddenly, the flagship\u2019s massive thrusters flashed. They were changing course. It wasn\u2019t until a stream of fighters began to launch out the front that Cal knew for sure:\n\nSomeone looked out the window.\n\nCal had thirty seconds or so before he got swarmed. He fired the engine and headed along the hull of the flagship. He couldn\u2019t just bolt, even if he made it to the jump-point, he wasn\u2019t any closer to figuring out what they were up to. Nope. He had to stick around.\n\nThe Vanduul fighters screamed out of their launch bays led by Black Talon. They sliced back toward the foolish soon-to-be-dead human and found it full-burning toward the jump-point.\n\nThe Vanduul pursued and, with their speed, easily overtook Cal\u2019s ship. Black Talon unleashed the first spray of laser-fire. The rest of the Vanduul fighters followed suit. In a manner of seconds, Cal\u2019s ship was blasted to pieces.\n\nShame, Cal thought as he stood on the side of the Vanduul flagship, that was a good ship. He noticed something else too. There was another ship in the distance. Too far to identify but it definitely wasn\u2019t another Vanduul ship. Cal walked along the hull of the ship toward one of the gaping holes caused by the battle with the Gemini and climbed inside.\n\nCal carefully moved down through the ship guts into a hallway. The area had been sealed off after it lost hull integrity. Cal examined the doorlocks. It was in Vanduul, obviously. The character system was completely foreign to him. Then it unlocked.\n\nCal hid before the door slid open. A Vanduul in an environment suit stepped through the doorway. Cal watched him from a crevice in the wall, his pistol ready.\n\nThe Vanduul approached the hole in the hull and examined it. Must be a Tech assessing the damage. Cal glanced between the Vanduul and the open door. The Tech had its back to it. Cal slipped past and through the pressurized antechamber into the ship itself. Though it was nice to have gravity back, he still couldn\u2019t take off his suit as the Vanduul didn\u2019t breathe oxygen.\n\nIn an effort to not think about how ridiculously suicidal sneaking around a Vanduul flagship was, Cal stayed focused on the identity of the new vessel. Fighters hadn\u2019t been redirected or deployed on sight, so Cal assumed that the vessel was not a surprise to the Vanduul. In which case, they might be headed to the landing bay.\n\nCal carefully moved through the winding sloped passageways, dodging the occasional Vanduul officer or soldier. Eventually, he saw a stream of pilots exit a door. Maybe one of them was Black Talon? Cal waited until they disappeared around a corner before checking the door they came through. It was the hangar.\n\nHe moved past the stacks of Vanduul ships to see a heavily modified Constellation landing in the bay. A couple dozen Vanduul soldiers waited, weapons at the ready. Cal found a good spot to hide and watch.\n\nThe Constellation set down on the tarmac. Its engines powered down but someone was manning the turret. The landing bay opened. Two humanoids came out. Both wore enclosed suits, clearly not Vanduul air-breathers. They were about human-sized.\n\nCal had heard that some pirates had made deals with certain Vanduul clans but it was pretty rare. Most were carved up the second they came within sight of a Vanduul ship.\n\nThe large pieces of tech taken from the settlement on Yar were brought out and loaded onto the Constellation. One of the two humanoids examined the tech while the other talked with the Vanduul. When satisfied they brought out a pair of crates.\n\nA plasma rifle hummed next to Cal\u2019s ear.\n\nCrap. . . . TO BE CONTINUED","de_DE":"Cal Mason gab einen letzten Blick auf die Zwillinge, die sich immer noch frei von Yars Anziehungskraft arbeiten, bei Penny und dem Rest des Fl\u00fcgels fallen in eine Landeformation.\n\nDas ist es wert, dachte Cal. Als er Admiral Showalter davon \u00fcberzeugte, dass der Vanduul-\u00dcberfall mehr als nur Diebstahl war, w\u00e4re der Vanduul-Clan wieder in seinem Territorium verschwunden und das Milit\u00e4rkommando w\u00fcrde niemals eine Operation im feindlichen Raum genehmigen. Das war's dann also. \"Es lohnt sich\", wiederholte er vor sich hin und lud die entsprechende NavPlan-Datei.\n\nDer Computer \u00fcbernahm die Kontrolle, als Cal in den Sprungpunkt sprang. Jetzt musste er nur noch warten, w\u00e4hrend der Computer mit programmierter Perfektion durch den Zwischenraum webte und hoffte, dass die Vanduul nicht auf der anderen Seite sa\u00dfen, Waffen, die bereit waren, alle tapferen Idioten zu erschie\u00dfen, die versuchten, ihnen zu folgen... hmm... hmm.... h\u00e4tte das wahrscheinlich vorher bedenken sollen.\n\nCal beobachtete den Countdown auf seinem Monitor. Er ergriff langsam die Flugkontrolle. Ein Finger schwebte \u00fcber dem Schildverst\u00e4rker, f\u00fcr alle F\u00e4lle.\n\nEr sprang auf der anderen Seite heraus, bereit f\u00fcr alles, und atmete dann erleichtert auf. Alles in Ordnung. Er konnte sehen, wie das Flaggschiff wieder in den Rest seines Clans eintrat; eine Flotte von Junkertransporten, Frachtschiffen, kleinen Zerst\u00f6rern und Tankern, die alle wahrscheinlich die Beute aus Hunderten von K\u00e4mpfen \u00fcber die Jahrzehnte hinweg auf der Strecke waren.\n\nBeruhigen Sie sich, alle Fremdsysteme abzuschalten, um seine Energiesignatur zu minimieren, und unterbrechen Sie seine Motoren, nachdem Sie auf die Flotte zugedrungen sind. Er sollte in der Lage sein, ziemlich nah heranzukommen, wenn sie nicht ihre Flugbahn \u00e4ndern. Um ihn zu sehen, m\u00fcssten sie aus dem Fenster schauen. Laut ihren Scannern war er einfach nur ein leerer Raum. Die Menschen verlie\u00dfen sich zu sehr auf ihre Scanner und die Technik, um sich den R\u00fccken zu decken. Cal konnte nicht z\u00e4hlen, wie oft er aus einer Stauung herausgekommen war, weil die Leute ihren Sinnen nicht vertrauten oder gar nicht benutzten.\n\nCal lief \u00fcber die Flotte und war bereit f\u00fcr jeden Hinweis, dass er entdeckt wurde. So weit, so gut. Er passierte ein altes Bauernboot, das aussah wie ein altes, wahrscheinlich die Zuchtfarmen f\u00fcr den gesamten Vanduul Clan beherbergt. Es tuckerte weiter und leckte eine Spur von D\u00e4mpfen in seinem Gefolge.\n\nDas Kommando versuchte, Datenbanken f\u00fcr jeden Vanduul-Clan aufzubauen, aber sie k\u00e4mpften immer um die Rohdaten. Seitdem die Menschen die Vanduul abgewehrt haben, war Cal immer erstaunt dar\u00fcber, wie wenig wir \u00fcber sie wussten. Es half nicht, dass die Art selbst so zersplittert war. Obwohl jeder Vanduul-Klan\/Flotte seine eigenen Traditionen, diplomatischen Beziehungen und sogar Religionen hatte, gab es einige Konsistenzen. Ihre K\u00e4mpfer waren sich unheimlich \u00e4hnlich, ebenso wie ihre Flaggschiffe. So mancher Analytiker wurde verr\u00fcckt, als er versuchte, das herauszufinden. Es war fast so, als ob ihre Designs in ihre DNA eingepr\u00e4gt w\u00e4ren. Die vorgeschlagen worden war.\n\nDennoch waren nicht viele Menschen in Cal's Position gewesen und waren so nah an einer Vanduul-Flotte. Also machte er das Beste daraus, schnappte und markierte jedes der Schiffe, als er sie passierte. Der milit\u00e4rische Geheimdienst sollte einen gro\u00dfen Tag mit den Daten verbringen.\n\nPl\u00f6tzlich blinkten die massiven Triebwerke des Flaggschiffs. Sie \u00e4nderten den Kurs. Erst als ein Strom von K\u00e4mpfern anfing, an der Front zu starten, wusste Cal genau, dass er es wusste:\n\nJemand schaute aus dem Fenster.\n\nCal hatte etwa drei\u00dfig Sekunden, bevor er geschw\u00e4ngert wurde. Er feuerte den Motor ab und ging am Rumpf des Flaggschiffs entlang. Er konnte nicht einfach abhauen, auch wenn er es bis zum Sprungpunkt schaffte, er war nicht n\u00e4her dran, herauszufinden, was sie vorhatten. Nein. Er musste in der N\u00e4he bleiben.\n\nDie Vanduul-K\u00e4mpfer schrien aus ihren Startbuchten, angef\u00fchrt von Black Talon. Sie schnitt zur\u00fcck zu dem dummen, bald toten Menschen und fand ihn voll brennend zum Sprungpunkt.\n\nDie Vanduul verfolgten und \u00fcberholten mit ihrer Geschwindigkeit leicht das Schiff von Cal. Black Talon entfesselte den ersten Spr\u00fchstrahl eines Laserfeuers. Der Rest der Vanduul-K\u00e4mpfer folgte diesem Beispiel. In Sekundenschnelle wurde Kal's Schiff in St\u00fccke gesprengt.\n\nSchade, dachte Cal, als er auf der Seite des Vanduul-Flaggschiffs stand, das war ein gutes Schiff. Er bemerkte auch noch etwas anderes. In der Ferne war noch ein weiteres Schiff. Zu weit, um sie zu identifizieren, aber es war definitiv kein weiteres Vanduul-Schiff. Cal ging am Rumpf des Schiffes entlang zu einem der klaffenden L\u00f6cher, die durch den Kampf mit den Zwillingen verursacht wurden, und kletterte hinein.\n\nCal bewegte sich vorsichtig durch die Schiffsinnereien in einen Flur. Der Bereich war abgeriegelt worden, nachdem er die Integrit\u00e4t der H\u00fclle verloren hatte. Cal untersuchte die T\u00fcrschl\u00f6sser. Es war offensichtlich in Vanduul. Das Charaktersystem war ihm v\u00f6llig fremd. Dann wurde es freigeschaltet.\n\nCal versteckte sich, bevor die T\u00fcr aufrutschte. Ein Vanduul in einem Umgebungsanzug trat durch die T\u00fcr\u00f6ffnung. Cal beobachtete ihn aus einer Spalte in der Wand, seine Pistole bereit.\n\nDie Vanduul n\u00e4herte sich dem Loch im Rumpf und untersuchte es. Muss ein Techniker sein, der den Schaden bewertet. Cal blickte zwischen dem Vanduul und der offenen T\u00fcr. Die Tech stand hinter ihr. Cal schl\u00fcpfte vorbei und durch die unter Druck stehende Vorkammer in das Schiff selbst. Obwohl es sch\u00f6n war, die Schwerkraft zur\u00fcck zu haben, konnte er seinen Anzug immer noch nicht ausziehen, da die Vanduul keinen Sauerstoff atmete.\n\nIn dem Bestreben, nicht dar\u00fcber nachzudenken, wie l\u00e4cherlich selbstm\u00f6rderisch es war, sich um ein Vanduul-Flaggschiff zu schleichen, blieb Cal auf die Identit\u00e4t des neuen Schiffes konzentriert. K\u00e4mpfer waren nicht umgeleitet oder auf Sicht eingesetzt worden, so dass Cal annahm, dass das Schiff keine \u00dcberraschung f\u00fcr die Vanduul war. In diesem Fall k\u00f6nnten sie zur Landebucht gebracht werden.\n\nCal bewegte sich vorsichtig durch die gewundenen, schiefen G\u00e4nge und wich dem gelegentlichen Vanduul-Offizier oder -Soldaten aus. Schlie\u00dflich sah er, wie ein Strom von Piloten aus einer T\u00fcr ausstieg. Vielleicht war einer von ihnen Black Talon? Cal wartete, bis sie um eine Ecke verschwanden, bevor er die T\u00fcr \u00fcberpr\u00fcfte, durch die sie kamen. Es war der Kleiderb\u00fcgel.\n\nEr ging an den Stapeln der Vanduul-Schiffe vorbei, um eine stark modifizierte Constellation in der Bucht landen zu sehen. Ein paar Dutzend Vanduul-Soldaten warteten, Waffen bereit. Cal fand einen guten Platz zum Verstecken und Beobachten.\n\nDie Konstellation setzte sich auf den Asphalt. Seine Motoren wurden abgeschaltet, aber jemand bemannte den Turm. Die Landebucht wurde ge\u00f6ffnet. Zwei Humanoide kamen heraus. Beide trugen geschlossene Anz\u00fcge, eindeutig keine Vanduul-Luftatmer. Sie waren etwa menschengro\u00df.\n\nCal hatte geh\u00f6rt, dass einige Piraten Gesch\u00e4fte mit bestimmten Vanduul-Clans gemacht hatten, aber es war ziemlich selten. Die meisten wurden in der Sekunde zerlegt, als sie in Sichtweite eines Vanduul-Schiffes kamen.\n\nDie gro\u00dfen technischen Teile aus der Siedlung auf Yar wurden herausgebracht und auf die Konstellation geladen. Eines der beiden Humanoide untersuchte die Technologie, w\u00e4hrend das andere mit dem Vanduul sprach. Als sie zufrieden waren, brachten sie ein Paar Kisten heraus.\n\nEin Plasmagewehr brummte neben Cal's Ohr.\n\nMist.\n\n\n. . . WIRD FORTGESETZT","zh_CN":"Cal Mason gave a last look at the Gemini, still working its way free from Yar\u2019s gravitational pull, at Penny and the rest of the wing fall into a landing formation.\n\nIt\u2019s worth it, Cal thought. By the time he convinced Admiral Showalter that there was more to the Vanduul raid than simple thievery, the Vanduul Clan would have disappeared back into their territory and Military Command would never authorize an operation in enemy space. So that would be that. \u201cIt\u2019s worth it,\u201d he repeated to himself and loaded the appropriate NavPlan file.\n\nThe computer assumed control as Cal dove into the jump-point. Now all he had to do was wait while the computer weaved through interspace with programmed perfection and hope that the Vanduul weren\u2019t sitting on the other side, guns ready to blast any brave idiots who tried to follow them\u2026 hmm\u2026 probably should have considered that before.\n\nCal watched the countdown on his monitor. He slowly took hold of the flight controls. A finger hovered over the shield-booster just in case.\n\nHe popped out the other side, ready for anything, then breathed a sigh of relief. All good. He could see the flagship rejoining the rest of its clan; a fleet of junker transports, freighters, small destroyers, and tankers, all of them probably the spoils from hundreds of fights over the decades on the drift.\n\nCal shut down any extraneous systems to minimize his energy signature and cut his engines after pushing toward the fleet. He should be able to get pretty close unless they change their trajectory. In order to see him, they\u2019d have to look out their window. According to their scanners, he was simply empty space. People relied too much on their scanners and the tech to watch their back. Cal couldn\u2019t count the number of times he gotten out of a jam because people didn\u2019t trust or even use their senses.\n\nCal coasted over the fleet, ready for any indication that he\u2019d been spotted. So far so good. He passed what looked like an old farm vessel, probably held the grow-farms for the entire Vanduul Clan. It was chugging along, leaking a trail of fumes in its wake.\n\nCommand tried building databases of each Vanduul clan but they were always struggling for the raw data. For as long as humans have been fending off the Vanduul, Cal was always amazed about how little we knew about them. It didn\u2019t help that the species itself was so fragmented. Even though each Vanduul Clan\/Fleet had its own set of traditions, diplomatic affiliations, even religions, there were a few consistencies. Their fighters were eerily similar, same with their flagships. Many an analyst went nuts trying to figure that one out. It was almost as if their designs were imprinted in their DNA. Which had been suggested.\n\nAll the same, not many people had been in Cal\u2019s position and been this close to a Vanduul fleet. So he was making the most of it, snapping and tagging each of the ships as he passed them. Military Intelligence was going to have a field day with the data.\n\nSuddenly, the flagship\u2019s massive thrusters flashed. They were changing course. It wasn\u2019t until a stream of fighters began to launch out the front that Cal knew for sure:\n\nSomeone looked out the window.\n\nCal had thirty seconds or so before he got swarmed. He fired the engine and headed along the hull of the flagship. He couldn\u2019t just bolt, even if he made it to the jump-point, he wasn\u2019t any closer to figuring out what they were up to. Nope. He had to stick around.\n\nThe Vanduul fighters screamed out of their launch bays led by Black Talon. They sliced back toward the foolish soon-to-be-dead human and found it full-burning toward the jump-point.\n\nThe Vanduul pursued and, with their speed, easily overtook Cal\u2019s ship. Black Talon unleashed the first spray of laser-fire. The rest of the Vanduul fighters followed suit. In a manner of seconds, Cal\u2019s ship was blasted to pieces.\n\nShame, Cal thought as he stood on the side of the Vanduul flagship, that was a good ship. He noticed something else too. There was another ship in the distance. Too far to identify but it definitely wasn\u2019t another Vanduul ship. Cal walked along the hull of the ship toward one of the gaping holes caused by the battle with the Gemini and climbed inside.\n\nCal carefully moved down through the ship guts into a hallway. The area had been sealed off after it lost hull integrity. Cal examined the doorlocks. It was in Vanduul, obviously. The character system was completely foreign to him. Then it unlocked.\n\nCal hid before the door slid open. A Vanduul in an environment suit stepped through the doorway. Cal watched him from a crevice in the wall, his pistol ready.\n\nThe Vanduul approached the hole in the hull and examined it. Must be a Tech assessing the damage. Cal glanced between the Vanduul and the open door. The Tech had its back to it. Cal slipped past and through the pressurized antechamber into the ship itself. Though it was nice to have gravity back, he still couldn\u2019t take off his suit as the Vanduul didn\u2019t breathe oxygen.\n\nIn an effort to not think about how ridiculously suicidal sneaking around a Vanduul flagship was, Cal stayed focused on the identity of the new vessel. Fighters hadn\u2019t been redirected or deployed on sight, so Cal assumed that the vessel was not a surprise to the Vanduul. In which case, they might be headed to the landing bay.\n\nCal carefully moved through the winding sloped passageways, dodging the occasional Vanduul officer or soldier. Eventually, he saw a stream of pilots exit a door. Maybe one of them was Black Talon? Cal waited until they disappeared around a corner before checking the door they came through. It was the hangar.\n\nHe moved past the stacks of Vanduul ships to see a heavily modified Constellation landing in the bay. A couple dozen Vanduul soldiers waited, weapons at the ready. Cal found a good spot to hide and watch.\n\nThe Constellation set down on the tarmac. Its engines powered down but someone was manning the turret. The landing bay opened. Two humanoids came out. Both wore enclosed suits, clearly not Vanduul air-breathers. They were about human-sized.\n\nCal had heard that some pirates had made deals with certain Vanduul clans but it was pretty rare. Most were carved up the second they came within sight of a Vanduul ship.\n\nThe large pieces of tech taken from the settlement on Yar were brought out and loaded onto the Constellation. One of the two humanoids examined the tech while the other talked with the Vanduul. When satisfied they brought out a pair of crates.\n\nA plasma rifle hummed next to Cal\u2019s ear.\n\nCrap. . . . TO BE CONTINUED"},"links_count":0,"comment_count":37,"created_at":"2012-11-09T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"13 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-14 15:08:57","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":12765,"next_id":12767}}