{"data":{"id":13171,"title":"A SEPARATE LAW: PART FOUR","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/serialized-fiction\/13171-A-SEPARATE-LAW-PART-FOUR","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/13171","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/13171","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"A Separate Law","images":[{"id":640,"name":"SeparateLawFI4.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/n6ik8s2agc03ur\/source\/SeparateLawFI4.jpg","alt":"","size":1558749,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2013-07-18T19:23:20+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/640","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/640\/similar"}],"images_count":1,"translations":{"en_EN":"Well now, isn\u2019t this the perfect welcome to Taranis, garden spot of Human-controlled space?\n\nA pair of obvious pirates were closing on a trader just at the edge of Gates\u2019 sensor coverage. He\u2019d been tracking developments for a while, watching as the captain of the long-hauler, trying to escape the two vessels behind it, blundered across the pirate lying doggo along his path. The third pirate went active with his sensors, closing the sack.\n\nThe trade-ship captain compounded his error, slowing when he should try and shoot past the lone ship along his trajectory: a stern chase was still longest \u2026 But no, he\u2019d slowed, the course alteration only serving to keep him in the weapons envelope of the pirates that much longer.\n\nMissiles traced between the pirate and quarry. EMP hashed his sensors as the opening salvo of the pirates downed the trader\u2019s weak shields. Despite the blurring of the sensor image, Gates knew what was next: a high-speed pass with guns, aimed at damaging drives and shield generators, and destroying whatever weapons the owner had mounted.\n\nGates felt his upper lip curling, conflicted. Bounty hunters rarely took on pirates on the prowl, preferring to take down individual bounties while the pirate was planetside, hopefully drunk, and certainly well away from ship-destroying weapons that might put the hunter out of business. It was a practical tactic, and one that, if ignored, would raise questions about his cover.\n\nIf everyone kept to their present course and speed, their trajectories would close enough to get them inside his missile envelope in just under three minutes.\n\nSomeone always survives these things, and they always talk. Can\u2019t have \u2018em talking about how I blasted in for no guarantee of cash for my efforts.\n\nThe trader\u2019s emergency beacon lit up.\n\nStupid. Should have just given in and lost the cargo. There\u2019s insurance for that kind of thing. Now the pirates\u2019ll take it out of their hides, literally.\n\nThe tags on the transmission identified the vessel as a T-XIII, one of the cheapest cargo-haulers plying the space lanes. Capable, barely, of transiting jump points, they had large holds and minimal crew requirements, making them the piece of crap of choice for down-at-the-heels traders.\n\nTwo minutes before entering engagement range on his missiles, the tactical plot beeped. The hauler had stopped maneuvering.\n\nDamn it. Gates increased throttle by twenty percent, increasing his rate of closure. Maybe the pirates will spook, they see me coming.\n\nHe ran the drive signatures of all the vessels against the 325\u2019s database of ship profiles. The one that had been lying in wait was a Cutlass, as was one of the pair of chasers. The other chaser was a Caterpillar, a modified cargo hauler; big, slow and certainly not going to win any battles of maneuver.\n\nGates checked the tactical plot, running a missile solution on the closing Cutlass and checking the positions of the other vessels. The Caterpillar was almost on top of the hauler, probably using its tractors to haul the cargo vessel in.\n\nThe general comms came to life: \u201cFellow traveller, you need to make for elsewhere.\u201d\n\nPolite breed of pirate I\u2019ve found. Polite and nearsighted. Can\u2019t see what he\u2019s facing.\n\nGates smiled as the range ticked down. Once he had the other ship deep enough into his envelope, he launched.\n\nIt took a measurable moment for the sensors to report their findings to the pirate, during which the comm warning continued: \u201cI won\u2019t warn you aga-\u201c the speaker cut off with a squeal of panic as the pilot realized he\u2019d gone from fox to hen. He didn\u2019t react well, punching out countermeasures far too early and jerking his stick around. His indecision killed a lot of speed for no gain. He ended slower than he\u2019d begun, and moving away from his support and almost parallel to Gates.\n\nGates punched the throttle and went straight in at the Cutlass. The targeting computer chuckled as it worked out a targeting solution on the other vessels. If the first Cutlass survived the pair of missiles sent its way, Gates would end him with guns.\n\nGates adjusted course, slid sideways as the ECM suite lit up with warnings.\n\nHe ignored them for the moment, spitting his own pair of missiles; both rocketing toward the other Cutlass. Gates lined up the mass driver on the first Cutlass and snapped a burst of hypervelocity rounds at him.\n\nHe needn\u2019t have bothered. Both missiles from his first salvo easily overtook the Cutlass and its inexperienced pilot: the first detonation downed its shields a split second before the follow-up exploded right beside the vessel\u2019s cockpit. Several heartbeats later the hypervelocity rounds from the mass driver ripped into the flank of the Cutlass just forward of her drive section, blowing great chunks of armor and internal components free. Bleeding atmo, the Cutlass pinwheeled into the long, dark night.\n\nHe tore his gaze away, saw the pair of bright pinpoints of their drives as the missiles raced at him from the remaining Cutlass. He waited as the warnings came more and more shrilly.\n\nAt the last instant he sideslipped again, dumping countermeasures to continue along his original vector. Both missiles bit into false signatures, tiny electronic minds deceived. Spheres of expanding plasma lit the black behind Gates. He adjusted course a third time, pushed the throttle to the stops.\n\nHe\u2019d lost track of his own missiles, had to glance at the plot. This pilot was better.\n\nMust have avoided one of the blasts entirely. His shields were just coming back on line. The Cutlass was punching it, maneuvering to come at Gates from the side, hammer to the Caterpillar\u2019s anvil.\n\nGates lined up on the Caterpillar, trusting to the 325\u2019s better speed to get him in and out before the Cutlass could peg him with sufficient cannon fire to overload his shields.\n\nEntering range, he snapped the 325 into a roll and held both firing studs down. Coherent beams snapped across the vacuum even as a stream of metal splinters followed at a velocity that was slower on a scale that only machines could appreciate.\n\nThe turret on the Caterpillar got into action.\n\nGates slammed the yoke forward and then hard left, stamping his right foot down at the same time, then immediately hammered the yoke to the right. Thrusters fired, yanking the 325 down and left before rolling in a righthand spin that leveled out \u2018below\u2019 the Caterpillar in its current orientation, preventing the turret gunner from targeting him. Turret gunnery required close coordination between pilot and gunner \u2014 something most pirate scum didn\u2019t practice.\n\nHe brought his own nose up and fired into the belly of the Cat, hits spalling armor and releasing superheated metal vapor to glow against the black. Something broke loose inside the Cat as Gates straightened out, a half-dome of fire erupting like a glowing blister from a directional thruster.\n\nMore warnings blatted, this time from his shields. The Cutlass had come in when Gates slowed, managing several hits with its laser cannon.\n\nGood pilot. Better, by far, than his wingman.\n\nHe pushed the comm button, broadcasting even as he maneuvered to shake the Cutlass: \u201cGonna have the bounty on one of you. Don\u2019t need more. Should you want to run, I won\u2019t be chasing you.\u201d\n\nSeveral more cannon shots tapped against his shields.\n\nStill adding velocity, Gates cranked the 325 into a widening spiral, pushing the ship and its compensators to the maximum.\n\nThe Cutlass followed, inferior thrust costing her position with each passing second, despite the Cutlass\u2019 better turning capability.\n\nStarting at the apex of a turn, Gates reversed course. The world grayed, G-forces crushing despite compensators. Breathing hard and holding onto consciousness with an act of will, Gates lined up on the Cutlass and pressed both firing studs again.\n\nHer shields buckled under the high cyclic rate of the 325\u2019s laser cannon, then the hull cracked open under the flail of the mass driver\u2019s munitions.\n\nThe Cutlass pilot\u2019s gunnery was damn good: a series of successive shots managing to down the 325\u2019s shields before wrecking the empty starboard missile pod and cracking armor all along that stretch of wing.\n\n\u201cCall it even, then,\u201d the pirate\u2019s transmission came as the Cutlass shot past Gates\u2019 rapidly decelerating ship.\n\nGates turned but checked fire as the pirate continued to add velocity and run for it; a deal was a deal, after all.\n\nThe Caterpillar was already making best possible speed for the depths of the system.\n\nHe turned for the hauler. The comm went active again: \u201cThis is Captain Charles Zhou of Saint Claire\u2019s Kiss. Please identify.\u201d\n\n\u201cArminius Gates, bounty hunter. The pirates won\u2019t be back.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, thank the Buddha.\u201d\n\nWhat followed was far too many tearful thank-yous that Gates found increasingly irritating. It took some doing, but the captain eventually got their primary systems up and running. Some hours later Gates was escorting the trade ship Saint Claire\u2019s Kiss to the jump point for Nemo, trying to politely turn down Captain Zhou\u2019s dubious offers of assistance he or his crew might render their savior.\n\n. . .to be continued","de_DE":"Nun, ist das nicht der perfekte Willkommensgru\u00df an Taranis, dem Gartenplatz des von Menschen kontrollierten Raumes?\n\nEin Paar offensichtlicher Piraten n\u00e4herten sich einem H\u00e4ndler direkt am Rande der Sensorabdeckung von Gates. Er hatte die Entwicklung eine Weile verfolgt, beobachtet, wie der Kapit\u00e4n des Langstreckentransporteurs, der versuchte, den beiden dahinter liegenden Schiffen zu entkommen, \u00fcber den Piraten stolperte und auf seinem Weg lag. Der dritte Pirat wurde mit seinen Sensoren aktiv und schloss den Sack.\n\nDer Handelsschiffskapit\u00e4n verschlimmerte seinen Fehler und verlangsamte, wann immer er versuchen sollte, entlang seiner Flugbahn an dem einzelnen Schiff vorbeizuschie\u00dfen: Eine strenge Jagd war immer noch am l\u00e4ngsten.... Aber nein, er hatte verlangsamt, die Kurs\u00e4nderung diente nur dazu, ihn noch viel l\u00e4nger im Waffenumschlag der Piraten zu halten.\n\nRaketen, die zwischen dem Piraten und dem Steinbruch gefunden wurden. EMP h\u00e4mmerte seine Sensoren, als die Er\u00f6ffnungssalve der Piraten die schwachen Schilde des H\u00e4ndlers niederstreckte. Trotz der Unsch\u00e4rfe des Sensorbildes wusste Gates, was als n\u00e4chstes kam: ein Hochgeschwindigkeitspass mit Kanonen, der darauf abzielte, Antriebe und Schildgeneratoren zu besch\u00e4digen und die vom Besitzer angebrachten Waffen zu zerst\u00f6ren.\n\nGates f\u00fchlte, wie sich seine Oberlippe kr\u00e4uselte, widerspr\u00fcchlich. Kopfgeldj\u00e4ger nahmen es selten mit Piraten auf der Jagd auf und zogen es vor, einzelne Kopfgelder einzul\u00f6sen, w\u00e4hrend der Pirat auf dem Planeten lag, hoffentlich betrunken, und sicherlich weit weg von schiffszerst\u00f6rerischen Waffen, die den J\u00e4ger aus dem Gesch\u00e4ft bringen k\u00f6nnten. Es war eine praktische Taktik, die, wenn sie ignoriert w\u00fcrde, Fragen \u00fcber seine Tarnung aufwerfen w\u00fcrde.\n\nWenn alle an ihrem jetzigen Kurs und ihrer Geschwindigkeit festhielten, w\u00fcrden ihre Flugbahnen nahe genug sein, um sie in knapp drei Minuten in seine Raketenh\u00fclle zu bringen.\n\nJemand \u00fcberlebt diese Dinge immer, und sie reden immer. Ich kann nicht zulassen, dass sie dar\u00fcber reden, wie ich reingeplatzt bin, ohne eine Garantie f\u00fcr Geld f\u00fcr meine Bem\u00fchungen zu haben.\n\nDas Notlichtfeuer des H\u00e4ndlers leuchtete auf.\n\nDumm. Ich h\u00e4tte einfach nachgeben und die Ladung verlieren sollen. Es gibt eine Versicherung f\u00fcr so etwas. Jetzt werden die Piraten es buchst\u00e4blich aus ihren Verstecken nehmen.\n\nDie Tags auf dem Getriebe identifizierten das Schiff als T-XIII, einen der billigsten Frachtschiffe, der die Raumfahrtlinien bedient. Sie waren kaum in der Lage, Sprungbremsen zu \u00fcberwinden, hatten gro\u00dfe Lader\u00e4ume und minimale Anforderungen an die Besatzung, was sie zum bevorzugten St\u00fcck Schei\u00dfe f\u00fcr H\u00e4ndler macht, die auf der Stelle treten.\n\nZwei Minuten bevor er mit seinen Raketen in Angriffsreichweite kam, piepste die taktische Handlung. Der Schlepper hatte aufgeh\u00f6rt zu man\u00f6vrieren.\n\nVerdammt noch mal. Gates erh\u00f6hte das Gaspedal um zwanzig Prozent und erh\u00f6hte damit seine Schlie\u00dfrate. Vielleicht erschrecken die Piraten, sie sehen mich kommen.\n\nEr f\u00fchrte die Antriebssignaturen aller Schiffe mit der Datenbank der 325er Schiffsprofile durch. Derjenige, der auf der Lauer lag, war ein Entermesser, ebenso wie einer der beiden Verfolger. Der andere Verfolger war eine Caterpillar, ein modifizierter Frachtschlepper; gro\u00df, langsam und sicherlich nicht in der Lage, Man\u00f6verk\u00e4mpfe zu gewinnen.\n\nGates \u00fcberpr\u00fcfte die taktische Handlung, f\u00fchrte eine Raketenl\u00f6sung auf dem sich schlie\u00dfenden Entermesser durch und \u00fcberpr\u00fcfte die Positionen der anderen Schiffe. Die Caterpillar befand sich fast auf dem Schlepper und benutzte wahrscheinlich ihre Traktoren, um das Frachtschiff einzuziehen.\n\nDie allgemeine Kommunikation erwachte zum Leben: \"Mitreisender, du musst dich woanders umsehen.\"\n\nIch habe eine h\u00f6fliche Rasse von Piraten gefunden. H\u00f6flich und kurzsichtig. Ich kann nicht sehen, was er vor sich hat.\n\nGates l\u00e4chelte, als die Reichweite nach unten tippte. Als er das andere Schiff tief genug in seinem Umschlag hatte, startete er.\n\nEs dauerte einen messbaren Moment, bis die Sensoren ihre Ergebnisse an den Piraten weitergaben, w\u00e4hrend dessen die Kommunikationswarnung fortgesetzt wurde: \"Ich warne dich nicht vor Panik, als der Pilot erkannte, dass er von Fuchs zu Henne gegangen war.\" Er reagierte nicht gut, stie\u00df viel zu fr\u00fch Gegenma\u00dfnahmen aus und zog seinen Stock herum. Seine Unentschlossenheit t\u00f6tete eine Menge Geschwindigkeit ohne Gewinn. Er endete langsamer, als er begonnen hatte, und ging von seiner Unterst\u00fctzung weg und fast parallel zu Gates.\n\nGates dr\u00fcckte das Gaspedal und ging direkt auf das Entermesser zu. Der Zielrechner kicherte, als er eine Ziell\u00f6sung f\u00fcr die anderen Schiffe ausarbeitete. Wenn der erste Entermesser \u00fcberlebte, schickte das Raketenpaar seinen Weg, Gates w\u00fcrde ihn mit Waffen erledigen.\n\nDie Tore passten den Kurs an, rutschten seitw\u00e4rts, als die ECM-Suite mit Warnungen aufleuchtete.\n\nEr ignorierte sie im Moment und spuckte sein eigenes Raketenpaar aus; beide raketen auf das andere Entermesser zu. Gates reihte den Massenfahrer auf dem ersten Entermesser auf und schnappte einen Ausbruch von Hypervelocity-Runden auf ihn.\n\nEr h\u00e4tte sich nicht darum k\u00fcmmern m\u00fcssen. Beide Raketen aus seiner ersten Salve \u00fcberholten leicht den Entermesser und seinen unerfahrenen Piloten: Die erste Detonation senkte seine Schilde einen Bruchteil einer Sekunde, bevor die Nachfolge direkt neben dem Cockpit des Schiffes explodierte. Einige Herzschl\u00e4ge sp\u00e4ter riss die Hypervelocity-Runden vom Massenfahrer in die Flanke des Entermessers direkt vor ihrem Antriebsbereich und blies gro\u00dfe St\u00fccke R\u00fcstung und innere Komponenten frei. In blutender Atmosph\u00e4re fuhr die Cutlass pinwhee in die lange, dunkle Nacht.\n\nEr riss seinen Blick weg, sah die beiden hellen Punkte ihrer Triebe, als die Raketen von dem verbliebenen Entermesser auf ihn losfuhren. Er wartete, als die Warnungen immer sch\u00e4rfer wurden.\n\nIm letzten Moment rutschte er wieder aus und lie\u00df Gegenma\u00dfnahmen fallen, um seinen urspr\u00fcnglichen Vektor fortzusetzen. Beide Raketen bissen in falsche Unterschriften, winzige elektronische K\u00f6pfe wurden get\u00e4uscht. Kugeln aus expandierendem Plasma beleuchteten das Schwarz hinter Gates. Er passte den Kurs ein drittes Mal an, dr\u00fcckte das Gaspedal bis zum Anschlag.\n\nEr hatte die Spur seiner eigenen Raketen verloren, musste sich die Handlung ansehen. Dieser Pilot war besser.\n\nMuss einen der Explosionen v\u00f6llig vermieden haben. Seine Schilde kamen gerade wieder in Betrieb. Der Entermesser schlug ihn und man\u00f6vrierte, um von der Seite zu Gates zu kommen, Hammer zum Amboss der Caterpillar.\n\nTore reihen sich auf der Caterpillar auf und vertrauen auf die bessere Geschwindigkeit des 325, um ihn rein und raus zu bringen, bevor das Entermesser ihn mit gen\u00fcgend Kanonenfeuer versorgen konnte, um seine Schilde zu \u00fcberlasten.\n\nAls er in Reichweite kam, schnappte er die 325 in eine Rolle und hielt beide Schie\u00dfbolzen nach unten. Koh\u00e4rente Strahlen schnappten \u00fcber das Vakuum, selbst als ein Strom von Metallsplittern mit einer Geschwindigkeit folgte, die auf einer Skala langsamer war, die nur Maschinen sch\u00e4tzen konnten.\n\nDer Turm auf der Caterpillar kam zum Einsatz.\n\nGates schlug das Joch nach vorne und dann hart nach links und stie\u00df gleichzeitig mit dem rechten Fu\u00df nach unten, dann schlug er sofort das Joch nach rechts. Die Triebwerke feuerten ab, rissen die 325 nach unten und links, bevor sie in einem Rechtsdrall rollten, der sich unterhalb der Raupe in ihrer aktuellen Ausrichtung ausbreitete, und verhinderten, dass der Turm-Sch\u00fctze auf ihn zielte. Die Turmgesch\u00fctzfeuerwaffen erforderten eine enge Koordination zwischen Pilot und Sch\u00fctze - etwas, was die meisten Piratenschurken nicht praktizierten.\n\nEr brachte seine eigene Nase hoch und feuerte in den Bauch der Katze, traf auf eine abplatzende R\u00fcstung und setzte \u00fcberhitzten Metalldampf frei, um gegen das Schwarz zu leuchten. Etwas brach im Inneren der Katze los, als sich die Tore gl\u00e4tteten, eine halbe Feuerkuppel brach aus wie eine gl\u00fchende Blase aus einem Richtungsstrahler.\n\nWeitere Warnungen schrieen, diesmal von seinen Schilden. Der Entermesser war eingetroffen, als Gates langsamer wurde und mehrere Treffer mit seiner Laserkanone bew\u00e4ltigte.\n\nGuter Pilot. Besser bei weitem als sein Fl\u00fcgelmann.\n\nEr dr\u00fcckte den Komm-Knopf und strahlte, w\u00e4hrend er man\u00f6vrierte, um den Entermesser zu sch\u00fctteln: \"Ich werde das Kopfgeld auf einen von euch bekommen. Ich brauche nicht mehr. Wenn du weglaufen willst, werde ich dich nicht jagen.\"\n\nMehrere weitere Kanonensch\u00fcsse schlugen gegen seine Schilde.\n\nGates f\u00fcgte noch mehr Geschwindigkeit hinzu, drehte die 325 in eine sich erweiternde Spirale und dr\u00fcckte das Schiff und seine Kompensatoren bis zum Maximum.\n\nDer Entermesser folgte, der minderwertige Schub kostete ihre Position mit jeder Sekunde, trotz der besseren Drehf\u00e4higkeit des Entermessers.\n\nAusgehend von der Spitze einer Kurve kehrte Gates den Kurs um. Die Welt war grau, die G-Kr\u00e4fte zermalmten trotz Kompensatoren. Gates atmete hart und hielt das Bewusstsein mit einem Willensakt fest, stellte sich auf dem Entermesser auf und dr\u00fcckte beide Feuerst\u00e4be erneut.\n\nIhre Schilde knickten unter der hohen Zyklenzahl der Laserkanone des 325, dann brach der Rumpf unter dem Schlagen der Massenfahrer-Munition auf.\n\nDas Gesch\u00fctz des Entermesser-Piloten war verdammt gut: eine Reihe von aufeinanderfolgenden Sch\u00fcssen, die es schafften, die Schilde des 325 zu senken, bevor sie die leere Raketengondel auf der Steuerbordseite zerst\u00f6rten und die R\u00fcstung entlang der gesamten Strecke des Fl\u00fcgels knackten.\n\n\"Nennen Sie es also ruhig\", kam die \u00dcbertragung des Piraten, als das Entermesser an Gates' schnell abbremsendem Schiff vorbei schoss.\n\nGates drehten sich um, aber sie kontrollierten das Feuer, als der Pirat weiterhin Geschwindigkeit hinzuf\u00fcgte und rannte; ein Deal war schlie\u00dflich ein Deal.\n\nDie Caterpillar erm\u00f6glichte bereits die bestm\u00f6gliche Geschwindigkeit f\u00fcr die Tiefen des Systems.\n\nEr wandte sich an den Spediteur. Die Kommunikation wurde wieder aktiv: \"Das ist Captain Charles Zhou von Saint Claire's Kiss. Bitte identifizieren Sie sich.\"\n\n\" Arminius Gates, Kopfgeldj\u00e4ger. Die Piraten werden nicht zur\u00fcckkommen.\"\n\n\"Oh, danke dem Buddha.\"\n\nWas folgte, war viel zu viel weinerliches Dankesch\u00f6n, das Gates zunehmend irritierend fand. Es bedurfte einiger Anstrengungen, aber der Kapit\u00e4n brachte schlie\u00dflich ihre Prim\u00e4rsysteme zum Laufen. Einige Stunden sp\u00e4ter eskortierte Gates das Handelsschiff Saint Claire's Kiss zum Sprungplatz f\u00fcr Nemo und versuchte h\u00f6flich, Captain Zhou's zweifelhafte Hilfsangebote abzulehnen, die er oder seine Crew ihrem Retter geben k\u00f6nnten.\n\n. ...wird fortgesetzt","zh_CN":"Well now, isn\u2019t this the perfect welcome to Taranis, garden spot of Human-controlled space?\n\nA pair of obvious pirates were closing on a trader just at the edge of Gates\u2019 sensor coverage. He\u2019d been tracking developments for a while, watching as the captain of the long-hauler, trying to escape the two vessels behind it, blundered across the pirate lying doggo along his path. The third pirate went active with his sensors, closing the sack.\n\nThe trade-ship captain compounded his error, slowing when he should try and shoot past the lone ship along his trajectory: a stern chase was still longest \u2026 But no, he\u2019d slowed, the course alteration only serving to keep him in the weapons envelope of the pirates that much longer.\n\nMissiles traced between the pirate and quarry. EMP hashed his sensors as the opening salvo of the pirates downed the trader\u2019s weak shields. Despite the blurring of the sensor image, Gates knew what was next: a high-speed pass with guns, aimed at damaging drives and shield generators, and destroying whatever weapons the owner had mounted.\n\nGates felt his upper lip curling, conflicted. Bounty hunters rarely took on pirates on the prowl, preferring to take down individual bounties while the pirate was planetside, hopefully drunk, and certainly well away from ship-destroying weapons that might put the hunter out of business. It was a practical tactic, and one that, if ignored, would raise questions about his cover.\n\nIf everyone kept to their present course and speed, their trajectories would close enough to get them inside his missile envelope in just under three minutes.\n\nSomeone always survives these things, and they always talk. Can\u2019t have \u2018em talking about how I blasted in for no guarantee of cash for my efforts.\n\nThe trader\u2019s emergency beacon lit up.\n\nStupid. Should have just given in and lost the cargo. There\u2019s insurance for that kind of thing. Now the pirates\u2019ll take it out of their hides, literally.\n\nThe tags on the transmission identified the vessel as a T-XIII, one of the cheapest cargo-haulers plying the space lanes. Capable, barely, of transiting jump points, they had large holds and minimal crew requirements, making them the piece of crap of choice for down-at-the-heels traders.\n\nTwo minutes before entering engagement range on his missiles, the tactical plot beeped. The hauler had stopped maneuvering.\n\nDamn it. Gates increased throttle by twenty percent, increasing his rate of closure. Maybe the pirates will spook, they see me coming.\n\nHe ran the drive signatures of all the vessels against the 325\u2019s database of ship profiles. The one that had been lying in wait was a Cutlass, as was one of the pair of chasers. The other chaser was a Caterpillar, a modified cargo hauler; big, slow and certainly not going to win any battles of maneuver.\n\nGates checked the tactical plot, running a missile solution on the closing Cutlass and checking the positions of the other vessels. The Caterpillar was almost on top of the hauler, probably using its tractors to haul the cargo vessel in.\n\nThe general comms came to life: \u201cFellow traveller, you need to make for elsewhere.\u201d\n\nPolite breed of pirate I\u2019ve found. Polite and nearsighted. Can\u2019t see what he\u2019s facing.\n\nGates smiled as the range ticked down. Once he had the other ship deep enough into his envelope, he launched.\n\nIt took a measurable moment for the sensors to report their findings to the pirate, during which the comm warning continued: \u201cI won\u2019t warn you aga-\u201c the speaker cut off with a squeal of panic as the pilot realized he\u2019d gone from fox to hen. He didn\u2019t react well, punching out countermeasures far too early and jerking his stick around. His indecision killed a lot of speed for no gain. He ended slower than he\u2019d begun, and moving away from his support and almost parallel to Gates.\n\nGates punched the throttle and went straight in at the Cutlass. The targeting computer chuckled as it worked out a targeting solution on the other vessels. If the first Cutlass survived the pair of missiles sent its way, Gates would end him with guns.\n\nGates adjusted course, slid sideways as the ECM suite lit up with warnings.\n\nHe ignored them for the moment, spitting his own pair of missiles; both rocketing toward the other Cutlass. Gates lined up the mass driver on the first Cutlass and snapped a burst of hypervelocity rounds at him.\n\nHe needn\u2019t have bothered. Both missiles from his first salvo easily overtook the Cutlass and its inexperienced pilot: the first detonation downed its shields a split second before the follow-up exploded right beside the vessel\u2019s cockpit. Several heartbeats later the hypervelocity rounds from the mass driver ripped into the flank of the Cutlass just forward of her drive section, blowing great chunks of armor and internal components free. Bleeding atmo, the Cutlass pinwheeled into the long, dark night.\n\nHe tore his gaze away, saw the pair of bright pinpoints of their drives as the missiles raced at him from the remaining Cutlass. He waited as the warnings came more and more shrilly.\n\nAt the last instant he sideslipped again, dumping countermeasures to continue along his original vector. Both missiles bit into false signatures, tiny electronic minds deceived. Spheres of expanding plasma lit the black behind Gates. He adjusted course a third time, pushed the throttle to the stops.\n\nHe\u2019d lost track of his own missiles, had to glance at the plot. This pilot was better.\n\nMust have avoided one of the blasts entirely. His shields were just coming back on line. The Cutlass was punching it, maneuvering to come at Gates from the side, hammer to the Caterpillar\u2019s anvil.\n\nGates lined up on the Caterpillar, trusting to the 325\u2019s better speed to get him in and out before the Cutlass could peg him with sufficient cannon fire to overload his shields.\n\nEntering range, he snapped the 325 into a roll and held both firing studs down. Coherent beams snapped across the vacuum even as a stream of metal splinters followed at a velocity that was slower on a scale that only machines could appreciate.\n\nThe turret on the Caterpillar got into action.\n\nGates slammed the yoke forward and then hard left, stamping his right foot down at the same time, then immediately hammered the yoke to the right. Thrusters fired, yanking the 325 down and left before rolling in a righthand spin that leveled out \u2018below\u2019 the Caterpillar in its current orientation, preventing the turret gunner from targeting him. Turret gunnery required close coordination between pilot and gunner \u2014 something most pirate scum didn\u2019t practice.\n\nHe brought his own nose up and fired into the belly of the Cat, hits spalling armor and releasing superheated metal vapor to glow against the black. Something broke loose inside the Cat as Gates straightened out, a half-dome of fire erupting like a glowing blister from a directional thruster.\n\nMore warnings blatted, this time from his shields. The Cutlass had come in when Gates slowed, managing several hits with its laser cannon.\n\nGood pilot. Better, by far, than his wingman.\n\nHe pushed the comm button, broadcasting even as he maneuvered to shake the Cutlass: \u201cGonna have the bounty on one of you. Don\u2019t need more. Should you want to run, I won\u2019t be chasing you.\u201d\n\nSeveral more cannon shots tapped against his shields.\n\nStill adding velocity, Gates cranked the 325 into a widening spiral, pushing the ship and its compensators to the maximum.\n\nThe Cutlass followed, inferior thrust costing her position with each passing second, despite the Cutlass\u2019 better turning capability.\n\nStarting at the apex of a turn, Gates reversed course. The world grayed, G-forces crushing despite compensators. Breathing hard and holding onto consciousness with an act of will, Gates lined up on the Cutlass and pressed both firing studs again.\n\nHer shields buckled under the high cyclic rate of the 325\u2019s laser cannon, then the hull cracked open under the flail of the mass driver\u2019s munitions.\n\nThe Cutlass pilot\u2019s gunnery was damn good: a series of successive shots managing to down the 325\u2019s shields before wrecking the empty starboard missile pod and cracking armor all along that stretch of wing.\n\n\u201cCall it even, then,\u201d the pirate\u2019s transmission came as the Cutlass shot past Gates\u2019 rapidly decelerating ship.\n\nGates turned but checked fire as the pirate continued to add velocity and run for it; a deal was a deal, after all.\n\nThe Caterpillar was already making best possible speed for the depths of the system.\n\nHe turned for the hauler. The comm went active again: \u201cThis is Captain Charles Zhou of Saint Claire\u2019s Kiss. Please identify.\u201d\n\n\u201cArminius Gates, bounty hunter. The pirates won\u2019t be back.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, thank the Buddha.\u201d\n\nWhat followed was far too many tearful thank-yous that Gates found increasingly irritating. It took some doing, but the captain eventually got their primary systems up and running. Some hours later Gates was escorting the trade ship Saint Claire\u2019s Kiss to the jump point for Nemo, trying to politely turn down Captain Zhou\u2019s dubious offers of assistance he or his crew might render their savior.\n\n. . .to be continued"},"links_count":0,"comment_count":26,"created_at":"2013-08-01T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"12 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-04-30 02:11:59","valid_relations":["images","links","translations"],"prev_id":13170,"next_id":13173}}