{"data":{"id":12786,"title":"Cassandra's Tears: Issue #5","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/serialized-fiction\/12786-Cassandras-Tears-Issue-5","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/12786","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/12786","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":"UEES Gemini\n\nCentauri System\nPenny hadn\u2019t moved in seventeen minutes. Admiral Showalter sent for her while she was heading for the after-action debriefing. That she was expecting. What she didn\u2019t expect was the silence. Grandpa didn\u2019t say a word when she came in. Didn\u2019t say a word when she saluted. Seventeen long minutes, he just glared. She could hear the cooling ventilators kick on. She could hear the muffled voices of crew passing outside the door. All of it was deafening in this silence. Five more minutes passed\u2026\n\n\n\u201cSir, I-\u201d He silenced her with a quick motion of his hand. She stopped. Showalter lowered his hand and resumed his glare. Penny had been in this situation before. The silence was a new trick but she was okay taking some heat. What she couldn\u2019t take was this gnawing fear churning in her heart, the fear that something bad had happened to Cal.\n\nTwo systems away. In the landing bay of the Vanduul Clan flagship, a plasma rifle prodded Cal Mason out of his hiding spot toward the two humanoids and the Vanduul Commander. Sixteen more guns were trained on him.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell is this?\u201d One of the humanoids said through a heavily modulated speakerbox.\n\n\u201cHi.\u201d Cal said. He kept his eyes locked on the Vanduul Commander. Apparently, the Vanduul liked directness, so he was going to give it a shot and not flinch. In his head though, he was scrambling for ideas.\n\nThe Vanduul Commander drew his knife as he stepped up to Cal. He placed the keen edge against the oxygen tube as he leaned down and muttered something in his face. A mixture of growls and hisses, Vanduul always sounded like a dirty engine starting up to Cal.\n\n\u201cHe wants to know if you\u2019re alone.\u201d The first humanoid translated, \u201cI would answer him.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I\u2019m alone.\u201d The blade twisted against the oxygen tube. Another string of growls and hisses.\n\n\u201cHe thinks you\u2019re either stupid or insane.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell him I\u2019ve been called both.\u201d Cal shrugged. He was just going to wait it out, see if an opportunity presented itself. The Vanduul glanced back at the humanoid who translated. The Commander apparently didn\u2019t find it funny. He snatched Cal by the throat and started to squeeze.\n\nThe humanoid stepped forward, speaking in rapid Vanduul. The other Vanduul soldiers aimed their weapons. The Constellation\u2019s turret scanned back and forth, the gunner\u2019s obviously terrified of the rapidly disintegrating situation.\n\nCal struggled to breath against the vice-like grip of the Vanduul Commander. All the shouting started to swirl together. Cal\u2019s vision started to swim. A few more seconds, one last struggle, and he dipped into darkness\u2026.\n\n\u2026..running through the fields after school\u2026.\n\u2026.the moons of Davien II overhead\u2026..\n\u2026..his parents house in flames\u2026.\nCal came to. It took him a moment to realize the significance of that. He was positioned facing a wall. He wasn\u2019t wearing his suit. His head was pounding. He couldn\u2019t move his hands. Felt like they were cuffed.\n\nCal took another second or two to collect himself before rolling over. He was in the Constellation. They were just lifting off the Vanduul flight bay. The humanoid who spoke Vanduul was standing about five feet away, still head-to-toe in their suit.\n\n\u201cSo\u2026\u201d the speakerbox squawked, \u201chow about you tell me what you were doing sneaking around a Vanduul Clanship?\u201d\n\nCal struggled to sit up, testing the cuffs along the way. He glanced around the hold. A man climbed up from the cargo hold and whispered to the one in the suit, who nodded. Cal only managed to catch one word:\n\nCassandra.\n\n\u201cHow about that answer?\u201d it said.\n\n\u201cSure but let me turn it around. Make it more interesting.\u201d Cal settled back, \u201cYou hired the Vanduul to hit that system.\u201d\n\nThe humanoid waited quietly.\n\n\u201cWhat I\u2019m trying to figure out is why you didn\u2019t do it yourself? It has to be much easier for a ship this size to get in and out of a system.\u201d\n\nThe figure reached up and unfastened the breathing apparatus.\n\n\u201cSo why keep me alive?\u201d Cal continued, \u201cI mean, I assume you stopped that Vanduul from killing me.\u201d\n\nThe humanoid unbuckled the rest of the suit. The speakerbox buzzed as it disconnected. They reached up and pulled off their facemask\u2026\n\nIt was a woman. Human. Short, cropped hair so black it was blue. Skin as golden as a sunset. Sharp, intelligent green eyes.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re our hostage.\u201d She dropped a devastating grin. \u201cI hope you don\u2019t mind.\u201d\n\nFor a second, Cal really didn\u2019t.\n\nBack on the Gemini\u2019s flight deck, a miracle was happening. Pilots, prep-crews and mechanics all stared in awe and disbelief. Everyone was focused on one thing: Admiral Showalter climbing into a fighter. Navigating into the pilot\u2019s seat reminded him how many pounds he\u2019d put on since the last time he wore a flight suit.\n\nHe could see his XO Marden and the rest of the bridge-crew applauding as he blasted out of the launch bay. Showalter set a course for the jump-point. As much as he hated this, he wasn\u2019t going to send someone else to prove or disprove his hunch.\n\nWhen he arrived, he didn\u2019t see anything. Scans told him the same: the system was empty. Something clattered off his wing. Showalter looked up from his scanners. He was flying through some debris.\n\nIt took him a second to recognize it. It was Cal\u2019s ship.\n\n\u201cDammit, Cal.\u201d\n\nCal Mason finally went and got himself killed. . . . TO BE CONTINUED","de_DE":"UEES Zwillinge\n\nCentauri System\nPenny hatte sich seit siebzehn Minuten nicht mehr bewegt. Admiral Showalter schickte nach ihr, w\u00e4hrend sie auf dem Weg zur Nachbesprechung nach der Aktion war. Das hat sie erwartet. Was sie nicht erwartete, war die Stille. Opa sagte kein Wort, als sie reinkam. Sie sagte kein Wort, als sie salutierte. Siebzehn lange Minuten, er starrte nur an. Sie konnte h\u00f6ren, wie die K\u00fchlventilatoren auftraten. Sie konnte die ged\u00e4mpften Stimmen der Besatzung h\u00f6ren, die vor der T\u00fcr vorbeikamen. Alles war ohrenbet\u00e4ubend in dieser Stille. F\u00fcnf weitere Minuten vergingen.....\n\n\n\"Sir, ich...\" Er brachte sie mit einer schnellen Handbewegung zum Schweigen. Sie blieb stehen. Showalter senkte seine Hand und setzte seinen Blick fort. Penny war schon einmal in dieser Situation gewesen. Die Stille war ein neuer Trick, aber sie war in Ordnung, etwas Hitze zu vertragen. Was sie nicht ertragen konnte, war diese nagende Angst, die in ihrem Herzen w\u00fctete, die Angst, dass Cal etwas Schlimmes passiert war.\n\nZwei Systeme entfernt. In der Landebucht des Vanduul-Clan-Flaggschiffs stie\u00df ein Plasmagewehr Cal Mason aus seinem Versteck zu den beiden Humanoiden und dem Vanduul-Commander. Sechzehn weitere Waffen wurden auf ihn gerichtet.\n\n\"Was zum Teufel ist das?\" Eines der Humanoide sagte durch eine stark modulierte Lautsprecherbox.\n\n\" Hi.\" Sagte Cal. Er hielt die Augen auf den Vanduul Commander gerichtet. Anscheinend mochte der Vanduul die Direktheit, also wollte er es versuchen und nicht zucken. In seinem Kopf jedoch k\u00e4mpfte er nach Ideen.\n\nDer Vanduul-Kommandant zog sein Messer, als er zu Cal aufbrach. Er legte die scharfe Kante gegen den Sauerstoffschlauch, als er sich nach unten lehnte und ihm etwas ins Gesicht murmelte. Eine Mischung aus Knurren und Zischen, Vanduul klang immer wie ein schmutziger Motor, der nach Cal startete.\n\n\"Er will wissen, ob du allein bist.\" Der erste Humanoide \u00fcbersetzte: \"Ich w\u00fcrde ihm antworten.\"\n\n\"Ja, ich bin allein.\" Die Klinge verdrehte sich gegen den Sauerstoffschlauch. Eine weitere Reihe von Knurren und Zischen.\n\n\"Er denkt, dass du entweder dumm oder verr\u00fcckt bist.\"\n\n\"Sag ihm, dass ich beides genannt wurde.\" Cal zuckte mit den Schultern. Er wollte nur abwarten, um zu sehen, ob sich eine Gelegenheit bietet. Der Vanduul blickte zur\u00fcck auf den Humanoiden, der \u00fcbersetzte. Der Kommandant fand es anscheinend nicht lustig. Er schnappte Cal an der Kehle und fing an zu dr\u00fccken.\n\nDer Humanoide trat vor und sprach im schnellen Vanduul. Die anderen Vanduul-Soldaten richteten ihre Waffen. Der Turm der Konstellation wurde hin und her gescannt, der Sch\u00fctze hat offensichtlich Angst vor der sich schnell aufl\u00f6senden Situation.\n\nCal k\u00e4mpfte mit dem Atem gegen den vizeartigen Griff des Vanduul Commander. Das ganze Geschrei fing an, zusammen zu wirbeln. Cal's Vision begann zu schwimmen. Noch ein paar Sekunden, ein letzter Kampf, und er tauchte in die Dunkelheit ein........\n\n.........nach der Schule durch die Felder laufen.......\n.....die Monde von Davien II. \u00fcber uns...........\n......das Haus seiner Eltern in Flammen.......\nCal kam zu sich. Es dauerte einen Moment, bis er die Bedeutung dessen erkannt hatte. Er stand vor einer Wand. Er trug nicht seinen Anzug. Sein Kopf h\u00e4mmerte. Er konnte seine H\u00e4nde nicht bewegen. Es f\u00fchlte sich an, als w\u00e4ren sie gefesselt.\n\nCal brauchte noch ein oder zwei Sekunden, um sich zu sammeln, bevor er sich umdrehte. Er war im Sternbild. Sie heben gerade von der Vanduul-Flugbucht ab. Der Mensch, der Vanduul sprach, stand etwa einen Meter entfernt, immer noch von Kopf bis Fu\u00df in seinem Anzug.\n\n\"Also...\" kreischte der Lautsprecher, \"wie w\u00e4re es, wenn du mir sagst, was du getan hast, als du dich um eine Vanduul Clanship geschlichen hast?\"\n\nCal hatte M\u00fche, sich aufzurichten und die Manschetten unterwegs zu testen. Er blickte um den Laderaum herum. Ein Mann stieg aus dem Laderaum auf und fl\u00fcsterte zu dem im Anzug, der nickte. Cal hat es nur geschafft, ein Wort zu verstehen:\n\nKassandra.\n\n\"Was ist mit der Antwort?\", stand da.\n\n\"Sicher, aber lass es mich umdrehen. Mach es interessanter.\" Cal beruhigte sich: \"Du hast die Vanduul angeheuert, um das System zu treffen.\"\n\nDer Humanoide wartete leise.\n\n\"Was ich versuche herauszufinden, ist, warum du es nicht selbst getan hast? Es muss f\u00fcr ein Schiff dieser Gr\u00f6\u00dfe viel einfacher sein, in ein System ein- und auszusteigen.\"\n\nDie Figur griff nach oben und l\u00f6ste das Atemschutzger\u00e4t.\n\n\"Also warum mich am Leben lassen?\" Cal fuhr fort: \"Ich meine, ich nehme an, du hast Vanduul davon abgehalten, mich zu t\u00f6ten.\"\n\nDer Humanoide schnallte den Rest des Anzugs ab. Die Lautsprecherbox brummte, als sie abgeklemmt wurde. Sie griffen nach oben und zogen ihre Gesichtsmaske ab.....\n\nEs war eine Frau. Menschlich. Kurzes, kupiertes Haar, so schwarz, dass es blau war. Haut so golden wie ein Sonnenuntergang. Scharfe, intelligente, gr\u00fcne Augen.\n\n\"Du bist unsere Geisel.\" Sie lie\u00df ein verheerendes Grinsen fallen. \"Ich hoffe, es macht dir nichts aus.\"\n\nF\u00fcr eine Sekunde tat Cal es wirklich nicht.\n\nZur\u00fcck auf dem Flugdeck der Gemini geschah ein Wunder. Piloten, Vorbereitungsteams und Mechaniker starrten alle in Ehrfurcht und Unglauben. Alle waren auf eine Sache konzentriert: Admiral Showalter kletterte in einen K\u00e4mpfer. Die Navigation auf dem Pilotenplatz erinnerte ihn daran, wie viel Pfund er seit dem letzten Tragen eines Fluganzuges zugenommen hatte.\n\nEr konnte sehen, wie sein XO Marden und der Rest der Br\u00fcckencrew applaudierten, als er aus der Startrampe sprang. Der Showalter setzte einen Kurs auf den Sprungpunkt. So sehr er das auch hasste, er wollte nicht jemand anderen schicken, um seine Vermutung zu beweisen oder zu widerlegen.\n\nAls er ankam, sah er nichts. Die Scans sagten ihm dasselbe: Das System war leer. Etwas rasselte von seinem Fl\u00fcgel. Showalter sah von seinen Scannern auf. Er flog durch einige Tr\u00fcmmer.\n\nEs dauerte eine Sekunde, bis er es erkannte. Es war Cal's Schiff.\n\n\" Verdammt, Cal.\"\n\nCal Mason ging schlie\u00dflich hin und lie\u00df sich umbringen.\n\n\n. . . WIRD FORTGESETZT","zh_CN":"UEES Gemini\n\nCentauri System\nPenny hadn\u2019t moved in seventeen minutes. Admiral Showalter sent for her while she was heading for the after-action debriefing. That she was expecting. What she didn\u2019t expect was the silence. Grandpa didn\u2019t say a word when she came in. Didn\u2019t say a word when she saluted. Seventeen long minutes, he just glared. She could hear the cooling ventilators kick on. She could hear the muffled voices of crew passing outside the door. All of it was deafening in this silence. Five more minutes passed\u2026\n\n\n\u201cSir, I-\u201d He silenced her with a quick motion of his hand. She stopped. Showalter lowered his hand and resumed his glare. Penny had been in this situation before. The silence was a new trick but she was okay taking some heat. What she couldn\u2019t take was this gnawing fear churning in her heart, the fear that something bad had happened to Cal.\n\nTwo systems away. In the landing bay of the Vanduul Clan flagship, a plasma rifle prodded Cal Mason out of his hiding spot toward the two humanoids and the Vanduul Commander. Sixteen more guns were trained on him.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell is this?\u201d One of the humanoids said through a heavily modulated speakerbox.\n\n\u201cHi.\u201d Cal said. He kept his eyes locked on the Vanduul Commander. Apparently, the Vanduul liked directness, so he was going to give it a shot and not flinch. In his head though, he was scrambling for ideas.\n\nThe Vanduul Commander drew his knife as he stepped up to Cal. He placed the keen edge against the oxygen tube as he leaned down and muttered something in his face. A mixture of growls and hisses, Vanduul always sounded like a dirty engine starting up to Cal.\n\n\u201cHe wants to know if you\u2019re alone.\u201d The first humanoid translated, \u201cI would answer him.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I\u2019m alone.\u201d The blade twisted against the oxygen tube. Another string of growls and hisses.\n\n\u201cHe thinks you\u2019re either stupid or insane.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell him I\u2019ve been called both.\u201d Cal shrugged. He was just going to wait it out, see if an opportunity presented itself. The Vanduul glanced back at the humanoid who translated. The Commander apparently didn\u2019t find it funny. He snatched Cal by the throat and started to squeeze.\n\nThe humanoid stepped forward, speaking in rapid Vanduul. The other Vanduul soldiers aimed their weapons. The Constellation\u2019s turret scanned back and forth, the gunner\u2019s obviously terrified of the rapidly disintegrating situation.\n\nCal struggled to breath against the vice-like grip of the Vanduul Commander. All the shouting started to swirl together. Cal\u2019s vision started to swim. A few more seconds, one last struggle, and he dipped into darkness\u2026.\n\n\u2026..running through the fields after school\u2026.\n\u2026.the moons of Davien II overhead\u2026..\n\u2026..his parents house in flames\u2026.\nCal came to. It took him a moment to realize the significance of that. He was positioned facing a wall. He wasn\u2019t wearing his suit. His head was pounding. He couldn\u2019t move his hands. Felt like they were cuffed.\n\nCal took another second or two to collect himself before rolling over. He was in the Constellation. They were just lifting off the Vanduul flight bay. The humanoid who spoke Vanduul was standing about five feet away, still head-to-toe in their suit.\n\n\u201cSo\u2026\u201d the speakerbox squawked, \u201chow about you tell me what you were doing sneaking around a Vanduul Clanship?\u201d\n\nCal struggled to sit up, testing the cuffs along the way. He glanced around the hold. A man climbed up from the cargo hold and whispered to the one in the suit, who nodded. Cal only managed to catch one word:\n\nCassandra.\n\n\u201cHow about that answer?\u201d it said.\n\n\u201cSure but let me turn it around. Make it more interesting.\u201d Cal settled back, \u201cYou hired the Vanduul to hit that system.\u201d\n\nThe humanoid waited quietly.\n\n\u201cWhat I\u2019m trying to figure out is why you didn\u2019t do it yourself? It has to be much easier for a ship this size to get in and out of a system.\u201d\n\nThe figure reached up and unfastened the breathing apparatus.\n\n\u201cSo why keep me alive?\u201d Cal continued, \u201cI mean, I assume you stopped that Vanduul from killing me.\u201d\n\nThe humanoid unbuckled the rest of the suit. The speakerbox buzzed as it disconnected. They reached up and pulled off their facemask\u2026\n\nIt was a woman. Human. Short, cropped hair so black it was blue. Skin as golden as a sunset. Sharp, intelligent green eyes.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re our hostage.\u201d She dropped a devastating grin. \u201cI hope you don\u2019t mind.\u201d\n\nFor a second, Cal really didn\u2019t.\n\nBack on the Gemini\u2019s flight deck, a miracle was happening. Pilots, prep-crews and mechanics all stared in awe and disbelief. Everyone was focused on one thing: Admiral Showalter climbing into a fighter. Navigating into the pilot\u2019s seat reminded him how many pounds he\u2019d put on since the last time he wore a flight suit.\n\nHe could see his XO Marden and the rest of the bridge-crew applauding as he blasted out of the launch bay. Showalter set a course for the jump-point. As much as he hated this, he wasn\u2019t going to send someone else to prove or disprove his hunch.\n\nWhen he arrived, he didn\u2019t see anything. Scans told him the same: the system was empty. Something clattered off his wing. Showalter looked up from his scanners. He was flying through some debris.\n\nIt took him a second to recognize it. It was Cal\u2019s ship.\n\n\u201cDammit, Cal.\u201d\n\nCal Mason finally went and got himself killed. . . . TO BE CONTINUED"},"links_count":0,"comment_count":38,"created_at":"2012-11-16T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"13 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-14 15:37:56","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":12785,"next_id":12787}}