{"data":{"id":12837,"title":"Tales of Kid Crimson: Issue #9","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/serialized-fiction\/12837-Tales-Of-Kid-Crimson-Issue-9","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/12837","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/12837","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":"Several blocks away from the police station, Quell waited patiently while I broke into a hover. I found an older model so I wouldn\u2019t need any crackers just old-fashioned tools.\n\n\u201cI hope this isn\u2019t going to be added to the list of charges.\u201d I said and popped the lock.\n\n\u201cI haven\u2019t decided yet.\u201d She kept an eye out for the hitters.\n\n\u201cJust saying, this might qualify as entrapment.\u201d I said as I worked on the ignition. \u201cYou know, this might go a little quicker without the shackles.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, life\u2019s unfair.\u201d\n\nTwo minutes later the engine sputtered to a start.\n\nQuell got the cheapest room in the cheapest flophouse. There were specks of dried blood on the headboard of the bed. The roll-blinds on the window were rusted shut. It reeked of damp rotten fabric. I didn\u2019t want to touch anything.\n\n\u201cYou couldn\u2019t spring for a better room?\u201d I peeked into the bathroom, more out of morbid curiosity than anything. It did not disappoint.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s low profile.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo\u2019s a place with plumbing. There are a lot of those around.\u201d\n\nQuell turned on the wallscreen and scrolled until she found the news. They were doing a segment on the upcoming Sataball season so she went to the desk. I swept some crap off a chair and dragged it over by her.\n\nShe flipped on the light and examined the badge she pulled off the hulk\u2019s body. It looked pretty official to me but, then again, I\u2019ve managed to avoid having to look at them up close.\n\n\u201cSee? He\u2019s got people in your own bureau.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a fake.\u201d She said without hesitation. She picked at the encoded chips, incorporated into the badge to authorize the agent to bypass security protocols. They were stickers. \u201cAnd one of the sloppier ones I\u2019ve seen too. Someone did this in a rush.\u201d\n\n\u201cFine, they weren\u2019t dirty Advocacy Agents. Hannigan still knew you were taking me to that station and just dressed up some thugs to do the deed.\u201d\n\n\u201cOr it could have been any other criminal you\u2019ve crossed in the past. Maybe someone with a good Tapper on their payroll who could access police bands.\u201d She sat back and eyed me suspiciously.\n\n\u201cThink about it. Hannigan is on the Subcommittee for Development & Expansion, which means he\u2019s got access to planets full of undocumented labor. He\u2019s got the political juice to keep tabs and manipulate Imperial investigations. It explains why Caro has been as elusive as he has been.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know. The politician-moonlighting-as-criminal-mastermind thing seems too far-fetched to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cAren\u2019t they one in the same?\u201d\n\nRaina Quell actually laughed. She ran the hulk\u2019s photo from the ID. He had a record, a lengthy one too. Piracy, assault, murder-for-hire, he was multi-faceted muscle but nothing that tied him to Hannigan. Time to pull out the big guns.\n\n\u201cDoes this screen have Recall?\u201d I said, motioning to the wallscreen.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know, probably.\u201d\n\n\u201cA nicer room would.\u201d I brushed past her to get to the screen.\n\n\u201cDrop it.\u201d She glared at me.\n\nI went to the SSNewsFeed Archive, brought up the coverage of Hannigan\u2019s speech, and advanced frame by frame until I saw Laser-burn.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s the guy. He clipped the trafficker in the landing park who said he could implicate Caro.\u201d\n\nQuell stepped up to the screen to get a good look at him. She leaned in a little closer to look at the mess of pixels. \u201cThe feed-compression\u2019s too thick to pull an ID.\u201d\n\nShe was weighing my story. I couldn\u2019t tell how she was leaning but needed this to go my way.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll bet you my freedom.\u201d\n\nQuell looked at me, amused.\n\n\u201cSeriously. If I\u2019m wrong, I\u2019ll let you bust me.\u201d That was the second time I made her laugh.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll let me? I already busted you.\u201d\n\nI dropped the handcuffs. I picked the key when she brushed past me. \u201cI was going to save this until later, maybe the next time you left me in the car\u2026\u201d\n\nI unlocked the leg shackles, laid them on the desk, and leaned back against the wall. Quell already had her pistol on me.\n\n\u201cFor you it\u2019s a win\/win. If I\u2019m right, you take down the most notorious trafficker in the \u2018verse. If I\u2019m wrong, you get me. What do you say?\u201d\n* * * * *\nQuell was quiet for five minutes then laid down two rules. One, I couldn\u2019t have a weapon. Two, if I left her sight she would consider that an escape attempt, find me, and shoot me.\n\nNow, we were back in the stolen hover headed to the SSN News Archive to look at the uncompressed footage of Hannigan to try and pull an ID on Laser-burn. First, I had one request of my own: we go back to the police station. Most things I could part with, there was one in the trunk of her vehicle that I couldn\u2019t.\n\nQuell came within sight of the station and slowed the hover. There were cops everywhere assessing the destruction. Fortunately she had parked a little further down the block. So we walked. A couple of the cops eyeballed us as we passed.\n\n\u201cYou mind telling me what\u2019s so important?\u201d She hissed at me. \u201cFor all we know they could still be here. Watching.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll see.\u201d We got to her hover. She went to the trunk and opened it. Inside was the LR-620 and one of my bags. I opened the bag and pulled out the Vanduul blade. That piqued her curiosity.\n\n\u201cIs that what I think it is?\u201d\n\n\u201cYup.\u201d Sticking to Rule #1, I handed it to her. \u201cDon\u2019t lose it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thought only Vanduul could have these. Any other species would be marked and hunted.\u201d She stared entranced at the exquisite craftsmanship of the metalworking; refined, intricate, and elegant in its simplicity.\n\n\u201cSpecial exception.\u201d I glanced back at the station. A cop was watching us.\n\n\u201cI gotta hear this story.\u201d\n\n\u201cLater. We should motor.\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s amazing what some authority will give you. At the SSNtv News Archive, the second Quell showed her badge, every courtesy and accommodation was extended to us. I had a fantastic cup of tea while they dug up the original back-up chips from the camera.\n\n\u201cThis is amazing. I should have been a cop.\u201d I said, polishing off the cup. \u201cYou\u2019ve really turned me around here.\u201d\n\n\u201cPlease. You wouldn\u2019t have made it through training.\u201d Quell grinned.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve seen Advocacy training regiments. I can jog too.\u201d I motioned to the intern for another cup. Third time she laughed.\n\nThe extremely prim data manager hustled out of the back and apologized for the delay. He ushered us to a viewing bay. Sifting through the hours and hours of footage, we finally came to the moment of truth. With the uncompressed resolution, we could see the slight sweat on his brow. We\u2019ll get an ID easy.\n\nOn the screen, Hannigan finished, headed off-stage, and went out of frame.\n\nWe both looked at each other. Quell scanned back and played it again frame by frame. It was the exact same result.\n\nLaser-burn wasn\u2019t there.\n* * * * *\nWe raced back to the hotel to sort this out.\n\n\u201cSomeone implanted him into the Feed. Do you have any idea how difficult that is?\u201d I was rolling, my mind raced faster than the hover.\n\n\u201cWhoever accessed the SSN feed had to leave footprints. Which means we could track them, at least start to figure out who\u2019s pulling the strings here.\u201d Quell pondered it some more. \u201cHow are your System skills?\u201d\n\n\u201cDefinitely not at the level we need, but I got a guy I can contact.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan we trust him?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, he\u2019s a criminal so technically no, but we know they\u2019re tapped into Advocacy channels so we don\u2019t have a lot of options.\u201d\n\nBack at the room, I hit up Raj Benny. He used to be one of the best at cracking systems before he moved onto skulls. As luck would have it, he was doing some protection racket in the system and could be here the next morning.\n\n\u201cLook at this.\u201d Quell said and threw the hulk from the police station\u2019s record on the wallscreen. I scrolled through the data. It looked pretty much the same.\n\nPretty much.\n\nThere was one fact added, buried in the chronology of crimes. The file now said he served in the military in some obscure unit and was dishonorably discharged.\n\n\u201cHuh. That\u2019s weird.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot really.\u201d Quell said, a knowing smile on her face. She brought up another screen and sat back, waiting for me to be impressed. The unit he supposedly served in was one of the guard units assigned to a developing system. So that tied him to the Subcommittee of Development and Expansion, therefore, to Hannigan.\n\nQuell leapt up, invigorated, and went to the screen.\n\n\u201cThey\u2019re perfect puzzle pieces building a case that Hannigan is really Caro. Obscure enough that any investigator won\u2019t feel like they\u2019re being duped.\u201d\n\n\u201cOr a potential assassin with a vengeance for slavers.\u201d\n\n\u201cExactly.\u201d Quell turned and looked at me. \u201cThey wanted you to start digging and constructed this narrative for you to follow.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo who\u2019s at the end of this? Who wants Hannigan dead?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, now we know where to start looking. I mean, who\u2019s got a grudge against Hannigan?\u201d she said. I shook my head. This was unbelievable. She looked at me with a grin. \u201cLooks like you might lose that bet.\u201d\n\n\u201cLooks like.\u201d\n\nWe spent the night talking and diving into Hannigan\u2019s life. His political rivals. Contacts in the business world. Developers he might have crossed. Even his ex-wife. By the end, the list of potential suspects was long.\n\nThe sun peeked through the rusted roll-blinds when there was a knock on the door. Raj buzzed me as well with an all-clear. It was an old trick. Knock with no buzz means trouble.\n\nQuell got in plain-sight; hand on her gun, just in case.\n\nI opened the door. Raj shuffled inside. He looked like he hadn\u2019t slept since I saw him all the way back at the Covalex Shipping Hub. The second he saw Quell his hand immediately darted for his gun. I got between them.\n\n\u201cEasy Raj. She\u2019s level.\u201d I put my hands up. Quell did the same.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell, Ethan?\u201d He looked around suspiciously. \u201cYou running with Law now.\u201d\n\n\u201cTrust me. When you hear this\u2026\u201d I said. The Tevarin slowly relaxed. We explained it to him. Everything, the cloaked assassin, the trail to Fake-me, Laser-burn and Hannigan, Caro, the deception, everything.\n\nRaj listened, shaking his head in disbelief a couple times in the beginning. He stopped shaking near the end.\n\n\u201cSo we need you to find out who accessed the feed. Trace it back to a terminal or even better a name.\u201d I said.\n\n\u201cCan you do it?\u201d Quell chimed in.\n\n\u201cMaybe.\u201d Raj thought about it. \u201cI might be a little rusty.\u201d\n\nQuell set up her system and Raj set to work. We sat on the bed and waited. About an hour passed.\n\n\u201cThe report on this case is going to be a nightmare.\u201d She finally said with a groan.\n\n\u201cMaybe you should switch to life of a crime? Very little paperwork.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll think about it.\u201d She smiled. Another few moments passed, she got up and went into the bathroom.\n\n\u201cHey Ethan,\u201d Raj mumbled, \u201cCheck this out.\u201d\n\nHe moved out of the chair so I could sit down. I looked at the screen. He had all the files collated into a single directory.\n\nAnd was deleting them.\n\nI barely felt the needle slip into my skin. A cool numb feeling quickly expanded through my system. My body crumpled before I could react. Raj caught me and laid me on the ground.\n\n\u201cYou couldn\u2019t just play along like the predictable little rage-monkey you are.\u201d He whispered.\n\nI heard the toilet flush. No.\n\nRaj smiled at me and drew a pistol. My pistol. The one I lost at the landing park. I strained to move. To scream. To do something.\n\nRaj calmly walked by the bathroom door. She was fast. Much faster than Raj. She could get him. I only needed to warn her somehow.\n\nThe door opened. Raina Quell walked out drying her hands.\n\nNo.\n\nRaj shot her in the back of the head. She never saw it coming. Her body stood there for a second. Shocked. She hit the dirty carpet looking right into my eyes.\n\nI saw the life leave her.\n\nRaj opened the door. Laser-burn and a couple other thugs entered.\n\n\u201cMake sure she\u2019s found.\u201d Raj handed off my pistol to the thugs and looked down at me. \u201cLooks like you just executed a decorated Advocacy Agent, Ethan.\u201d\n\n. . . to be continued","de_DE":"Einige Blocks von der Polizeistation entfernt, wartete Quell geduldig, w\u00e4hrend ich in einen Schwebezustand einbrach. Ich habe ein \u00e4lteres Modell gefunden, also w\u00fcrde ich keine Cracker brauchen, nur altmodische Werkzeuge.\n\n\"Ich hoffe, das wird nicht in die Geb\u00fchrenliste aufgenommen.\" sagte ich und \u00f6ffnete das Schloss.\n\n\"Ich habe mich noch nicht entschieden.\" Sie hielt Ausschau nach den Killern.\n\n\"Ich sage nur, das k\u00f6nnte als Falle gelten.\" sagte ich, als ich an der Z\u00fcndung arbeitete. \"Wei\u00dft du, das geht ohne die Fesseln vielleicht etwas schneller.\"\n\n\"Nun, das Leben ist unfair.\"\n\nZwei Minuten sp\u00e4ter sprudelte der Motor zu einem Start.\n\nQuell bekam das billigste Zimmer in der billigsten Absteige. Auf dem Kopfteil des Bettes befanden sich Flecken von getrocknetem Blut. Die Rollos am Fenster wurden verrostet. Es stank nach feuchtem, faulendem Gewebe. Ich wollte nichts anfassen.\n\n\"K\u00f6nntest du dir kein besseres Zimmer w\u00fcnschen?\" Ich schaute ins Badezimmer, mehr aus krankhafter Neugierde als aus allem anderen. Es war nicht entt\u00e4uschend.\n\n\"Es ist unauff\u00e4llig.\"\n\n\"Ein Ort mit Klempnern auch. Es gibt viele davon.\"\n\nQuell schaltete den Wandschirm ein und scrollte, bis sie die Nachricht fand. Sie machten einen Beitrag \u00fcber die kommende Sataball-Saison, also ging sie an den Schreibtisch. Ich habe etwas Mist von einem Stuhl gefegt und ihn von ihr r\u00fcbergeschleppt.\n\nSie schaltete das Licht ein und untersuchte das Abzeichen, das sie vom K\u00f6rper des Rumpfes zog. Es sah f\u00fcr mich ziemlich offiziell aus, aber andererseits habe ich es geschafft, sie nicht aus der N\u00e4he betrachten zu m\u00fcssen.\n\n\"Siehst du? Er hat Leute in deinem eigenen B\u00fcro.\"\n\n\"Es ist eine F\u00e4lschung.\" sagte sie ohne zu z\u00f6gern. Sie w\u00e4hlte die verschl\u00fcsselten Chips aus, die in das Badge integriert waren, um den Agenten zu autorisieren, Sicherheitsprotokolle zu umgehen. Es waren Aufkleber. \"Und eine der schlampigeren, die ich auch gesehen habe. Jemand hat das in Eile getan.\"\n\n\"Sch\u00f6n, sie waren keine schmutzigen Advocacy-Agenten. Hannigan wusste immer noch, dass du mich zum Bahnhof bringst, und hat sich nur ein paar Schl\u00e4ger angezogen, um die Tat zu vollbringen.\"\n\n\"Oder es k\u00f6nnte jeder andere Verbrecher gewesen sein, den du in der Vergangenheit \u00fcberquert hast. Vielleicht jemand mit einem guten Tapper auf der Gehaltsliste, der auf Polizeifirmen zugreifen kann.\" Sie lehnte sich zur\u00fcck und sah mich misstrauisch an.\n\n\"Denk dar\u00fcber nach. Hannigan ist Mitglied des Unterkomitees f\u00fcr Entwicklung und Expansion, was bedeutet, dass er Zugang zu Planeten voller undokumentierter Arbeit hat. Er hat den politischen Saft, um die imperialen Ermittlungen zu kontrollieren und zu manipulieren. Das erkl\u00e4rt, warum Caro so schwer fassbar war wie er.\"\n\n\"Ich wei\u00df nicht. Die Politiker-Mondbeleuchtung als kriminelles Superhirn scheint mir zu weit hergeholt.\"\n\n\"Sind sie nicht eins im Gleichen?\"\n\nRaina Quell lachte tats\u00e4chlich. Sie hat das Foto des Schiffsrumpfes von der ID \u00fcberpr\u00fcft. Er hatte eine Vorgeschichte, eine lange auch. Piraterie, K\u00f6rperverletzung, Auftragsmord, er war ein facettenreicher Muskel, aber nichts, was ihn an Hannigan band. Zeit, die gro\u00dfen Kanonen rauszuholen.\n\n\"Hat dieser Bildschirm einen R\u00fcckruf?\" sagte ich und bewegte mich auf den Wandschirm.\n\n\"Ich wei\u00df nicht, wahrscheinlich.\"\n\n\"Ein sch\u00f6neres Zimmer w\u00fcrde es tun.\" Ich st\u00fcrzte an ihr vorbei, um auf den Bildschirm zu kommen.\n\n\"Fallen lassen.\" Sie starrte mich an.\n\nIch ging zum SSNewsFeed-Archiv, brachte die Berichterstattung \u00fcber Hannigans Rede zur Sprache und verbesserte Bild f\u00fcr Bild, bis ich Laser-Burn sah.\n\n\"Das ist der Typ. Er hat den Schlepper im Landepark angegriffen, der sagte, er k\u00f6nnte Caro belasten.\"\n\nQuell trat auf den Bildschirm, um einen guten Blick auf ihn zu werfen. Sie lehnte sich ein wenig n\u00e4her heran, um das Durcheinander der Pixel zu betrachten. \"Die Vorschub-Kompression ist zu dick, um eine ID zu ziehen.\"\n\nSie wog meine Geschichte ab. Ich konnte nicht sagen, wie sie sich lehnte, aber ich brauchte das, um meinen Weg zu gehen.\n\n\"Ich wette um meine Freiheit.\"\n\nQuell sah mich am\u00fcsiert an.\n\n\"Im Ernst. Wenn ich falsch liege, lasse ich mich von dir verhaften.\" Das war das zweite Mal, dass ich sie zum Lachen brachte.\n\n\"Du l\u00e4sst mich? Ich habe dich bereits erwischt.\"\n\nIch lie\u00df die Handschellen fallen. Ich w\u00e4hlte den Schl\u00fcssel, als sie an mir vorbeikam. \"Ich wollte das f\u00fcr sp\u00e4ter aufbewahren, vielleicht das n\u00e4chste Mal, wenn du mich im Auto gelassen hast....\"\n\nIch \u00f6ffnete die Beinfesseln, legte sie auf den Schreibtisch und lehnte mich zur\u00fcck an die Wand. Quell hatte bereits ihre Pistole auf mich gerichtet.\n\n\"F\u00fcr dich ist es ein Gewinn\/Gewinn. Wenn ich Recht habe, nimmst du den ber\u00fcchtigsten Schlepper im Vers zur Strecke. Wenn ich falsch liege, verstehst du mich. Was sagst du dazu?\"\n* * * * *\nQuell war f\u00fcnf Minuten lang ruhig und legte dann zwei Regeln fest. Erstens, ich konnte keine Waffe haben. Zweitens, wenn ich sie aus den Augen verlasse, w\u00fcrde sie das als einen Fluchtversuch betrachten, mich finden und erschie\u00dfen.\n\nNun waren wir wieder im gestohlenen Schwebezustand, der zum SSN-Nachrichtenarchiv f\u00fchrte, um uns das unkomprimierte Material von Hannigan anzusehen, um zu versuchen, eine ID f\u00fcr Laser-Burn zu finden. Zuerst hatte ich eine eigene Bitte: Wir gehen zur\u00fcck zur Polizeiwache. Die meisten Dinge, von denen ich mich trennen konnte, gab es im Kofferraum ihres Fahrzeugs, die ich nicht konnte.\n\nQuell kam in Sichtweite der Station und verlangsamte den Schwebeflug. \u00dcberall waren Polizisten, die die Zerst\u00f6rung beurteilten. Gl\u00fccklicherweise hatte sie ein wenig weiter unten am Block geparkt. Also gingen wir zu Fu\u00df. Ein paar Polizisten starrten uns an, als wir vorbeikamen.\n\n\"W\u00fcrde es dir was ausmachen, mir zu sagen, was so wichtig ist?\" Sie zischte mich an. \"Soweit wir wissen, k\u00f6nnten sie noch hier sein. Ich schaue zu.\"\n\n\"Du wirst sehen.\" Wir kamen zu ihrem Schwebezustand. Sie ging zum Kofferraum und \u00f6ffnete ihn. Im Inneren befand sich das LR-620 und eine meiner Taschen. Ich \u00f6ffnete die Tasche und zog die Vanduul-Klinge heraus. Das weckte ihre Neugierde.\n\n\"Ist es das, was ich denke, was es ist?\"\n\n\" Jawohl.\" Ich hielt mich an Regel #1 und gab sie ihr. \"Verliere es nicht.\"\n\n\"Ich dachte, nur Vanduul k\u00f6nnte das haben. Alle anderen Arten werden markiert und gejagt.\" Sie starrte verzaubert auf die exquisite Handwerkskunst der Metallverarbeitung; raffiniert, kompliziert und elegant in ihrer Einfachheit.\n\n\"Besondere Ausnahme.\" Ich blickte zur\u00fcck auf den Bahnhof. Ein Polizist beobachtete uns.\n\n\"Ich muss diese Geschichte h\u00f6ren.\"\n\n\"Bis sp\u00e4ter. Wir sollten fahren.\"\n\nEs ist erstaunlich, was eine Autorit\u00e4t dir geben wird. Im SSNtv Nachrichtenarchiv zeigte die zweite Quelle ihr Abzeichen, jede H\u00f6flichkeit und Unterkunft wurde uns gew\u00e4hrt. Ich hatte eine fantastische Tasse Tee, w\u00e4hrend sie die originalen Backup-Chips aus der Kamera ausgruben.\n\n\"Das ist unglaublich. Ich h\u00e4tte Polizist werden sollen.\" sagte ich und polierte die Tasse ab. \"Du hast mich hier wirklich umgedreht.\"\n\n\"Bitte. Du h\u00e4ttest es nicht durchs Training geschafft.\" Quell grinste.\n\n\"Ich habe gesehen, wie Advocacy Regimenter trainiert hat. Ich kann auch joggen.\" Ich bewegte mich zum Assistenten f\u00fcr eine weitere Tasse. Zum dritten Mal lachte sie.\n\nDer extrem primitive Datenmanager st\u00fcrmte aus dem Hintergrund und entschuldigte sich f\u00fcr die Verz\u00f6gerung. Er f\u00fchrte uns in eine Aussichtsbucht. Beim Durchsehen der Stunden und Stunden des Filmmaterials kamen wir schlie\u00dflich zum Moment der Wahrheit. Mit der unkomprimierten Aufl\u00f6sung konnten wir den leichten Schwei\u00df auf seiner Stirn sehen. Wir holen uns einfach eine ID.\n\nAuf dem Bildschirm beendete Hannigan die Vorstellung, ging von der B\u00fchne weg und verlie\u00df den Rahmen.\n\nWir sahen uns beide an. Quell scannte zur\u00fcck und spielte es Bild f\u00fcr Bild wieder ab. Es war genau das gleiche Ergebnis.\n\nLaserbrand war nicht da.\n* * * * *\nWir fuhren zur\u00fcck zum Hotel, um das zu kl\u00e4ren.\n\n\"Jemand hat ihn in das Feed implantiert. Hast du eine Ahnung, wie schwierig das ist?\" Ich rollte, mein Verstand raste schneller als der Hover.\n\n\"Wer auch immer auf die SSN-Feed zugegriffen hat, musste Fu\u00dfspuren hinterlassen. Was bedeutet, dass wir sie aufsp\u00fcren k\u00f6nnen, um wenigstens herauszufinden, wer hier die F\u00e4den zieht.\" Quell dachte noch etwas dar\u00fcber nach. \"Wie sind deine Systemkenntnisse?\"\n\n\"Definitiv nicht auf dem Niveau, das wir brauchen, aber ich habe einen Kerl, den ich kontaktieren kann.\"\n\n\"K\u00f6nnen wir ihm vertrauen?\"\n\n\"Nun, er ist ein Krimineller, also technisch gesehen nicht, aber wir wissen, dass sie in die Advocacy-Kan\u00e4le eingespeist werden, so dass wir nicht viele M\u00f6glichkeiten haben.\"\n\nZur\u00fcck im Zimmer, habe ich Raj Benny angefahren. Er war einer der Besten im Knacken von Systemen, bevor er sich auf Sch\u00e4del bewegte. Wie der Zufall es wollte, machte er einen Schutzrausch im System und konnte am n\u00e4chsten Morgen hier sein.\n\n\"Sieh dir das an.\" Quell sagte und warf den Schiffsrumpf aus der Akte der Polizeiwache auf den Wandschirm. Ich scrollte durch die Daten. Es sah ziemlich gleich aus.\n\nSo ungef\u00e4hr.\n\nEs wurde eine Tatsache hinzugef\u00fcgt, die in der Chronologie der Verbrechen vergraben ist. Die Akte sagte nun, dass er beim Milit\u00e4r in einer obskuren Einheit diente und unehrenhaft entlassen wurde.\n\n\"Huh. Das ist seltsam.\"\n\n\"Nicht wirklich.\" sagte Quell, ein wissendes L\u00e4cheln auf ihrem Gesicht. Sie brachte eine weitere Leinwand hoch, lehnte sich zur\u00fcck und wartete darauf, dass ich beeindruckt war. Die Einheit, in der er angeblich diente, war eine der Wacheinheiten, die einem Entwicklungssystem zugeordnet war. Damit war er an den Unterausschuss f\u00fcr Entwicklung und Expansion, also an Hannigan gebunden.\n\nQuell sprang auf, belebte sich und ging zum Bildschirm.\n\n\"Es sind perfekte Puzzleteile, die einen Fall bilden, dass Hannigan wirklich Caro ist. Es ist so dunkel, dass sich ein Ermittler nicht das Gef\u00fchl hat, get\u00e4uscht zu werden.\"\n\n\"Oder ein potenzieller Attent\u00e4ter mit einer Rache f\u00fcr Sklavenh\u00e4ndler.\"\n\n\"Genau.\" Quell drehte sich um und sah mich an. \"Sie wollten, dass du anf\u00e4ngst zu graben und bauten diese Geschichte, der du folgen kannst.\"\n\n\"Also, wer ist am Ende der Sache? Wer will Hannigan tot sehen?\"\n\n\"Nun, jetzt wissen wir, wo wir anfangen sollen zu suchen. Ich meine, wer hat einen Groll gegen Hannigan?\", sagte sie. Ich sch\u00fcttelte den Kopf. Das war unglaublich. Sie sah mich mit einem Grinsen an. \"Sieht so aus, als ob du diese Wette verlieren k\u00f6nntest.\"\n\n\"Sieht so aus.\"\n\nWir verbrachten die Nacht im Gespr\u00e4ch und tauchten in Hannigans Leben ein. Seine politischen Rivalen. Kontakte in der Gesch\u00e4ftswelt. Entwickler, die er vielleicht \u00fcberschritten hat. Sogar seine Ex-Frau. Am Ende war die Liste der potenziellen Verd\u00e4chtigen lang.\n\nDie Sonne blickte durch die rostigen Rollos, als es an der T\u00fcr klopfte. Raj hat mich auch mit einer Entwarnung begeistert. Es war ein alter Trick. Klopfen ohne Begeisterung bedeutet \u00c4rger.\n\nQuell kam in Sichtweite; Hand auf ihre Waffe, nur f\u00fcr den Fall.\n\nIch \u00f6ffnete die T\u00fcr. Raj schlurfte innerlich. Er sah aus, als h\u00e4tte er nicht geschlafen, seit ich ihn den ganzen Weg zur\u00fcck am Covalex Shipping Hub gesehen habe. In der Sekunde, in der er Quell sah, warf seine Hand sofort nach seiner Waffe. Ich habe mich zwischen sie gestellt.\n\n\"Vorsichtig, Raj. Sie ist auf gleicher H\u00f6he.\" Ich nahm meine H\u00e4nde hoch. Quell tat das Gleiche.\n\n\"Was zum Teufel, Ethan?\" Er sah sich misstrauisch um. \"Du f\u00e4hrst jetzt mit Law.\"\n\n\"Vertrau mir. Wenn du das h\u00f6rst....\" sagte ich. Der Tevarin entspannte sich langsam. Wir haben es ihm erkl\u00e4rt. Alles, der getarnte Attent\u00e4ter, die Spur zu Fake-me, Laser-burn und Hannigan, Caro, die T\u00e4uschung, alles.\n\nRaj h\u00f6rte zu und sch\u00fcttelte am Anfang ein paar Mal ungl\u00e4ubig den Kopf. Er h\u00f6rte gegen Ende auf zu zittern.\n\n\"Also m\u00fcssen Sie herausfinden, wer auf den Feed zugegriffen hat. Verfolgen Sie es bis zu einem Terminal oder besser noch einem Namen zur\u00fcck.\" sagte ich.\n\n\"Schaffst du es?\" Quell schlug ein.\n\n\" Vielleicht.\" Raj dachte dar\u00fcber nach. \"Ich bin vielleicht etwas eingerostet.\"\n\nQuell richtete ihr System ein und Raj machte sich an die Arbeit. Wir sa\u00dfen auf dem Bett und warteten. Etwa eine Stunde verging.\n\n\"Der Bericht \u00fcber diesen Fall wird ein Alptraum werden.\" sagte sie schlie\u00dflich mit einem St\u00f6hnen.\n\n\"Vielleicht solltest du in das Leben eines Verbrechens wechseln? Sehr wenig Papierkram.\"\n\n\"Ich werde dar\u00fcber nachdenken.\" Sie l\u00e4chelte. Ein paar Augenblicke vergingen, sie stand auf und ging ins Badezimmer.\n\n\"Hey Ethan\", murmelte Raj, \"Schau dir das an.\"\n\nEr bewegte sich aus dem Stuhl, damit ich mich setzen konnte. Ich sah auf den Bildschirm. Er lie\u00df alle Dateien in einem einzigen Verzeichnis zusammenstellen.\n\nUnd war dabei, sie zu l\u00f6schen.\n\nIch f\u00fchlte kaum, wie die Nadel in meine Haut glitt. Ein k\u00fchles taubes Gef\u00fchl breitete sich schnell durch mein System aus. Mein K\u00f6rper zerknitterte, bevor ich reagieren konnte. Raj erwischte mich und legte mich auf den Boden.\n\n\"Du konntest nicht einfach so mitspielen wie der vorhersehbare kleine Wut-Affe, der du bist.\" fl\u00fcsterte er.\n\nIch habe die Toilettensp\u00fclung geh\u00f6rt. Nein.\n\nRaj l\u00e4chelte mich an und zog eine Pistole. Meine Pistole. Die, die ich auf dem Landeplatz verloren habe. Ich habe mich bem\u00fcht, mich zu bewegen. Zu schreien. Um etwas zu tun.\n\nRaj ging ruhig durch die Badezimmert\u00fcr. Sie war schnell. Viel schneller als Raj. Sie k\u00f6nnte ihn kriegen. Ich musste sie nur irgendwie warnen.\n\nDie T\u00fcr \u00f6ffnete sich. Raina Quell ging hinaus und trocknete ihre H\u00e4nde.\n\nNein.\n\nRaj schoss ihr in den Hinterkopf. Sie hat es nie kommen sehen. Ihr K\u00f6rper stand eine Sekunde lang da. Schockiert. Sie traf den schmutzigen Teppich und schaute mir direkt in die Augen.\n\nIch sah, wie das Leben sie verlie\u00df.\n\nRaj \u00f6ffnete die T\u00fcr. Laserverbrennung und ein paar andere Schl\u00e4ger kamen hinzu.\n\n\"Stell sicher, dass sie gefunden wird.\" Raj reichte den Schl\u00e4gern meine Pistole und sah auf mich herab. \"Sieht so aus, als h\u00e4tten Sie gerade einen dekorierten Advocacy-Agenten hingerichtet, Ethan.\"\n\n\n\n\n. ... wird fortgesetzt","zh_CN":"Several blocks away from the police station, Quell waited patiently while I broke into a hover. I found an older model so I wouldn\u2019t need any crackers just old-fashioned tools.\n\n\u201cI hope this isn\u2019t going to be added to the list of charges.\u201d I said and popped the lock.\n\n\u201cI haven\u2019t decided yet.\u201d She kept an eye out for the hitters.\n\n\u201cJust saying, this might qualify as entrapment.\u201d I said as I worked on the ignition. \u201cYou know, this might go a little quicker without the shackles.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, life\u2019s unfair.\u201d\n\nTwo minutes later the engine sputtered to a start.\n\nQuell got the cheapest room in the cheapest flophouse. There were specks of dried blood on the headboard of the bed. The roll-blinds on the window were rusted shut. It reeked of damp rotten fabric. I didn\u2019t want to touch anything.\n\n\u201cYou couldn\u2019t spring for a better room?\u201d I peeked into the bathroom, more out of morbid curiosity than anything. It did not disappoint.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s low profile.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo\u2019s a place with plumbing. There are a lot of those around.\u201d\n\nQuell turned on the wallscreen and scrolled until she found the news. They were doing a segment on the upcoming Sataball season so she went to the desk. I swept some crap off a chair and dragged it over by her.\n\nShe flipped on the light and examined the badge she pulled off the hulk\u2019s body. It looked pretty official to me but, then again, I\u2019ve managed to avoid having to look at them up close.\n\n\u201cSee? He\u2019s got people in your own bureau.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a fake.\u201d She said without hesitation. She picked at the encoded chips, incorporated into the badge to authorize the agent to bypass security protocols. They were stickers. \u201cAnd one of the sloppier ones I\u2019ve seen too. Someone did this in a rush.\u201d\n\n\u201cFine, they weren\u2019t dirty Advocacy Agents. Hannigan still knew you were taking me to that station and just dressed up some thugs to do the deed.\u201d\n\n\u201cOr it could have been any other criminal you\u2019ve crossed in the past. Maybe someone with a good Tapper on their payroll who could access police bands.\u201d She sat back and eyed me suspiciously.\n\n\u201cThink about it. Hannigan is on the Subcommittee for Development & Expansion, which means he\u2019s got access to planets full of undocumented labor. He\u2019s got the political juice to keep tabs and manipulate Imperial investigations. It explains why Caro has been as elusive as he has been.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know. The politician-moonlighting-as-criminal-mastermind thing seems too far-fetched to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cAren\u2019t they one in the same?\u201d\n\nRaina Quell actually laughed. She ran the hulk\u2019s photo from the ID. He had a record, a lengthy one too. Piracy, assault, murder-for-hire, he was multi-faceted muscle but nothing that tied him to Hannigan. Time to pull out the big guns.\n\n\u201cDoes this screen have Recall?\u201d I said, motioning to the wallscreen.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know, probably.\u201d\n\n\u201cA nicer room would.\u201d I brushed past her to get to the screen.\n\n\u201cDrop it.\u201d She glared at me.\n\nI went to the SSNewsFeed Archive, brought up the coverage of Hannigan\u2019s speech, and advanced frame by frame until I saw Laser-burn.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s the guy. He clipped the trafficker in the landing park who said he could implicate Caro.\u201d\n\nQuell stepped up to the screen to get a good look at him. She leaned in a little closer to look at the mess of pixels. \u201cThe feed-compression\u2019s too thick to pull an ID.\u201d\n\nShe was weighing my story. I couldn\u2019t tell how she was leaning but needed this to go my way.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll bet you my freedom.\u201d\n\nQuell looked at me, amused.\n\n\u201cSeriously. If I\u2019m wrong, I\u2019ll let you bust me.\u201d That was the second time I made her laugh.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll let me? I already busted you.\u201d\n\nI dropped the handcuffs. I picked the key when she brushed past me. \u201cI was going to save this until later, maybe the next time you left me in the car\u2026\u201d\n\nI unlocked the leg shackles, laid them on the desk, and leaned back against the wall. Quell already had her pistol on me.\n\n\u201cFor you it\u2019s a win\/win. If I\u2019m right, you take down the most notorious trafficker in the \u2018verse. If I\u2019m wrong, you get me. What do you say?\u201d\n* * * * *\nQuell was quiet for five minutes then laid down two rules. One, I couldn\u2019t have a weapon. Two, if I left her sight she would consider that an escape attempt, find me, and shoot me.\n\nNow, we were back in the stolen hover headed to the SSN News Archive to look at the uncompressed footage of Hannigan to try and pull an ID on Laser-burn. First, I had one request of my own: we go back to the police station. Most things I could part with, there was one in the trunk of her vehicle that I couldn\u2019t.\n\nQuell came within sight of the station and slowed the hover. There were cops everywhere assessing the destruction. Fortunately she had parked a little further down the block. So we walked. A couple of the cops eyeballed us as we passed.\n\n\u201cYou mind telling me what\u2019s so important?\u201d She hissed at me. \u201cFor all we know they could still be here. Watching.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ll see.\u201d We got to her hover. She went to the trunk and opened it. Inside was the LR-620 and one of my bags. I opened the bag and pulled out the Vanduul blade. That piqued her curiosity.\n\n\u201cIs that what I think it is?\u201d\n\n\u201cYup.\u201d Sticking to Rule #1, I handed it to her. \u201cDon\u2019t lose it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thought only Vanduul could have these. Any other species would be marked and hunted.\u201d She stared entranced at the exquisite craftsmanship of the metalworking; refined, intricate, and elegant in its simplicity.\n\n\u201cSpecial exception.\u201d I glanced back at the station. A cop was watching us.\n\n\u201cI gotta hear this story.\u201d\n\n\u201cLater. We should motor.\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s amazing what some authority will give you. At the SSNtv News Archive, the second Quell showed her badge, every courtesy and accommodation was extended to us. I had a fantastic cup of tea while they dug up the original back-up chips from the camera.\n\n\u201cThis is amazing. I should have been a cop.\u201d I said, polishing off the cup. \u201cYou\u2019ve really turned me around here.\u201d\n\n\u201cPlease. You wouldn\u2019t have made it through training.\u201d Quell grinned.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve seen Advocacy training regiments. I can jog too.\u201d I motioned to the intern for another cup. Third time she laughed.\n\nThe extremely prim data manager hustled out of the back and apologized for the delay. He ushered us to a viewing bay. Sifting through the hours and hours of footage, we finally came to the moment of truth. With the uncompressed resolution, we could see the slight sweat on his brow. We\u2019ll get an ID easy.\n\nOn the screen, Hannigan finished, headed off-stage, and went out of frame.\n\nWe both looked at each other. Quell scanned back and played it again frame by frame. It was the exact same result.\n\nLaser-burn wasn\u2019t there.\n* * * * *\nWe raced back to the hotel to sort this out.\n\n\u201cSomeone implanted him into the Feed. Do you have any idea how difficult that is?\u201d I was rolling, my mind raced faster than the hover.\n\n\u201cWhoever accessed the SSN feed had to leave footprints. Which means we could track them, at least start to figure out who\u2019s pulling the strings here.\u201d Quell pondered it some more. \u201cHow are your System skills?\u201d\n\n\u201cDefinitely not at the level we need, but I got a guy I can contact.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan we trust him?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, he\u2019s a criminal so technically no, but we know they\u2019re tapped into Advocacy channels so we don\u2019t have a lot of options.\u201d\n\nBack at the room, I hit up Raj Benny. He used to be one of the best at cracking systems before he moved onto skulls. As luck would have it, he was doing some protection racket in the system and could be here the next morning.\n\n\u201cLook at this.\u201d Quell said and threw the hulk from the police station\u2019s record on the wallscreen. I scrolled through the data. It looked pretty much the same.\n\nPretty much.\n\nThere was one fact added, buried in the chronology of crimes. The file now said he served in the military in some obscure unit and was dishonorably discharged.\n\n\u201cHuh. That\u2019s weird.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot really.\u201d Quell said, a knowing smile on her face. She brought up another screen and sat back, waiting for me to be impressed. The unit he supposedly served in was one of the guard units assigned to a developing system. So that tied him to the Subcommittee of Development and Expansion, therefore, to Hannigan.\n\nQuell leapt up, invigorated, and went to the screen.\n\n\u201cThey\u2019re perfect puzzle pieces building a case that Hannigan is really Caro. Obscure enough that any investigator won\u2019t feel like they\u2019re being duped.\u201d\n\n\u201cOr a potential assassin with a vengeance for slavers.\u201d\n\n\u201cExactly.\u201d Quell turned and looked at me. \u201cThey wanted you to start digging and constructed this narrative for you to follow.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo who\u2019s at the end of this? Who wants Hannigan dead?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, now we know where to start looking. I mean, who\u2019s got a grudge against Hannigan?\u201d she said. I shook my head. This was unbelievable. She looked at me with a grin. \u201cLooks like you might lose that bet.\u201d\n\n\u201cLooks like.\u201d\n\nWe spent the night talking and diving into Hannigan\u2019s life. His political rivals. Contacts in the business world. Developers he might have crossed. Even his ex-wife. By the end, the list of potential suspects was long.\n\nThe sun peeked through the rusted roll-blinds when there was a knock on the door. Raj buzzed me as well with an all-clear. It was an old trick. Knock with no buzz means trouble.\n\nQuell got in plain-sight; hand on her gun, just in case.\n\nI opened the door. Raj shuffled inside. He looked like he hadn\u2019t slept since I saw him all the way back at the Covalex Shipping Hub. The second he saw Quell his hand immediately darted for his gun. I got between them.\n\n\u201cEasy Raj. She\u2019s level.\u201d I put my hands up. Quell did the same.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell, Ethan?\u201d He looked around suspiciously. \u201cYou running with Law now.\u201d\n\n\u201cTrust me. When you hear this\u2026\u201d I said. The Tevarin slowly relaxed. We explained it to him. Everything, the cloaked assassin, the trail to Fake-me, Laser-burn and Hannigan, Caro, the deception, everything.\n\nRaj listened, shaking his head in disbelief a couple times in the beginning. He stopped shaking near the end.\n\n\u201cSo we need you to find out who accessed the feed. Trace it back to a terminal or even better a name.\u201d I said.\n\n\u201cCan you do it?\u201d Quell chimed in.\n\n\u201cMaybe.\u201d Raj thought about it. \u201cI might be a little rusty.\u201d\n\nQuell set up her system and Raj set to work. We sat on the bed and waited. About an hour passed.\n\n\u201cThe report on this case is going to be a nightmare.\u201d She finally said with a groan.\n\n\u201cMaybe you should switch to life of a crime? Very little paperwork.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll think about it.\u201d She smiled. Another few moments passed, she got up and went into the bathroom.\n\n\u201cHey Ethan,\u201d Raj mumbled, \u201cCheck this out.\u201d\n\nHe moved out of the chair so I could sit down. I looked at the screen. He had all the files collated into a single directory.\n\nAnd was deleting them.\n\nI barely felt the needle slip into my skin. A cool numb feeling quickly expanded through my system. My body crumpled before I could react. Raj caught me and laid me on the ground.\n\n\u201cYou couldn\u2019t just play along like the predictable little rage-monkey you are.\u201d He whispered.\n\nI heard the toilet flush. No.\n\nRaj smiled at me and drew a pistol. My pistol. The one I lost at the landing park. I strained to move. To scream. To do something.\n\nRaj calmly walked by the bathroom door. She was fast. Much faster than Raj. She could get him. I only needed to warn her somehow.\n\nThe door opened. Raina Quell walked out drying her hands.\n\nNo.\n\nRaj shot her in the back of the head. She never saw it coming. Her body stood there for a second. Shocked. She hit the dirty carpet looking right into my eyes.\n\nI saw the life leave her.\n\nRaj opened the door. Laser-burn and a couple other thugs entered.\n\n\u201cMake sure she\u2019s found.\u201d Raj handed off my pistol to the thugs and looked down at me. \u201cLooks like you just executed a decorated Advocacy Agent, Ethan.\u201d\n\n. . . to be continued"},"links_count":0,"comment_count":87,"created_at":"2012-12-17T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"13 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-08 10:49:10","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":12836,"next_id":12838}}