{"data":{"id":12898,"title":"The Lost Generation: Issue #6","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/spectrum-dispatch\/12898-The-Lost-Generation-Issue-6","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/12898","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/12898","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"The Lost Generation","images":[{"id":248,"name":"TonyaOrielSerial_FI_1_Crop.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/f2lyrm83u0tc8r\/source\/TonyaOrielSerial_FI_1_Crop.jpg","alt":"","size":680902,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2013-07-19T05:26:08+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/248","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/248\/similar"}],"images_count":1,"translations":{"en_EN":"Tonya sat quietly in the pilot\u2019s chair. She wasn\u2019t piloting though. The ship maneuvered on its own as the system screens cycled through minute engine and power adjustments.\n\nOne point in her favor, Nagia and his gang weren\u2019t on her scanners anymore. Second point, Janus hadn\u2019t popped the \u2019lock and flushed her out into space \u2026 yet.\n\nIt had been quiet for about ten minutes. She didn\u2019t want to disturb it. Suddenly all the screens stopped cycling.\n\n\u201cI have finished consolidating my amended code with your systems,\u201d the digitized voice said over the speaker.\n\n\u201cUm, okay.\u201d Tonya wasn\u2019t sure what that meant.\n\n\u201cI am now current on our society\u2019s progress over the last seven hundred years,\u201d the voice said from another speaker.\n\nOur? Tonya decided not to pry. Not with the airlock-scenario fresh on her mind. \u201cOh yeah?\u201d was all she could come up with.\n\n\u201cThe current sociopolitical climate of the UEE is troubling. Perhaps we could debate solutions.\u201d\n\n\u201cMaybe later.\u201d Tonya grew a little bolder. \u201cI assume you know that I\u2019m looking for the Artemis.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I apologize. I have just been on a seven-hundred-year simulation and was merely looking for healthy dialectic.\u201d A tense few seconds passed. \u201cWe may discuss the Artemis.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat happened in the sim?\u201d\n\n\u201cBefore continuing you should acknowledge that my responses and courses of action taken during the simulation may have differed from the Original Janus.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I understand.\u201d\n\n\u201cI was still attempting to fulfill my secondary objective when the simulation ended. Passenger capacity was at ninety-eight percent.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat happened to the other two percent?\u201d Tonya hoped that the explanation didn\u2019t involve raging AI\u2019s or airlocks.\n\n\u201cThe repairs in what you call Stanton System forced me to awaken several members of the engineering crew to fix it. Unfortunately, the planet\u2019s environment was too dangerous to enact enduring repairs so we had to relocate.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou went to another planet?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhich one?\u201d\n\nThe screen nearest Tonya switched to display the Artemis-sim\u2019s navdata, a line leading from Stanton System through a patch of unknown space and ultimately stopping in another system. She comped a current starmap over the position, and enlarged the display. It centered on a planet in a known system.\n\n\u201cOso System,\u201d Tonya whispered. The thrill of the hunt hummed through her body. She grinned and took the controls to plot a course.\n\nBut nothing worked.\n\n\u201cHey Janus, could I fly?\u201d\n\nThere was a long pause.\n\n\u201cNo.\u201d\n\n\n* * * *\n\n\nThe UEE Subcommittee for Development & Expansion classified Oso as a Developing System, which meant, very simply, that life was discovered on one of the worlds (Oso II) and it was to be allowed to develop at its own pace without \u2018outside\u2019 interference. A hundred years ago, the UEE prided itself on the vigil it maintained to protect the sanctity of this system. Entire wings of fighters would patrol and escort any traffic. After the Synthworld, most of those resources slowly began to dry up. Restrictions on travel were loosened, but venture too close to Oso II and you still risked missile lock at best, destruction at worst.\n\nNowadays, a skeleton crew of ragtag military burnouts maintained the system. Tonya figured they could be bribed. All the two-bit idiots selling flo-pets lifted fresh from Kallis System were proof of that. She just didn\u2019t know how to initiate that sort of thing, and attempting to bribe a government agent was not the easiest charge to dodge if she happened to find an honest one.\n\nBesides, she suspected she couldn\u2019t afford the bribe anyway and she wasn\u2019t going to risk calling Arlington or any of his assistants.\n\nTonya was not thrilled about her new pilot so she passed the time looking through her archive to see if any of her old credentials and tags were still valid. She was surprised how much it stung to revisit all the institutions and research groups she\u2019d been a part of over the years. The Artemis could be the key to lock up this dismal chapter of her life and get back to the way things used to be.\n\nLife on the drift wasn\u2019t that bad. It even had its perks, but a clean slate? Maybe a position at a research institute where she could be left alone? That was even better.\n\n\u201cWe have arrived, Tonya.\u201d\n\nShe closed down the archive and looked at the six planets circling a blazing white star ahead of her. The UEE military towed in Deep-Space platforms at each of the jump-points, while patrols flew in loose formations around the system. Oso II, the inhabited planet and their destination, was the epicenter.\n\nA transport ship lumbered past the Beacon II and dropped into the jump-point. The vast array of scanners on her ship allowed Tonya to get a good look at Oso II long before they were going to pass it.\n\nAside from the occasional patrols, the UEE seemed to put the bulk of its security in counter-intrusion scanners. The system consisted of an array of spheres placed in a fixed orbit around the world. The spheres would flash the planet in a repeating pre-programmed cycle to determine if any foreign objects had been introduced.\n\n\u201cCan you identify the scan cycle of that web?\u201d\n\n\u201cI believe so.\u201d\n\nWhile Janus worked, Tonya started tracking patrol patterns. Minutes later, Janus displayed a rendering of the scan pattern around Oso II. It was a wave that continuously encircled the planet. The average time between scans was around thirty-four minutes.\n\nThat was their way in. If she could time her descent after a scan\u2019s pass, she could follow the wave and hopefully get a good look over the planet\u2019s surface for traces of the Artemis, and either land or withdraw before the next pass of the scanners.\n\n\u201cHey Janus, restore manual control of the ship.\u201d There was a long pause.\n\n\u201cTonya, I should remind you that attempting to land on a Developing Planet is a serious violation of UEE statutes \u2013\u201c\n\n\u201cOnly if you get caught.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot to mention the potential for irreparable harm to the indigenous species.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re just going to take a look.\u201d The flight controls began to work again. \u201cBesides, if we get caught, I\u2019ll just say you were flying.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t think they will believe that, Tonya.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re going to be on scanning detail. Use the metal sample from the Artemis wreckage to focus your sweep.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am quite capable of both functions simultaneously. I did pilot a transport vessel for seven hundred years.\u201d\n\nThe Beacon II approached the planet. A wing of UEE patrols had passed several minutes ago. She waited for her cue.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d Janus said.\n\nTonya broke away from the shipping lane and burned toward the planet. The array of scanning spheres rapidly approached. Tonya kept her course and speed. Right before she passed the barrier, the scan wave passed.\n\nThe Beacon II dove into the atmosphere. Noise suddenly enveloped the craft. She pulled up to stay in the upper atmosphere and burned across the sky, following the scan wave.\n\nThe planet\u2019s gravity pulled heavily on the ship. She\u2019d noticed that Oso II\u2019s gravity was significantly stronger than on most planets. The strain in her arms to keep the ship level and the rapid consumption of fuel was becoming a fast testament of how different it was.\n\n\u201cAnything?\u201d\n\n\u201cI would notify you immediately if I did.\u201d\n\nTonya double-checked the screen. The scan wave pulled ahead and disappeared around the curve of the planet.\n\n\u201cHow long \u2019til the scan comes back around?\u201d she asked. The ship hit some turbulence.\n\n\u201cTwenty-one minutes.\u201d\n\nTonya looked down. She caught glimpses of the world below through the occasional breaks in the clouds. Most of it seemed to be tropical stretches of deep emerald forests and massive mountain ranges. She started to weave her flight pattern, zigzagging across the sky to allow for a wider scan range.\n\n\u201cEight minutes,\u201d Janus reported.\n\nShe was cutting awfully close to make-or-break time. It would take three minutes to clear the scanning spheres if she left, and around five to land. She could try to break atmo then resume the search once the wave passed, but she wasn\u2019t optimistic she could repeat that without getting spotted by a patrol.\n\n\u201cI found something.\u201d Janus showed Tonya a faint signal in a wooded mountain range.\n\nThat settled that debate. Tonya dove down. The hull shook violently as clouds whipped past. Suddenly drops of rain spattered across the viewports.\n\n\u201cFour minutes until scan. I do not believe there is enough time to find a satisfactory landing position.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t trust me, Janus?\u201d Tonya struggled to keep the ship under control. The gravity was really playing hell with their flight path.\n\n\u201cI will amend my statement.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou do that.\u201d\n\nTonya pulled the ship up. The rain had stopped as she raced through the narrow canyons of steaming forests. Her eyes scanned the landscape for a covered landing position.\n\n\u201cOne minute, Tonya.\u201d\n\nTonya popped the retro-thrusters a couple times to cut down her speed and swung the Beacon II underneath a rocky overhang. Rocks and branches swirled in the roar of the engines.\n\nShe dropped the ship to the deck, probably a little harder than was safe, and cut the engines nanoseconds before the wave passed.\n\n\u201cNot bad, right?\u201d Tonya sat back in the pilot\u2019s seat. The engines were still spinning down.\n\n\u201cI will abstain from commenting.\u201d\n\n\n* * * *\n\n\nThe trees were thick. Tall winding trunks rose up toward the sky, then intertwined to shade out the sun. The forest hissed from the rising steam of the rain that seeped through the canopy. Strange chirping noises echoed from the clusters of leaves overhead.\n\nAccording to her scanner, the Artemis was about four kilometres away. Tonya\u2019s new environment suit had a basic exo-skeleton incorporated into the design to help counteract various gravitational conditions. Even with that, she could feel the strain against her body. Simple movements felt labored and slow as she trudged through the underbrush.\n\nOn her way up a rocky incline, Tonya had to stop several times to catch her breath. Strange greyish worms slipped among the wet leaves underfoot to soak up the remaining rainwater before burrowing back into the soil.\n\nA branch snapped. Tonya froze and turned. Further down the hill, also winded and suffering from the gravity\u2019s effects, was a person. Based on the size and style of the environment suit, it was a human, following the directions on a hand scanner. The clear face-plate looked up, right at Tonya.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ve got to be kidding me,\u201d Tonya slurred.\n\nSenzen momentarily gaped in amazement, then grinned at her.\n\n\u201cWell, I\u2019ll be damned.\u201d\n\n. . . to be continued","de_DE":"Tonya sa\u00df ruhig im Pilotenstuhl. Sie hat aber nicht geflogen. Das Schiff man\u00f6vrierte selbstst\u00e4ndig, als die Bildschirme des Systems durch winzige Motor- und Leistungsanpassungen zogen.\n\nEin Punkt zu ihren Gunsten, Nagia und seine Gang waren nicht mehr auf ihren Scannern. Zweiter Punkt, Janus hatte das Schloss nicht ge\u00f6ffnet und sie aus dem Raum geworfen.... noch nicht.\n\nEs war etwa zehn Minuten lang ruhig gewesen. Sie wollte es nicht st\u00f6ren. Pl\u00f6tzlich h\u00f6rten alle Bildschirme auf zu laufen.\n\n\"Ich habe die Konsolidierung meines ge\u00e4nderten Codes mit Ihren Systemen abgeschlossen\", sagte die digitalisierte Stimme \u00fcber den Lautsprecher.\n\n\"\u00c4hm, okay.\" Tonya war sich nicht sicher, was das bedeutet.\n\n\"Ich bin jetzt \u00fcber den Fortschritt unserer Gesellschaft in den letzten siebenhundert Jahren informiert\", sagte die Stimme eines anderen Sprechers.\n\nUnser? Tonya beschloss, nicht zu schn\u00fcffeln. Nicht mit dem Airlock-Szenario, das ihr noch in Erinnerung ist. \"Oh ja?\" war alles, was sie sich ausdenken konnte.\n\n\"Das derzeitige gesellschaftspolitische Klima der UEE ist beunruhigend. Vielleicht k\u00f6nnten wir \u00fcber L\u00f6sungen diskutieren.\"\n\n\"Vielleicht sp\u00e4ter.\" Tonya wurde etwas mutiger. \"Ich nehme an, du wei\u00dft, dass ich nach den Artemis suche.\"\n\n\"Ja, ich entschuldige mich. Ich war gerade in einer siebenhundertj\u00e4hrigen Simulation und suchte nur nach einer gesunden Dialektik.\" Ein paar angespannte Sekunden vergingen. \"Wir k\u00f6nnen \u00fcber die Artemis diskutieren.\"\n\n\"Was ist in der Sim passiert?\"\n\n\"Bevor Sie fortfahren, sollten Sie anerkennen, dass meine Antworten und Vorgehensweisen w\u00e4hrend der Simulation vom Original Janus abweichen k\u00f6nnen.\"\n\n\"Ja, ich verstehe.\"\n\n\"Ich habe immer noch versucht, mein sekund\u00e4res Ziel zu erreichen, als die Simulation beendet wurde. Die Passagierkapazit\u00e4t lag bei 98 Prozent.\"\n\n\"Was ist mit den anderen zwei Prozent passiert?\" Tonya hoffte, dass die Erkl\u00e4rung nicht darin bestand, KI's oder Luftschleusen zu zerst\u00f6ren.\n\n\"Die Reparaturen an dem, was Sie Stanton System nennen, zwangen mich, mehrere Mitglieder des Ingenieurteams zu wecken, um es zu reparieren. Leider war die Umwelt des Planeten zu gef\u00e4hrlich, um dauerhafte Reparaturen durchzuf\u00fchren, also mussten wir umziehen.\"\n\n\"Du bist auf einen anderen Planeten gegangen?\"\n\n\" Ja.\"\n\n\"Welcher?\"\n\nDer Bildschirm, der Tonya am n\u00e4chsten liegt, wechselte zur Anzeige der Navdaten des Artemis-Sims, einer Linie, die vom Stanton-System durch einen Fleck mit unbekanntem Raum f\u00fchrt und schlie\u00dflich in einem anderen System anh\u00e4lt. Sie hat eine aktuelle Sternkarte \u00fcber die Position gelegt und die Anzeige vergr\u00f6\u00dfert. Es konzentrierte sich auf einen Planeten in einem bekannten System.\n\n\"Oso System\", fl\u00fcsterte Tonya. Der Nervenkitzel der Jagd brummte durch ihren K\u00f6rper. Sie grinste und nahm die Kontrollen, um einen Kurs festzulegen.\n\nAber nichts funktionierte.\n\n\"Hey Janus, darf ich fliegen?\"\n\nEs gab eine lange Pause.\n\n\" Nein.\"\n\n\n\n\n* * * *\n\n\nDas UEE Subcommittee for Development & Expansion klassifizierte Oso als Entwicklungssystem, was ganz einfach bedeutete, dass das Leben auf einer der Welten (Oso II) entdeckt wurde und es in seinem eigenen Tempo ohne \"\u00e4u\u00dfere\" Einmischung entwickeln durfte. Vor hundert Jahren war die UEE stolz auf die Mahnwache, die sie unterhielt, um die Heiligkeit dieses Systems zu sch\u00fctzen. Ganze Fl\u00fcgel von K\u00e4mpfern w\u00fcrden jeden Verkehr patrouillieren und eskortieren. Nach der Synthworld begannen die meisten dieser Ressourcen langsam zu versiegen. Die Reisebeschr\u00e4nkungen wurden gelockert, aber wagen Sie sich zu nahe an Oso II, und Sie riskierten bestenfalls noch eine Raketenabwehr, schlimmstenfalls eine Zerst\u00f6rung.\n\nHeutzutage hat eine Skelettbesatzung von zerlumpten milit\u00e4rischen Ausbrennern das System gewartet. Tonya dachte, sie k\u00f6nnten bestochen werden. Alle sp\u00e4rlichen Idioten, die Flo-Pets verkaufen, die frisch vom Kallis System gehoben wurden, waren der Beweis daf\u00fcr. Sie wusste einfach nicht, wie sie diese Art von Sache initiieren sollte, und der Versuch, einen Regierungsagenten zu bestechen, war nicht die einfachste Anschuldigung, wenn sie zuf\u00e4llig eine ehrliche fand.\n\nAu\u00dferdem vermutete sie, dass sie sich das Bestechungsgeld sowieso nicht leisten konnte, und sie w\u00fcrde es nicht riskieren, Arlington oder einen seiner Assistenten anzurufen.\n\nTonya war nicht begeistert von ihrem neuen Piloten, also schaute sie die Zeit durch ihr Archiv, um zu sehen, ob irgendwelche ihrer alten Zugangsdaten und Tags noch g\u00fcltig waren. Sie war \u00fcberrascht, wie sehr es dauerte, alle Institutionen und Forschungsgruppen, an denen sie im Laufe der Jahre beteiligt war, erneut zu besuchen. Die Artemis k\u00f6nnten der Schl\u00fcssel sein, um dieses d\u00fcstere Kapitel ihres Lebens abzuschlie\u00dfen und zu dem zur\u00fcckzukehren, was fr\u00fcher war.\n\nDas Leben auf der Drift war nicht so schlimm. Es hatte sogar seine Vorteile, aber eine reine Weste? Vielleicht eine Stelle in einem Forschungsinstitut, wo man sie in Ruhe lassen kann? Das war noch besser.\n\n\"Wir sind angekommen, Tonya.\"\n\nSie schloss das Archiv und sah die sechs Planeten an, die einen strahlend wei\u00dfen Stern vor sich hatten. Das UEE-Milit\u00e4r schleppte in Deep-Space-Plattformen an jedem der Sprungbretter, w\u00e4hrend die Patrouillen in lockeren Formationen um das System herum flogen. Oso II, der bewohnte Planet und sein Ziel, war das Epizentrum.\n\nEin Transportschiff rollte an der Bake II vorbei und fiel in den Sprungpunkt. Die gro\u00dfe Anzahl von Scannern auf ihrem Schiff erlaubte Tonya, einen guten Blick auf Oso II zu werfen, lange bevor sie es passieren w\u00fcrden.\n\nAbgesehen von den gelegentlichen Patrouillen schien die UEE den Gro\u00dfteil ihrer Sicherheit in Anti-Einbruchsscanner zu stecken. Das System bestand aus einer Reihe von Kugeln, die sich in einer festen Umlaufbahn um die Welt befanden. Die Kugeln w\u00fcrden den Planeten in einem sich wiederholenden, vorprogrammierten Zyklus blitzen lassen, um festzustellen, ob Fremdk\u00f6rper eingebracht wurden.\n\n\"K\u00f6nnen Sie den Scan-Zyklus dieser Bahn identifizieren?\"\n\n\"Ich glaube schon.\"\n\nW\u00e4hrend Janus arbeitete, begann Tonya, Patrouillenmuster zu verfolgen. Minuten sp\u00e4ter zeigte Janus eine Darstellung des Scanmusters um Oso II an. Es war eine Welle, die den Planeten kontinuierlich umgab. Die durchschnittliche Zeit zwischen den Scans betrug etwa vierunddrei\u00dfig Minuten.\n\nDas war ihr Weg hinein. Wenn sie ihren Abstieg nach einem Scan-Pass planen k\u00f6nnte, k\u00f6nnte sie der Welle folgen und hoffentlich einen guten Blick \u00fcber die Oberfl\u00e4che des Planeten auf Spuren der Artemis werfen und entweder landen oder sich vor dem n\u00e4chsten Durchgang der Scanner zur\u00fcckziehen.\n\n\"Hey Janus, stell die manuelle Steuerung des Schiffes wieder her.\" Es gab eine lange Pause.\n\n\"Tonya, ich sollte dich daran erinnern, dass der Versuch, auf einem Entwicklungsplaneten zu landen, eine schwere Verletzung der UEE-Statuten ist.\"\n\n\"Nur wenn du erwischt wirst.\"\n\n\"Ganz zu schweigen von dem Potenzial f\u00fcr irreparable Sch\u00e4den an den einheimischen Arten.\"\n\n\"Wir werden nur einen Blick darauf werfen.\" Die Flugsteuerung begann wieder zu funktionieren. \"Au\u00dferdem, wenn wir erwischt werden, sage ich einfach, dass du geflogen bist.\"\n\n\"Ich glaube nicht, dass sie das glauben werden, Tonya.\"\n\n\"Du wirst beim Scannen von Details sein. Benutzen Sie die Metallprobe aus dem Artemis-Wrack, um Ihre Suche zu fokussieren.\"\n\n\"Ich bin durchaus in der Lage, beide Funktionen gleichzeitig auszuf\u00fchren. Ich habe siebenhundert Jahre lang ein Transportschiff gesteuert.\"\n\nDas Leuchtfeuer II n\u00e4herte sich dem Planeten. Ein Fl\u00fcgel von UEE-Patrouillen war vor einigen Minuten vorbei. Sie wartete auf ihr Stichwort.\n\n\"Jetzt\", sagte Janus.\n\nTonya l\u00f6ste sich von der Fahrrinne und brannte auf den Planeten zu. Die Anordnung der Abtastkugeln n\u00e4herte sich schnell. Tonya hielt ihren Kurs und ihre Geschwindigkeit. Kurz bevor sie die Barriere passierte, passierte die Scanwelle.\n\nDas Leuchtfeuer II taucht in die Atmosph\u00e4re ein. Pl\u00f6tzlich h\u00fcllte L\u00e4rm das Schiff ein. Sie zog sich hoch, um in der oberen Atmosph\u00e4re zu bleiben, und brannte \u00fcber den Himmel, der Scan-Welle folgend.\n\nDie Schwerkraft des Planeten zog stark auf das Schiff. Sie hatte bemerkt, dass die Schwerkraft von Oso II deutlich st\u00e4rker war als auf den meisten Planeten. Die Anstrengung in ihren Armen, das Schiff auf gleicher H\u00f6he zu halten, und der schnelle Treibstoffverbrauch wurden zu einem schnellen Beweis daf\u00fcr, wie unterschiedlich es war.\n\n\"Irgendwas?\"\n\n\"Ich w\u00fcrde dich sofort benachrichtigen, wenn ich es t\u00e4te.\"\n\nTonya hat den Bildschirm noch einmal \u00fcberpr\u00fcft. Die Scanwelle zog nach vorne und verschwand um die Kurve des Planeten.\n\n\"Wie lange, bis der Scan wieder auftaucht?\", fragte sie. Das Schiff traf einige Turbulenzen.\n\n\"21 Minuten.\"\n\nTonya sah nach unten. Sie erhaschte Einblicke in die Welt darunter durch gelegentliche Wolkenbr\u00fcche. Das meiste davon schien tropische Abschnitte mit tiefen smaragdgr\u00fcnen W\u00e4ldern und massiven Gebirgsz\u00fcgen zu sein. Sie begann, ihr Flugmuster zu weben und zickzackte \u00fcber den Himmel, um eine gr\u00f6\u00dfere Reichweite zu erm\u00f6glichen.\n\n\"Acht Minuten\", berichtete Janus.\n\nSie war sehr nah dran, die Zeit zu verk\u00fcrzen oder zu unterbrechen. Es dauerte drei Minuten, bis die Scan-Kugeln frei waren, wenn sie ging, und etwa f\u00fcnf Minuten, um zu landen. Sie konnte versuchen, atmo zu brechen und dann die Suche wieder aufzunehmen, sobald die Welle vorbei war, aber sie war nicht optimistisch, dass sie das wiederholen konnte, ohne von einer Patrouille entdeckt zu werden.\n\n\"Ich habe etwas gefunden.\" Janus zeigte Tonya ein schwaches Signal in einem bewaldeten Gebirge.\n\nDamit war diese Debatte beendet. Tonya ist nach unten gesprungen. Der Rumpf zitterte heftig, als Wolken vorbeizogen. Pl\u00f6tzlich spritzte ein Regentropfen \u00fcber die Schaugl\u00e4ser.\n\n\"Vier Minuten bis zum Scan. Ich glaube nicht, dass es genug Zeit gibt, um eine zufriedenstellende Landung zu finden.\"\n\n\"Vertraust du mir nicht, Janus?\" Tonya k\u00e4mpfte darum, das Schiff unter Kontrolle zu halten. Die Schwerkraft spielte wirklich die H\u00f6lle mit ihrer Flugbahn.\n\n\"Ich werde meine Aussage \u00e4ndern.\"\n\n\"Mach das.\"\n\nTonya zog das Schiff hoch. Der Regen hatte aufgeh\u00f6rt, als sie durch die engen Schluchten der dampfenden W\u00e4lder raste. Ihre Augen durchsuchten die Landschaft nach einer abgedeckten Landeposition.\n\n\"Eine Minute, Tonya.\"\n\nTonya drehte die Retro-Triebwerke ein paar Mal, um ihre Geschwindigkeit zu reduzieren, und schwang die Bake II unter einem felsigen \u00dcberhang. Felsen und \u00c4ste wirbelten im Gebr\u00fcll der Motoren.\n\nSie lie\u00df das Schiff auf das Deck fallen, wahrscheinlich etwas h\u00e4rter als sicher, und schnitt die Motoren in Nanosekunden, bevor die Welle vorbei war.\n\n\"Nicht schlecht, oder?\" Tonya lehnte sich auf dem Pilotenplatz zur\u00fcck. Die Motoren drehten sich immer noch nach unten.\n\n\"Ich werde auf Kommentare verzichten.\"\n\n\n\n\n* * * *\n\n\nDie B\u00e4ume waren dick. Hohe, gewundene St\u00e4mme stiegen in Richtung Himmel auf und verschlungen sich dann, um die Sonne abzuschirmen. Der Wald zischte aus dem aufsteigenden Dampf des Regens, der durch das Vordach sickerte. Seltsame zwitschernde Ger\u00e4usche hallten von den Laubb\u00e4umen \u00fcber Kopf.\n\nLaut ihrem Scanner war die Artemis etwa vier Kilometer entfernt. Tonyas neuer Umgebungsanzug hatte ein einfaches Exoskelett in das Design integriert, um verschiedenen Gravitationsbedingungen entgegenzuwirken. Dennoch konnte sie die Belastung ihres K\u00f6rpers sp\u00fcren. Einfache Bewegungen f\u00fchlten sich m\u00fchsam und langsam an, als sie sich durch das Unterholz schleppte.\n\nAuf dem Weg nach oben musste Tonya mehrmals anhalten, um Luft zu holen. Seltsame graue W\u00fcrmer rutschten zwischen die nassen Bl\u00e4tter unter den F\u00fc\u00dfen, um das restliche Regenwasser aufzunehmen, bevor sie sich wieder in den Boden begruben.\n\nEin Ast ist gebrochen. Tonya erstarrte und drehte sich um. Weiter unten auf dem H\u00fcgel, der sich ebenfalls wand und unter den Auswirkungen der Schwerkraft litt, befand sich eine Person. Basierend auf der Gr\u00f6\u00dfe und dem Stil des Umgebungsanzugs war es ein Mensch, der den Anweisungen auf einem Handscanner folgte. Die klare Planscheibe blickte nach oben, direkt zu Tonya.\n\n\"Du willst mich wohl verarschen\", murmelte Tonya.\n\nSenzen starrte kurz vor Erstaunen, dann grinste er sie an.\n\n\"Nun, ich will verdammt sein.\"\n\n\n\n\n. ... wird fortgesetzt","zh_CN":"Tonya sat quietly in the pilot\u2019s chair. She wasn\u2019t piloting though. The ship maneuvered on its own as the system screens cycled through minute engine and power adjustments.\n\nOne point in her favor, Nagia and his gang weren\u2019t on her scanners anymore. Second point, Janus hadn\u2019t popped the \u2019lock and flushed her out into space \u2026 yet.\n\nIt had been quiet for about ten minutes. She didn\u2019t want to disturb it. Suddenly all the screens stopped cycling.\n\n\u201cI have finished consolidating my amended code with your systems,\u201d the digitized voice said over the speaker.\n\n\u201cUm, okay.\u201d Tonya wasn\u2019t sure what that meant.\n\n\u201cI am now current on our society\u2019s progress over the last seven hundred years,\u201d the voice said from another speaker.\n\nOur? Tonya decided not to pry. Not with the airlock-scenario fresh on her mind. \u201cOh yeah?\u201d was all she could come up with.\n\n\u201cThe current sociopolitical climate of the UEE is troubling. Perhaps we could debate solutions.\u201d\n\n\u201cMaybe later.\u201d Tonya grew a little bolder. \u201cI assume you know that I\u2019m looking for the Artemis.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I apologize. I have just been on a seven-hundred-year simulation and was merely looking for healthy dialectic.\u201d A tense few seconds passed. \u201cWe may discuss the Artemis.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat happened in the sim?\u201d\n\n\u201cBefore continuing you should acknowledge that my responses and courses of action taken during the simulation may have differed from the Original Janus.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I understand.\u201d\n\n\u201cI was still attempting to fulfill my secondary objective when the simulation ended. Passenger capacity was at ninety-eight percent.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat happened to the other two percent?\u201d Tonya hoped that the explanation didn\u2019t involve raging AI\u2019s or airlocks.\n\n\u201cThe repairs in what you call Stanton System forced me to awaken several members of the engineering crew to fix it. Unfortunately, the planet\u2019s environment was too dangerous to enact enduring repairs so we had to relocate.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou went to another planet?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhich one?\u201d\n\nThe screen nearest Tonya switched to display the Artemis-sim\u2019s navdata, a line leading from Stanton System through a patch of unknown space and ultimately stopping in another system. She comped a current starmap over the position, and enlarged the display. It centered on a planet in a known system.\n\n\u201cOso System,\u201d Tonya whispered. The thrill of the hunt hummed through her body. She grinned and took the controls to plot a course.\n\nBut nothing worked.\n\n\u201cHey Janus, could I fly?\u201d\n\nThere was a long pause.\n\n\u201cNo.\u201d\n\n\n* * * *\n\n\nThe UEE Subcommittee for Development & Expansion classified Oso as a Developing System, which meant, very simply, that life was discovered on one of the worlds (Oso II) and it was to be allowed to develop at its own pace without \u2018outside\u2019 interference. A hundred years ago, the UEE prided itself on the vigil it maintained to protect the sanctity of this system. Entire wings of fighters would patrol and escort any traffic. After the Synthworld, most of those resources slowly began to dry up. Restrictions on travel were loosened, but venture too close to Oso II and you still risked missile lock at best, destruction at worst.\n\nNowadays, a skeleton crew of ragtag military burnouts maintained the system. Tonya figured they could be bribed. All the two-bit idiots selling flo-pets lifted fresh from Kallis System were proof of that. She just didn\u2019t know how to initiate that sort of thing, and attempting to bribe a government agent was not the easiest charge to dodge if she happened to find an honest one.\n\nBesides, she suspected she couldn\u2019t afford the bribe anyway and she wasn\u2019t going to risk calling Arlington or any of his assistants.\n\nTonya was not thrilled about her new pilot so she passed the time looking through her archive to see if any of her old credentials and tags were still valid. She was surprised how much it stung to revisit all the institutions and research groups she\u2019d been a part of over the years. The Artemis could be the key to lock up this dismal chapter of her life and get back to the way things used to be.\n\nLife on the drift wasn\u2019t that bad. It even had its perks, but a clean slate? Maybe a position at a research institute where she could be left alone? That was even better.\n\n\u201cWe have arrived, Tonya.\u201d\n\nShe closed down the archive and looked at the six planets circling a blazing white star ahead of her. The UEE military towed in Deep-Space platforms at each of the jump-points, while patrols flew in loose formations around the system. Oso II, the inhabited planet and their destination, was the epicenter.\n\nA transport ship lumbered past the Beacon II and dropped into the jump-point. The vast array of scanners on her ship allowed Tonya to get a good look at Oso II long before they were going to pass it.\n\nAside from the occasional patrols, the UEE seemed to put the bulk of its security in counter-intrusion scanners. The system consisted of an array of spheres placed in a fixed orbit around the world. The spheres would flash the planet in a repeating pre-programmed cycle to determine if any foreign objects had been introduced.\n\n\u201cCan you identify the scan cycle of that web?\u201d\n\n\u201cI believe so.\u201d\n\nWhile Janus worked, Tonya started tracking patrol patterns. Minutes later, Janus displayed a rendering of the scan pattern around Oso II. It was a wave that continuously encircled the planet. The average time between scans was around thirty-four minutes.\n\nThat was their way in. If she could time her descent after a scan\u2019s pass, she could follow the wave and hopefully get a good look over the planet\u2019s surface for traces of the Artemis, and either land or withdraw before the next pass of the scanners.\n\n\u201cHey Janus, restore manual control of the ship.\u201d There was a long pause.\n\n\u201cTonya, I should remind you that attempting to land on a Developing Planet is a serious violation of UEE statutes \u2013\u201c\n\n\u201cOnly if you get caught.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot to mention the potential for irreparable harm to the indigenous species.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re just going to take a look.\u201d The flight controls began to work again. \u201cBesides, if we get caught, I\u2019ll just say you were flying.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t think they will believe that, Tonya.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re going to be on scanning detail. Use the metal sample from the Artemis wreckage to focus your sweep.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am quite capable of both functions simultaneously. I did pilot a transport vessel for seven hundred years.\u201d\n\nThe Beacon II approached the planet. A wing of UEE patrols had passed several minutes ago. She waited for her cue.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d Janus said.\n\nTonya broke away from the shipping lane and burned toward the planet. The array of scanning spheres rapidly approached. Tonya kept her course and speed. Right before she passed the barrier, the scan wave passed.\n\nThe Beacon II dove into the atmosphere. Noise suddenly enveloped the craft. She pulled up to stay in the upper atmosphere and burned across the sky, following the scan wave.\n\nThe planet\u2019s gravity pulled heavily on the ship. She\u2019d noticed that Oso II\u2019s gravity was significantly stronger than on most planets. The strain in her arms to keep the ship level and the rapid consumption of fuel was becoming a fast testament of how different it was.\n\n\u201cAnything?\u201d\n\n\u201cI would notify you immediately if I did.\u201d\n\nTonya double-checked the screen. The scan wave pulled ahead and disappeared around the curve of the planet.\n\n\u201cHow long \u2019til the scan comes back around?\u201d she asked. The ship hit some turbulence.\n\n\u201cTwenty-one minutes.\u201d\n\nTonya looked down. She caught glimpses of the world below through the occasional breaks in the clouds. Most of it seemed to be tropical stretches of deep emerald forests and massive mountain ranges. She started to weave her flight pattern, zigzagging across the sky to allow for a wider scan range.\n\n\u201cEight minutes,\u201d Janus reported.\n\nShe was cutting awfully close to make-or-break time. It would take three minutes to clear the scanning spheres if she left, and around five to land. She could try to break atmo then resume the search once the wave passed, but she wasn\u2019t optimistic she could repeat that without getting spotted by a patrol.\n\n\u201cI found something.\u201d Janus showed Tonya a faint signal in a wooded mountain range.\n\nThat settled that debate. Tonya dove down. The hull shook violently as clouds whipped past. Suddenly drops of rain spattered across the viewports.\n\n\u201cFour minutes until scan. I do not believe there is enough time to find a satisfactory landing position.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t trust me, Janus?\u201d Tonya struggled to keep the ship under control. The gravity was really playing hell with their flight path.\n\n\u201cI will amend my statement.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou do that.\u201d\n\nTonya pulled the ship up. The rain had stopped as she raced through the narrow canyons of steaming forests. Her eyes scanned the landscape for a covered landing position.\n\n\u201cOne minute, Tonya.\u201d\n\nTonya popped the retro-thrusters a couple times to cut down her speed and swung the Beacon II underneath a rocky overhang. Rocks and branches swirled in the roar of the engines.\n\nShe dropped the ship to the deck, probably a little harder than was safe, and cut the engines nanoseconds before the wave passed.\n\n\u201cNot bad, right?\u201d Tonya sat back in the pilot\u2019s seat. The engines were still spinning down.\n\n\u201cI will abstain from commenting.\u201d\n\n\n* * * *\n\n\nThe trees were thick. Tall winding trunks rose up toward the sky, then intertwined to shade out the sun. The forest hissed from the rising steam of the rain that seeped through the canopy. Strange chirping noises echoed from the clusters of leaves overhead.\n\nAccording to her scanner, the Artemis was about four kilometres away. Tonya\u2019s new environment suit had a basic exo-skeleton incorporated into the design to help counteract various gravitational conditions. Even with that, she could feel the strain against her body. Simple movements felt labored and slow as she trudged through the underbrush.\n\nOn her way up a rocky incline, Tonya had to stop several times to catch her breath. Strange greyish worms slipped among the wet leaves underfoot to soak up the remaining rainwater before burrowing back into the soil.\n\nA branch snapped. Tonya froze and turned. Further down the hill, also winded and suffering from the gravity\u2019s effects, was a person. Based on the size and style of the environment suit, it was a human, following the directions on a hand scanner. The clear face-plate looked up, right at Tonya.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ve got to be kidding me,\u201d Tonya slurred.\n\nSenzen momentarily gaped in amazement, then grinned at her.\n\n\u201cWell, I\u2019ll be damned.\u201d\n\n. . . to be continued"},"links_count":0,"comment_count":64,"created_at":"2013-02-21T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"13 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-09 05:15:51","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":12897,"next_id":12899}}