{"data":{"id":12812,"title":"Tales of Kid Crimson: Issue #5","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/serialized-fiction\/12812-Tales-Of-Kid-Crimson-Issue-5","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/12812","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/12812","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"Tales of Kid Crimson","images":[{"id":113,"name":"MysterySerial_FI_3Crop.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/zcrgqkm79nm2fr\/source\/MysterySerial_FI_3Crop.jpg","alt":"","size":1246218,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2013-07-19T05:28:35+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/113","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/113\/similar"}],"images_count":1,"translations":{"en_EN":"I don\u2019t consider myself a vain person, but there is a pride, a certain calculation, you take in your reputation. So the notion that some dreg is out there using your name is bad enough, but snatching kids to sell into slavery? That makes me want to draw blood.\n\nAll my system clocks recalibrated as I hit the Terra System, the ping of which pulled me out of my homicidal funk. At this speed I should hit Terra by midnight local. Prime club time.\n\nOn approach, about six landing parks locked onto my trajectory and started competing for my attention, each offering cheaper and cheaper fares, faster customs authorizations, etc. One even flat-out offered me a look at his stolen merch.\n\nI sent one of my dirtier ID tags. These guys couldn\u2019t care less. On a planet of 23 billion, they\u2019ll take creds where they can.\n\n\u201cAlright Mr. Dulli. You\u2019re all set. Thanks for choosing Fisk Landing-\u201c I shut it off and dove.\n\nTen minutes later, I was street-side. Rain pounded the city but it definitely wasn\u2019t keeping the people inside. Some kind of festival or rally further downtown had them out in droves but I weaved through the flow of slick raincoats towards one of the clubs the almost-slave kid told me about. I passed the bouncer and into a wall of noise.\n\nI needed earplugs. I don\u2019t know how these kids can do it. They say youth is a powerful antidote to life. All I know is that when you\u2019re sold to sledge rock on an unformed world when you\u2019re twelve years old, there\u2019s no such thing as youth.\n\nThe first two clubs looked and sounded almost identical. The lights were different colors I guess. Otherwise, it was the same haze of desperation and escape. Booze made them forget the life that was waiting for them in daylight. They danced, consumed, and fumbled like it was all going to go away. For those unlucky to catch the attention of the thieves and slavers scoping the crowd, I suppose they had a point.\n\nI put out some feelers to try and see who was carrying. The kid had said his dealer was slinging Neon but when you hit a club, everyone\u2019s either on it or looking for it, and unfortunately he didn\u2019t give me anything but the most basic of descriptions on this dealer Kendrick. So it was taking a while. After a couple hours, I realized something stank about me. Maybe they thought I was cop or the scowl on my face told them I wasn\u2019t out to have a good time. Regardless, I had to change my approach so I started following people, potential targets. There are couple things your basement-traffickers will look for; jailhouse or youth-house tats, ratty clothes with flashes of expensive (stolen) accessories, anything that would send up a signal that society would probably get along just fine without you.\n\nI was followed a couple outside who were definitely on the hunt. They met up with a guy who fit the kid\u2019s very rough description. The girl was visibly nervous. It took about fifteen seconds before life got jolly again.\n\n\u201cC\u2019mon Kendrick, spot me now and I\u2019ll hit you back tomorrow..\u201d The guy said.\n\n\u201cYou think I\u2019m here to make your night? That it?\u201d Kendrick said, dismissing the couple with a wave. But when he got a better look at the girl, he grinned. \u201cYeah, you know, maybe we can work something out.\u201d\n\nHell with this. I strode up to the group. They were all so lit, they didn\u2019t even see me until I was right on them.\n\n\u201cBounce, kids, let the grown-ups talk.\u201d I muttered, eyes locked on Kendrick. The guy turned and took a step toward me.\n\n\u201cWho the hell are you, yoke?\u201d The guy said, tapping into that confidence that a lady and a couple bottles will give you.\n\n\u201cUnless you want the rest of this night to play out in a MedStation, I would drift. Now.\u201d The girl was there to drag some sense into him and pulled him away. Kendrick eyeballed me.\n\n\u201cYou lookin\u2019 to buy?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo. I hear you know Kid Crimson.\u201d Kendrick stiffened.\n\n\u201cI moved with the man from time to time. What of it?\u201d\n\n\u201cI got work for him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell you know, I got a standard ten percent introduction fee\u2026\u201d The words slid out of his drunken maw with another grin.\n\n\u201cTell you what. You put us face to face. I\u2019ll give you twenty.\u201d\n\nTwo hours later, we were at a landing park near a bridge. This was starting to seem somewhat familiar. Probably the same spot where the kid got snatched. Kendrick was nodding off on a stack of old crates. I heard footsteps.\n\nHe must have been eighteen, nineteen maybe. Walked like he was trying to prove something against gravity. Even in the faint light, I could see traces of black lining his veins. So he was a WiDoW user too. He lit a Stim and took a drag.\n\n\u201cI heard you lookin\u2019 for Kid Crimson.\u201d He blew a stream of smoke up into the sky.\n\nYou\u2019ve got to be kidding me.\n\n\u201cYeah.\u201d I heard two sets of footsteps come up behind me. A pistol started charging. I glanced back. Two slabs of idiot were muscling up. The fake in front of me smirked, like I was just some sucker in over my head.\n\n\u201cWell, this ain\u2019t your day \u2018cause Kid Crimson don\u2019t deal with losers.\u201d\n\n\u201cFunny, I was going to say the exact same thing.\u201d I threw an elbow back, caught the gun-thug in the throat. I snatched his wrist, twisted \u2018til it cracked as I quick-drew my pistol and put a round through the other\u2019s chest.\n\nI kicked the gun-thug\u2019s knee out. Shot him. Took his gun. Shot Kendrick. Then trained both guns on the fake-me.\n\nHe was frozen. His Stim had fallen out.\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d He managed to stutter.\n\n\u201cTake one guess.\u201d . . . to be continued","de_DE":"Ich halte mich nicht f\u00fcr einen eitlen Menschen, aber es gibt einen Stolz, eine gewisse Kalkulation, die man in seinem Ruf aufnimmt. So ist die Vorstellung, dass irgendein Dreg da drau\u00dfen ist, der deinen Namen benutzt, schlimm genug, aber Kinder zu schnappen, um sie in die Sklaverei zu verkaufen? Das bringt mich dazu, Blut zu entnehmen.\n\nAlle meine Systemuhren wurden neu kalibriert, als ich das Terra System traf, dessen Ping mich aus meinem m\u00f6rderischen Funk herauszog. Bei dieser Geschwindigkeit sollte ich Terra um Mitternacht vor Ort erreichen. Prim\u00e4re Clubzeit.\n\nIm Anflug blockierten etwa sechs Landepl\u00e4tze meine Flugbahn und begannen, um meine Aufmerksamkeit zu wetteifern, wobei jeder von ihnen billigere und billigere Tarife, schnellere Zollgenehmigungen usw. anbietet. Ein einziger Volltreffer bot mir einen Blick auf seine gestohlene Ware.\n\nIch habe einen meiner schmutzigeren ID-Tags geschickt. Diese Kerle k\u00f6nnten sich nicht weniger darum k\u00fcmmern. Auf einem Planeten von 23 Milliarden werden sie Glaubensbekenntnisse mitnehmen, wo immer sie k\u00f6nnen.\n\n\"In Ordnung, Herr Dulli. Du bist bereit. Danke, dass du dich f\u00fcr Fisk Landing entschieden hast.\" Ich schalte es aus und tauche.\n\nZehn Minuten sp\u00e4ter war ich auf der Stra\u00dfe. Regen schlug auf die Stadt ein, aber er hielt die Leute definitiv nicht drinnen. Irgendein Festival oder eine Rallye weiter in der Innenstadt hatte sie in Scharen herausgeholt, aber ich wickelte durch den Strom von glatten Regenm\u00e4nteln zu einem der Clubs, von denen mir das fast sklavische Kind erz\u00e4hlte. Ich ging an der T\u00fcrsteherin vorbei und in eine Wand aus L\u00e4rm.\n\nIch brauchte Ohrst\u00f6psel. Ich wei\u00df nicht, wie diese Kinder das machen k\u00f6nnen. Man sagt, dass die Jugend ein starkes Gegenmittel zum Leben ist. Alles, was ich wei\u00df, ist, dass es, wenn man im Alter von zw\u00f6lf Jahren in einer ungeformten Welt an Schlittenfelsen verkauft wird, so etwas wie Jugend nicht gibt.\n\nDie ersten beiden Clubs sahen und klangen fast identisch aus. Die Lichter waren wohl verschiedene Farben. Ansonsten war es der gleiche Schleier der Verzweiflung und der Flucht. Der Alkohol lie\u00df sie das Leben vergessen, das bei Tageslicht auf sie wartete. Sie tanzten, konsumierten und fummelten, als w\u00fcrde alles verschwinden. F\u00fcr diejenigen, die das Pech haben, die Aufmerksamkeit der Diebe und Sklaven zu erregen, die die Menge beobachten, nehme ich an, sie hatten einen Punkt.\n\nIch streckte ein paar F\u00fchler aus, um zu sehen, wer da trug. Das Kind hatte gesagt, dass sein Dealer Neon schleuderte, aber wenn man einen Club schl\u00e4gt, sind alle entweder darauf oder auf der Suche nach ihm, und leider gab er mir nichts anderes als die grundlegendsten Beschreibungen \u00fcber diesen Dealer Kendrick. Es hat also eine Weile gedauert. Nach ein paar Stunden wurde mir klar, dass etwas an mir stank. Vielleicht dachten sie, ich sei ein Polizist oder der finstere Blick auf meinem Gesicht sagte ihnen, dass ich nicht darauf aus bin, Spa\u00df zu haben. Unabh\u00e4ngig davon musste ich meinen Ansatz \u00e4ndern, also fing ich an, Menschen, potenziellen Zielen zu folgen. Es gibt einige Dinge, nach denen deine Keller-Trafficker suchen werden; Gef\u00e4ngnis- oder Jugendhaus-Tattoos, sch\u00e4bige Kleidung mit Blitzen von teurem (gestohlenem) Zubeh\u00f6r, alles, was ein Signal senden w\u00fcrde, dass die Gesellschaft ohne dich wahrscheinlich gut auskommen w\u00fcrde.\n\nIch wurde von einem Paar nach drau\u00dfen verfolgt, das definitiv auf der Jagd war. Sie trafen sich mit einem Kerl, der auf die sehr grobe Beschreibung des Kindes passt. Das M\u00e4dchen war sichtlich nerv\u00f6s. Es dauerte etwa f\u00fcnfzehn Sekunden, bis das Leben wieder fr\u00f6hlich wurde.\n\n\"Komm schon Kendrick, sag mir jetzt Bescheid und ich schlage dich morgen zur\u00fcck...\" Sagte der Typ.\n\n\"Denkst du, ich bin hier, um deine Nacht zu verbringen? Ist es das?\" sagte Kendrick und entlie\u00df das Paar mit einer Welle. Aber als er das M\u00e4dchen besser sah, grinste er. \"Ja, wei\u00dft du, vielleicht k\u00f6nnen wir uns etwas ausdenken.\"\n\nZum Teufel damit. Ich ging zur Gruppe hoch. Sie waren alle so erleuchtet, dass sie mich nicht einmal sahen, bis ich direkt bei ihnen war.\n\n\"H\u00fcpfen, Kinder, lasst die Erwachsenen reden.\" Ich murmelte, die Augen waren auf Kendrick gerichtet. Der Typ drehte sich um und machte einen Schritt auf mich zu.\n\n\"Wer zum Teufel bist du, Joch?\" sagte der Typ und klopfte an das Vertrauen, das eine Dame und ein paar Flaschen dir geben werden.\n\n\"Wenn du nicht willst, dass der Rest dieser Nacht in einer Medestation spielt, w\u00fcrde ich mich treiben lassen. Jetzt.\" Das M\u00e4dchen war da, um etwas Verstand in ihn hineinzuziehen und zog ihn weg. Kendrick starrte mich an.\n\n\"Willst du kaufen?\"\n\n\"Nein. Ich habe geh\u00f6rt, du kennst Kid Crimson.\" Kendrick ist versteift.\n\n\"Ich zog von Zeit zu Zeit mit dem Mann zusammen. Was ist schon dabei?\"\n\n\"Ich habe Arbeit f\u00fcr ihn.\"\n\n\"Nun, wei\u00dft du, ich habe eine Standardgeb\u00fchr von zehn Prozent f\u00fcr die Einf\u00fchrung....\" Die Worte glitten mit einem weiteren Grinsen aus seinem betrunkenen Schlund.\n\n\"Ich sag dir was. Du hast uns von Angesicht zu Angesicht gesehen. Ich gebe dir zwanzig.\"\n\nZwei Stunden sp\u00e4ter waren wir auf einem Landeplatz in der N\u00e4he einer Br\u00fccke. Das kam mir langsam bekannt vor. Wahrscheinlich an der Stelle, wo das Kind entf\u00fchrt wurde. Kendrick nickte auf einem Stapel alter Kisten. Ich h\u00f6rte Schritte.\n\nEr muss achtzehn, vielleicht neunzehn gewesen sein. Er ging so, als wolle er etwas gegen die Schwerkraft beweisen. Selbst bei schwachem Licht konnte ich Spuren von Schwarz in seinen Adern sehen. Also war er auch ein WiDoW-Benutzer. Er z\u00fcndete einen Stim an und nahm einen Zug.\n\n\"Ich habe geh\u00f6rt, dass du nach Kid Crimson suchst.\" Er blies einen Strom von Rauch in den Himmel.\n\nDu willst mich wohl verarschen.\n\n\" Ja.\" Ich h\u00f6rte, wie zwei Paar Schritte hinter mir auftauchten. Eine Pistole begann zu laden. Ich blickte zur\u00fcck. Zwei Platten von Idioten muskelten sich zusammen. Die F\u00e4lschung vor mir grinste, als w\u00e4re ich nur ein Trottel \u00fcber meinem Kopf.\n\n\"Nun, das ist nicht dein Tag, denn Kid Crimson hat nichts mit Verlierern zu tun.\"\n\n\"Komisch, ich wollte genau das Gleiche sagen.\" Ich warf einen Ellenbogen zur\u00fcck, fing den Waffenschmuggler im Hals. Ich schnappte mir sein Handgelenk, verdrehte es, bis es knackte, als ich meine Pistole schnell zog und eine Kugel durch die Brust des anderen schob.\n\nIch trat dem Schl\u00e4ger das Knie raus. Ich habe ihn erschossen. Er nahm seine Waffe. Ich habe Kendrick erschossen. Dann trainierten sie beide Waffen auf das unechte Ich.\n\nEr war gefroren. Sein Stim war ausgefallen.\n\n\"Wer bist du?\" Er schaffte es, zu stottern.\n\n\"Rate mal.\"\n\n\n. ... wird fortgesetzt","zh_CN":"I don\u2019t consider myself a vain person, but there is a pride, a certain calculation, you take in your reputation. So the notion that some dreg is out there using your name is bad enough, but snatching kids to sell into slavery? That makes me want to draw blood.\n\nAll my system clocks recalibrated as I hit the Terra System, the ping of which pulled me out of my homicidal funk. At this speed I should hit Terra by midnight local. Prime club time.\n\nOn approach, about six landing parks locked onto my trajectory and started competing for my attention, each offering cheaper and cheaper fares, faster customs authorizations, etc. One even flat-out offered me a look at his stolen merch.\n\nI sent one of my dirtier ID tags. These guys couldn\u2019t care less. On a planet of 23 billion, they\u2019ll take creds where they can.\n\n\u201cAlright Mr. Dulli. You\u2019re all set. Thanks for choosing Fisk Landing-\u201c I shut it off and dove.\n\nTen minutes later, I was street-side. Rain pounded the city but it definitely wasn\u2019t keeping the people inside. Some kind of festival or rally further downtown had them out in droves but I weaved through the flow of slick raincoats towards one of the clubs the almost-slave kid told me about. I passed the bouncer and into a wall of noise.\n\nI needed earplugs. I don\u2019t know how these kids can do it. They say youth is a powerful antidote to life. All I know is that when you\u2019re sold to sledge rock on an unformed world when you\u2019re twelve years old, there\u2019s no such thing as youth.\n\nThe first two clubs looked and sounded almost identical. The lights were different colors I guess. Otherwise, it was the same haze of desperation and escape. Booze made them forget the life that was waiting for them in daylight. They danced, consumed, and fumbled like it was all going to go away. For those unlucky to catch the attention of the thieves and slavers scoping the crowd, I suppose they had a point.\n\nI put out some feelers to try and see who was carrying. The kid had said his dealer was slinging Neon but when you hit a club, everyone\u2019s either on it or looking for it, and unfortunately he didn\u2019t give me anything but the most basic of descriptions on this dealer Kendrick. So it was taking a while. After a couple hours, I realized something stank about me. Maybe they thought I was cop or the scowl on my face told them I wasn\u2019t out to have a good time. Regardless, I had to change my approach so I started following people, potential targets. There are couple things your basement-traffickers will look for; jailhouse or youth-house tats, ratty clothes with flashes of expensive (stolen) accessories, anything that would send up a signal that society would probably get along just fine without you.\n\nI was followed a couple outside who were definitely on the hunt. They met up with a guy who fit the kid\u2019s very rough description. The girl was visibly nervous. It took about fifteen seconds before life got jolly again.\n\n\u201cC\u2019mon Kendrick, spot me now and I\u2019ll hit you back tomorrow..\u201d The guy said.\n\n\u201cYou think I\u2019m here to make your night? That it?\u201d Kendrick said, dismissing the couple with a wave. But when he got a better look at the girl, he grinned. \u201cYeah, you know, maybe we can work something out.\u201d\n\nHell with this. I strode up to the group. They were all so lit, they didn\u2019t even see me until I was right on them.\n\n\u201cBounce, kids, let the grown-ups talk.\u201d I muttered, eyes locked on Kendrick. The guy turned and took a step toward me.\n\n\u201cWho the hell are you, yoke?\u201d The guy said, tapping into that confidence that a lady and a couple bottles will give you.\n\n\u201cUnless you want the rest of this night to play out in a MedStation, I would drift. Now.\u201d The girl was there to drag some sense into him and pulled him away. Kendrick eyeballed me.\n\n\u201cYou lookin\u2019 to buy?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo. I hear you know Kid Crimson.\u201d Kendrick stiffened.\n\n\u201cI moved with the man from time to time. What of it?\u201d\n\n\u201cI got work for him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell you know, I got a standard ten percent introduction fee\u2026\u201d The words slid out of his drunken maw with another grin.\n\n\u201cTell you what. You put us face to face. I\u2019ll give you twenty.\u201d\n\nTwo hours later, we were at a landing park near a bridge. This was starting to seem somewhat familiar. Probably the same spot where the kid got snatched. Kendrick was nodding off on a stack of old crates. I heard footsteps.\n\nHe must have been eighteen, nineteen maybe. Walked like he was trying to prove something against gravity. Even in the faint light, I could see traces of black lining his veins. So he was a WiDoW user too. He lit a Stim and took a drag.\n\n\u201cI heard you lookin\u2019 for Kid Crimson.\u201d He blew a stream of smoke up into the sky.\n\nYou\u2019ve got to be kidding me.\n\n\u201cYeah.\u201d I heard two sets of footsteps come up behind me. A pistol started charging. I glanced back. Two slabs of idiot were muscling up. The fake in front of me smirked, like I was just some sucker in over my head.\n\n\u201cWell, this ain\u2019t your day \u2018cause Kid Crimson don\u2019t deal with losers.\u201d\n\n\u201cFunny, I was going to say the exact same thing.\u201d I threw an elbow back, caught the gun-thug in the throat. I snatched his wrist, twisted \u2018til it cracked as I quick-drew my pistol and put a round through the other\u2019s chest.\n\nI kicked the gun-thug\u2019s knee out. Shot him. Took his gun. Shot Kendrick. Then trained both guns on the fake-me.\n\nHe was frozen. His Stim had fallen out.\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d He managed to stutter.\n\n\u201cTake one guess.\u201d . . . to be continued"},"links_count":0,"comment_count":43,"created_at":"2012-11-19T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"13 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-23 17:11:57","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":12811,"next_id":12813}}