{"data":{"id":13210,"title":"A SEPARATE LAW: PART SIX","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/serialized-fiction\/13210-A-SEPARATE-LAW-PART-SIX","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/13210","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/13210","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":"\u201cGates, can you hear me?\u201d The words brought pain. Gates recoiled from them, retreating into a calm pool of nothing.\n\n\u201cUp the interrupter, he\u2019s suffering.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, ma\u2019am,\u201d a digital voice. Somehow, that was important, spurred him to think about his surroundings. Viscous gel-like fluid surrounded him: warm, yet cool, gentle, comforting.\n\nA medbay. The thought came without alarm.\n\nThe pain eased. Gates floated, taking his time coming to his senses.\n\n\u201cGates, can you hear me?\u201d Details floated slowly to mind: a woman\u2019s voice. Not one he recognized.\n\n\u201cYes, I can,\u201d voice weak.\n\n\u201cGood. Do you remember what happened?\u201d\n\nImages flooded the calm pool of consciousness, shattering it completely.\n\nGates snapped his eyes open. The glare of light was blinding, at first, but resolved to an attractive woman of indeterminate years standing beside him, arms crossed over a high-end civilian flight suit.\n\n\u201cWher\u2013\u201d he started, licked his lips, and tried again, \u201cWho are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo answer the first question: you\u2019re on my ship.\u201d She clicked her heels and presented her MobiGlas, \u201cAs to the second: I\u2019m Agent Seabrook, Special Action. Vasser set me as your backstop Agent.\u201d\n\n\u201cVasser?\u201d\n\nSeabrook snapped her fingers, \u201cGet your shit together, Agent, and focus: you were sent here by?\u201d\n\nHe tensed. \u201cMorgan. That motherf\u2013\u201d pain shut his mouth as he tried to rise from the medbay, gel sluicing from fresh-knit skin that marked his dark flesh like pink paint.\n\nShe put a hand out, \u201cWe\u2019ll get to him, if he truly is responsible, now you\u2019re tracking a bit better. Think a moment.\u201d\n\nSay this about my anger; it clears the mind of cobwebs quite nicely. Gates settled back into the grip of the medbay, just leaving his face above the gel. He took a few deep breaths, asked when he was calm enough: \u201cI thought Vasser sent me in alone?\u201d\n\n\u201cShe did. I was ordered to keep to the background and well out of sight, which I did, at least until I was sure there wasn\u2019t anyone else to pick up the pieces for the other side. Quite the gunfight. A gunfight you won, at least for certain values of winning.\u201d Gates recognized the predator\u2019s grin that spread across her face. He\u2019d worn a similar expression often enough.\n\nGates winced as an image swam to mind: Beyond his shattered cockpit and crazed helmet glass \u2014 the pirate\u2019s Aurora breaking apart under blasts of his sole remaining operational laser cannon.\n\n\u201cThought I was dead.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou would have been, given a few more hours. You were a few hours from hammering into one of the moonlets. As it is, your 325 is all busted up and you\u2019ve had some nerve damage in your extremities from vacuum-induced freezer-burns. Nothing the medbay can\u2019t handle in a few more hours. I managed to stabilize your ship\u2019s orbit, but it ain\u2019t going anywhere any time soon.\u201d\n\nGates grunted. \u201cI\u2019ll take it out of Morgan\u2019s hide. After he tells me why.\u201d\n\n\u201cI assume you\u2019re talking about James Morgan?\u201d\n\n\u201cDamn straight I am. You must have been closer than Vasser wanted, you know who I was talking to.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know because, right after you left, Morgan showed up on the orbital platform where you had your repairs done, escorted by some serious-looking men.\u201d\n\n\u201cSerious?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou know the type: muscle that has to act all hard and over-attentive to their surroundings, just to scratch a living. They were not being terribly gentle with Morgan, either.\u201d\n\nMaybe, just maybe, Morgan didn\u2019t willingly hand me over. Best not to hope too hard, that\u2019s how they suck you into making mistakes.\n\n\u201cHow do you know they didn\u2019t make you?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cI was there,\u201d she glanced at the ship bulkheads, \u201cgetting maintenance done.\u201d\n\nA new suspicion bubbled: \u201cHow\u2019d you know who he was?\u201d\n\n\u201cVasser wanted me familiar with you and your contacts, so she gave me your records.\u201d\n\nLips twisting in a grin made sharper by the pain of damaged flesh, he asked: \u201cThe official one or Special Action\u2019s?\u201d\n\nHer smile was bright, even touched her brown eyes. \u201cBoth. Quite the history.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m old, see. History is longer for me than for you.\u201d\n\n\u201cYeah, but we both know that\u2019s not what I meant. I must say I hadn\u2019t thought to meet a living legend, let alone save his ass from certain death.\u201d\n\nHe glanced away. \u201cFlattery will get you everywhere.\u201d\n\n\u201cEven places I don\u2019t want to go?\u201d she replied, archly.\n\nThe medbay beeped in alarm as his chuckle tore open stretches of skin along his flanks. Wow, must have done a real number on my suit when the cockpit went, he thought through the pain.\n\nWhen it eased, she was smiling at him, \u201cReally, though, it makes for interesting reading, your history. The last bit, especially: did you really dismantle Doctor Pantroski\u2019s entire operation in one night?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I did.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour SAC at the time, she didn\u2019t appreciate it.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, she did not. I had reason to suspect Pantroski of killing a couple of Advocacy agents.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd?\u201d\n\n\u201cOda didn\u2019t think what I had was enough. I disagreed. Turns out I was right.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd Oda nearly had you run out of the Advocacy for it.\u201d\n\n\u201cNearly. Been closer a few times.\u201d\n\n\u201cMe too, with Oda at the helm,\u201d another flash of that predatory grin. \u201cOda\u2019s all about making Oda look good to the Director. Brought me up on charges, once: claimed some \u2018irregularities\u2019 in one of my investigations.\u201d She shrugged. \u201cAll I did was make the rapist slaver scum\u2019s face \u2018irregular.\u2019 I had to try and keep him from doing \u2026 what he did \u2026 to anyone else \u2026\u201d Having worn them himself, Gates easily recognized the expressions crawling across Seabrook\u2019s face as she related her tale: disgust at what the pirate had done, discomfort with her own response, followed by the calm surety that those actions had been completely necessary. Gates knew from long experience that the appearance of certainty was easier to maintain during the day. During the long hours of the night, sleep let the guard down, let the nightmares run free.\n\nGripped with a sudden urge to change the subject, he asked, \u201cYou didn\u2019t happen to see the techs that sabotaged my pods, did you?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou know if Morgan is still there?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s not.\u201d Gates\u2019 disappointment must have shone through, because she quickly went on: \u201cI managed to tag the cutter he was shipped out on. He\u2019s in-system, on Corel II. Or rather, in orbit around it on another orbital, this one owned by a Anselm Holding LLC.\u201d\n\n\u201cShould that company name mean something to me?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe same company owns Nemonautics.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe company that facilitated the sabotage of my ship. Sounds suspicious.\u201d\n\nShe cocked a brow.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m wary of easily-drawn conclusions.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo am I, that\u2019s why I ran a few checks while you were recovering. As the company is privately held, there\u2019s very little information available, but they sprang into being three years back, buying up a bunch of shipping companies and several orbital maintenance facilities, all without any kind of financing on the books.\u201d\n\n\u201cA front?\u201d\n\n\u201cAbsolutely, though I can\u2019t say who for.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat kind of orbital is it?\u201d\n\n\u201cHarmony Maintenance and Transhipment, much like the one in orbit around Nemo.\u201d\n\n\u201cAny other corporations leasing space?\u201d\n\nShe glanced at her MobiGlas. \u201cNo.\u201d\n\n\u201cAny defenses?\u201d\n\n\u201cStandard anti-meteor.\u201d\n\nHe nodded and hit the inside edge of the medbay, gel sluicing around his fingers, \u201cHow long do I have to be in here?\u201d\n\n\u201cA few more hours should see you well-cooked enough for very light duty.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood. Then all we need is another ship.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe?\u201d\n\nGates hadn\u2019t even realized he\u2019d made the decision about Seabrook until she called him on it. He looked her in the eye. \u201cYes. I need your help, Agent Seabrook.\u201d\n\nSeabrook returned his gaze for a long moment, clearly weighing the situation. \u201cAll right. For what?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re going in after Morgan. Either we spring him if he\u2019s being held against his will or, if he\u2019s not, we take him for questioning.\u201d\n\nShe pointed at the medbay, \u201dYou\u2019re not going to be fully healed any time soon. Can\u2019t see how you\u2019ll get aboard without tripping alarms.\u201d\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t be boarding, you will. If they twig to you, they\u2019ll expect you to extract to the ship you arrived on. That\u2019s why I\u2019ll be aboard another ship, ready to run in and extract you both, should it come to that.\u201d\n\n\u201cWarrantless?\u201d\n\nHe just looked at her.\n\nSeabrook looked away, pained. \u201cStupid question, I know.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo, know where we can get a third-rate ship on the quick, cheap, and down-low?\u201d\n\n\u201cMight be I know a guy, yes.\u201d\n\nGates smiled and changed the subject, \u201cHow long you been Advocacy?\u201d\n\n\u201cNearly twenty, why?\u201d\n\n\u201cI didn\u2019t get to read your file, remember? And while SA is made up of harder-working agents than the rest of the Advocacy, it might help me plan if I know some of the specifics of your background.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve been SA for seven years.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, that explains why we never met.\u201d\n\nShe nodded, \u201cI arrived right after you were sent to work under Oda. Special Action needed a data jockey with field experience. I think the SACs did it as a one-for-one transfer when they shifted us.\u201d\n\nData jockey, now that both explains a lot and could come in quite handy.\n\n\u201cCareerist bureaucrats do like to keep things tidy,\u201d he said, to keep a verbal hand in the conversation.\n\nShe snorted, \u201cBut Oda got more than she bargained for with with you, eh?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat she did. Let\u2019s hope that Morgan, or any people holding him, do the same.\u201d\n\n. . . to be continued","de_DE":"\"Gates, kannst du mich h\u00f6ren?\" Die Worte brachten Schmerzen. Tore schossen von ihnen zur\u00fcck und zogen sich in einen ruhigen Pool aus Nichts zur\u00fcck.\n\n\"Im Unterbrecher leidet er.\"\n\n\"Ja, Ma'am\", eine digitale Stimme. Irgendwie, das war wichtig, regte ihn an, \u00fcber seine Umgebung nachzudenken. Viskose gelartige Fl\u00fcssigkeit umgab ihn herum: warm, aber k\u00fchl, sanft, beruhigend.\n\nEin Medbay. Der Gedanke kam ohne Alarm.\n\nDer Schmerz lie\u00df nach. Tore schwebten und nahmen sich die Zeit, zur Besinnung zu kommen.\n\n\"Gates, kannst du mich h\u00f6ren?\" Details schwebten langsam in den Sinn: die Stimme einer Frau. Nicht einen, den er erkannte.\n\n\"Ja, das kann ich\", Stimme schwach.\n\n\"Gut. Erinnerst du dich, was passiert ist?\"\n\nBilder \u00fcberfluteten den ruhigen Pool des Bewusstseins und zerst\u00f6rten ihn v\u00f6llig.\n\nGates schlug ihm die Augen auf. Der grelle Schein des Lichts war zun\u00e4chst blendend, entschied sich aber f\u00fcr eine attraktive Frau unbestimmter Jahre, die neben ihm stand und die Arme \u00fcber einem hochwertigen Zivilfluganzug verschr\u00e4nkte.\n\n\"Wo...\" begann er, leckte seine Lippen und versuchte es noch einmal: \"Wer bist du?\"\n\n\"Um die erste Frage zu beantworten: Du bist auf meinem Schiff.\" Sie klickte mit den Fersen und pr\u00e4sentierte ihr MobiGlas: \"Was den zweiten betrifft: Ich bin Agent Seabrook, Special Action. Vasser hat mich zu deinem Backstop-Agenten gemacht.\"\n\n\" Vasser?\"\n\nSeabrook schnippte mit den Fingern, \"Rei\u00df dich zusammen, Agent, und konzentriere dich: Du wurdest hierher geschickt?\"\n\nEr verspannte sich. \"Morgan. Dieser motherf-\" Schmerz schloss seinen Mund, als er versuchte, sich aus dem Medbay zu erheben, Gelschleusung aus frisch gestrickter Haut, die sein dunkles Fleisch wie rosa Farbe markierte.\n\nSie streckte eine Hand aus: \"Wir werden zu ihm kommen, wenn er wirklich verantwortlich ist, jetzt verfolgen Sie etwas besser. Denke einen Moment nach.\"\n\nSag das \u00fcber meinen Zorn; er reinigt den Geist von Spinnweben ziemlich gut. Gates setzte sich wieder in den Griff der Medbay und lie\u00df sein Gesicht \u00fcber dem Gel zur\u00fcck. Er atmete ein paar Mal tief durch und fragte, wann er ruhig genug sei: \"Ich dachte, Vasser schickte mich allein rein?\"\n\n\"Das hat sie. Mir wurde befohlen, mich im Hintergrund und weit aus dem Blickfeld zu halten, was ich tat, zumindest bis ich sicher war, dass es niemanden gab, der die St\u00fccke f\u00fcr die andere Seite aufheben konnte. Eine ziemliche Schie\u00dferei. Eine Schie\u00dferei, die du gewonnen hast, zumindest f\u00fcr bestimmte Werte des Gewinnens.\" Gates erkannte das Grinsen des Raubtieres, das sich \u00fcber ihr Gesicht ausbreitete. Er hatte einen \u00e4hnlichen Ausdruck oft genug getragen.\n\nTore zuckten zu, als ein Bild in den Sinn kam: Jenseits seines zerbrochenen Cockpits und seines verr\u00fcckten Helmglases - die Aurora des Piraten bricht unter den Explosionen seiner einzigen noch funktionierenden Laserkanone auseinander.\n\n\"Ich dachte, ich w\u00e4re tot.\"\n\n\"Das h\u00e4ttest du, in ein paar Stunden. Du warst ein paar Stunden davon entfernt, in eines der Mondlinge zu h\u00e4mmern. So wie es ist, ist Ihr 325 komplett zerst\u00f6rt und Sie hatten einige Nervensch\u00e4den in Ihren Extremit\u00e4ten durch vakuuminduzierte Gefrierbrand. Nichts, was das Medbay in ein paar Stunden nicht schaffen w\u00fcrde. Ich habe es geschafft, die Umlaufbahn deines Schiffes zu stabilisieren, aber es wird bald nirgendwo hinf\u00fchren.\"\n\nGates grunzte. \"Ich werde es aus Morgans Haut nehmen. Nachdem er mir gesagt hat, warum.\"\n\n\"Ich nehme an, Sie sprechen von James Morgan?\"\n\n\"Verdammt richtig, das tue ich. Du musst n\u00e4her dran gewesen sein, als Vasser wollte, du wei\u00dft, mit wem ich gesprochen habe.\"\n\n\"Ich wei\u00df es, denn gleich nachdem du gegangen bist, tauchte Morgan auf der Orbitalplattform auf, wo du deine Reparaturen durchf\u00fchren lie\u00dfest, begleitet von einigen ernsthaft aussehenden M\u00e4nnern.\"\n\n\"Ernsthaft?\"\n\n\"Du kennst den Typ: Muskeln, die sich hart und \u00fcberf\u00fcrsorglich gegen\u00fcber ihrer Umgebung verhalten m\u00fcssen, nur um ihren Lebensunterhalt zu verdienen. Sie waren auch nicht sehr sanft zu Morgan.\"\n\nVielleicht, nur vielleicht, Morgan hat mich nicht freiwillig \u00fcbergeben. Am besten, man hofft nicht zu sehr, so saugen sie einen in Fehler.\n\n\"Woher wei\u00dft du, dass sie dich nicht dazu gebracht haben?\", fragte er.\n\n\"Ich war da\", blickte sie auf die Schiffsschotten und machte die Wartung.\"\n\nEin neuer Verdacht sprudelte: \"Woher wusstest du, wer er ist?\"\n\n\"Vasser wollte, dass ich dich und deine Kontakte kenne, also gab sie mir deine Unterlagen.\"\n\nDie Lippen verdrehten sich in einem Grinsen, das durch den Schmerz von besch\u00e4digtem Fleisch sch\u00e4rfer wurde, fragte er: \"Die offizielle oder die Special Action's?\"\n\nIhr L\u00e4cheln war strahlend, ber\u00fchrte sogar ihre braunen Augen. \"Beide. Eine ziemlich lange Geschichte.\"\n\n\"Ich bin alt, siehst du. Die Geschichte ist f\u00fcr mich l\u00e4nger als f\u00fcr dich.\"\n\n\"Ja, aber wir beide wissen, dass ich das nicht so gemeint habe. Ich muss sagen, ich hatte nicht daran gedacht, eine lebende Legende zu treffen, geschweige denn seinen Arsch vor dem sicheren Tod zu retten.\"\n\nEr blickte weg. \"Schmeichelei wird dich \u00fcberall hinbringen.\"\n\n\"Sogar Orte, an die ich nicht gehen will?\", antwortete sie sch\u00fcchtern.\n\nDer Medbay schlief in Alarmbereitschaft, als sein L\u00e4cheln die Haut entlang seiner Flanken aufriss. Wow, muss eine echte Nummer auf meinem Anzug gemacht haben, als das Cockpit ging, dachte er durch den Schmerz.\n\nAls es nachlie\u00df, l\u00e4chelte sie ihn an: \"Wirklich, aber es ist eine interessante Lekt\u00fcre, deine Geschichte. Vor allem das letzte Bit: Haben Sie wirklich die gesamte Operation von Doktor Pantroski in einer Nacht abgebaut?\"\n\n\"Ja, das habe ich.\"\n\n\"Dein SAC zu dieser Zeit, sie sch\u00e4tzte es nicht.\"\n\n\"Nein, das hat sie nicht. Ich hatte Grund zu der Annahme, dass Pantroski ein paar Advocacy-Agenten get\u00f6tet hat.\"\n\n\" Und?\"\n\n\"Oda dachte nicht, dass das, was ich hatte, genug war. Ich war anderer Meinung. Es stellte sich heraus, dass ich Recht hatte.\"\n\n\"Und Oda h\u00e4tte dich fast aus der Advocacy rausgeholt.\"\n\n\"Fast. Ich war ein paar Mal n\u00e4her dran.\"\n\n\"Ich auch, mit Oda am Steuer\", ein weiterer Blitz dieses r\u00e4uberischen Grinsens. \"Bei Oda geht es darum, dass Oda f\u00fcr die Direktorin gut aussieht. Er hat mich einmal angeklagt: Er hat in einer meiner Ermittlungen einige \"Unregelm\u00e4\u00dfigkeiten\" behauptet.\" Sie zuckte mit den Schultern. \"Alles, was ich getan habe, war, das Gesicht des Sklavenh\u00e4ndler-Abschaums unregelm\u00e4\u00dfig zu machen. Ich musste versuchen, ihn davon abzuhalten, das zu tun, was er getan hat.... mit jemand anderem...\" Nachdem Gates sie selbst getragen hatte, erkannte er leicht die Ausdr\u00fccke, die \u00fcber Seabrook's Gesicht krochen, als sie ihre Geschichte erz\u00e4hlte: Abscheu vor dem, was der Pirat getan hatte, Unbehagen mit ihrer eigenen Reaktion, gefolgt von der ruhigen Gewissheit, dass diese Handlungen absolut notwendig gewesen waren. Gates wusste aus langj\u00e4hriger Erfahrung, dass der Anschein von Gewissheit tags\u00fcber leichter zu erhalten ist. W\u00e4hrend der langen Stunden der Nacht, schlafen Sie, lassen Sie die Wache fallen, lassen Sie die Alptr\u00e4ume frei laufen.\n\nVon einem pl\u00f6tzlichen Drang gepackt, das Thema zu wechseln, fragte er: \"Du hast nicht zuf\u00e4llig die Techniker gesehen, die meine Pods sabotiert haben, oder?\"\n\n\" Nein.\"\n\n\"Wei\u00dft du, ob Morgan noch da ist?\"\n\n\"Das tut er nicht.\" Gates' Entt\u00e4uschung muss durchschimmert haben, denn sie ging schnell weiter: \"Ich habe es geschafft, den Fr\u00e4ser zu markieren, mit dem er rausgeschickt wurde. Er ist im System, auf Corel II. Oder besser gesagt, im Orbit um ihn herum auf einem anderen Orbital, das einer Anselm Holding LLC geh\u00f6rt.\"\n\n\"Sollte dieser Firmenname etwas f\u00fcr mich bedeuten?\"\n\n\"Die gleiche Firma besitzt auch Nemonautics.\"\n\n\"Die Firma, die die Sabotage meines Schiffes erm\u00f6glicht hat. Klingt verd\u00e4chtig.\"\n\nSie spannte eine Stirn.\n\n\"Ich warte vor leicht zu ziehenden Schlussfolgerungen.\"\n\n\"Ich auch, deshalb habe ich ein paar \u00dcberpr\u00fcfungen durchgef\u00fchrt, w\u00e4hrend du dich erholt hast. Da das Unternehmen in Privatbesitz ist, gibt es nur sehr wenige Informationen, aber sie sind vor drei Jahren entstanden und haben eine Reihe von Reedereien und mehrere orbitale Wartungseinrichtungen aufgekauft, ohne jegliche Finanzierung.\"\n\n\" Eine Fassade?\"\n\n\"Absolut, obwohl ich nicht sagen kann, f\u00fcr wen.\"\n\n\"Was f\u00fcr eine Art Orbital ist es?\"\n\n\"Harmonieerhaltung und Umschlag, \u00e4hnlich wie der im Orbit um Nemo.\"\n\n\"Irgendwelche anderen Firmen, die Raum mieten?\"\n\nSie blickte auf ihr MobiGlas. \" Nein.\"\n\n\"Irgendwelche Verteidigungen?\"\n\n\"Standard Meteoritenschutz.\"\n\nEr nickte und traf den inneren Rand der Medbay, Gelschleuse um seine Finger, \"Wie lange muss ich hier drin sein?\"\n\n\"Noch ein paar Stunden, dann bist du gut genug gekocht f\u00fcr sehr leichte Arbeiten.\"\n\n\"Gut. Dann brauchen wir nur noch ein weiteres Schiff.\"\n\n\" Wir?\"\n\nGates hatte nicht einmal bemerkt, dass er die Entscheidung \u00fcber Seabrook getroffen hatte, bis sie ihn darauf aufmerksam machte. Er sah ihr in die Augen. \"Ja. Ich brauche Ihre Hilfe, Agent Seabrook.\"\n\nSeabrook wandte seinen Blick f\u00fcr einen langen Moment zur\u00fcck und wog die Situation klar ab. \"In Ordnung. Wof\u00fcr?\"\n\n\"Wir gehen Morgan nach. Entweder wir springen ihn, wenn er gegen seinen Willen festgehalten wird, oder, wenn er es nicht ist, nehmen wir ihn zur Befragung mit.\"\n\nSie zeigte auf die Medbay: \"Du wirst in naher Zukunft nicht vollst\u00e4ndig geheilt sein. Ich kann nicht sehen, wie du an Bord kommen willst, ohne den Alarm auszul\u00f6sen.\"\n\n\"Ich werde nicht an Bord gehen, du wirst es tun. Wenn sie zu dir gehen, erwarten sie, dass du das Schiff, auf dem du angekommen bist, herausholst. Deshalb werde ich an Bord eines anderen Schiffes sein, bereit, hineinzulaufen und euch beide zu extrahieren, falls es dazu kommen sollte.\"\n\n\"Ohne Garantie?\"\n\nEr sah sie nur an.\n\nSeabrook sah weg, schmerzte. \"Dumme Frage, ich wei\u00df.\"\n\n\"Also, wei\u00dft du, wo wir ein drittklassiges Schiff auf dem schnellen, billigen und niedrigen Niveau bekommen k\u00f6nnen?\"\n\n\"Vielleicht kenne ich einen Kerl, ja.\"\n\nGates l\u00e4chelte und wechselte das Thema: \"Wie lange bist du schon Advocacy?\"\n\n\"Fast zwanzig, warum?\"\n\n\"Ich konnte deine Akte nicht lesen, erinnerst du dich? Und obwohl SA aus hart arbeitenden Agenten besteht als der Rest der Anwaltschaft, k\u00f6nnte es mir helfen, zu planen, wenn ich einige der Besonderheiten Ihres Hintergrunds kenne.\"\n\n\"Ich bin seit sieben Jahren SA.\"\n\n\"Ah, das erkl\u00e4rt, warum wir uns nie getroffen haben.\"\n\nSie nickte: \"Ich kam direkt an, nachdem du unter Oda zur Arbeit geschickt wurdest. Special Action ben\u00f6tigte einen Datenjockey mit Erfahrung im Feld. Ich denke, die SACs haben es als One-for-One-Transfer gemacht, als sie uns verlegt haben.\"\n\nDatenjockey, das erkl\u00e4rt viel und k\u00f6nnte sehr n\u00fctzlich sein.\n\n\"Karriereb\u00fcrokraten m\u00f6gen es, die Dinge ordentlich zu halten\", sagte er, um eine verbale Hand im Gespr\u00e4ch zu behalten.\n\nSie schnaubte: \"Aber Oda bekam mehr, als sie mit dir ausgehandelt hat, was?\"\n\n\"Das hat sie getan. Hoffen wir, dass Morgan oder andere Leute, die ihn festhalten, dasselbe tun.\"\n\n. ... wird fortgesetzt","zh_CN":"\u201cGates, can you hear me?\u201d The words brought pain. Gates recoiled from them, retreating into a calm pool of nothing.\n\n\u201cUp the interrupter, he\u2019s suffering.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, ma\u2019am,\u201d a digital voice. Somehow, that was important, spurred him to think about his surroundings. Viscous gel-like fluid surrounded him: warm, yet cool, gentle, comforting.\n\nA medbay. The thought came without alarm.\n\nThe pain eased. Gates floated, taking his time coming to his senses.\n\n\u201cGates, can you hear me?\u201d Details floated slowly to mind: a woman\u2019s voice. Not one he recognized.\n\n\u201cYes, I can,\u201d voice weak.\n\n\u201cGood. Do you remember what happened?\u201d\n\nImages flooded the calm pool of consciousness, shattering it completely.\n\nGates snapped his eyes open. The glare of light was blinding, at first, but resolved to an attractive woman of indeterminate years standing beside him, arms crossed over a high-end civilian flight suit.\n\n\u201cWher\u2013\u201d he started, licked his lips, and tried again, \u201cWho are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo answer the first question: you\u2019re on my ship.\u201d She clicked her heels and presented her MobiGlas, \u201cAs to the second: I\u2019m Agent Seabrook, Special Action. Vasser set me as your backstop Agent.\u201d\n\n\u201cVasser?\u201d\n\nSeabrook snapped her fingers, \u201cGet your shit together, Agent, and focus: you were sent here by?\u201d\n\nHe tensed. \u201cMorgan. That motherf\u2013\u201d pain shut his mouth as he tried to rise from the medbay, gel sluicing from fresh-knit skin that marked his dark flesh like pink paint.\n\nShe put a hand out, \u201cWe\u2019ll get to him, if he truly is responsible, now you\u2019re tracking a bit better. Think a moment.\u201d\n\nSay this about my anger; it clears the mind of cobwebs quite nicely. Gates settled back into the grip of the medbay, just leaving his face above the gel. He took a few deep breaths, asked when he was calm enough: \u201cI thought Vasser sent me in alone?\u201d\n\n\u201cShe did. I was ordered to keep to the background and well out of sight, which I did, at least until I was sure there wasn\u2019t anyone else to pick up the pieces for the other side. Quite the gunfight. A gunfight you won, at least for certain values of winning.\u201d Gates recognized the predator\u2019s grin that spread across her face. He\u2019d worn a similar expression often enough.\n\nGates winced as an image swam to mind: Beyond his shattered cockpit and crazed helmet glass \u2014 the pirate\u2019s Aurora breaking apart under blasts of his sole remaining operational laser cannon.\n\n\u201cThought I was dead.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou would have been, given a few more hours. You were a few hours from hammering into one of the moonlets. As it is, your 325 is all busted up and you\u2019ve had some nerve damage in your extremities from vacuum-induced freezer-burns. Nothing the medbay can\u2019t handle in a few more hours. I managed to stabilize your ship\u2019s orbit, but it ain\u2019t going anywhere any time soon.\u201d\n\nGates grunted. \u201cI\u2019ll take it out of Morgan\u2019s hide. After he tells me why.\u201d\n\n\u201cI assume you\u2019re talking about James Morgan?\u201d\n\n\u201cDamn straight I am. You must have been closer than Vasser wanted, you know who I was talking to.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know because, right after you left, Morgan showed up on the orbital platform where you had your repairs done, escorted by some serious-looking men.\u201d\n\n\u201cSerious?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou know the type: muscle that has to act all hard and over-attentive to their surroundings, just to scratch a living. They were not being terribly gentle with Morgan, either.\u201d\n\nMaybe, just maybe, Morgan didn\u2019t willingly hand me over. Best not to hope too hard, that\u2019s how they suck you into making mistakes.\n\n\u201cHow do you know they didn\u2019t make you?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cI was there,\u201d she glanced at the ship bulkheads, \u201cgetting maintenance done.\u201d\n\nA new suspicion bubbled: \u201cHow\u2019d you know who he was?\u201d\n\n\u201cVasser wanted me familiar with you and your contacts, so she gave me your records.\u201d\n\nLips twisting in a grin made sharper by the pain of damaged flesh, he asked: \u201cThe official one or Special Action\u2019s?\u201d\n\nHer smile was bright, even touched her brown eyes. \u201cBoth. Quite the history.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m old, see. History is longer for me than for you.\u201d\n\n\u201cYeah, but we both know that\u2019s not what I meant. I must say I hadn\u2019t thought to meet a living legend, let alone save his ass from certain death.\u201d\n\nHe glanced away. \u201cFlattery will get you everywhere.\u201d\n\n\u201cEven places I don\u2019t want to go?\u201d she replied, archly.\n\nThe medbay beeped in alarm as his chuckle tore open stretches of skin along his flanks. Wow, must have done a real number on my suit when the cockpit went, he thought through the pain.\n\nWhen it eased, she was smiling at him, \u201cReally, though, it makes for interesting reading, your history. The last bit, especially: did you really dismantle Doctor Pantroski\u2019s entire operation in one night?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I did.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour SAC at the time, she didn\u2019t appreciate it.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, she did not. I had reason to suspect Pantroski of killing a couple of Advocacy agents.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd?\u201d\n\n\u201cOda didn\u2019t think what I had was enough. I disagreed. Turns out I was right.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd Oda nearly had you run out of the Advocacy for it.\u201d\n\n\u201cNearly. Been closer a few times.\u201d\n\n\u201cMe too, with Oda at the helm,\u201d another flash of that predatory grin. \u201cOda\u2019s all about making Oda look good to the Director. Brought me up on charges, once: claimed some \u2018irregularities\u2019 in one of my investigations.\u201d She shrugged. \u201cAll I did was make the rapist slaver scum\u2019s face \u2018irregular.\u2019 I had to try and keep him from doing \u2026 what he did \u2026 to anyone else \u2026\u201d Having worn them himself, Gates easily recognized the expressions crawling across Seabrook\u2019s face as she related her tale: disgust at what the pirate had done, discomfort with her own response, followed by the calm surety that those actions had been completely necessary. Gates knew from long experience that the appearance of certainty was easier to maintain during the day. During the long hours of the night, sleep let the guard down, let the nightmares run free.\n\nGripped with a sudden urge to change the subject, he asked, \u201cYou didn\u2019t happen to see the techs that sabotaged my pods, did you?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou know if Morgan is still there?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s not.\u201d Gates\u2019 disappointment must have shone through, because she quickly went on: \u201cI managed to tag the cutter he was shipped out on. He\u2019s in-system, on Corel II. Or rather, in orbit around it on another orbital, this one owned by a Anselm Holding LLC.\u201d\n\n\u201cShould that company name mean something to me?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe same company owns Nemonautics.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe company that facilitated the sabotage of my ship. Sounds suspicious.\u201d\n\nShe cocked a brow.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m wary of easily-drawn conclusions.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo am I, that\u2019s why I ran a few checks while you were recovering. As the company is privately held, there\u2019s very little information available, but they sprang into being three years back, buying up a bunch of shipping companies and several orbital maintenance facilities, all without any kind of financing on the books.\u201d\n\n\u201cA front?\u201d\n\n\u201cAbsolutely, though I can\u2019t say who for.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat kind of orbital is it?\u201d\n\n\u201cHarmony Maintenance and Transhipment, much like the one in orbit around Nemo.\u201d\n\n\u201cAny other corporations leasing space?\u201d\n\nShe glanced at her MobiGlas. \u201cNo.\u201d\n\n\u201cAny defenses?\u201d\n\n\u201cStandard anti-meteor.\u201d\n\nHe nodded and hit the inside edge of the medbay, gel sluicing around his fingers, \u201cHow long do I have to be in here?\u201d\n\n\u201cA few more hours should see you well-cooked enough for very light duty.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood. Then all we need is another ship.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe?\u201d\n\nGates hadn\u2019t even realized he\u2019d made the decision about Seabrook until she called him on it. He looked her in the eye. \u201cYes. I need your help, Agent Seabrook.\u201d\n\nSeabrook returned his gaze for a long moment, clearly weighing the situation. \u201cAll right. For what?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re going in after Morgan. Either we spring him if he\u2019s being held against his will or, if he\u2019s not, we take him for questioning.\u201d\n\nShe pointed at the medbay, \u201dYou\u2019re not going to be fully healed any time soon. Can\u2019t see how you\u2019ll get aboard without tripping alarms.\u201d\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t be boarding, you will. If they twig to you, they\u2019ll expect you to extract to the ship you arrived on. That\u2019s why I\u2019ll be aboard another ship, ready to run in and extract you both, should it come to that.\u201d\n\n\u201cWarrantless?\u201d\n\nHe just looked at her.\n\nSeabrook looked away, pained. \u201cStupid question, I know.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo, know where we can get a third-rate ship on the quick, cheap, and down-low?\u201d\n\n\u201cMight be I know a guy, yes.\u201d\n\nGates smiled and changed the subject, \u201cHow long you been Advocacy?\u201d\n\n\u201cNearly twenty, why?\u201d\n\n\u201cI didn\u2019t get to read your file, remember? And while SA is made up of harder-working agents than the rest of the Advocacy, it might help me plan if I know some of the specifics of your background.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve been SA for seven years.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, that explains why we never met.\u201d\n\nShe nodded, \u201cI arrived right after you were sent to work under Oda. Special Action needed a data jockey with field experience. I think the SACs did it as a one-for-one transfer when they shifted us.\u201d\n\nData jockey, now that both explains a lot and could come in quite handy.\n\n\u201cCareerist bureaucrats do like to keep things tidy,\u201d he said, to keep a verbal hand in the conversation.\n\nShe snorted, \u201cBut Oda got more than she bargained for with with you, eh?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat she did. Let\u2019s hope that Morgan, or any people holding him, do the same.\u201d\n\n. . . to be continued"},"links_count":0,"comment_count":20,"created_at":"2013-08-16T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"12 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-10 01:21:51","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":13209,"next_id":13211}}