{"data":{"id":12980,"title":"Writer's Guide: Part Five","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/spectrum-dispatch\/12980-Writers-Guide-Part-Five","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/12980","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/12980","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"Writer's Guide","images":[{"id":398,"name":"WriterGuideFI2_Crop.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/viqhhayioaj1er\/source\/WriterGuideFI2_Crop.jpg","alt":"","size":620486,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2013-07-19T05:22:37+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/398","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/398\/similar"}],"images_count":1,"translations":{"en_EN":"Hello again, Citizens. Time for another fact-filled odyssey through the Star Citizen universe. This week\u2019s installment is about the ne\u2019er-do-wells, the rapscallions, the thieves, pirates, pushers, pimps \u2026. pa\u2026.. periwinkles? Hell with it, the criminals.\nAs always, please consult our caveats before diving in.\n\nERRATA\nHere are a couple of companies that were missed in the list last week: Arrow & Ross Weapon Systems (A&R) : Family-oriented and affordable weapons manufacturer; imagine if Ikea sold turrets for your car.\n\nManufactures:\nShip weapons (Kinetic, Energy)\nMissiles\n\nGrade: Cheap to Standard\n\nMaxOx : Weapons manufacturer. They\u2019re chasing that elusive military weapons contract but their weapons are generally used by criminals, which hurts their PR a bit. Builds mostly kinetic weapons for ships (35mm Dredge Gun) as well as personal weapons: the MaxOx P4 (their attempt to rebuild the iconic Behring rifle as an energy weapon) is a rapid-cycle energy-based submachine-gun.\n\nManufactures:\nShip Weapons (Kinetic & Energy)\nPersonal Weapons\n\nGrade: Standard to Quality\n\nAs far as the quality levels, we went back and conformed the previous entry to comply with the following list (from worst to best):\n\nCheap Standard Quality Excellent Premium\n\nNow on to this week\u2019s topic:\nCRIME\nTimes are tough. Citizens and Civilians alike have fallen on hard times and it\u2019s difficult to keep on the straight and narrowpath when your family is starving. In addition, some just like to juke the system, carving out what they need or want for themselves. In short, there\u2019s no lack of reasons for why people turn to a life of crime. Crime appears in many forms. Though the methods may differ from world to world, system to system, there are drugs, thefts, murders, criminal organizations and corruption in every corner of the known universe.\n\nTo briefly recap the law enforcement side, planets are expected to police themselves. If a case should arise for intersystem justice, the Advocacy will get involved.\n\nSOME OF THE TYPES OF CRIMINALS:\n\nPIRATES\n\nPiracy is a growing epidemic in the UEE. Pirates can work solo or in groups (known as packs). As far as criminals go, pirates are the most diverse. Each pack generally operates by a loosely specified set of rules but there\u2019s little camaraderie between pirates, as they will steal from each other as often as they steal from Civilians or tip the law on their competition without a moment\u2019s hesitation. Some operate by a code of one sort or another, but others couldn\u2019t care less.\n\nSMUGGLERS\n\nTransport of illegal cargo has become a great way for haulers and shippers to earn Credits on the side. The types of cargo that fall under this category can be anything from stolen merchandise to illegal drugs to contraband weapons to slaves. Sometimes they might not even know what they\u2019re transporting, just another crate slipped in among the legitimate cargo.\n\nProfessional smugglers often use all manner of technological subterfuge to slip their product past the eyes of Customs, Law Enforcement, or Advocacy personnel. They will have counterscan technology, forged ship-tags, dummy crates or even concealed cargo holds to avoid detection.\n\nSLAVERS\/SENTIENT TRAFFICKERS\n\nTrafficking Sentient cargo is a risky proposition. Even among criminals, slavers are generally regarded as scum.\n\nEven so, slavery still exists in corners of the UEE. Sometimes it\u2019s dressed up with names like indentured servitude, but it is slavery, nonetheless. Some incredibly unscrupulous Corps will hire slavers to \u201crecruit\u201d employees for sledge camps (distant mining settlements that use manual labor to dig through rock). Slaves are also purchased to fight in gladiatorial rings or for off-grid scientific experimentation.\n\nSlaves can come from any culture: Human, Banu, Tevarin, or Xi\u2019An. Some Traffickers have even been known to abduct aliens from developing worlds.\n\nThere are two phases to any slave\u2019s introduction to servitude. Traffickers can handle one or both of these phases. First they are snatched. This can happen in the largest cities or most remote settlements. Then they are transported. Different trafficking outfits have different methods (this will usually indicate how sophisticated their operation is). Some throw them in a cage like any other live cargo, while others will anesthetize their products and transport them in scan-shielded coffins. Sometimes tracking studs are embedded into their bodies (usually as a visible marker on the wrist), coded so their owner can easily locate them but also to indicate that they are enslaved.\n\nSYNDICATES\n\nWhoever said crime doesn\u2019t pay clearly wasn\u2019t thinking on a macro level. Crime can be incredibly lucrative if you have the resources to not get caught. Syndicates include any group of people bound together as a single entity for the purposes of criminal enterprise. There are probably hundreds of syndicates of various sizes throughout the UEE. The larger syndicates can handle a wide variety of illegal services (drugs, slaves, and smuggling) while others are specialized (hit squads, for example). Even though any group of like-minded criminals could classify as a Syndicate, the name has a connotation of a Mafioso-type organization (in composition\/influence, not appearance).\n\nWhile we have alluded to the existence of syndicates in the lore but haven\u2019t really introduced any, so the sky\u2019s the limit for your own fiction. Treat them like any other character and ask yourself questions about how they\u2019re able to function outside of the law: do they own the local police? Maybe they only steal from other criminals? How public are they? Some syndicates want their name to carry weight while others prefer to stay out of the public (and even criminal) consciousness.\n\nINFOAGENTS\n\nMore of a personality than an official position, a good infoagent is the nexus of local news and information for his or her planet and system. They keep their ears to the ground and their eyes open, trying to keep abreast of what\u2019s going on around them: who\u2019s got work, who\u2019s looking for work, who\u2019s flying into the system, who\u2019s on their way out \u2026\n\nWe have already described infoagents in an earlier dispatch. Most pertinent to our discussion here, there are also the illegal ones. These shadowy information brokers are the local fixers for the criminal element. They can either represent a local syndicate or they can be freelancers, but these infoagents are the ones to talk to if you\u2019re looking to make a smuggling run or you\u2019ve got some boosted product to offload.\n\nTHE TEVARIN AND CRIME\n\nWe will dig into how the Tevarin became fixtures of the criminal underworld at a later date, but for the time being, if you see one, more often than not, they are\/have been\/know someone involved with the criminal element.\n\nNIGHTLIFE\n\nFortunately for Humanity, we still have booze. There are barrels of whiskey slowly aging in Croshaw, Sauvignon Blanc grapes growing on vines in Davien system and beer fermenting on Terra. So that\u2019s one thing we\u2019ve got going for us.\n\nOn the narcotic side, there are still legal and illegal drugs. Overtly harmful drugs (particularly those with no medical application) fall into the illegal category.\n\nPopular drugs:\n\nStims: Legal drug, composed of various combinations of tobacco, caffeine, and mood-enhancer. Smoked as a cigarette. Cheaper, knock-off brands are sold as packs of individual smokes while higher-end versions have electronic cylinders with replaceable cartridges.\n\nSLAM: A fear-inhibitor and painkiller. Most commonly ingested as a gas. Vials of SLAM are cracked and inhaled. Initially gained popularity as a steroid for athletes before going black-market. Heavy-duty SLAMjunkies are easily identifiable in public; they have \u2018the shakes\u2019 \u2014 involuntary muscle twitches. Important to note that this is not a sign of withdrawal, simply a side effect.\n\nWiDoW: Thick ink-black Opiate. Exclusively injected as a liquid. Extensive use stains the veins black, creating web-like subcutaneous patterns through the body.\n\nNeon: Club drug. Similar to Ecstasy. Slight hallucinogenic, affects the nervous system.\n\nMaze: Street name for a tranquilizer and knock-out hallucinogen, believed to be Xi\u2019An in origin. Looks like flakes of bark. It\u2019s lethal in heavy concentrations (many who try injecting it die immediately); it\u2019s meant to be ingested. The digestion process distills it to where it just messes you up. Dosing up is like taking a massive journey into your own mind. To the outside world, you\u2019re nearly comatose, but to you, it\u2019s a wild trip. A handful of religions have been started after a user took a dip in the maze. Aside from the toxic element, there\u2019s a chance you won\u2019t come down from the high. They call this \u2018getting disconnected.\u2019 Users stay locked in their own head until their brain decays.\n\nTHIEVES\u2019 CANT (or SLINGING THAT SLANG)\n\nSome claim that thieves\u2019 cant originated as early as the 16th century. While the information listed below is more slang than cant, it\u2019s not unlikely that enterprising criminals would devise a system of words to allow conversations of an illicit nature to occur in public settings.\n\nCathcart Dialect\n\nFor our new guests, Cathcart is a junkyard system. Used for decades as a dumping ground for the UEE\u2019s trash and demolished ships, it became a haven for refugees, criminals and anyone else who wanted to stay off the grid. Over the years, these inhabitants pieced together and repressurized fragments of old starships to create a floating home. More and more people began to arrive and built onto this original structure, ultimately creating Spider, the massive structure somewhere between an orbital platform and a planet. It\u2019s even withstood bombing runs from the UEE military.\n\nThe dialect first appeared in the Last Flight of the Seraphim story. Here\u2019s a sampling:\n\n\u201cWe\u2019s dropped for metals and such.\u201d Vik slurred in a thick Cathcart accent. His tiny eyes looked over Harroway. \u201cWhat you have?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe don\u2019t have anything.\u201d Harroway said. The pirate didn\u2019t like that answer.\n\n\u201cScrum don\u2019t chaw with the beddewan. Other we gon\u2019 spatter fon.\u201d Vik pressed the gun against Harroway\u2019s skull.\n\nThere aren\u2019t established rules for this dialect but let\u2019s take a look at those two lines.\n\nThe first is just a simplified method of speaking. The dialect was born on Spider, where there isn\u2019t a lot of public education, so the slang has lost most tense distinctions and some helping verbs. Like most accents, the thicker the dialect, the longer the person has lived on Spider.\n\nThe second line was meant to be impenetrable, mostly for dramatic purposes. The idea was to make the character Harroway out of his depth, so having him threatened with an intentionally confusing line made him feel even more helpless and the situation more terrifying.\n\nBut that doesn\u2019t mean it was written without a meaning:\n\nScrum = Similar to \u2018scum\u2019 it referred to a person for whom you have no real affection, i.e., I\u2019m calling you this because I don\u2019t like you and don\u2019t regard you as much of a person.\n\nChaw = a version of \u2018don\u2019t mess\/tangle\/toy with\u2019\n\nBeddewan = This is odd but was supposed to be a version of \u201cus here.\u201d In this context, it\u2019s referring to \u2018us, the pirates who have guns to your heads.\u2019\n\nSo the translation of the line is basically \u201cB***h, don\u2019t mess with us here.\u201d If it helps, the rolling cadence was meant to be an exaggerated version of a very thick Creole accent.\n\nOther Slang\n\nHere is a sampling of other slang words that have appeared in the various Dispatches and their meanings:\n\nAntiLaz (v) A contraction of \u201cAnti-Lazarus,\u201d any method of murdering someone to prevent the possibility of medical resuscitation or repair (such as shooting an ejection pod). Coined by Aarol Cobb, an ultra-religious hitman. (see also empty casket)\n\nDingo = (n.) the dookie-chute, the badonkadonk, i.e., the butt.\nSample Sentence: \u201cCan you believe this? As I was running, the cops shot me right in the dingo.\u201d\n\nDrift 1: (v) move away, get out of here. Usually used in a dismissive manner.\nSample Sentence: \u201cWhy don\u2019t you drift and let the adults talk.\u201d\n2: (n) to float aimlessly in space. Also used as a way to describe nomadic life in space.\nSample Sentence: \u201cProbably should have let him know his merchandise was out on the drift.\u201d\n\nEmpty Casket (n) A term for murdering someone to prevent the possibility of medical resuscitation or repair. (see also AntiLaz)\n\nGhost (v) to kill someone.\nSample Sentence: \u201cI ever see you again, you\u2019re ghosted.\u201d\n\nRoust (v) to raid\/rob.\nSample Sentence: \u201cSix ships passed armed to the teeth. Somebody was getting rousted tonight.\u201d\n\nSkag (n) idiot, some other fellow (see also Skiff)\nSample Sentence: \u201cSome skag came by and tried to rob my ship.\u201d\n\nSkiff (n) Slang for another person. Primarily used to describe a person who is actively flying a ship.\nSample Sentence: \u201cThe second I hit the system, I had some skiff on my tail.\u201d\n\nTag 1: (n) Registration tags, the info that comes up when your ship gets scanned.\nSample Sentence: \u201cI had some dirty tags so I couldn\u2019t land.\u201d\n2: (v) Getting identified\/scanned and logged into a system.\nSample Sentence: \u201cI know the cops tagged me before I hit the jump point.\u201d\nOr if you want to get real crazy: \u201cKilo got tagged before he could get new tags.\u201d\n\nWRITING CRIMINALS\n\nCrime and the criminal lifestyle is always fun to write. There\u2019s something intoxicating to the imagination about it \u2014 whether you like rogues with a moral code or gritty, desperate thugs, there\u2019s something in it for everyone. As with any story, ask yourselvf questions about your characters to build their backstory and motivations to this life of crime that they live, and just be true to that.\n\nAs far as the language\/slang goes, don\u2019t worry about adhering to the above list. There are no hard rules in this universe. Its sheer size and diversity means that there can be all sorts of slang words. Most of all, the language should be fun \u2014 speak it out loud several times to hear how fluid it sounds. Part of the reason slang develops is because it\u2019s an easier way to convey something. Sometimes, it\u2019s borne out of the local environment or history. Other times, it can come from Vids.\n\nSo, as always, trust your instincts and tailor it to fit within your story.\n\nQUESTIONS\nDeadBolt says:\n\nQ: Couple questions for next week\u2019s Guide:\n\nWith regards to The Advocacy, what is their internal hierarchy (ranking\/status) like?\n\nI\u2019m guessing that Army\/Navy recruiting will be similar to how it is now, but what about Advocacy\u2019s recruitment & training process?\n\nAs for the Bounty Hunters Guild, how does their ranking system work? (eg: Start off at Class F, get limited jobs, have to [work] arse off to get promoted to Class E.. Jobs offered get thinking of the bounty board in the manga\/anime Fairy Tail)\n\nPretty much, any additional information on BHG and The Advocacy is appreciated (particularly Advocacy with regards to ranking, recruitment, training, how field agents operate, etc.).\n\nA: We haven\u2019t determined how the Bounty Hunters Guild works. There will probably be some kind of rating\/reputation system. In the Tracker Spectrum Dispatch (http:\/\/www.robertsspaceindustries.com\/news-update-bounty-hunter-guild-news\/) we mentioned entry and silver levels (insinuating that there are probably bronze, gold, maybe platinum, etc.) but we haven\u2019t firmly tackled this issue. If there\u2019s a specific question you have for a story, let me know what it is and maybe we can figure something out.\n\nThe Advocacy recruits from the Police and the Military. It\u2019s a grueling process, as being an effective Advocacy Agent is part tracker, part combat pilot, and part social engineer.\n\nFor the Advocacy, here\u2019s a rough pass of the ranking structure. Without getting into the multiple divisions within The Advocacy, or forensic science departments, this is the standard Advocacy Agent\u2019s career path:\n\nSpecial Agent\nSupervisory Special Agent\nAssistant Special Agent-in-Charge (ASAC)\nSpec Agent-in-Charge (SAC)\nAssistant Section Chief (ASC)\nSection Chief (SC) (oversees Advocacy activity in one system)\nDeputy Assistant Director\nAssistant Director\nDirector (highest position in The Advocacy)\nHigh-Advocate\n\nThat\u2019s it for this week. As always, leave your comments\/questions below. We\u2019re not sure what topic to cover next week so we\u2019d like to hear from you. Is there anything that you\u2019d especially like to cover?","de_DE":"Nochmals Hallo, B\u00fcrger. Zeit f\u00fcr eine weitere faktenreiche Odyssee durch das Star Citizen-Universum. In dieser Woche geht es um die ne'er-do-wells, die rapscallions, die Diebe, Piraten, Piraten, Dealer, Zuh\u00e4lter.... pa... pa....... periwinkles? Zum Teufel damit, die Kriminellen.\nWie immer, konsultiere bitte unsere Vorbehalte, bevor du eintauchst.\n\nERRATA\n\nHier sind ein paar Unternehmen, die letzte Woche in der Liste vermisst wurden: Arrow & Ross Weapon Systems (A&R) : Familienorientierter und erschwinglicher Waffenhersteller; stellen Sie sich vor, Ikea w\u00fcrde T\u00fcrme f\u00fcr Ihr Auto verkaufen.\n\nHersteller:\nSchiffswaffen (kinetisch, Energie)\nRaketen\n\nKlasse: G\u00fcnstig nach Standard\n\n\n\nMaxOx : Waffenhersteller. Sie jagen diesen schwer fassbaren milit\u00e4rischen Waffenvertrag, aber ihre Waffen werden im Allgemeinen von Kriminellen benutzt, was ihrer PR ein wenig schadet. Baut haupts\u00e4chlich kinetische Waffen f\u00fcr Schiffe (35mm Baggerkanone) sowie pers\u00f6nliche Waffen: Die MaxOx P4 (ihr Versuch, das legend\u00e4re Behring-Gewehr als Energiewaffe wieder aufzubauen) ist eine schnell laufende energiebasierte Submaschinenkanone.\n\nHersteller:\nSchiffswaffen (Kinetik & Energie)\nPers\u00f6nliche Waffen\n\nQualit\u00e4t: Standard in der Qualit\u00e4t\n\n\n\nWas die Qualit\u00e4tsstufen betrifft, so sind wir zur\u00fcckgegangen und haben den vorherigen Eintrag angepasst, um der folgenden Liste zu entsprechen (von worst zu best):\n\nBillig\nStandard\nQualit\u00e4t\nAusgezeichnet\nPremium\n\n\n\n\nNun zum Thema dieser Woche:\n\n\nVERBRECHEN\n\nDie Zeiten sind hart. Sowohl B\u00fcrger als auch Zivilisten sind in schwere Zeiten geraten, und es ist schwierig, auf dem geraden und schmalen Pfad zu bleiben, wenn Ihre Familie am Verhungern ist. Dar\u00fcber hinaus m\u00f6gen einige einfach nur das System, um herauszufinden, was sie brauchen oder wollen. Kurz gesagt, es mangelt nicht an Gr\u00fcnden, warum Menschen sich einem Leben voller Verbrechen zuwenden. Verbrechen tritt in vielen Formen auf. Obwohl die Methoden von Welt zu Welt, von System zu System unterschiedlich sein k\u00f6nnen, gibt es Drogen, Diebst\u00e4hle, Morde, kriminelle Organisationen und Korruption in jeder Ecke des bekannten Universums.\n\nUm die Seite der Strafverfolgung kurz zusammenzufassen, wird von den Planeten erwartet, dass sie sich selbst \u00fcberwachen. Sollte ein Fall von system\u00fcbergreifender Gerechtigkeit auftreten, wird sich die Advocacy beteiligen.\n\n\n\nEINIGE DER ARTEN VON KRIMINELLEN:\n\nPIRATEN\n\nPiraterie ist eine wachsende Epidemie in der UEE. Piraten k\u00f6nnen allein oder in Gruppen arbeiten (sogenannte Packs). Was Kriminelle betrifft, so sind Piraten die vielf\u00e4ltigsten. Jedes Rudel arbeitet im Allgemeinen nach einem locker festgelegten Regelwerk, aber es gibt wenig Kameradschaft zwischen den Piraten, da sie sich so oft gegenseitig bestehlen, wie sie von Zivilisten stehlen oder ohne einen Moment zu z\u00f6gern das Gesetz \u00fcber ihre Konkurrenz verraten. Einige arbeiten mit einem Code der einen oder anderen Art, aber andere k\u00f6nnten sich nicht weniger darum k\u00fcmmern.\n\n\n\nSCHMUGGLER\n\nDer Transport illegaler Fracht ist f\u00fcr Spediteure und Verlader zu einer guten M\u00f6glichkeit geworden, nebenbei Credits zu verdienen. Die Arten von Ladung, die unter diese Kategorie fallen, k\u00f6nnen alles sein, von gestohlenen Waren \u00fcber illegale Drogen bis hin zu Schmuggelwaffen und Sklaven. Manchmal wissen sie vielleicht nicht einmal, was sie transportieren, nur eine weitere Kiste schl\u00fcpfte zwischen die legitime Ladung.\n\nProfessionelle Schmuggler nutzen oft alle Arten von technologischen T\u00e4uschungen, um ihr Produkt an den Augen von Zoll-, Strafverfolgungs- oder Anwaltspersonal vorbeizuleiten. Sie verf\u00fcgen \u00fcber Gegenscan-Technologie, gef\u00e4lschte Schiffsetiketten, Dummy-Kisten oder sogar verdeckte Lader\u00e4ume, um die Erkennung zu umgehen.\n\n\n\nSKLAVENH\u00c4NDLER\/SENSIBLE SCHLEPPER\n\nDer Handel mit empfindlicher Fracht ist ein riskantes Unterfangen. Selbst unter Kriminellen werden Sklavenh\u00e4ndler allgemein als Abschaum angesehen.\n\nDennoch existiert Sklaverei immer noch in den Ecken der UEE. Manchmal ist es mit Namen wie zerrissene Sklaverei verkleidet, aber es ist trotzdem Sklaverei. Einige unglaublich skrupellose Corps werden Sklavenh\u00e4ndler einstellen, um Mitarbeiter f\u00fcr Schlittenlager \"zu rekrutieren\" (entfernte Bergbaugebiete, die mit Handarbeit durch den Felsen graben). Sklaven werden auch gekauft, um in Gladiatorringen zu k\u00e4mpfen oder f\u00fcr wissenschaftliche Experimente au\u00dferhalb des Netzes.\n\nSklaven k\u00f6nnen aus jeder Kultur kommen: Mensch, Banu, Tevarin oder Xi'An. Einige Traffickers sind sogar daf\u00fcr bekannt, Au\u00dferirdische aus Entwicklungsl\u00e4ndern zu entf\u00fchren.\n\nEs gibt zwei Phasen f\u00fcr die Einf\u00fchrung eines Sklaven in die Sklaverei. Traffickers k\u00f6nnen eine oder beide dieser Phasen bew\u00e4ltigen. Zuerst werden sie geschnappt. Dies kann in den gr\u00f6\u00dften St\u00e4dten oder in den abgelegensten Siedlungen geschehen. Dann werden sie transportiert. Verschiedene Schlepperorganisationen haben unterschiedliche Methoden (dies zeigt in der Regel, wie ausgekl\u00fcgelt ihre Arbeitsweise ist). Einige werfen sie in einen K\u00e4fig wie jede andere lebende Ladung, w\u00e4hrend andere ihre Produkte bet\u00e4uben und in scangesch\u00fctzten S\u00e4rgen transportieren. Manchmal sind Tracking Stollen in ihren K\u00f6rper eingebettet (meist als sichtbare Markierung am Handgelenk), kodiert, damit ihr Besitzer sie leicht lokalisieren kann, aber auch um anzuzeigen, dass sie versklavt sind.\n\n\n\nSYNDIKATE\n\nWer gesagt hat, dass Verbrechen sich nicht klar bezahlt macht, hat nicht auf der Makroebene gedacht. Verbrechen kann unglaublich lukrativ sein, wenn man die Ressourcen hat, um nicht erwischt zu werden. Zu den Syndikaten geh\u00f6rt jede Gruppe von Personen, die als eine einzige Einheit f\u00fcr kriminelle Zwecke miteinander verbunden sind. Es gibt wahrscheinlich Hunderte von Syndikaten verschiedener Gr\u00f6\u00dfe in der gesamten UEE. Die gr\u00f6\u00dferen Syndikate k\u00f6nnen eine Vielzahl illegaler Dienstleistungen (Drogen, Sklaven und Schmuggel) erbringen, w\u00e4hrend andere spezialisiert sind (z.B. Killerkommandos). Obwohl jede Gruppe von gleichgesinnten Kriminellen als Syndikat klassifiziert werden k\u00f6nnte, hat der Name eine Konnotation von einer Organisation vom Typ Mafioso (in Zusammensetzung\/Einfluss, nicht Aussehen).\n\nW\u00e4hrend wir in der \u00dcberlieferung auf die Existenz von Syndikaten hingewiesen haben, aber keine wirklich eingef\u00fchrt haben, ist der Himmel die Grenze f\u00fcr deine eigene Fiktion. Behandle sie wie jeden anderen Charakter und stelle dir Fragen, wie sie au\u00dferhalb des Gesetzes funktionieren k\u00f6nnen: Geh\u00f6rt ihnen die lokale Polizei? Vielleicht stehlen sie nur von anderen Kriminellen? Wie \u00f6ffentlich sind sie? Einige Syndikate wollen, dass ihr Name Gewicht hat, w\u00e4hrend andere es vorziehen, sich dem \u00f6ffentlichen (und sogar kriminellen) Bewusstsein zu entziehen.\n\n\n\nINFOAGENTE\n\nMehr eine Pers\u00f6nlichkeit als eine offizielle Position, ein guter Infoagent ist der Knotenpunkt f\u00fcr lokale Nachrichten und Informationen f\u00fcr seinen oder ihren Planeten und sein System. Sie halten die Ohren offen und die Augen offen, versuchen, \u00fcber das Geschehen um sie herum auf dem Laufenden zu bleiben: wer hat Arbeit, wer sucht Arbeit, wer fliegt in das System, wer ist auf dem Weg nach drau\u00dfen.....\n\nWir haben bereits Infoagenten in einem fr\u00fcheren Versand beschrieben. Am wichtigsten f\u00fcr unsere Diskussion hier ist, dass es auch die illegalen gibt. Diese schattigen Informationsbroker sind die lokalen Helfer f\u00fcr das kriminelle Element. Sie k\u00f6nnen entweder ein lokales Syndikat vertreten oder sie k\u00f6nnen Freiberufler sein, aber diese Infoagenten sind diejenigen, mit denen man sprechen sollte, wenn man einen Schmuggel durchf\u00fchren will oder wenn man ein verst\u00e4rktes Produkt zum Ausladen hat.\n\n\n\nDAS TEVARIN UND DAS VERBRECHEN\n\nWir werden untersuchen, wie die Tevarin zu einem sp\u00e4teren Zeitpunkt zu Fixtures der kriminellen Unterwelt wurden, aber vorerst, wenn man eine sieht, sind sie meistens jemand, der mit dem kriminellen Element zu tun hat.\n\n\n\nNIGHTLIFE\n\nGl\u00fccklicherweise f\u00fcr die Menschheit haben wir noch Alkohol. Es gibt F\u00e4sser mit Whiskey, die langsam im Croshaw reifen, Sauvignon Blanc-Trauben, die auf Reben im Davien-System wachsen, und Bier, das auf Terra g\u00e4rt. Das ist also eine Sache, die wir f\u00fcr uns haben.\n\nAuf der narkotischen Seite gibt es noch legale und illegale Drogen. Zu den illegalen Drogen geh\u00f6ren offensichtlich sch\u00e4dliche Drogen (insbesondere solche ohne medizinische Anwendung).\n\nBeliebte Drogen:\n\nStims: Legale Droge, bestehend aus verschiedenen Kombinationen von Tabak, Koffein und Stimmungsaufhellern. Geraucht wie eine Zigarette. Billigere, gef\u00e4lschte Marken werden als Einzelrauchpackungen verkauft, w\u00e4hrend High-End-Versionen elektronische Zylinder mit austauschbaren Kartuschen haben.\n\nSLAM: Ein Angsthemmer und Schmerzmittel. Am h\u00e4ufigsten als Gas eingenommen. Die Ampullen von SLAM werden geknackt und inhaliert. Zuerst gewann die Popularit\u00e4t als Steroid f\u00fcr Athleten, bevor sie auf den Schwarzmarkt kamen. Schwerlastige SLAMjunkies sind in der \u00d6ffentlichkeit leicht zu erkennen; sie haben \"die Zittern\" - unwillk\u00fcrliche Muskelzuckungen. Wichtig zu beachten ist, dass dies kein Zeichen f\u00fcr eine Auszahlung ist, sondern lediglich eine Nebenwirkung.\n\nWiDoW: Dicke Tinte - schwarzes Opiat. Ausschlie\u00dflich als Fl\u00fcssigkeit injiziert. Bei umfangreicher Anwendung werden die Venen schwarz gef\u00e4rbt und es entstehen webartige subkutane Muster durch den K\u00f6rper.\n\nNeon: Clubdroge. \u00c4hnlich wie Ecstasy. Leicht halluzinogen, wirkt auf das Nervensystem.\n\nLabyrinth: Stra\u00dfenname f\u00fcr ein Beruhigungsmittel und ein Knock-out-Halluzinogen, das vermutlich aus Xi'An stammt. Sieht aus wie Rindenflocken. Es ist t\u00f6dlich in hohen Konzentrationen (viele, die versuchen, es sofort zu injizieren, sterben sofort); es ist dazu bestimmt, aufgenommen zu werden. Der Verdauungsprozess destilliert es so, dass es dich nur noch durcheinander bringt. Das Dosieren ist wie eine massive Reise in den eigenen Kopf. Nach au\u00dfen hin bist du fast im Koma, aber f\u00fcr dich ist es eine wilde Reise. Eine Handvoll Religionen wurden gegr\u00fcndet, nachdem ein Benutzer ein Bad im Labyrinth genommen hatte. Abgesehen von dem giftigen Element besteht die M\u00f6glichkeit, dass du nicht von oben nach unten kommst. Sie nennen das \"getrennt werden\". Die Benutzer bleiben in ihrem eigenen Kopf eingeschlossen, bis ihr Gehirn zerf\u00e4llt.\n\n\n\nDer KANTAL (oder die Schleuder, die diesen SLANG schleudert).\n\nEinige behaupten, dass die Neigung der Diebe bereits im 16. Jahrhundert entstanden sei. W\u00e4hrend die unten aufgef\u00fchrten Informationen mehr Slang als Neigung sind, ist es nicht unwahrscheinlich, dass unternehmungslustige Kriminelle ein Wortsystem entwickeln w\u00fcrden, um Gespr\u00e4che illegaler Natur in \u00f6ffentlichen R\u00e4umen zu erm\u00f6glichen.\n\nCathcart Dialekt\n\nF\u00fcr unsere neuen G\u00e4ste ist Cathcart ein Schrottplatzsystem. Jahrzehntelang als M\u00fcllhalde f\u00fcr den M\u00fcll und die abgerissenen Schiffe der UEE genutzt, wurde es zu einem Zufluchtsort f\u00fcr Fl\u00fcchtlinge, Kriminelle und alle anderen, die sich vom Netz fern halten wollten. Im Laufe der Jahre haben diese Bewohner Fragmente alter Raumschiffe zu einem schwimmenden Zuhause zusammengef\u00fcgt und unter Druck gesetzt. Immer mehr Menschen begannen anzukommen und bauten auf dieser urspr\u00fcnglichen Struktur auf und schufen schlie\u00dflich Spider, die massive Struktur irgendwo zwischen einer Orbitalplattform und einem Planeten. Es hat sogar Bombenangriffen des UEE-Milit\u00e4rs standgehalten.\n\nDer Dialekt erschien erstmals in der Geschichte vom letzten Flug der Seraphim. Hier ist eine Kostprobe:\n\n\"Wir haben f\u00fcr Metalle und so was verloren.\" Vik schw\u00e4rmte in einem dicken Cathcart-Akzent. Seine kleinen Augen blickten \u00fcber Harroway. \"Was hast du da?\"\n\n\"Wir haben nichts.\" sagte Harroway. Dem Piraten gefiel diese Antwort nicht.\n\n\"Scrum kaut nicht mit dem Bettler. Sonst haben wir noch Spritzerfon.\" Vik dr\u00fcckte die Waffe gegen Harroways Sch\u00e4del.\n\n\n\nEs gibt keine festgelegten Regeln f\u00fcr diesen Dialekt, aber lassen Sie uns einen Blick auf diese beiden Zeilen werfen.\n\nDie erste ist nur eine vereinfachte Sprechweise. Der Dialekt wurde auf Spider geboren, wo es nicht viel \u00f6ffentliche Bildung gibt, so dass der Slang die meisten angespannten Unterschiede und einige hilfreiche Verben verloren hat. Wie die meisten Akzente, je dicker der Dialekt, desto l\u00e4nger hat die Person auf Spider gelebt.\n\nDie zweite Linie sollte undurchdringlich sein, meist f\u00fcr dramatische Zwecke. Die Idee war, die Figur Harroway aus seiner Tiefe herauszuholen, so dass er sich durch die Drohung mit einer bewusst verwirrenden Linie noch hilfloser und die Situation noch erschreckender f\u00fchlte.\n\nAber das bedeutet nicht, dass es ohne Bedeutung geschrieben wurde:\n\nScrum = \u00c4hnlich wie \"Abschaum\" bezog es sich auf eine Person, f\u00fcr die du keine echte Zuneigung hast, d.h. ich nenne dich so, weil ich dich nicht mag und dich nicht als viel von einer Person betrachte.\n\nChaw = eine Version von'don't mess\/tangle\/toy with'.\n\nBeddewan = Das ist seltsam, sollte aber eine Version von \"uns hier\" sein. In diesem Zusammenhang geht es um \"uns, die Piraten, die Waffen auf den Kopf haben\".\n\nDie \u00dcbersetzung der Zeile lautet also im Grunde \"B***h, leg dich nicht mit uns an.\" Wenn es hilft, war die Rollkadenz als \u00fcbertriebene Version eines sehr dicken kreolischen Akzents gedacht.\n\n\n\nAnderer Slang\n\nHier ist eine Auswahl anderer Slang-W\u00f6rter, die in den verschiedenen Dispatches und deren Bedeutungen erschienen sind:\n\nAntiLaz (v) Eine Kontraktion von \"Anti-Lazarus\", jede Methode des Mordes an jemandem, um die M\u00f6glichkeit einer medizinischen Reanimation oder Reparatur zu verhindern (wie z.B. das Schie\u00dfen einer Auswurfs\u00e4ule). Gepr\u00e4gt von Aarol Cobb, einem ultra-religi\u00f6sen Killer. (siehe auch leerer Sarg)\n\nDingo = (n.) der Dookie-Rutsche, der Badonkadonk, d.h. der Hintern.\nBeispielsatz: \"Kannst du das glauben? Als ich weglief, schossen mich die Bullen direkt in den Dingo.\"\n\nDrift 1: (v) gehen Sie weg, verschwinden Sie von hier. In der Regel abweisend verwendet.\nBeispielsatz: \"Warum treibst du nicht und l\u00e4sst die Erwachsenen reden.\"\n2: (n) ziellos im Raum zu schweben. Wird auch als Methode zur Beschreibung des nomadischen Lebens im Raum verwendet.\nBeispielsatz: \"Wahrscheinlich h\u00e4tte ich ihn wissen lassen sollen, dass seine Ware auf dem Vormarsch war.\"\n\nLeerer Sarg (n) Ein Begriff f\u00fcr den Mord an jemandem, um die M\u00f6glichkeit einer medizinischen Reanimation oder Reparatur zu verhindern. (siehe auch AntiLaz)\n\nGeist (v), um jemanden zu t\u00f6ten.\nBeispielsatz: \"Wenn ich dich jemals wiedersehe, bist du verwirrt.\"\n\nRoust (v) zum \u00dcberfall\/Raub.\nBeispielsatz: \"Sechs Schiffe kamen bewaffnet bis an die Z\u00e4hne. Heute Abend wurde jemand vergewaltigt.\"\n\nSkag (n) Idiot, ein anderer Kerl (siehe auch Skiff)\nBeispielsatz: \"Ein Skag kam vorbei und versuchte, mein Schiff auszurauben.\"\n\nSkiff (n) Slang f\u00fcr eine andere Person. Wird in erster Linie zur Beschreibung einer Person verwendet, die aktiv ein Schiff fliegt.\nBeispielsatz: \"In dem Moment, als ich das System traf, hatte ich ein Boot am Heck.\"\n\nTag 1: (n) Registrierungs-Tags, die Informationen, die auftauchen, wenn Ihr Schiff gescannt wird.\nBeispielsatz: \"Ich hatte ein paar schmutzige Etiketten, damit ich nicht landen konnte.\"\n2: (v) Identifizieren\/Scannen und Einloggen in ein System.\nBeispielsatz: \"Ich wei\u00df, dass die Bullen mich markiert haben, bevor ich den Sprungpunkt erreichte.\"\nOder wenn du wirklich verr\u00fcckt werden willst: \"Kilo wurde markiert, bevor er neue Etiketten bekommen konnte.\"\n\n\n\nSCHREIBEN VON KRIMINELLEN\n\nVerbrechen und der kriminelle Lebensstil machen immer Spa\u00df zu schreiben. Die Phantasie hat etwas Berauschendes an sich - ob man nun Schurken mit Moralkodex oder mutige, verzweifelte Schl\u00e4ger mag, da ist f\u00fcr jeden etwas dabei. Wie bei jeder Geschichte, stellen Sie sich selbst Fragen \u00fcber Ihre Charaktere, um ihre Hintergrundgeschichte und Motivationen f\u00fcr dieses Leben des Verbrechens, das sie leben, aufzubauen, und seien Sie einfach ehrlich dazu.\n\nWas die Sprache\/den Slang betrifft, machen Sie sich keine Sorgen, dass Sie sich an die oben genannte Liste halten. Es gibt keine festen Regeln in diesem Universum. Seine schiere Gr\u00f6\u00dfe und Vielfalt bedeutet, dass es alle Arten von Slang-W\u00f6rtern geben kann. Vor allem soll die Sprache Spa\u00df machen - sprechen Sie sie mehrmals laut aus, um zu h\u00f6ren, wie fl\u00fcssig sie klingt. Ein Teil des Grundes, warum Slang entsteht, ist, dass es ein einfacherer Weg ist, etwas zu vermitteln. Manchmal ist es aus der lokalen Umgebung oder der Geschichte entstanden. Andere Male kann es von Vids kommen.\n\nVertrauen Sie also wie immer Ihren Instinkten und passen Sie sie an Ihre Geschichte an.\n\n\n\n\nFRAGEN\nDeadBolt sagt:\n\nF: Paar Fragen f\u00fcr den Leitfaden der n\u00e4chsten Woche:\n\nIn Bezug auf The Advocacy, wie sieht ihre interne Hierarchie (Ranking\/Status) aus?\n\nIch sch\u00e4tze, dass die Rekrutierung von Armee und Marine \u00e4hnlich sein wird wie jetzt, aber was ist mit dem Rekrutierungs- und Ausbildungsprozess von Advocacy?\n\nWas die Gilde der Kopfgeldj\u00e4ger betrifft, wie funktioniert ihr Ranglistensystem? (z.B.: Beginnen Sie in der Klasse F, bekommen Sie begrenzte Jobs, m\u00fcssen Sie[Arbeit] Arsch ab, um in die Klasse E bef\u00f6rdert zu werden.... Die angebotenen Jobs denken an das Bounty Board im Manga\/Anime Fairy Tail).\n\nPraktisch alle zus\u00e4tzlichen Informationen \u00fcber BHG und The Advocacy sind willkommen (insbesondere die Advocacy in Bezug auf Ranking, Rekrutierung, Ausbildung, Arbeitsweise der Au\u00dfendienstmitarbeiter usw.).\n\n\n\nA: Wir haben nicht festgelegt, wie die Kopfgeldj\u00e4ger-Gilde funktioniert. Es wird wahrscheinlich eine Art Bewertungs-\/Reputationssystem geben. Im Tracker Spectrum Dispatch (http:\/\/www.robertsspaceindustries.com\/news-update-bounty-hunter-guild-news\/) erw\u00e4hnten wir die Einstiegs- und Silberwerte (was darauf hindeutet, dass es wahrscheinlich Bronze, Gold, vielleicht Platin usw. gibt), aber wir haben dieses Problem nicht fest angegangen. Wenn es eine spezifische Frage gibt, die du f\u00fcr eine Geschichte hast, lass mich wissen, was es ist, und vielleicht k\u00f6nnen wir etwas herausfinden.\n\nDie Advocacy rekrutiert Mitarbeiter aus Polizei und Milit\u00e4r. Es ist ein anstrengender Prozess, da ein effektiver Advocacy-Agent Teilverfolger, Teil Kampfpilot und Teil Sozialingenieur ist.\n\nF\u00fcr die Advocacy gibt es hier einen groben \u00dcberblick \u00fcber die Rangordnung. Ohne in die verschiedenen Abteilungen von The Advocacy oder die forensischen wissenschaftlichen Abteilungen einzusteigen, ist dies der Karriereweg des Standard-Advocacy-Agenten:\n\nSonderbeauftragter\nAufsichtsrechtlicher Sonderbeauftragter\nAssistent des verantwortlichen Sonderbeauftragten (ASAC)\nSpezifischer Verantwortlicher (SAC)\nStellvertretender Abteilungsleiter (ASC)\nSection Chief (SC) (\u00fcberwacht die Advocacy-T\u00e4tigkeit in einem System)\nStellvertretender stellvertretender Direktor\nStellvertretender Direktor\nDirektor (h\u00f6chste Position in The Advocacy)\nHigh-Advocate\n\n\n\n\nDas war's f\u00fcr diese Woche. Wie immer, lassen Sie Ihre Kommentare\/Fragen unten. Wir sind uns nicht sicher, welches Thema wir n\u00e4chste Woche behandeln sollen, also w\u00fcrden wir gerne von Ihnen h\u00f6ren. Gibt es etwas, das Sie besonders gerne behandeln w\u00fcrden?","zh_CN":"Hello again, Citizens. Time for another fact-filled odyssey through the Star Citizen universe. This week\u2019s installment is about the ne\u2019er-do-wells, the rapscallions, the thieves, pirates, pushers, pimps \u2026. pa\u2026.. periwinkles? Hell with it, the criminals.\nAs always, please consult our caveats before diving in.\n\nERRATA\nHere are a couple of companies that were missed in the list last week: Arrow & Ross Weapon Systems (A&R) : Family-oriented and affordable weapons manufacturer; imagine if Ikea sold turrets for your car.\n\nManufactures:\nShip weapons (Kinetic, Energy)\nMissiles\n\nGrade: Cheap to Standard\n\nMaxOx : Weapons manufacturer. They\u2019re chasing that elusive military weapons contract but their weapons are generally used by criminals, which hurts their PR a bit. Builds mostly kinetic weapons for ships (35mm Dredge Gun) as well as personal weapons: the MaxOx P4 (their attempt to rebuild the iconic Behring rifle as an energy weapon) is a rapid-cycle energy-based submachine-gun.\n\nManufactures:\nShip Weapons (Kinetic & Energy)\nPersonal Weapons\n\nGrade: Standard to Quality\n\nAs far as the quality levels, we went back and conformed the previous entry to comply with the following list (from worst to best):\n\nCheap Standard Quality Excellent Premium\n\nNow on to this week\u2019s topic:\nCRIME\nTimes are tough. Citizens and Civilians alike have fallen on hard times and it\u2019s difficult to keep on the straight and narrowpath when your family is starving. In addition, some just like to juke the system, carving out what they need or want for themselves. In short, there\u2019s no lack of reasons for why people turn to a life of crime. Crime appears in many forms. Though the methods may differ from world to world, system to system, there are drugs, thefts, murders, criminal organizations and corruption in every corner of the known universe.\n\nTo briefly recap the law enforcement side, planets are expected to police themselves. If a case should arise for intersystem justice, the Advocacy will get involved.\n\nSOME OF THE TYPES OF CRIMINALS:\n\nPIRATES\n\nPiracy is a growing epidemic in the UEE. Pirates can work solo or in groups (known as packs). As far as criminals go, pirates are the most diverse. Each pack generally operates by a loosely specified set of rules but there\u2019s little camaraderie between pirates, as they will steal from each other as often as they steal from Civilians or tip the law on their competition without a moment\u2019s hesitation. Some operate by a code of one sort or another, but others couldn\u2019t care less.\n\nSMUGGLERS\n\nTransport of illegal cargo has become a great way for haulers and shippers to earn Credits on the side. The types of cargo that fall under this category can be anything from stolen merchandise to illegal drugs to contraband weapons to slaves. Sometimes they might not even know what they\u2019re transporting, just another crate slipped in among the legitimate cargo.\n\nProfessional smugglers often use all manner of technological subterfuge to slip their product past the eyes of Customs, Law Enforcement, or Advocacy personnel. They will have counterscan technology, forged ship-tags, dummy crates or even concealed cargo holds to avoid detection.\n\nSLAVERS\/SENTIENT TRAFFICKERS\n\nTrafficking Sentient cargo is a risky proposition. Even among criminals, slavers are generally regarded as scum.\n\nEven so, slavery still exists in corners of the UEE. Sometimes it\u2019s dressed up with names like indentured servitude, but it is slavery, nonetheless. Some incredibly unscrupulous Corps will hire slavers to \u201crecruit\u201d employees for sledge camps (distant mining settlements that use manual labor to dig through rock). Slaves are also purchased to fight in gladiatorial rings or for off-grid scientific experimentation.\n\nSlaves can come from any culture: Human, Banu, Tevarin, or Xi\u2019An. Some Traffickers have even been known to abduct aliens from developing worlds.\n\nThere are two phases to any slave\u2019s introduction to servitude. Traffickers can handle one or both of these phases. First they are snatched. This can happen in the largest cities or most remote settlements. Then they are transported. Different trafficking outfits have different methods (this will usually indicate how sophisticated their operation is). Some throw them in a cage like any other live cargo, while others will anesthetize their products and transport them in scan-shielded coffins. Sometimes tracking studs are embedded into their bodies (usually as a visible marker on the wrist), coded so their owner can easily locate them but also to indicate that they are enslaved.\n\nSYNDICATES\n\nWhoever said crime doesn\u2019t pay clearly wasn\u2019t thinking on a macro level. Crime can be incredibly lucrative if you have the resources to not get caught. Syndicates include any group of people bound together as a single entity for the purposes of criminal enterprise. There are probably hundreds of syndicates of various sizes throughout the UEE. The larger syndicates can handle a wide variety of illegal services (drugs, slaves, and smuggling) while others are specialized (hit squads, for example). Even though any group of like-minded criminals could classify as a Syndicate, the name has a connotation of a Mafioso-type organization (in composition\/influence, not appearance).\n\nWhile we have alluded to the existence of syndicates in the lore but haven\u2019t really introduced any, so the sky\u2019s the limit for your own fiction. Treat them like any other character and ask yourself questions about how they\u2019re able to function outside of the law: do they own the local police? Maybe they only steal from other criminals? How public are they? Some syndicates want their name to carry weight while others prefer to stay out of the public (and even criminal) consciousness.\n\nINFOAGENTS\n\nMore of a personality than an official position, a good infoagent is the nexus of local news and information for his or her planet and system. They keep their ears to the ground and their eyes open, trying to keep abreast of what\u2019s going on around them: who\u2019s got work, who\u2019s looking for work, who\u2019s flying into the system, who\u2019s on their way out \u2026\n\nWe have already described infoagents in an earlier dispatch. Most pertinent to our discussion here, there are also the illegal ones. These shadowy information brokers are the local fixers for the criminal element. They can either represent a local syndicate or they can be freelancers, but these infoagents are the ones to talk to if you\u2019re looking to make a smuggling run or you\u2019ve got some boosted product to offload.\n\nTHE TEVARIN AND CRIME\n\nWe will dig into how the Tevarin became fixtures of the criminal underworld at a later date, but for the time being, if you see one, more often than not, they are\/have been\/know someone involved with the criminal element.\n\nNIGHTLIFE\n\nFortunately for Humanity, we still have booze. There are barrels of whiskey slowly aging in Croshaw, Sauvignon Blanc grapes growing on vines in Davien system and beer fermenting on Terra. So that\u2019s one thing we\u2019ve got going for us.\n\nOn the narcotic side, there are still legal and illegal drugs. Overtly harmful drugs (particularly those with no medical application) fall into the illegal category.\n\nPopular drugs:\n\nStims: Legal drug, composed of various combinations of tobacco, caffeine, and mood-enhancer. Smoked as a cigarette. Cheaper, knock-off brands are sold as packs of individual smokes while higher-end versions have electronic cylinders with replaceable cartridges.\n\nSLAM: A fear-inhibitor and painkiller. Most commonly ingested as a gas. Vials of SLAM are cracked and inhaled. Initially gained popularity as a steroid for athletes before going black-market. Heavy-duty SLAMjunkies are easily identifiable in public; they have \u2018the shakes\u2019 \u2014 involuntary muscle twitches. Important to note that this is not a sign of withdrawal, simply a side effect.\n\nWiDoW: Thick ink-black Opiate. Exclusively injected as a liquid. Extensive use stains the veins black, creating web-like subcutaneous patterns through the body.\n\nNeon: Club drug. Similar to Ecstasy. Slight hallucinogenic, affects the nervous system.\n\nMaze: Street name for a tranquilizer and knock-out hallucinogen, believed to be Xi\u2019An in origin. Looks like flakes of bark. It\u2019s lethal in heavy concentrations (many who try injecting it die immediately); it\u2019s meant to be ingested. The digestion process distills it to where it just messes you up. Dosing up is like taking a massive journey into your own mind. To the outside world, you\u2019re nearly comatose, but to you, it\u2019s a wild trip. A handful of religions have been started after a user took a dip in the maze. Aside from the toxic element, there\u2019s a chance you won\u2019t come down from the high. They call this \u2018getting disconnected.\u2019 Users stay locked in their own head until their brain decays.\n\nTHIEVES\u2019 CANT (or SLINGING THAT SLANG)\n\nSome claim that thieves\u2019 cant originated as early as the 16th century. While the information listed below is more slang than cant, it\u2019s not unlikely that enterprising criminals would devise a system of words to allow conversations of an illicit nature to occur in public settings.\n\nCathcart Dialect\n\nFor our new guests, Cathcart is a junkyard system. Used for decades as a dumping ground for the UEE\u2019s trash and demolished ships, it became a haven for refugees, criminals and anyone else who wanted to stay off the grid. Over the years, these inhabitants pieced together and repressurized fragments of old starships to create a floating home. More and more people began to arrive and built onto this original structure, ultimately creating Spider, the massive structure somewhere between an orbital platform and a planet. It\u2019s even withstood bombing runs from the UEE military.\n\nThe dialect first appeared in the Last Flight of the Seraphim story. Here\u2019s a sampling:\n\n\u201cWe\u2019s dropped for metals and such.\u201d Vik slurred in a thick Cathcart accent. His tiny eyes looked over Harroway. \u201cWhat you have?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe don\u2019t have anything.\u201d Harroway said. The pirate didn\u2019t like that answer.\n\n\u201cScrum don\u2019t chaw with the beddewan. Other we gon\u2019 spatter fon.\u201d Vik pressed the gun against Harroway\u2019s skull.\n\nThere aren\u2019t established rules for this dialect but let\u2019s take a look at those two lines.\n\nThe first is just a simplified method of speaking. The dialect was born on Spider, where there isn\u2019t a lot of public education, so the slang has lost most tense distinctions and some helping verbs. Like most accents, the thicker the dialect, the longer the person has lived on Spider.\n\nThe second line was meant to be impenetrable, mostly for dramatic purposes. The idea was to make the character Harroway out of his depth, so having him threatened with an intentionally confusing line made him feel even more helpless and the situation more terrifying.\n\nBut that doesn\u2019t mean it was written without a meaning:\n\nScrum = Similar to \u2018scum\u2019 it referred to a person for whom you have no real affection, i.e., I\u2019m calling you this because I don\u2019t like you and don\u2019t regard you as much of a person.\n\nChaw = a version of \u2018don\u2019t mess\/tangle\/toy with\u2019\n\nBeddewan = This is odd but was supposed to be a version of \u201cus here.\u201d In this context, it\u2019s referring to \u2018us, the pirates who have guns to your heads.\u2019\n\nSo the translation of the line is basically \u201cB***h, don\u2019t mess with us here.\u201d If it helps, the rolling cadence was meant to be an exaggerated version of a very thick Creole accent.\n\nOther Slang\n\nHere is a sampling of other slang words that have appeared in the various Dispatches and their meanings:\n\nAntiLaz (v) A contraction of \u201cAnti-Lazarus,\u201d any method of murdering someone to prevent the possibility of medical resuscitation or repair (such as shooting an ejection pod). Coined by Aarol Cobb, an ultra-religious hitman. (see also empty casket)\n\nDingo = (n.) the dookie-chute, the badonkadonk, i.e., the butt.\nSample Sentence: \u201cCan you believe this? As I was running, the cops shot me right in the dingo.\u201d\n\nDrift 1: (v) move away, get out of here. Usually used in a dismissive manner.\nSample Sentence: \u201cWhy don\u2019t you drift and let the adults talk.\u201d\n2: (n) to float aimlessly in space. Also used as a way to describe nomadic life in space.\nSample Sentence: \u201cProbably should have let him know his merchandise was out on the drift.\u201d\n\nEmpty Casket (n) A term for murdering someone to prevent the possibility of medical resuscitation or repair. (see also AntiLaz)\n\nGhost (v) to kill someone.\nSample Sentence: \u201cI ever see you again, you\u2019re ghosted.\u201d\n\nRoust (v) to raid\/rob.\nSample Sentence: \u201cSix ships passed armed to the teeth. Somebody was getting rousted tonight.\u201d\n\nSkag (n) idiot, some other fellow (see also Skiff)\nSample Sentence: \u201cSome skag came by and tried to rob my ship.\u201d\n\nSkiff (n) Slang for another person. Primarily used to describe a person who is actively flying a ship.\nSample Sentence: \u201cThe second I hit the system, I had some skiff on my tail.\u201d\n\nTag 1: (n) Registration tags, the info that comes up when your ship gets scanned.\nSample Sentence: \u201cI had some dirty tags so I couldn\u2019t land.\u201d\n2: (v) Getting identified\/scanned and logged into a system.\nSample Sentence: \u201cI know the cops tagged me before I hit the jump point.\u201d\nOr if you want to get real crazy: \u201cKilo got tagged before he could get new tags.\u201d\n\nWRITING CRIMINALS\n\nCrime and the criminal lifestyle is always fun to write. There\u2019s something intoxicating to the imagination about it \u2014 whether you like rogues with a moral code or gritty, desperate thugs, there\u2019s something in it for everyone. As with any story, ask yourselvf questions about your characters to build their backstory and motivations to this life of crime that they live, and just be true to that.\n\nAs far as the language\/slang goes, don\u2019t worry about adhering to the above list. There are no hard rules in this universe. Its sheer size and diversity means that there can be all sorts of slang words. Most of all, the language should be fun \u2014 speak it out loud several times to hear how fluid it sounds. Part of the reason slang develops is because it\u2019s an easier way to convey something. Sometimes, it\u2019s borne out of the local environment or history. Other times, it can come from Vids.\n\nSo, as always, trust your instincts and tailor it to fit within your story.\n\nQUESTIONS\nDeadBolt says:\n\nQ: Couple questions for next week\u2019s Guide:\n\nWith regards to The Advocacy, what is their internal hierarchy (ranking\/status) like?\n\nI\u2019m guessing that Army\/Navy recruiting will be similar to how it is now, but what about Advocacy\u2019s recruitment & training process?\n\nAs for the Bounty Hunters Guild, how does their ranking system work? (eg: Start off at Class F, get limited jobs, have to [work] arse off to get promoted to Class E.. Jobs offered get thinking of the bounty board in the manga\/anime Fairy Tail)\n\nPretty much, any additional information on BHG and The Advocacy is appreciated (particularly Advocacy with regards to ranking, recruitment, training, how field agents operate, etc.).\n\nA: We haven\u2019t determined how the Bounty Hunters Guild works. There will probably be some kind of rating\/reputation system. In the Tracker Spectrum Dispatch (http:\/\/www.robertsspaceindustries.com\/news-update-bounty-hunter-guild-news\/) we mentioned entry and silver levels (insinuating that there are probably bronze, gold, maybe platinum, etc.) but we haven\u2019t firmly tackled this issue. If there\u2019s a specific question you have for a story, let me know what it is and maybe we can figure something out.\n\nThe Advocacy recruits from the Police and the Military. It\u2019s a grueling process, as being an effective Advocacy Agent is part tracker, part combat pilot, and part social engineer.\n\nFor the Advocacy, here\u2019s a rough pass of the ranking structure. Without getting into the multiple divisions within The Advocacy, or forensic science departments, this is the standard Advocacy Agent\u2019s career path:\n\nSpecial Agent\nSupervisory Special Agent\nAssistant Special Agent-in-Charge (ASAC)\nSpec Agent-in-Charge (SAC)\nAssistant Section Chief (ASC)\nSection Chief (SC) (oversees Advocacy activity in one system)\nDeputy Assistant Director\nAssistant Director\nDirector (highest position in The Advocacy)\nHigh-Advocate\n\nThat\u2019s it for this week. As always, leave your comments\/questions below. We\u2019re not sure what topic to cover next week so we\u2019d like to hear from you. Is there anything that you\u2019d especially like to cover?"},"links_count":3,"comment_count":79,"created_at":"2013-05-02T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"13 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-15 19:50:12","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":12979,"next_id":12981}}