{"data":{"id":12819,"title":"Tales of Kid Crimson: Issue #6","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/serialized-fiction\/12819-Tales-Of-Kid-Crimson-Issue-6","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/12819","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/12819","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"Tales of Kid Crimson","images":[{"id":205,"name":"MysterySerial_FI_4.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/albwpzkll4ybmr\/source\/MysterySerial_FI_4.jpg","alt":"","size":1244162,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2015-08-28T19:33:51+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/205","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/205\/similar"}],"images_count":1,"translations":{"en_EN":"I stared at the kid trading under my name through the sights of two handguns. Fake-me shivered and blubbered but didn\u2019t move otherwise. On the frisk, I found a cheap pistol that would probably explode before shoot right and an extendable baton in his boot. I tossed them in the river.\n\n\u201cPlease, man, I didn\u2019t-\u201d His voice was weak, quivering. I punched him in the back of the neck. He dropped and curled into a ball. That\u2019s when the real waterworks started. He thought he knew where this was headed but there were bigger things at play. That\u2019s what I had to tell myself because I kept thinking of her and that was very bad for fake-me.\n\n\u201cBelieve it or not, this is your lucky day.\u201d I said, putting the gun in his face, \u201cSee, normally, gutless traffickers like you get what I call \u2018the usual.\u2019 Without going into detail, it\u2019s a very drawn out, messy process that lasts days.\u201d\n\nHe started babbling nonsense as his mind raced too fast to form words. I drew my blade. He shut up.\n\n\u201cAnd on top of that, you\u2019ve been using my name so let\u2019s just say, \u2018the usual\u2019 would be my launching place to deep dark places that even I\u2019m scared of.\u201d\n\nHe shut his eyes as his imagination went to work. I let him marinate for a second.\n\n\u201cBut I want whoever\u2019s running this ring. So think of it this way, the more data you drop, the less pain you\u2019ll receive.\u201d\n\nI turned the gun to his hand and blasted off a finger. \u201cThat\u2019s our baseline.\u201d\n\nHe screamed and clutched his hand.\n\n\u201cNow spill.\u201d\n\nAnd spill he did. He gave up everyone. I got names of the Feelers sent out to hunt for potential victims along with the dirty cops and shipping agents paid to look the other way. I filed it all away. It was good to know but they were small-fry, I wanted big fish.\n\nIn between the sobs and babbles, Fake-me gave me one. Maybe the biggest one there is:\n\n\u201cCaro.\u201d He whispered as if invoking the name would somehow summon the devil.\n\nMy stomach lurched down to my toes and slung back. Caro\u2019s a ghost, one of those shadowy operators out there who nobody really works for but everybody knows. He (or she maybe) is untouchable, lethal, and the biggest trafficker around. This was huge. Terrifying too.\n\nI pulled him to his feet and pressed the barrel in his face.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ve seen him?\u201d I hissed. He started to nod when a quick rip of gunfire cut through the heavy rain. Four rounds stitched Fake-me up the back before a final shot to the head punched him out for good.\n\nI caught a glimpse of the shooter. Tall, military cut, deep laser-burn from his cheek to his ear. He aimed. I snapped my gun up and fired first. He disappeared as three of his friends popped up from cover; swinging their modded P4SC\u2019s my way. I heard footsteps to my left. I guess someone was late to their flanking position.\n\nI was running before the first shot popped off. First rule of being ambushed, get out of the ambush. Sounds obvious but you\u2019d be surprised how many people dig in and try to fight back.\n\nI raced through the narrow passages between parked ships. I heard footsteps around me, no voices though. Subdermal Comms? I probably shouldn\u2019t have dumped all those guns I took off Fake-me and his thugs.\n\nBullets screamed past me from behind. I glanced back. One of the hitters was taking aim. I sent some rounds back at him. He casually shifted behind cover. Military shooting posture. Calm on the trigger. These were high-end hitters. This was not good.\n\nI chipped at his cover with a series of shots before taking off. I hit a full sprint, trying to remember the layout of this park and my position. A rifle swung up in my face. Laser-Burn was on the happier side of the sights. I snatched the barrel and twisted before he squeezed the trigger. Shots blasted into the ground, the nearby ships, wherever my hand pushed the barrel. The skin on my hand started burning. I brought up my pistol and pumped rounds. Laser-Burn released his rifle to dodge my shots. He grabbed my wrist, punched my hand, and then smacked the gun out of my loosened grip.\n\nHe drew a combat blade. We needled back and forth for a bit, neither landed a serious cut. I could tell he was good, probably better than me. He moved with speed, precision and experience. Unfortunately, I didn\u2019t have time to tangle with this guy. He wanted to delay me. Give his team time to close in.\n\nI swung wide. He jumped back but I wasn\u2019t aiming for him. I slashed some tubes on the ship-lift to my left. Hydraulic fluid started pouring out. The corner hissed then dipped. The ship slid off. Laser-burn dove out of the way before it crashed into the ground while I legged it.\n\nI jumped the fence and hit the ground running. Two blocks away, there was the tide of pedestrian traffic. I merged with the flow. I moved for the next hour, using my whole bag of tricks to flush out any tails. When satisfied, I slipped into a small Kacho restaurant.\n\nThe old man and woman who ran the place bickered and yelled at each other the entire time. I tried to collect my thoughts. The situation was getting more and more interesting\/dire by the second.\n\nOut of the corner of my eye, SSN\/CAtv was on mute, showing live coverage of the Citizens Day event downtown. Senator Hannigan was giving a speech, probably extolling the virtues of civilization and every Citizen doing their part or some such nonsense. The crowd ate it up with a spoon.\n\nHannigan started to make his way off stage. His entourage closed in around him. That\u2019s when I saw it. I nearly dove over the counter to grab the remote. The old couple stopped bickering at each other to yell at me.\n\nI reversed the broadcast and paused. A nanosecond before Hannigan disappears from sight, a man whispers to him.\n\nLaser-burn. . . . to be continued","de_DE":"Ich starrte das Kind an, das unter meinem Namen durch die Sichtweise von zwei Handfeuerwaffen handelte. Fake-me zitterte und blubberte, bewegte sich aber sonst nicht. Auf der Flucht fand ich eine billige Pistole, die wahrscheinlich explodieren w\u00fcrde, bevor sie richtig schie\u00dft, und einen ausziehbaren Schlagstock in seinem Kofferraum. Ich warf sie in den Fluss.\n\n\"Bitte, Mann, ich habe nicht...\" Seine Stimme war schwach und zitterte. Ich schlug ihm in den Nacken. Er fiel und rollte sich zu einem Ball zusammen. Zu diesem Zeitpunkt begann das eigentliche Wasserwerk. Er dachte, er w\u00fcsste, wohin das f\u00fchren w\u00fcrde, aber es spielten gr\u00f6\u00dfere Dinge eine Rolle. Das musste ich mir sagen, weil ich immer wieder an sie dachte, und das war sehr schlecht f\u00fcr mich als Fake-me.\n\n\"Glaub es oder nicht, heute ist dein Gl\u00fcckstag.\" Ich sagte und legte ihm die Waffe ins Gesicht, \"Normalerweise bekommen feige Schlepper wie du das, was ich das \u00dcbliche nenne. Ohne ins Detail zu gehen, ist es ein sehr langwieriger, chaotischer Prozess, der Tage dauert.\"\n\nEr fing an, Unsinn zu labern, als sein Verstand zu schnell raste, um Worte zu bilden. Ich zog meine Klinge. Er ist still.\n\n\"Und au\u00dferdem hast du meinen Namen benutzt, also sagen wir einfach: \"Das \u00dcbliche\" w\u00e4re mein Startplatz zu tiefen dunklen Orten, vor denen ich sogar Angst habe.\"\n\nEr schloss die Augen, als seine Vorstellungskraft zur Arbeit ging. Ich lie\u00df ihn f\u00fcr eine Sekunde marinieren.\n\n\"Aber ich will, wer auch immer diesen Ring leitet. Also denken Sie so, je mehr Daten Sie verlieren, desto weniger Schmerz werden Sie bekommen.\"\n\nIch drehte die Waffe zu seiner Hand und schoss einen Finger weg. \"Das ist unsere Grundlinie.\"\n\nEr schrie und hielt seine Hand fest.\n\n\" Jetzt versch\u00fctte.\"\n\nUnd er hat es verraten. Er hat alle verraten. Ich bekam Namen von den F\u00fchlern, die ausgesandt wurden, um nach potenziellen Opfern zu jagen, zusammen mit den schmutzigen Polizisten und Spediteuren, die bezahlt wurden, um in die andere Richtung zu schauen. Ich habe alles weggelegt. Es war gut zu wissen, aber sie waren kleine Fische, ich wollte gro\u00dfe Fische.\n\nZwischen den Schluchzen und Geplapper gab mir Fake-me einen. Vielleicht der gr\u00f6\u00dfte, den es gibt:\n\n\" Caro.\" Er fl\u00fcsterte, als ob die Anrufung des Namens irgendwie den Teufel beschw\u00f6ren w\u00fcrde.\n\nMein Magen st\u00fcrzte bis zu meinen Zehen hinunter und schlug zur\u00fcck. Caro ist ein Geist, einer dieser schattenhaften Betreiber da drau\u00dfen, f\u00fcr den niemand wirklich arbeitet, aber jeder wei\u00df es. Er (oder sie vielleicht) ist unantastbar, t\u00f6dlich und der gr\u00f6\u00dfte Menschenh\u00e4ndler \u00fcberhaupt. Das war riesig. Auch erschreckend.\n\nIch zog ihn auf die F\u00fc\u00dfe und dr\u00fcckte ihm das Fass ins Gesicht.\n\n\"Du hast ihn gesehen?\" Ich zischte. Er fing an zu nicken, als ein schneller Schuss Schuss durch den starken Regen fiel. Vier Runden gen\u00e4ht Fake-me auf dem R\u00fccken, bevor ein letzter Schuss auf den Kopf ihn f\u00fcr immer ausl\u00f6schte.\n\nIch sah den Sch\u00fctzen. Gro\u00df, milit\u00e4risch geschnitten, tiefe Laserverbrennung von der Wange bis zum Ohr. Er zielte. Ich riss meine Waffe hoch und feuerte zuerst. Er verschwand, als drei seiner Freunde aus dem Cover auftauchten und ihre modifizierten P4SC's auf meine Weise schwangen. Ich h\u00f6rte Schritte zu meiner Linken. Ich sch\u00e4tze, jemand kam zu sp\u00e4t zu seiner Flankenposition.\n\nIch rannte, bevor der erste Schuss fiel. Die erste Regel, wenn man \u00fcberfallen wird, ist, sich aus dem Hinterhalt zu befreien. Klingt offensichtlich, aber du w\u00e4rst \u00fcberrascht, wie viele Leute sich einmischen und versuchen, sich zu wehren.\n\nIch raste durch die engen Passagen zwischen geparkten Schiffen. Ich h\u00f6rte Schritte um mich herum, aber keine Stimmen. Subdermale Comms? Ich h\u00e4tte wahrscheinlich nicht all die Waffen wegwerfen sollen, die ich Fake-me und seinen Schl\u00e4gern abgenommen habe.\n\nDie Kugeln schrien von hinten an mir vorbei. Ich blickte zur\u00fcck. Einer der Killer zielte. Ich habe ein paar Runden an ihn zur\u00fcckgeschickt. Er bewegte sich beil\u00e4ufig hinter Deckung. Milit\u00e4rische Schusshaltung. Beruhige dich am Abzug. Das waren High-End-Killer. Das war nicht gut.\n\nIch schlug mit einer Reihe von Sch\u00fcssen auf seine Deckung zu, bevor ich abflog. Ich schaffte einen vollen Sprint und versuchte, mich an die Anlage dieses Parks und meine Position zu erinnern. Ein Gewehr schwang mir ins Gesicht. Laser-Burn war auf der gl\u00fccklicheren Seite der Sehensw\u00fcrdigkeiten. Ich schnappte mir den Lauf und drehte ihn, bevor er den Abzug dr\u00fcckte. Sch\u00fcsse sprangen in den Boden, die nahegelegenen Schiffe, wo immer meine Hand den Lauf dr\u00fcckte. Die Haut an meiner Hand begann zu brennen. Ich zog meine Pistole hoch und pumpte Kugeln. Laser-Burn lie\u00df sein Gewehr los, um meinen Sch\u00fcssen auszuweichen. Er packte mein Handgelenk, schlug auf meine Hand und schlug dann die Waffe aus meinem gelockerten Griff.\n\nEr zog eine Kampfklinge. Wir haben eine Weile hin und her genadelt, und keiner hat einen ernsthaften Schnitt gemacht. Ich wusste, dass er gut war, wahrscheinlich besser als ich. Er bewegte sich mit Geschwindigkeit, Pr\u00e4zision und Erfahrung. Leider hatte ich keine Zeit, mich mit diesem Kerl anzulegen. Er wollte mich aufhalten. Gib seinem Team Zeit, sich zu schlie\u00dfen.\n\nIch schwang weit. Er sprang zur\u00fcck, aber ich hatte nicht auf ihn gezielt. Ich habe ein paar Schl\u00e4uche auf dem Schiffslift zu meiner Linken aufgeschlitzt. Die Hydraulikfl\u00fcssigkeit begann zu flie\u00dfen. Die Ecke zischte und tauchte dann ab. Das Schiff rutschte ab. Laserverbrannte Taube aus dem Weg, bevor sie in den Boden st\u00fcrzte, w\u00e4hrend ich sie mit Beinen bef\u00f6rderte.\n\nIch bin \u00fcber den Zaun gesprungen und bin mit einem Laufband auf den Boden gefallen. Zwei Blocks weiter gab es die Flut des Fu\u00dfg\u00e4ngerverkehrs. Ich verschmolz mit dem Strom. Ich bewegte mich f\u00fcr die n\u00e4chste Stunde und benutzte meine ganze Trickkiste, um alle Schw\u00e4nze auszusp\u00fclen. Als ich zufrieden war, schl\u00fcpfte ich in ein kleines Kacho-Restaurant.\n\nDer alte Mann und die alte Frau, die den Ort f\u00fchrten, zanken und schrien sich die ganze Zeit gegenseitig an. Ich versuchte, meine Gedanken zu sammeln. Die Situation wurde von Sekunde zu Sekunde immer interessanter und direkter.\n\nAus dem Augenwinkel war SSN\/CAtv stumm geschaltet und zeigte Live-Berichterstattung \u00fcber den B\u00fcrgertag in der Innenstadt. Senator Hannigan hielt eine Rede, in der er wahrscheinlich die Tugenden der Zivilisation pries und jeder B\u00fcrger seinen Teil dazu beitrug oder einen solchen Unsinn. Die Menge a\u00df es mit einem L\u00f6ffel auf.\n\nHannigan begann, sich von der B\u00fchne zu entfernen. Sein Gefolge schloss sich um ihn herum. Da habe ich es gesehen. Ich bin fast \u00fcber die Theke gesprungen, um die Fernbedienung zu greifen. Das alte Paar h\u00f6rte auf, sich gegenseitig zu streiten, um mich anzuschreien.\n\nIch habe die Sendung umgekehrt und angehalten. Eine Nanosekunde bevor Hannigan aus den Augen verschwindet, fl\u00fcstert ihm ein Mann zu.\n\nLaser-Verbrennung.\n\n\n. ... wird fortgesetzt","zh_CN":"I stared at the kid trading under my name through the sights of two handguns. Fake-me shivered and blubbered but didn\u2019t move otherwise. On the frisk, I found a cheap pistol that would probably explode before shoot right and an extendable baton in his boot. I tossed them in the river.\n\n\u201cPlease, man, I didn\u2019t-\u201d His voice was weak, quivering. I punched him in the back of the neck. He dropped and curled into a ball. That\u2019s when the real waterworks started. He thought he knew where this was headed but there were bigger things at play. That\u2019s what I had to tell myself because I kept thinking of her and that was very bad for fake-me.\n\n\u201cBelieve it or not, this is your lucky day.\u201d I said, putting the gun in his face, \u201cSee, normally, gutless traffickers like you get what I call \u2018the usual.\u2019 Without going into detail, it\u2019s a very drawn out, messy process that lasts days.\u201d\n\nHe started babbling nonsense as his mind raced too fast to form words. I drew my blade. He shut up.\n\n\u201cAnd on top of that, you\u2019ve been using my name so let\u2019s just say, \u2018the usual\u2019 would be my launching place to deep dark places that even I\u2019m scared of.\u201d\n\nHe shut his eyes as his imagination went to work. I let him marinate for a second.\n\n\u201cBut I want whoever\u2019s running this ring. So think of it this way, the more data you drop, the less pain you\u2019ll receive.\u201d\n\nI turned the gun to his hand and blasted off a finger. \u201cThat\u2019s our baseline.\u201d\n\nHe screamed and clutched his hand.\n\n\u201cNow spill.\u201d\n\nAnd spill he did. He gave up everyone. I got names of the Feelers sent out to hunt for potential victims along with the dirty cops and shipping agents paid to look the other way. I filed it all away. It was good to know but they were small-fry, I wanted big fish.\n\nIn between the sobs and babbles, Fake-me gave me one. Maybe the biggest one there is:\n\n\u201cCaro.\u201d He whispered as if invoking the name would somehow summon the devil.\n\nMy stomach lurched down to my toes and slung back. Caro\u2019s a ghost, one of those shadowy operators out there who nobody really works for but everybody knows. He (or she maybe) is untouchable, lethal, and the biggest trafficker around. This was huge. Terrifying too.\n\nI pulled him to his feet and pressed the barrel in his face.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ve seen him?\u201d I hissed. He started to nod when a quick rip of gunfire cut through the heavy rain. Four rounds stitched Fake-me up the back before a final shot to the head punched him out for good.\n\nI caught a glimpse of the shooter. Tall, military cut, deep laser-burn from his cheek to his ear. He aimed. I snapped my gun up and fired first. He disappeared as three of his friends popped up from cover; swinging their modded P4SC\u2019s my way. I heard footsteps to my left. I guess someone was late to their flanking position.\n\nI was running before the first shot popped off. First rule of being ambushed, get out of the ambush. Sounds obvious but you\u2019d be surprised how many people dig in and try to fight back.\n\nI raced through the narrow passages between parked ships. I heard footsteps around me, no voices though. Subdermal Comms? I probably shouldn\u2019t have dumped all those guns I took off Fake-me and his thugs.\n\nBullets screamed past me from behind. I glanced back. One of the hitters was taking aim. I sent some rounds back at him. He casually shifted behind cover. Military shooting posture. Calm on the trigger. These were high-end hitters. This was not good.\n\nI chipped at his cover with a series of shots before taking off. I hit a full sprint, trying to remember the layout of this park and my position. A rifle swung up in my face. Laser-Burn was on the happier side of the sights. I snatched the barrel and twisted before he squeezed the trigger. Shots blasted into the ground, the nearby ships, wherever my hand pushed the barrel. The skin on my hand started burning. I brought up my pistol and pumped rounds. Laser-Burn released his rifle to dodge my shots. He grabbed my wrist, punched my hand, and then smacked the gun out of my loosened grip.\n\nHe drew a combat blade. We needled back and forth for a bit, neither landed a serious cut. I could tell he was good, probably better than me. He moved with speed, precision and experience. Unfortunately, I didn\u2019t have time to tangle with this guy. He wanted to delay me. Give his team time to close in.\n\nI swung wide. He jumped back but I wasn\u2019t aiming for him. I slashed some tubes on the ship-lift to my left. Hydraulic fluid started pouring out. The corner hissed then dipped. The ship slid off. Laser-burn dove out of the way before it crashed into the ground while I legged it.\n\nI jumped the fence and hit the ground running. Two blocks away, there was the tide of pedestrian traffic. I merged with the flow. I moved for the next hour, using my whole bag of tricks to flush out any tails. When satisfied, I slipped into a small Kacho restaurant.\n\nThe old man and woman who ran the place bickered and yelled at each other the entire time. I tried to collect my thoughts. The situation was getting more and more interesting\/dire by the second.\n\nOut of the corner of my eye, SSN\/CAtv was on mute, showing live coverage of the Citizens Day event downtown. Senator Hannigan was giving a speech, probably extolling the virtues of civilization and every Citizen doing their part or some such nonsense. The crowd ate it up with a spoon.\n\nHannigan started to make his way off stage. His entourage closed in around him. That\u2019s when I saw it. I nearly dove over the counter to grab the remote. The old couple stopped bickering at each other to yell at me.\n\nI reversed the broadcast and paused. A nanosecond before Hannigan disappears from sight, a man whispers to him.\n\nLaser-burn. . . . to be continued"},"links_count":0,"comment_count":56,"created_at":"2012-11-26T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"13 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-04-29 22:36:42","valid_relations":["images","links","translations"],"prev_id":12818,"next_id":12820}}