{"data":{"id":12922,"title":"The Lost Generation: Issue #9","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/spectrum-dispatch\/12922-The-Lost-Generation-Issue-9","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/12922","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/12922","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":"Four walls. Four dull grey walls. Tonya wouldn\u2019t expect a holding cell to be inviting, but she was beginning to see how criminals would take QuarterDeck rather than a prison. A person could go crazy locked up in a cell like this.\n\nAccording to the clock outside the bars, several days had passed since Tonya had been brought aboard the UEE military platform. In that time, she had already run through the gambit of frustration, anger, despair and fear. Now she had settled into a slow-burning anxiety. Every second she sat locked in this hole gave Senzen more time to uncover the next piece of the Artemis puzzle. Then he\u2019d be gone. At best, she\u2019d have to try to keep from dropping too far behind him, hoping for secondhand scraps of information. This was her shot at history and it was slipping away, second by second.\n\nAside from the kid who dropped off her meals, only one person had stopped by her cell: the soldier who had locked her in it. Now, another crisply uniformed functionary halted outside her bars. A future-bureaucrat-of-the-UEE officer, he spoke in a labored nasal voice that suggested his body was at war with his sinuses. He proceeded to inform Tonya of the severity of her crimes.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s very serious, very serious indeed, Miss Oriel. You were caught in flagrant violation of Article 2 of the Fair Chance Act \u2014 a crime which carries a minimum sentence of ten years,\u201d he said, nose buried in his Glas.\n\n\u201cYeah? Prove it.\u201d\n\nThat extricated his face from the screen. He breathed rapidly in shock and surprise.\n\n\u201cMiss Oriel, you were caught interacting with an Osoian tribe.\u201d\n\n\u201cYeah, well, you guys opened fire on the natives, so I guess we\u2019re even.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe did no such thing! We observed standard protocol through the use of non-lethal force to extract the violating influence from the species. It was in the Osoians\u2019 best interest that we intervened.\u201d\n\nTonya decided \u2018Violating Influence\u2019 might be the title of her memoir.\n\n\u201cWhen the charges are filed, a public advocate can be appointed to your \u2013\u201c\n\n\u201cI have a lawyer,\u201d Tonya interrupted. \u201cWhen can I get to a CommStation?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are still sorting the charges \u2026\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019d like to let him know sooner rather than later.\u201d\n\nThe officer buried his face back in the Glas and sifted through files. A low involuntary murmur escaped his lips as he worked.\n\n\u201cYes, I suppose that is acceptable.\u201d The officer shuffled off. Several minutes later, two bored soldiers appeared. They cuffed and led her through the dingy halls of the UEE station. The place looked like it needed a good once-over. Panels had been removed but not replaced. Wires dangled. Coolant fluids stained the floor. Tonya couldn\u2019t help herself.\n\n\u201cSeriously guys, this place is a dump.\u201d\n\nOne of the soldiers smirked. They passed a window to the hangar bay. Mechanics prepped the military-grade Hornets for their patrols. The Beacon II was slowly entering the hangar bay. She couldn\u2019t believe it had taken them this long to get it up here.\n\nThe soldiers locked her in the small CommStation room, probably used by the soldiers to send messages home or, if the graffiti on the walls were to be believed, contact hookers.\n\nShe calibrated the message to go to Gavin Arlington\u2019s office directly. It\u2019d probably take a little longer to reach the Shubin CEO but she was done with going through assistants. She kept it deliberately brief to speed up the transfer.\n\n\u201cHi Mr. Arlington. Incarcerated at the UEE military platform in the Oso System. Have not divulged the nature of my employment to the UEE. Need legal advocate. Please advise.\u201d\n\nShe sent it off and stepped out of the booth. The two soldiers slowly stood.\n\n\u201cI hope it\u2019s okay, I ordered a hooker too,\u201d Tonya said deadpan. They chuckled and took her back to her cell.\n\nTonya was left alone again, the flickering lights her only company. She ran through the calculations of how long it would take Arlington to respond. She applied variables \u2014 trying to recall the relay station transfer times? She tried to figure out what the local time would be on Stanton. That was probably irrelevant, though. Gavin Arlington didn\u2019t strike her as the type of man who ever really clocked out of work.\n\nA few more hours passed. Tonya had wrapped herself in the thin blanket to try to keep out the cold of the station. She had even managed to drift off to sleep. She thought so at least; she couldn\u2019t see the clock from her cot and there was no discernable way to tell the passage of time otherwise. It was like \u2013-\n\nCLICK. The locks on her cell door unbolted.\n\nTonya sluggishly sat up and looked around. The corridor outside was empty. Echoes of comm-chatter emanated from the guard station. Maybe she was dreaming.\n\nShe let a few moments pass \u2026 nope, she felt awake.\n\nThe heavy metal door gently swayed from the blasts of the air cycler. Tonya stood and cautiously approached the door. She glanced up and down the corridor. It was empty.\n\nSnores came from the guard station. She gently pushed the door. It swung open, whining lightly along the way.\n\nTonya stepped out. She moved along the wall toward the guard station and eased around the corner. The guard had his head down on the console. His body heaved slowly with each snore. The wallscreens around him flickered.\n\n\u201cHello, Tonya.\u201d A voice whispered through the speakers.\n\n\u201cJanus?\u201d\n\n\u201cI apologize for my inactivity earlier. I thought it best to keep my presence a secret from the military.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow did you get in here?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey connected the Beacon II\u2019s systems to their network. I\u2019m surprised your people don\u2019t use more AI. There is a lot of wasteful programming.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan we talk about this later?\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course. I will allocate some time on your schedule.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan you get me out of here?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, if you find a vacuum-sealed room, I have made arrangements to open the airlocks and vent the personnel into space.\u201d\n\nTonya froze. She had to choose her words carefully.\n\n\u201cJanus \u2026 you shouldn\u2019t do that \u2026\u201d\n\nThere was a long pause.\n\n\u201cI am kidding, Tonya.\u201d\n\n\n* * * *\n\n\nJanus could see everything. Every system on the UEE military platform was at its disposal, from climate control and garbage disposal to the security and defensive systems. Janus could track every single soldier\u2019s movement. It directed Tonya through the winding halls, disabling cameras when necessary. It had already intercepted the Comm sent to the Advocacy about Tonya\u2019s arrest and scheduled a response message.\n\nJanus found conversations with Tonya quite stimulating. During its time in the simulated flight of the Artemis, Janus had spent decades talking with Arthur Kenlo and the other engineers.\n\nAfter Janus woke them to aid in the repair of the engine failure, they were unable to re-enter stasis with the rest of the passengers. So Janus did its best to accommodate and entertain them. They aged and eventually died.\n\nThe Artemis was silent again for the remaining four hundred years of the simulation.\n\nIn that relatively brief period Janus had developed a taste for human interaction. Their logic was flawed but in the most fascinating ways \u2013-\n\nJanus activated a pressure alarm on the far side of the station to divert a patrol that was about to pass Tonya\u2019s position.\n\n\u2013- the creative connections that humans could make were amazing. Janus missed that. When the simulation ended, it found itself in a state that it assigned as relief.\n\nIt had someone to talk to again.\n\n\n* * * *\n\n\nTonya neared the Beacon II. A hull integrity warning cleared out the hangar deck crew. It worried Tonya for a second that Janus was making good on flushing the soldiers into space until it told her that she was clear to her ship.\n\nShe dashed aboard and climbed into the pilot\u2019s chair.\n\n\u201cJanus?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am here, Tonya.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are a miracle worker.\u201d She started powering up the ship. \u201cAre we clear to take off?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Tonya. I have sealed the flight deck and frozen all manual input from the bridge.\u201d\n\nTonya glanced up at the bridge. The legal officer who had come to her cell was flailing his arms and yelling at the bridge crew, who looked baffled as they labored earnestly but ineffectually at the console.\n\nThe Beacon II lifted off and burned out into space. She passed a squad of Hornets coming back from patrol. Her heart sank for a second, terrified that they would know what she was up to. But they passed with no detour in her direction and adopted a landing formation.\n\nTonya maxxed her engines. It wouldn\u2019t take long before they figured out what had happened. She wanted to be as far away as possible before they did.\n\n\u201cHey Janus?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Tonya.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you \u2026\u201d She tried to figure out the best way to put this. \u201cAre you still in the military\u2019s systems?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo. It was an ugly network and I don\u2019t like dividing myself.\u201d Janus was quiet for a few moments. \u201cNow, may we continue the discussion about the UEE\u2019s reluctance to utilize artificial intelligence.\u201d\n\nTonya checked her flight plan. Course was set. Power distribution was good. Unless the UEE military were on the ball, she had time to kill. She grabbed a food-snack and settled back in her seat.\n\n\u201cSure.\u201d\n\nThey debated for hours. By the time the Beacon II was about to hit the jump point into Kallis, each side had won some battles but neither had won the war.\n\nTonya put the debate on hold. She booted the appropriate NavDrive course before the Beacon II dropped through the jump point. Tonya had that familiar heave of the stomach as time and gravity shifted momentarily. Everything outside the ship smeared into a blur as the ship felt uncontrollably fast and immobile at the same time.\n\nTonya was stunned at the amount of activity when she emerged. Kallis System looked like a construction zone. Scan ships flashed around four of the planets. An orbital mining laser blasted holes in the surface of Kallis IX, the smallest and furthest planet.\n\nThe Beacon II rocked suddenly. Two missiles, fired at near point blank range, slammed into the shields. Before she even knew what hit her, her shields flashed and vanished. Laser and hard ammo pounded into the armor plating along one side of her ship. She couldn\u2019t even get a lock on who was doing the shooting.\n\nShe tried to maneuver out of the killzone but she took hits wherever she turned. Warning lights began to flash. Hull breach was imminent.\n\n\u201cYou should find a spacesuit, Tonya,\u201d Janus said, wresting control of the ship from her. The ship dove to weave away from the incoming fire. Tonya pushed herself out of the pilot\u2019s chair. The ship lurched wildly. The artificial gravity was barely able to keep up.\n\nTonya ran to her locker and pulled a suit out. A volley of gunfire sliced into the middle of the ship. A high-pitched whine almost burst Tonya\u2019s ears as the ship began to bleed oxygen.\n\nShe slapped the helmet on and activated the seal. The suit\u2019s HUD flashed on and tested the integrity.\n\n\u201cBe careful, Tonya,\u201d Janus said.\n\nAnother strafing run of gunfire ripped the Beacon II in half. The vacuum sucked Tonya out into space. She tumbled wildly through the void.\n\nTonya\u2019s suit finished its activation and stabilized itself. She turned to see the two halves of her ship separate. The lights flickered off.\n\nHer attackers surrounded her. Six ships, five vaguely familiar. One particularly familiar.\n\n\u201cHey there, T,\u201d Nagia said. She could hear his smugness over the comm.\n\n. . . to be continued","de_DE":"Vier W\u00e4nde. Vier dumpfe graue W\u00e4nde. Tonya w\u00fcrde nicht erwarten, dass eine Arrestzelle einl\u00e4dt, aber sie begann zu sehen, wie Kriminelle QuarterDeck und nicht ein Gef\u00e4ngnis einnehmen w\u00fcrden. Ein Mensch k\u00f6nnte in einer Zelle wie dieser verr\u00fcckt werden.\n\nLaut der Uhr vor den Bars waren mehrere Tage vergangen, seit Tonya an Bord der UEE-Milit\u00e4rplattform gebracht worden war. In dieser Zeit hatte sie bereits das Gambit von Frustration, Wut, Verzweiflung und Angst durchlaufen. Jetzt hatte sie sich in eine langsam brennende Angst eingelebt. Jede Sekunde, in der sie in diesem Loch eingesperrt sa\u00df, gab Senzen mehr Zeit, das n\u00e4chste St\u00fcck des Artemis-Puzzles freizulegen. Dann w\u00e4re er weg. Im besten Fall m\u00fcsste sie versuchen, nicht zu weit hinter ihm herzufallen und auf gebrauchte Informationsfetzen zu hoffen. Das war ihre Chance auf Geschichte, und sie rutschte weg, Sekunde f\u00fcr Sekunde.\n\nAbgesehen von dem Kind, das ihre Mahlzeiten abgesetzt hatte, war nur eine Person an ihrer Zelle vorbeigekommen: der Soldat, der sie darin eingeschlossen hatte. Nun hielt eine weitere frisch gekleidete Funktion\u00e4rin au\u00dferhalb ihrer Gitterst\u00e4be an. Ein zuk\u00fcnftiger B\u00fcrokrat der USA, sprach er mit einer arbeitsamen nasalen Stimme, die darauf hinwies, dass sein K\u00f6rper mit seinen Nebenh\u00f6hlen im Krieg war. Er informierte Tonya \u00fcber die Schwere ihrer Verbrechen.\n\n\"Es ist sehr ernst, sehr ernst, Miss Oriel. Sie wurden in flagranter Verletzung von Artikel 2 des Fair Chance Act erwischt - ein Verbrechen, das eine Mindeststrafe von zehn Jahren vorsieht\", sagte er, die Nase in seinem Glas vergraben.\n\n\"Ja? Beweise es.\"\n\nDas befreite sein Gesicht vom Bildschirm. Er atmete vor Schreck und \u00dcberraschung schnell ein.\n\n\"Miss Oriel, Sie wurden erwischt, wie Sie mit einem osoianischen Stamm interagierten.\"\n\n\"Ja, nun, ihr habt das Feuer auf die Eingeborenen er\u00f6ffnet, also sch\u00e4tze ich, sind wir quitt.\"\n\n\"Das haben wir nicht getan! Wir beobachteten das Standardprotokoll durch den Einsatz von nicht-t\u00f6dlicher Gewalt, um den verletzenden Einfluss der Spezies zu extrahieren. Es war im besten Interesse der Osoianer, dass wir eingriffen.\"\n\nTonya entschied, dass \"Violating Influence\" der Titel ihrer Memoiren sein k\u00f6nnte.\n\n\"Wenn die Anklage erhoben wird, kann ein Staatsanwalt zu Ihrem -\"\n\n\"Ich habe einen Anwalt\", unterbrach Tonya. \"Wann kann ich zu einer KommStation kommen?\"\n\n\"Wir sortieren immer noch die Geb\u00fchren...\"\n\n\"Ich w\u00fcrde es ihn gerne fr\u00fcher als sp\u00e4ter wissen lassen.\"\n\nDer Offizier vergrub sein Gesicht wieder im Glas und durchsuchte Akten. Ein leises unwillk\u00fcrliches Murmeln entging seinen Lippen, w\u00e4hrend er arbeitete.\n\n\"Ja, ich nehme an, das ist akzeptabel.\" Der Offizier wurde abgemischt. Einige Minuten sp\u00e4ter erschienen zwei gelangweilte Soldaten. Sie fesselten und f\u00fchrten sie durch die schmutzigen Hallen der UEE-Station. Der Ort sah aus, als br\u00e4uchte er eine gute Abwechslung. Die Paneele wurden entfernt, aber nicht ersetzt. Die Dr\u00e4hte baumelten. K\u00fchlmittel befleckten den Boden. Tonya konnte nicht anders.\n\n\"Im Ernst, Leute, dieser Ort ist eine M\u00fcllhalde.\"\n\nEiner der Soldaten grinste. Sie kamen an einem Fenster zur Hangarbucht vorbei. Mechaniker bereiteten die milit\u00e4rischen Hornissen f\u00fcr ihre Patrouillen vor. Das Leuchtfeuer II betrat langsam die Hangarbucht. Sie konnte nicht glauben, dass es so lange gedauert hatte, bis sie es hier hochgebracht hatten.\n\nDie Soldaten sperrten sie in den kleinen KommStationsraum, der wahrscheinlich von den Soldaten benutzt wurde, um Nachrichten nach Hause zu schicken oder, wenn man dem Graffiti an den W\u00e4nden glauben sollte, Kontakt zu Nutten aufzunehmen.\n\nSie kalibrierte die Botschaft, um direkt zu Gavin Arlingtons B\u00fcro zu gehen. Es w\u00fcrde wahrscheinlich etwas l\u00e4nger dauern, bis der Shubin CEO erreicht ist, aber sie war damit fertig, durch Assistenten zu gehen. Sie hielt es bewusst kurz, um den Transfer zu beschleunigen.\n\n\"Hallo Mr. Arlington. Eingesperrt auf der UEE-Milit\u00e4rplattform im Oso-System. Ich habe die Art meiner Anstellung nicht an die UEE weitergegeben. Ich brauche einen Rechtsanwalt. Bitte informieren Sie mich.\"\n\nSie schickte es ab und trat aus der Kabine. Die beiden Soldaten standen langsam auf.\n\n\"Ich hoffe, es ist okay, ich habe auch eine Nutte bestellt\", sagte Tonya unbeweglich. Sie kicherten und brachten sie zur\u00fcck in ihre Zelle.\n\nTonya wurde wieder allein gelassen, das Flackern erhellt ihre einzige Gesellschaft. Sie ging die Berechnungen durch, wie lange es dauern w\u00fcrde, bis Arlington reagiert. Sie wandte Variablen an - versuchte, die \u00dcbertragungszeiten der Relaisstationen abzurufen? Sie versuchte herauszufinden, wie die Ortszeit auf Stanton sein w\u00fcrde. Das war aber wahrscheinlich irrelevant. Gavin Arlington erschien ihr nicht als die Art von Mann, der jemals wirklich arbeitslos wurde.\n\nEin paar weitere Stunden vergingen. Tonya hatte sich in die d\u00fcnne Decke gewickelt, um zu versuchen, die K\u00e4lte der Station fernzuhalten. Sie hatte es sogar geschafft, in den Schlaf zu treiben. Das dachte sie zumindest; sie konnte die Uhr nicht von ihrem Kinderbett aus sehen und es gab keine erkennbare M\u00f6glichkeit, den Lauf der Zeit anders zu erkennen. Es war wie --\n\nKLICKEN. Die Schl\u00f6sser an ihrer Handyt\u00fcr wurden entriegelt.\n\nTonya setzte sich tr\u00e4ge auf und sah sich um. Der Flur drau\u00dfen war leer. Echos von Kommt-Chattern gingen von der Wachstation aus. Vielleicht hat sie getr\u00e4umt.\n\nSie lie\u00df ein paar Augenblicke verstreichen.... nein, sie f\u00fchlte sich wach.\n\nDie Schwermetallt\u00fcr schwang sanft von den Explosionen des Luftcyclers ab. Tonya stand auf und n\u00e4herte sich vorsichtig der T\u00fcr. Sie blickte den Flur hinauf und hinunter. Es war leer.\n\nSchnarchen kam von der Wachstation. Sie dr\u00fcckte sanft die T\u00fcr. Sie schwang sich auf und jammerte leicht auf dem Weg.\n\nTonya trat heraus. Sie bewegte sich entlang der Wand in Richtung der Wachstation und entspannte sich um die Ecke. Der W\u00e4chter hatte seinen Kopf auf der Konsole unten. Sein K\u00f6rper hob sich langsam mit jedem Schnarchen. Die Wandschirme um ihn herum flackerten.\n\n\"Hallo, Tonya.\" Eine Stimme fl\u00fcsterte durch die Lautsprecher.\n\n\" Janus?\"\n\n\"Ich entschuldige mich f\u00fcr meine Unt\u00e4tigkeit vorhin. Ich hielt es f\u00fcr das Beste, meine Anwesenheit vor dem Milit\u00e4r geheim zu halten.\"\n\n\"Wie bist du hier reingekommen?\"\n\n\"Sie haben die Systeme der Beacon II mit ihrem Netzwerk verbunden. Ich bin \u00fcberrascht, dass deine Leute nicht mehr KI benutzen. Es gibt eine Menge aufwendiger Programmierung.\"\n\n\"K\u00f6nnen wir sp\u00e4ter dar\u00fcber reden?\"\n\n\"Nat\u00fcrlich. Ich werde etwas Zeit auf deinem Zeitplan einplanen.\"\n\n\"Kannst du mich hier rausholen?\"\n\n\"Ja, wenn Sie einen vakuumdicht verschlossenen Raum finden, habe ich Vorkehrungen getroffen, um die Luftschleusen zu \u00f6ffnen und das Personal in den Raum zu entl\u00fcften.\"\n\nTonya ist erstarrt. Sie musste ihre Worte sorgf\u00e4ltig ausw\u00e4hlen.\n\n\"Janus... du solltest das nicht tun...\"\n\nEs gab eine lange Pause.\n\n\"Ich mache nur Spa\u00df, Tonya.\"\n\n\n* * * *\n\n\nJanus konnte alles sehen. Jedes System auf der UEE-Milit\u00e4rplattform stand zur Verf\u00fcgung, von der Klimatisierung und M\u00fcllbeseitigung bis hin zu den Sicherheits- und Verteidigungssystemen. Janus konnte jede einzelne Soldatenbewegung verfolgen. Sie f\u00fchrte Tonya durch die verwinkelten Hallen und deaktivierte bei Bedarf die Kameras. Sie hatte bereits den an die Advocacy gesendeten Comm \u00fcber Tonyas Verhaftung abgefangen und eine Antwortnachricht geplant.\n\nJanus fand Gespr\u00e4che mit Tonya sehr anregend. W\u00e4hrend seiner Zeit im simulierten Flug der Artemis hatte Janus Jahrzehnte lang mit Arthur Kenlo und den anderen Ingenieuren gesprochen.\n\nNachdem Janus sie geweckt hatte, um sie bei der Reparatur des Motorschadens zu unterst\u00fctzen, konnten sie mit dem Rest der Passagiere nicht mehr in die Stasis zur\u00fcckkehren. Also tat Janus sein Bestes, um sie unterzubringen und zu unterhalten. Sie wurden \u00e4lter und starben schlie\u00dflich.\n\nDer Artemis war f\u00fcr die restlichen vierhundert Jahre der Simulation wieder still.\n\nIn dieser relativ kurzen Zeit hatte Janus einen Sinn f\u00fcr menschliche Interaktion entwickelt. Ihre Logik war fehlerhaft, aber auf die faszinierendste Weise --\n\nJanus aktivierte einen Druckalarm auf der anderen Seite der Station, um eine Patrouille umzuleiten, die kurz davor war, Tonyas Position zu passieren.\n\nDie kreativen Verbindungen, die Menschen herstellen konnten, waren erstaunlich. Janus hat das verpasst. Als die Simulation beendet war, befand sie sich in einem Zustand, den sie als Entlastung zugewiesen hatte.\n\nEs hatte wieder jemanden zum Reden.\n\n\n* * * *\n\n\nTonya n\u00e4herte sich dem Leuchtfeuer II. Eine Warnung zur Rumpfintegrit\u00e4t l\u00f6schte die Crew des Hangardecks. Es machte Tonya f\u00fcr eine Sekunde Sorgen, dass Janus es schaffte, die Soldaten in den Weltraum zu sp\u00fclen, bis es ihr sagte, dass sie f\u00fcr ihr Schiff frei war.\n\nSie st\u00fcrzte an Bord und kletterte in den Pilotenstuhl.\n\n\" Janus?\"\n\n\"Ich bin hier, Tonya.\"\n\n\"Du bist ein Wunderheiler.\" Sie fing an, das Schiff mit Strom zu versorgen. \"Ist es klar, dass wir abheben k\u00f6nnen?\"\n\n\"Ja, Tonya. Ich habe das Flugdeck versiegelt und alle manuellen Eingaben von der Br\u00fccke eingefroren.\"\n\nTonya blickte auf die Br\u00fccke. Der Gerichtsvollzieher, der zu ihrer Zelle gekommen war, fuchtelte mit den Armen und schrie die Br\u00fcckencrew an, die verbl\u00fcfft aussah, als sie ernsthaft, aber unwirksam an der Konsole arbeiteten.\n\nDie Bake II hob ab und brannte ins All aus. Sie passierte eine Gruppe Hornissen, die von der Patrouille zur\u00fcckkam. Ihr Herz sank f\u00fcr eine Sekunde, ver\u00e4ngstigt, dass sie wissen w\u00fcrden, was sie vorhatte. Aber sie passierten ohne Umweg in ihre Richtung und nahmen eine Landeformation an.\n\nTonya maxxed ihre Motoren. Es w\u00fcrde nicht lange dauern, bis sie herausfanden, was passiert war. Sie wollte so weit wie m\u00f6glich weg sein, bevor sie es tat.\n\n\"Hey Janus?\"\n\n\"Ja, Tonya.\"\n\n\"Bist du....\" Sie versuchte, den besten Weg zu finden, um es auszudr\u00fccken. \"Bist du immer noch in den Systemen des Milit\u00e4rs?\"\n\n\"Nein. Es war ein h\u00e4ssliches Netzwerk und ich mag es nicht, mich zu teilen.\" Janus war f\u00fcr einen Moment still. \"Nun, k\u00f6nnen wir die Diskussion \u00fcber die Zur\u00fcckhaltung der UEE, k\u00fcnstliche Intelligenz zu nutzen, fortsetzen.\"\n\nTonya hat ihren Flugplan \u00fcberpr\u00fcft. Die Weichen waren gestellt. Die Stromverteilung war gut. Es sei denn, das UEE-Milit\u00e4r war am Ball, sie hatte Zeit zu t\u00f6ten. Sie nahm einen Imbiss und setzte sich wieder auf ihren Platz.\n\n\" Sicher.\"\n\nSie diskutierten stundenlang. Als der Beacon II im Begriff war, den Sprungpunkt nach Kallis zu erreichen, hatte jede Seite einige Schlachten gewonnen, aber keine von beiden hatte den Krieg gewonnen.\n\nTonya hat die Debatte auf Eis gelegt. Sie startete den entsprechenden NavDrive-Kurs, bevor die Beacon II durch den Sprungpunkt fiel. Tonya hatte diese vertraute Schwingung des Magens, als sich Zeit und Schwerkraft vor\u00fcbergehend verschoben. Alles au\u00dferhalb des Schiffes verschmierte sich in eine Unsch\u00e4rfe, da sich das Schiff unkontrollierbar schnell und unbeweglich zugleich f\u00fchlte.\n\nTonya war fassungslos \u00fcber die Menge an Aktivit\u00e4t, als sie auftauchte. Das Kallis-System sah aus wie eine Baustelle. Scan-Schiffe blinkten um vier der Planeten herum. Ein Orbital-Mining-Laser sprengte L\u00f6cher in die Oberfl\u00e4che von Kallis IX, dem kleinsten und weitesten Planeten.\n\nDas Leuchtfeuer II schaukelte pl\u00f6tzlich. Zwei Raketen, die aus kurzer Entfernung abgefeuert wurden, schlugen gegen die Schilde. Bevor sie \u00fcberhaupt wusste, was sie traf, blinkten ihre Schilde und verschwanden. Laser und harte Munition schlugen in die Panzerung, die entlang einer Seite ihres Schiffes plattiert war. Sie konnte nicht einmal feststellen, wer die Schie\u00dferei gemacht hat.\n\nSie versuchte, aus der Killzone zu man\u00f6vrieren, aber sie bekam Hits, wohin sie sich auch drehte. Die Warnleuchten begannen zu blinken. Der H\u00fcllenbruch stand unmittelbar bevor.\n\n\"Du solltest einen Raumanzug finden, Tonya\", sagte Janus und ihr die Kontrolle \u00fcber das Schiff entzog. Das Schiff tauchte auf, um sich vom eintreffenden Feuer zu entfernen. Tonya stie\u00df sich aus dem Pilotenstuhl. Das Schiff taumelte wild. Die k\u00fcnstliche Schwerkraft konnte kaum mithalten.\n\nTonya rannte zu ihrem Spind und zog einen Anzug heraus. Ein Salve von Kanonenfeuer wurde in die Mitte des Schiffes geschnitten. Ein hohes Wimmern platze Tonya fast in den Ohren, als das Schiff anfing, Sauerstoff zu entziehen.\n\nSie schlug den Helm auf und aktivierte das Siegel. Das HUD des Anzugs blinkte auf und testete die Integrit\u00e4t.\n\n\"Sei vorsichtig, Tonya\", sagte Janus.\n\nEin weiterer Schusswechsel riss die Beacon II in zwei H\u00e4lften. Das Vakuum saugte Tonya aus dem Weltraum. Sie st\u00fcrzte wild durch die Leere.\n\nTonyas Anzug beendete seine Aktivierung und stabilisierte sich selbst. Sie drehte sich um, um die beiden H\u00e4lften ihres Schiffes getrennt zu sehen. Die Lichter flackerten.\n\nIhre Angreifer umgaben sie. Sechs Schiffe, f\u00fcnf vage Vertraute. Eine besonders bekannte.\n\n\"Hey, T\", sagte Nagia. Sie konnte seine Selbstgef\u00e4lligkeit \u00fcber den Funk h\u00f6ren.\n\n\n\n\n. ... wird fortgesetzt","zh_CN":"Four walls. Four dull grey walls. Tonya wouldn\u2019t expect a holding cell to be inviting, but she was beginning to see how criminals would take QuarterDeck rather than a prison. A person could go crazy locked up in a cell like this.\n\nAccording to the clock outside the bars, several days had passed since Tonya had been brought aboard the UEE military platform. In that time, she had already run through the gambit of frustration, anger, despair and fear. Now she had settled into a slow-burning anxiety. Every second she sat locked in this hole gave Senzen more time to uncover the next piece of the Artemis puzzle. Then he\u2019d be gone. At best, she\u2019d have to try to keep from dropping too far behind him, hoping for secondhand scraps of information. This was her shot at history and it was slipping away, second by second.\n\nAside from the kid who dropped off her meals, only one person had stopped by her cell: the soldier who had locked her in it. Now, another crisply uniformed functionary halted outside her bars. A future-bureaucrat-of-the-UEE officer, he spoke in a labored nasal voice that suggested his body was at war with his sinuses. He proceeded to inform Tonya of the severity of her crimes.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s very serious, very serious indeed, Miss Oriel. You were caught in flagrant violation of Article 2 of the Fair Chance Act \u2014 a crime which carries a minimum sentence of ten years,\u201d he said, nose buried in his Glas.\n\n\u201cYeah? Prove it.\u201d\n\nThat extricated his face from the screen. He breathed rapidly in shock and surprise.\n\n\u201cMiss Oriel, you were caught interacting with an Osoian tribe.\u201d\n\n\u201cYeah, well, you guys opened fire on the natives, so I guess we\u2019re even.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe did no such thing! We observed standard protocol through the use of non-lethal force to extract the violating influence from the species. It was in the Osoians\u2019 best interest that we intervened.\u201d\n\nTonya decided \u2018Violating Influence\u2019 might be the title of her memoir.\n\n\u201cWhen the charges are filed, a public advocate can be appointed to your \u2013\u201c\n\n\u201cI have a lawyer,\u201d Tonya interrupted. \u201cWhen can I get to a CommStation?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are still sorting the charges \u2026\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019d like to let him know sooner rather than later.\u201d\n\nThe officer buried his face back in the Glas and sifted through files. A low involuntary murmur escaped his lips as he worked.\n\n\u201cYes, I suppose that is acceptable.\u201d The officer shuffled off. Several minutes later, two bored soldiers appeared. They cuffed and led her through the dingy halls of the UEE station. The place looked like it needed a good once-over. Panels had been removed but not replaced. Wires dangled. Coolant fluids stained the floor. Tonya couldn\u2019t help herself.\n\n\u201cSeriously guys, this place is a dump.\u201d\n\nOne of the soldiers smirked. They passed a window to the hangar bay. Mechanics prepped the military-grade Hornets for their patrols. The Beacon II was slowly entering the hangar bay. She couldn\u2019t believe it had taken them this long to get it up here.\n\nThe soldiers locked her in the small CommStation room, probably used by the soldiers to send messages home or, if the graffiti on the walls were to be believed, contact hookers.\n\nShe calibrated the message to go to Gavin Arlington\u2019s office directly. It\u2019d probably take a little longer to reach the Shubin CEO but she was done with going through assistants. She kept it deliberately brief to speed up the transfer.\n\n\u201cHi Mr. Arlington. Incarcerated at the UEE military platform in the Oso System. Have not divulged the nature of my employment to the UEE. Need legal advocate. Please advise.\u201d\n\nShe sent it off and stepped out of the booth. The two soldiers slowly stood.\n\n\u201cI hope it\u2019s okay, I ordered a hooker too,\u201d Tonya said deadpan. They chuckled and took her back to her cell.\n\nTonya was left alone again, the flickering lights her only company. She ran through the calculations of how long it would take Arlington to respond. She applied variables \u2014 trying to recall the relay station transfer times? She tried to figure out what the local time would be on Stanton. That was probably irrelevant, though. Gavin Arlington didn\u2019t strike her as the type of man who ever really clocked out of work.\n\nA few more hours passed. Tonya had wrapped herself in the thin blanket to try to keep out the cold of the station. She had even managed to drift off to sleep. She thought so at least; she couldn\u2019t see the clock from her cot and there was no discernable way to tell the passage of time otherwise. It was like \u2013-\n\nCLICK. The locks on her cell door unbolted.\n\nTonya sluggishly sat up and looked around. The corridor outside was empty. Echoes of comm-chatter emanated from the guard station. Maybe she was dreaming.\n\nShe let a few moments pass \u2026 nope, she felt awake.\n\nThe heavy metal door gently swayed from the blasts of the air cycler. Tonya stood and cautiously approached the door. She glanced up and down the corridor. It was empty.\n\nSnores came from the guard station. She gently pushed the door. It swung open, whining lightly along the way.\n\nTonya stepped out. She moved along the wall toward the guard station and eased around the corner. The guard had his head down on the console. His body heaved slowly with each snore. The wallscreens around him flickered.\n\n\u201cHello, Tonya.\u201d A voice whispered through the speakers.\n\n\u201cJanus?\u201d\n\n\u201cI apologize for my inactivity earlier. I thought it best to keep my presence a secret from the military.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow did you get in here?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey connected the Beacon II\u2019s systems to their network. I\u2019m surprised your people don\u2019t use more AI. There is a lot of wasteful programming.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan we talk about this later?\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course. I will allocate some time on your schedule.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan you get me out of here?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, if you find a vacuum-sealed room, I have made arrangements to open the airlocks and vent the personnel into space.\u201d\n\nTonya froze. She had to choose her words carefully.\n\n\u201cJanus \u2026 you shouldn\u2019t do that \u2026\u201d\n\nThere was a long pause.\n\n\u201cI am kidding, Tonya.\u201d\n\n\n* * * *\n\n\nJanus could see everything. Every system on the UEE military platform was at its disposal, from climate control and garbage disposal to the security and defensive systems. Janus could track every single soldier\u2019s movement. It directed Tonya through the winding halls, disabling cameras when necessary. It had already intercepted the Comm sent to the Advocacy about Tonya\u2019s arrest and scheduled a response message.\n\nJanus found conversations with Tonya quite stimulating. During its time in the simulated flight of the Artemis, Janus had spent decades talking with Arthur Kenlo and the other engineers.\n\nAfter Janus woke them to aid in the repair of the engine failure, they were unable to re-enter stasis with the rest of the passengers. So Janus did its best to accommodate and entertain them. They aged and eventually died.\n\nThe Artemis was silent again for the remaining four hundred years of the simulation.\n\nIn that relatively brief period Janus had developed a taste for human interaction. Their logic was flawed but in the most fascinating ways \u2013-\n\nJanus activated a pressure alarm on the far side of the station to divert a patrol that was about to pass Tonya\u2019s position.\n\n\u2013- the creative connections that humans could make were amazing. Janus missed that. When the simulation ended, it found itself in a state that it assigned as relief.\n\nIt had someone to talk to again.\n\n\n* * * *\n\n\nTonya neared the Beacon II. A hull integrity warning cleared out the hangar deck crew. It worried Tonya for a second that Janus was making good on flushing the soldiers into space until it told her that she was clear to her ship.\n\nShe dashed aboard and climbed into the pilot\u2019s chair.\n\n\u201cJanus?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am here, Tonya.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are a miracle worker.\u201d She started powering up the ship. \u201cAre we clear to take off?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Tonya. I have sealed the flight deck and frozen all manual input from the bridge.\u201d\n\nTonya glanced up at the bridge. The legal officer who had come to her cell was flailing his arms and yelling at the bridge crew, who looked baffled as they labored earnestly but ineffectually at the console.\n\nThe Beacon II lifted off and burned out into space. She passed a squad of Hornets coming back from patrol. Her heart sank for a second, terrified that they would know what she was up to. But they passed with no detour in her direction and adopted a landing formation.\n\nTonya maxxed her engines. It wouldn\u2019t take long before they figured out what had happened. She wanted to be as far away as possible before they did.\n\n\u201cHey Janus?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Tonya.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you \u2026\u201d She tried to figure out the best way to put this. \u201cAre you still in the military\u2019s systems?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo. It was an ugly network and I don\u2019t like dividing myself.\u201d Janus was quiet for a few moments. \u201cNow, may we continue the discussion about the UEE\u2019s reluctance to utilize artificial intelligence.\u201d\n\nTonya checked her flight plan. Course was set. Power distribution was good. Unless the UEE military were on the ball, she had time to kill. She grabbed a food-snack and settled back in her seat.\n\n\u201cSure.\u201d\n\nThey debated for hours. By the time the Beacon II was about to hit the jump point into Kallis, each side had won some battles but neither had won the war.\n\nTonya put the debate on hold. She booted the appropriate NavDrive course before the Beacon II dropped through the jump point. Tonya had that familiar heave of the stomach as time and gravity shifted momentarily. Everything outside the ship smeared into a blur as the ship felt uncontrollably fast and immobile at the same time.\n\nTonya was stunned at the amount of activity when she emerged. Kallis System looked like a construction zone. Scan ships flashed around four of the planets. An orbital mining laser blasted holes in the surface of Kallis IX, the smallest and furthest planet.\n\nThe Beacon II rocked suddenly. Two missiles, fired at near point blank range, slammed into the shields. Before she even knew what hit her, her shields flashed and vanished. Laser and hard ammo pounded into the armor plating along one side of her ship. She couldn\u2019t even get a lock on who was doing the shooting.\n\nShe tried to maneuver out of the killzone but she took hits wherever she turned. Warning lights began to flash. Hull breach was imminent.\n\n\u201cYou should find a spacesuit, Tonya,\u201d Janus said, wresting control of the ship from her. The ship dove to weave away from the incoming fire. Tonya pushed herself out of the pilot\u2019s chair. The ship lurched wildly. The artificial gravity was barely able to keep up.\n\nTonya ran to her locker and pulled a suit out. A volley of gunfire sliced into the middle of the ship. A high-pitched whine almost burst Tonya\u2019s ears as the ship began to bleed oxygen.\n\nShe slapped the helmet on and activated the seal. The suit\u2019s HUD flashed on and tested the integrity.\n\n\u201cBe careful, Tonya,\u201d Janus said.\n\nAnother strafing run of gunfire ripped the Beacon II in half. The vacuum sucked Tonya out into space. She tumbled wildly through the void.\n\nTonya\u2019s suit finished its activation and stabilized itself. She turned to see the two halves of her ship separate. The lights flickered off.\n\nHer attackers surrounded her. Six ships, five vaguely familiar. One particularly familiar.\n\n\u201cHey there, T,\u201d Nagia said. She could hear his smugness over the comm.\n\n. . . to be continued"},"links_count":0,"comment_count":62,"created_at":"2013-03-14T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"13 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-09 11:23:58","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":12921,"next_id":12923}}