{"data":{"id":13500,"title":"DATELINE: SESEN Part One","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/serialized-fiction\/13500-DATELINE-SESEN-Part-One","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/13500","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/13500","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"Dateline: Sesen","images":[{"id":1292,"name":"DatelineSesenFI3.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/x3l6h1jdbgno8r\/source\/DatelineSesenFI3.jpg","alt":"","size":1595560,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2014-01-29T19:43:33+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/1292","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/1292\/similar"}],"images_count":1,"translations":{"en_EN":"Ulla Yadav mulled over potential headlines. Are Faux Pirates Costing You More than the Real Thing? Commandeered by Bandits \u2026 Think Again. Privateers or Private Companies, Who is Really Cashing In?\n\nThe seasoned reporter hunkered down in her Freelancer\u2019s pilot seat, watching her breath crystallize with each exhalation. Haddix had switched the systems to all-dark, which included turning the heat down to near-freezing. If someone picked up a heat trace from their craft it would look residual, like sunlight reflecting off of space debris.\n\nThey needed to be nearly invisible. This wasn\u2019t a story she wanted to lose over simple mistakes.\n\n\u201cWhich title do you like better, Pseudo-Raiders, Ahoy or Hijackings With a Side of High Jinks?\u201d she asked.\n\nStars yawed past the forward Plexi, and Yadav permitted herself a small course correction, to keep the jump point straight ahead. The gateway hung off the bow, visible only to their NavDrive. A set of blinking buoys surrounded the point, marking off a safety zone.\n\n\u201cWhat?\u201d Haddix leaned toward Yadav. He was a bulky man, and appeared uncomfortable in the cramped space. \u201cOh, the second one.\u201d He\u2019d been fidgeting the whole time, anxious, unaccustomed to so much waiting. New United had assigned him to be her bodyguard on three previous missions, all during violent conflicts. This sitting around thing was new.\n\n\u201cWhat makes you think the reports of pirates in this system aren\u2019t real?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cThirty years of reporting experience,\u201d she replied, cheeky. \u201cSeriously? Because of their supposed targets: common stuff with low trade values. Pirates go after electronics, weapons, medicine, food \u2014 either things they can get a lot for, or items they need desperately. Why would they hijack carriers packing steel beams, excavation equipment or pipeline? That doesn\u2019t make any sense. It\u2019s not worth the risk.\u201d\n\nShe straightened in her seat. A bright-orange transport slid into view, its company name standing out in black, block lettering across the side. It stopped short of the jump point, most likely loading the NavData.\n\n\u201cGet ready to fire everything up,\u201d she said. \u201cThis could be it.\u201d Using her MobiGlas, she double-checked the manifest for this particular ship.\n\n\u201cIf pirates aren\u2019t attacking the ships, where\u2019s the cargo going?\u201d Haddix asked, hand poised over the control panel.\n\n\u201cWatch. That\u2019s what we\u2019re going to find out. I suspect there\u2019s an insurance fraud conspiracy, across several companies. Four, at least. If this transport gets hit or disappears, I think it\u2019s five. Why buy the materials to manufacture something over and over when you can build one batch, steal it, get an insurance payout, and still have the product at hand? I shudder to think how many times a single piece of pipeline has been claimed as brand-new stolen goods.\u201d\n\nFrom her field kit, Yadav retrieved a camera drone and let it float freely next to her head. \u201cAll the insurance reports I\u2019ve looked at say the transports were commandeered near jump points. How much you wanna bet we just follow these guys to a lazy little vacation spot?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll bet you a million,\u201d said Haddix. \u201cUnless those pirate ships there are just for effect.\u201d\n\nA pack of six Cutlasses barreled out of the jump point. One craft smacked into the front of the transport and skidded along its side, leaving a long, dark scar in the orange hide.\nYadav tapped the camera drone and it sprang to life, automatically locking onto her eye movement. It mirrored her gaze, recording whatever she looked at. The recorder in her ear worked continuously, never missing a moment.\n\nHaddix pulled a scrap of something from his pocket and kissed it. Yadav had seen him do that on a number of occasions, but had never asked about it. Just his ritual, she thought, tightening her harness. Some people need their little security blankets.\n\nBut not her. This was what she lived for. She welcomed the rush of adrenaline, the fresh sweat on her brow, her increased pulse rate \u2014 it all meant she was where she needed to be, in the thick of a story-worthy conflict. There was something about exposing a criminal\u2019s dirty laundry, about revealing a secret and letting the public judge who was right and who was wrong, that filled her with elation.\n\nShots of electric-white blasted out of the pirates\u2019 weapons, creating strategic wounds in the transport\u2019s sides. Loose items flew from the holes as the pressure equalized. Yadav held her breath. Magnifying a portion of the shield\u2019s display, she scanned the debris for familiar, flailing forms. Thankfully, everything appeared inanimate. No people.\n\n\u201cThe pirates knew where to fire \u2014 they must have ship schematics,\u201d she said. But that wasn\u2019t proof of a set-up. With a short burst of power, they drifted closer to the action.\n\nOnce the holes quit spewing, the pirate ships landed on the transport like wasps on a watermelon. After they anchored themselves to the hull, individuals clad in stained, yellow pressure suits climbed out and entered the transport through the blast points.\n\nHaddix shifted uncomfortably. Yadav knew he was itching to call the authorities. She used to get that itch \u2014 until she realized that the more info she could gather, the better off the authorities would be. If they tried to alert someone now, the seizure would most likely be over before anyone arrived. Plus, she didn\u2019t want anyone interrupting. She\u2019d spent far too many weeks staking out possible hijacking points for some Advocacy agent to swoop in just when a hunch had paid off.\n\nWas that reckless of her? Cynical? Maybe. Spending a good portion of one\u2019s life following career criminals could callus anyone\u2019s sense of civic duty.\n\nSigns of life returned to the outside of the ship after fifteen minutes, when several escape pods tumbled free of the transport. Moments later, the hulking orange ship pushed forward, into the jump point.\n\nYadav and Haddix\u2019s hands flew over their respective control panels, restoring full functionality to all portions of the ship. \u201cIf we lose the transport we lose the story,\u201d she said.\n\nAs she swung around to tail the escaping bandits, Haddix scanned the escape pods. \u201cBeacons are working. Five pods for five individuals \u2014 can\u2019t read if there are any injuries, but everyone is alive, at least.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor a transport this size that\u2019s got to be the entire crew. The pirates didn\u2019t kill anyone?\u201d Suspicious, but consistent with her conspiracy theory. Only one death had been recorded out of the seven attacks she\u2019d flagged as unusual.\n\n\u201cMaybe with the influx of assaults on this kind of cargo, the crew was given bargaining money,\u201d Haddix suggested.\n\nShe shook her head. \u201cI checked \u2014 the companies haven\u2019t sprung for defensive weapons or personnel from private security companies. Which means they aren\u2019t likely to foot the bill for ransom, either. Now, is that because no one company has been hit enough times for them to think they need to resort to these measures, or because they know the crew will be spared?\u201d\n\nSparks shed off of the orange hull here and there as it slipped into the jump point \u2014 a slight static discharge. Yadav was counting on the energy differentials between normal space and interspace to confuse the transport\u2019s sensors and help shield the newscraft from sight. She rode up on the transport\u2019s stern, keeping out of the way of the thrusters.\n\n\u201cReady?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cReady,\u201d Haddix confirmed. He primed the WillsOp targeting software, in case they met a pirate welcoming party on the other side.\n\nThe trip through the jump point was nearly instantaneous, but the mind couldn\u2019t tell. Had it taken them a day or a second? Jump points were hell on the memory, made Yadav feel like she\u2019d been drugged. The backward-forward, now-then swampy sensation took her minutes to shake. Some people said they couldn\u2019t feel anything when going through a jump point. Yadav wished she could say the same.\n\nWhen they popped out the other side, Yadav kept firmly to her prey. They swung wide through the system, keeping away from the inner orbits where the rocky, inhabited planets lay. \u201cMy records say this shipment was intended for the fourth planet here,\u201d Yadav said for the benefit of her recorder.\n\nThe pirates\u2019 course took them afar, to yet another jump point. Before following them through, Yadav dropped a press beacon. Breadcrumbs were important. She had no way of knowing where they were headed, so it was best to make sure they had a trail of their own devising for New United to find if necessary.\n\nAfter three more jumps, Yadav began wondering if they were being taken for a ride. \u201cWe\u2019re heading off into the middle of nowhere,\u201d she said, glancing at her charts. \u201cVery few terraformed planets out this way.\u201d Long way to travel for fraud. Even longer way for pirates, who liked to offload sooner rather than later.\n\n\u201cRemind me to check back with those systems,\u201d she said. \u201cI want to know what ID codes the guys are using.\u201d\n\nThe last jump brought them into a small system with only three planets \u2014 at least, according to the surveys they could pull up, which seemed spotty. \u201cCan\u2019t even tell if the terraforming\u2019s complete on the third one out,\u201d Haddix noted. \u201cDamn shoddy recordkeeping.\u201d\n\nRegardless, the transport didn\u2019t head for any of the planets. It made for the asteroid belt, which sat within the orbit of the outermost planet.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m picking up on a lot of ships,\u201d Haddix warned. \u201cThirty or so, mostly Drake models, stationed on several of the mid-sized asteroids. I think the transport is headed for that planetoid.\u201d\n\n\u201cMe too,\u201d she agreed. The object was just massive enough to be rounded under its own weight. \u201cDisengaging from target. We need to find a rock to hide behind.\u201d\n\nShe looked for a prime position: an asteroid she could cling to without being noticed, close enough to the planetoid that she could zoom in on the activity.\n\n\u201cI think we should pull back,\u201d said Haddix. \u201cI don\u2019t like this. All those ships are reading hot. They\u2019re definitely packing.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ve been chasing them for hours. I\u2019m not pulling back now.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs your security advisor and bodyguard \u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cAs a tagalong assigned by the agency without my consent, be quiet and let me do my job.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re not the only one on this ship, Ulla.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ve been up against worse.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot without backup.\u201d\n\nThere! An ideal spot. Slow end-to-end rotation, deep craters, with wide orbit around the planetoid. She swooped in, careful upon landing not to cause a massive ejection that could be spotted. Only a smattering of dust and loose rock rose from the surface. Most of the debris stayed within the light gravity field, hanging above the rough surface for a long while before settling back down again.\n\nBelow, on the planetoid, was a massive chop-shop. As soon as the transport touched down, suited workers began dismantling it like ants dismantling a dead beetle. This was not at all what she\u2019d expected to find. \u201cThere\u2019s no way this could be cost-effective for insurance frau \u2014\u201d\n\nRed lights blinked in the cabin. A warning siren wailed. \u201cWe\u2019re being targeted,\u201d Haddix said. \u201cSomeone\u2019s seen us. Confirming, shots fired.\u201d\n\nYadav craned her neck to look high and low through the Plexi. Nothing within view, but that didn\u2019t matter. She thrust off, sacrificing subtlety for speed. Dust and ice particles rocketed out of the asteroid\u2019s gravitational field at well past escape velocity. A moment later the rock beneath them fractured. Chunks of shattered asteroid banged off their hull.\n\nThe blast had just missed them. The next might not.\n\nHaddix was too much of a gentleman to say, I told you so.\n\nto be continued \u2026","de_DE":"Ulla Yadav gr\u00fcbelte \u00fcber m\u00f6gliche Schlagzeilen. Sind unechte Piraten, die dich mehr kosten als das Reale? Von Banditen kommandiert.... Denk noch mal nach. Privatpersonen oder Privatunternehmen, wer kassiert wirklich?\n\nDie erfahrene Reporterin versteckte sich auf dem Pilotensitz ihrer Freelancerin und beobachtete, wie ihr Atem bei jedem Ausatmen kristallisierte. Haddix hatte die Systeme auf Volldunkelheit umgestellt, was auch das Herunterdrehen der W\u00e4rme auf Nahfrostung beinhaltete. Wenn jemand eine W\u00e4rmespur von seinem Schiff aufnahm, w\u00fcrde es wie Sonnenlicht aussehen, das von Weltraumm\u00fcll reflektiert wird.\n\nSie mussten fast unsichtbar sein. Dies war keine Geschichte, die sie durch einfache Fehler verlieren wollte.\n\n\"Welchen Titel magst du lieber, Pseudo-Raider, Ahoy oder Hijackings With a Side of High Jinks?\" fragte sie.\n\nSterne gierten an dem vorw\u00e4rts gerichteten Plexi vorbei, und Yadav erlaubte sich eine kleine Kurskorrektur, um den Sprungpunkt gerade zu halten. Das Tor hing am Bug, nur f\u00fcr den NavDrive sichtbar. Eine Reihe von blinkenden Bojen umgab den Punkt und markierte eine Sicherheitszone.\n\n\" Was?\" Haddix lehnte sich in Richtung Yadav. Er war ein klobiger Mann und schien sich in dem engen Raum unwohl zu f\u00fchlen. \"Oh, die zweite.\" Er hatte die ganze Zeit herumgezappelt, \u00e4ngstlich, ungewohnt an so viel Warten. New United hatte ihn in drei fr\u00fcheren Missionen als ihren Leibw\u00e4chter eingesetzt, und zwar w\u00e4hrend gewaltsamer Konflikte. Dieses Herumsitzen war neu.\n\n\"Was l\u00e4sst dich denken, dass die Berichte \u00fcber Piraten in diesem System nicht echt sind?\", fragte er.\n\n\"Drei\u00dfig Jahre Erfahrung in der Berichterstattung\", antwortete sie frech. \"Im Ernst? Wegen ihrer vermeintlichen Ziele: gew\u00f6hnliche Dinge mit niedrigen Handelswerten. Piraten suchen nach Elektronik, Waffen, Medizin, Lebensmitteln - entweder nach Dingen, f\u00fcr die sie viel bekommen k\u00f6nnen, oder nach Dingen, die sie dringend brauchen. Warum sollten sie Tr\u00e4ger entf\u00fchren, die Stahltr\u00e4ger, Aushubger\u00e4te oder Rohrleitungen verpacken? Das ergibt keinen Sinn. Es ist das Risiko nicht wert.\"\n\nSie richtete sich auf ihrem Sitz auf. Ein hellorangefarbener Transport rutschte in Sichtweite, sein Firmenname hob sich in Schwarz hervor, Blockschrift \u00fcber die Seite. Er stoppte kurz vor dem Sprungpunkt und lud h\u00f6chstwahrscheinlich die NavData.\n\n\"Mach dich bereit, alles anzufachen\", sagte sie. \"Das k\u00f6nnte es sein.\" Mit ihrem MobiGlas \u00fcberpr\u00fcfte sie das Manifest f\u00fcr dieses spezielle Schiff.\n\n\"Wenn Piraten die Schiffe nicht angreifen, wohin geht dann die Ladung?\" fragte Haddix, die Hand stand \u00fcber dem Bedienfeld.\n\n\"Pass auf. Das werden wir herausfinden. Ich vermute, dass es eine Versicherungsbetrugsverschw\u00f6rung gibt, die sich \u00fcber mehrere Unternehmen erstreckt. Mindestens vier. Wenn dieser Transport getroffen wird oder verschwindet, denke ich, dass es f\u00fcnf sind. Warum die Materialien kaufen, um etwas immer wieder herzustellen, wenn man eine Charge bauen, sie stehlen, eine Versicherungsauszahlung erhalten und das Produkt immer noch zur Hand haben kann? Ich schaudere, wenn ich daran denke, wie oft ein einziges St\u00fcck Pipeline als brandneues Diebesgut bezeichnet wurde.\"\n\nYadav holte aus ihrem Feldzeug eine Kameradrohne und lie\u00df sie frei neben ihrem Kopf schweben. \"Alle Versicherungsberichte, die ich mir angesehen habe, besagen, dass die Transporte in der N\u00e4he von Sprungpunkten beschlagnahmt wurden. Wie viel willst du wetten, dass wir diesen Typen einfach zu einem faulen kleinen Urlaubsort folgen?\"\n\n\"Ich setze eine Million auf dich\", sagte Haddix. \"Es sei denn, diese Piratenschiffe sind nur zum Zweck der Wirkung da.\"\n\nEin Paket mit sechs Entermessern lief aus dem Sprungpunkt. Ein Schiff schlug in die Vorderseite des Transports und rutschte an seiner Seite entlang, so dass eine lange, dunkle Narbe in der orangefarbenen Haut zur\u00fcckblieb.\nYadav klopfte auf die Kameradrohne, und sie erwachte zum Leben und verriegelte sich automatisch auf ihre Augenbewegung. Es spiegelte ihren Blick wider und nahm alles auf, was sie ansah. Die Blockfl\u00f6te in ihrem Ohr arbeitete kontinuierlich und verpasste keinen Moment.\n\nHaddix zog ein St\u00fcck von etwas aus seiner Tasche und k\u00fcsste es. Yadav hatte ihn das bei verschiedenen Gelegenheiten tun sehen, hatte aber nie danach gefragt. Nur sein Ritual, dachte sie und zog ihr Kabel fest. Einige Leute brauchen ihre kleinen Sprungt\u00fccher.\n\nAber nicht sie. Daf\u00fcr lebte sie. Sie begr\u00fc\u00dfte den Adrenalinschub, den frischen Schwei\u00df auf der Stirn, ihre erh\u00f6hte Pulsfrequenz - das alles bedeutete, dass sie dort war, wo sie sein musste, mitten in einem geschichtenw\u00fcrdigen Konflikt. Es ging darum, die schmutzige W\u00e4sche eines Verbrechers aufzudecken, ein Geheimnis zu enth\u00fcllen und den \u00f6ffentlichen Richter, der Recht hatte und der Unrecht hatte, zu lassen, das erf\u00fcllte sie mit Freude.\n\nAus den Waffen der Piraten sprangen Sch\u00fcsse von Elektrowei\u00df, die strategische Wunden an den Seiten des Transports verursachten. Lose Gegenst\u00e4nde flogen aus den L\u00f6chern, wenn der Druckausgleich erfolgte. Yadav hielt den Atem an. Sie vergr\u00f6\u00dferte einen Teil der Anzeige des Schildes und scannte die Tr\u00fcmmer nach vertrauten, schlaffen Formen. Gl\u00fccklicherweise erschien alles unbelebt. Keine Menschen.\n\n\"Die Piraten wussten, wo sie feuern mussten - sie m\u00fcssen Schiffspl\u00e4ne haben\", sagte sie. Aber das war kein Beweis f\u00fcr ein Setup. Mit einem kurzen Machtausbruch r\u00fcckten sie n\u00e4her an das Geschehen heran.\n\nAls die L\u00f6cher aufh\u00f6rten zu spucken, landeten die Piratenschiffe auf dem Transport wie Wespen auf einer Wassermelone. Nachdem sie sich am Rumpf verankert hatten, kletterten Personen in gefleckten, gelben Druckanz\u00fcgen heraus und stiegen durch die Explosionspunkte in den Transport ein.\n\nHaddix hat sich unbehaglich bewegt. Yadav wusste, dass er es kaum erwarten konnte, die Beh\u00f6rden anzurufen. Sie pflegte, um dieses Jucken zu bekommen - bis sie erkannte, dass, je mehr Informationen sie sammeln konnte, desto besser die Beh\u00f6rden sein w\u00fcrden. Wenn sie versuchen w\u00fcrden, jemanden jetzt zu alarmieren, w\u00e4re der Anfall h\u00f6chstwahrscheinlich vorbei, bevor jemand kam. Au\u00dferdem wollte sie nicht, dass jemand st\u00f6rt. Sie hatte viel zu viele Wochen damit verbracht, m\u00f6gliche Entf\u00fchrungspunkte f\u00fcr einen Advocacy-Agenten zu sammeln, um einzusteigen, gerade als sich eine Ahnung ausgezahlt hatte.\n\nWar das r\u00fccksichtslos von ihr? Zynisch? Vielleicht. Einen guten Teil seines Lebens damit zu verbringen, Berufsverbrechern zu folgen, k\u00f6nnte das Gef\u00fchl von B\u00fcrgerpflichten bei jedem ausl\u00f6sen.\n\nLebenszeichen kehrten nach f\u00fcnfzehn Minuten an die Au\u00dfenseite des Schiffes zur\u00fcck, als mehrere Fluchtkapseln frei vom Transport st\u00fcrzten. Wenige Augenblicke sp\u00e4ter dr\u00e4ngte sich das schwerf\u00e4llige orangefarbene Schiff nach vorne, in den Sprungpunkt.\n\nDie H\u00e4nde von Yadav und Haddix flogen \u00fcber ihre jeweiligen Bedienfelder und stellten die volle Funktionalit\u00e4t aller Teile des Schiffes wieder her. \"Wenn wir den Transport verlieren, verlieren wir die Geschichte\", sagte sie.\n\nAls sie sich umdrehte, um den fliehenden Banditen zu folgen, scannte Haddix die Fluchtkapseln. \"Die Baken funktionieren. F\u00fcnf H\u00fclsen f\u00fcr f\u00fcnf Personen - kann nicht lesen, wenn es irgendwelche Verletzungen gibt, aber alle sind mindestens am Leben.\"\n\n\"F\u00fcr einen Transport dieser Gr\u00f6\u00dfe muss die gesamte Crew verantwortlich sein. Die Piraten haben niemanden get\u00f6tet?\" Verd\u00e4chtig, aber im Einklang mit ihrer Verschw\u00f6rungstheorie. Von den sieben Angriffen, die sie als ungew\u00f6hnlich markiert hatte, war nur ein Todesfall registriert worden.\n\n\"Vielleicht wurde der Besatzung mit dem Zustrom von Angriffen auf diese Art von Ladung Verhandlungsgeld gegeben\", schlug Haddix vor.\n\nSie sch\u00fcttelte den Kopf. \"Ich habe nachgefragt - die Unternehmen haben sich nicht f\u00fcr Abwehrwaffen oder Personal von privaten Sicherheitsfirmen entschieden. Was bedeutet, dass sie wahrscheinlich auch nicht die Rechnung f\u00fcr L\u00f6segeld bezahlen werden. Nun, ist das, weil kein Unternehmen so oft getroffen wurde, dass es denkt, dass es auf diese Ma\u00dfnahmen zur\u00fcckgreifen muss, oder weil es wei\u00df, dass die Crew verschont bleibt?\"\n\nFunken fielen hin und wieder vom orangefarbenen Rumpf, als er in den Sprungbrett rutschte - eine leichte statische Entladung. Yadav z\u00e4hlte auf die Energieunterschiede zwischen Normalraum und Zwischenraum, um die Sensoren des Transports zu verwirren und das Nachrichtenschiff vor der Sicht zu sch\u00fctzen. Sie fuhr auf dem Heck des Transporters hoch und hielt sich aus dem Weg zu den Triebwerken.\n\n\"Bereit?\" fragte sie.\n\n\"Bereit\", best\u00e4tigte Haddix. Er bereitete die WillsOp Targeting-Software vor, falls sie auf der anderen Seite auf eine Piratenbegr\u00fc\u00dfungsparty traf.\n\nDie Fahrt durch den Sprungpunkt war fast sofort, aber der Verstand konnte es nicht erkennen. Hatte es sie einen Tag oder eine Sekunde gekostet? Sprungbretter waren die H\u00f6lle im Ged\u00e4chtnis, Yadav f\u00fchlte sich an, als w\u00e4re sie bet\u00e4ubt worden. Das r\u00fcckw\u00e4rts-vorw\u00e4rts, jetzt - dann - sumpfige Gef\u00fchl dauerte Minuten, um zu sch\u00fctteln. Einige Leute sagten, sie k\u00f6nnten nichts sp\u00fcren, wenn sie durch einen Sprungpunkt gehen. Yadav w\u00fcnschte sich, sie k\u00f6nnte das Gleiche sagen.\n\nAls sie auf der anderen Seite heraussprangen, blieb Yadav fest bei ihrer Beute. Sie schwangen weit durch das System und hielten sich von den inneren Umlaufbahnen fern, in denen die felsigen, bewohnten Planeten lagen. \"Meine Aufzeichnungen besagen, dass diese Lieferung f\u00fcr den vierten Planeten hier bestimmt war\", sagte Yadav zum Nutzen ihres Rekorders.\n\nDer Kurs der Piraten brachte sie weit, zu einem weiteren Sprungpunkt. Bevor Yadav ihnen folgte, lie\u00df er ein Pressefeuer fallen. Breadcrumbs waren wichtig. Sie hatte keine M\u00f6glichkeit zu wissen, wohin sie unterwegs waren, also war es am besten, sicherzustellen, dass sie eine eigene Spur hatten, die New United bei Bedarf finden konnte.\n\nNach drei weiteren Spr\u00fcngen begann Yadav sich zu fragen, ob sie mitgenommen wurden. \"Wir fahren in die Mitte des Nirgendwo\", sagte sie und blickte auf ihre Karten. \"Nur sehr wenige terrassenf\u00f6rmige Planeten sind hier drau\u00dfen.\" Ein langer Weg, um wegen Betrugs zu reisen. Noch l\u00e4ngerer Weg f\u00fcr Piraten, die eher fr\u00fcher als sp\u00e4ter entladen wollten.\n\n\"Erinnere mich daran, mit diesen Systemen zu \u00fcberpr\u00fcfen\", sagte sie. \"Ich will wissen, welche Ausweiscodes die Jungs benutzen.\"\n\nDer letzte Sprung brachte sie in ein kleines System mit nur drei Planeten - zumindest konnten sie nach den Umfragen hochziehen, was fleckig schien. \"Ich kann nicht einmal sagen, ob das Terraforming bei der dritten Stufe abgeschlossen ist\", bemerkte Haddix. \"Verdammt schlechte Buchf\u00fchrung.\"\n\nTrotzdem ging der Transport zu keinem der Planeten. Es wurde f\u00fcr den Asteroideng\u00fcrtel gebaut, der in der Umlaufbahn des \u00e4u\u00dfersten Planeten sa\u00df.\n\n\"Ich empfange viele Schiffe\", warnte Haddix. \"Etwa drei\u00dfig, meist Drake-Modelle, die auf mehreren der mittelgro\u00dfen Asteroiden stationiert sind. Ich glaube, der Transport ist auf dem Weg zu diesem Planetoiden.\"\n\n\"Ich auch\", stimmte sie zu. Das Objekt war gerade massiv genug, um unter seinem eigenen Gewicht abgerundet zu werden. \" Ich trenne mich vom Ziel. Wir m\u00fcssen einen Stein finden, hinter dem wir uns verstecken k\u00f6nnen.\"\n\nSie suchte nach einer erstklassigen Position: einem Asteroiden, an dem sie sich unbemerkt festhalten konnte, nahe genug am Planetoiden, um die Aktivit\u00e4t zu vergr\u00f6\u00dfern.\n\n\"Ich denke, wir sollten uns zur\u00fcckziehen\", sagte Haddix. \"Das gef\u00e4llt mir nicht. Alle diese Schiffe lesen hei\u00df. Sie packen definitiv.\"\n\n\"Wir jagen sie schon seit Stunden. Ich ziehe mich jetzt nicht zur\u00fcck.\"\n\n\"Als dein Sicherheitsberater und Leibw\u00e4chter -\"\n\n\"Als Tagalong, der von der Agentur ohne meine Zustimmung vergeben wird, sei still und lass mich meinen Job machen.\"\n\n\"Du bist nicht die Einzige auf diesem Schiff, Ulla.\"\n\n\"Wir haben schon Schlimmeres erlebt.\"\n\n\"Nicht ohne Unterst\u00fctzung.\"\n\nDa! Ein idealer Ort. Langsame End-to-End-Rotation, tiefe Krater, mit breiter Umlaufbahn um den Planetoiden. Sie st\u00fcrzte herein, vorsichtig bei der Landung, um keinen massiven Auswurf zu verursachen, der entdeckt werden konnte. Nur ein Klatschen von Staub und losem Gestein stieg von der Oberfl\u00e4che. Der gr\u00f6\u00dfte Teil der Tr\u00fcmmer blieb im leichten Gravitationsfeld und hing lange Zeit \u00fcber der rauen Oberfl\u00e4che, bevor er sich wieder absetzte.\n\nUnten, auf dem Planetoiden, befand sich eine riesige Chop-Shop. Sobald der Transport landete, begannen geeignete Arbeiter, ihn zu demontieren, wie Ameisen, die einen toten K\u00e4fer demontierten. Das war \u00fcberhaupt nicht das, was sie erwartet hatte. \"Es gibt keine M\u00f6glichkeit, dass das kosteng\u00fcnstig f\u00fcr die Versicherung sein k\u00f6nnte.\"\n\nRote Lichter blinkten in der Kabine. Eine Warnsirene jammerte. \"Wir werden ins Visier genommen\", sagte Haddix. \"Jemand hat uns gesehen. Best\u00e4tige, Sch\u00fcsse wurden abgegeben.\"\n\nYadav kr\u00fcmmte ihren Hals, um hoch und tief durch das Plexi zu schauen. Nichts in Sichtweite, aber das war egal. Sie stie\u00df los und opferte die Subtilit\u00e4t f\u00fcr die Geschwindigkeit. Staub- und Eispartikel schossen aus dem Schwerefeld des Asteroiden bei weit \u00fcberh\u00f6hter Fluchtgeschwindigkeit. Einen Moment sp\u00e4ter brach das Gestein unter ihnen. Brocken von zerbrochenen Asteroiden schlug von ihrem Rumpf.\n\nDie Explosion hatte sie gerade verpasst. Der n\u00e4chste vielleicht nicht.\n\nHaddix war zu sehr ein Gentleman, um zu sagen, ich habe es dir gesagt.\n\nwird fortgesetzt.....","zh_CN":"Ulla Yadav mulled over potential headlines. Are Faux Pirates Costing You More than the Real Thing? Commandeered by Bandits \u2026 Think Again. Privateers or Private Companies, Who is Really Cashing In?\n\nThe seasoned reporter hunkered down in her Freelancer\u2019s pilot seat, watching her breath crystallize with each exhalation. Haddix had switched the systems to all-dark, which included turning the heat down to near-freezing. If someone picked up a heat trace from their craft it would look residual, like sunlight reflecting off of space debris.\n\nThey needed to be nearly invisible. This wasn\u2019t a story she wanted to lose over simple mistakes.\n\n\u201cWhich title do you like better, Pseudo-Raiders, Ahoy or Hijackings With a Side of High Jinks?\u201d she asked.\n\nStars yawed past the forward Plexi, and Yadav permitted herself a small course correction, to keep the jump point straight ahead. The gateway hung off the bow, visible only to their NavDrive. A set of blinking buoys surrounded the point, marking off a safety zone.\n\n\u201cWhat?\u201d Haddix leaned toward Yadav. He was a bulky man, and appeared uncomfortable in the cramped space. \u201cOh, the second one.\u201d He\u2019d been fidgeting the whole time, anxious, unaccustomed to so much waiting. New United had assigned him to be her bodyguard on three previous missions, all during violent conflicts. This sitting around thing was new.\n\n\u201cWhat makes you think the reports of pirates in this system aren\u2019t real?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cThirty years of reporting experience,\u201d she replied, cheeky. \u201cSeriously? Because of their supposed targets: common stuff with low trade values. Pirates go after electronics, weapons, medicine, food \u2014 either things they can get a lot for, or items they need desperately. Why would they hijack carriers packing steel beams, excavation equipment or pipeline? That doesn\u2019t make any sense. It\u2019s not worth the risk.\u201d\n\nShe straightened in her seat. A bright-orange transport slid into view, its company name standing out in black, block lettering across the side. It stopped short of the jump point, most likely loading the NavData.\n\n\u201cGet ready to fire everything up,\u201d she said. \u201cThis could be it.\u201d Using her MobiGlas, she double-checked the manifest for this particular ship.\n\n\u201cIf pirates aren\u2019t attacking the ships, where\u2019s the cargo going?\u201d Haddix asked, hand poised over the control panel.\n\n\u201cWatch. That\u2019s what we\u2019re going to find out. I suspect there\u2019s an insurance fraud conspiracy, across several companies. Four, at least. If this transport gets hit or disappears, I think it\u2019s five. Why buy the materials to manufacture something over and over when you can build one batch, steal it, get an insurance payout, and still have the product at hand? I shudder to think how many times a single piece of pipeline has been claimed as brand-new stolen goods.\u201d\n\nFrom her field kit, Yadav retrieved a camera drone and let it float freely next to her head. \u201cAll the insurance reports I\u2019ve looked at say the transports were commandeered near jump points. How much you wanna bet we just follow these guys to a lazy little vacation spot?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll bet you a million,\u201d said Haddix. \u201cUnless those pirate ships there are just for effect.\u201d\n\nA pack of six Cutlasses barreled out of the jump point. One craft smacked into the front of the transport and skidded along its side, leaving a long, dark scar in the orange hide.\nYadav tapped the camera drone and it sprang to life, automatically locking onto her eye movement. It mirrored her gaze, recording whatever she looked at. The recorder in her ear worked continuously, never missing a moment.\n\nHaddix pulled a scrap of something from his pocket and kissed it. Yadav had seen him do that on a number of occasions, but had never asked about it. Just his ritual, she thought, tightening her harness. Some people need their little security blankets.\n\nBut not her. This was what she lived for. She welcomed the rush of adrenaline, the fresh sweat on her brow, her increased pulse rate \u2014 it all meant she was where she needed to be, in the thick of a story-worthy conflict. There was something about exposing a criminal\u2019s dirty laundry, about revealing a secret and letting the public judge who was right and who was wrong, that filled her with elation.\n\nShots of electric-white blasted out of the pirates\u2019 weapons, creating strategic wounds in the transport\u2019s sides. Loose items flew from the holes as the pressure equalized. Yadav held her breath. Magnifying a portion of the shield\u2019s display, she scanned the debris for familiar, flailing forms. Thankfully, everything appeared inanimate. No people.\n\n\u201cThe pirates knew where to fire \u2014 they must have ship schematics,\u201d she said. But that wasn\u2019t proof of a set-up. With a short burst of power, they drifted closer to the action.\n\nOnce the holes quit spewing, the pirate ships landed on the transport like wasps on a watermelon. After they anchored themselves to the hull, individuals clad in stained, yellow pressure suits climbed out and entered the transport through the blast points.\n\nHaddix shifted uncomfortably. Yadav knew he was itching to call the authorities. She used to get that itch \u2014 until she realized that the more info she could gather, the better off the authorities would be. If they tried to alert someone now, the seizure would most likely be over before anyone arrived. Plus, she didn\u2019t want anyone interrupting. She\u2019d spent far too many weeks staking out possible hijacking points for some Advocacy agent to swoop in just when a hunch had paid off.\n\nWas that reckless of her? Cynical? Maybe. Spending a good portion of one\u2019s life following career criminals could callus anyone\u2019s sense of civic duty.\n\nSigns of life returned to the outside of the ship after fifteen minutes, when several escape pods tumbled free of the transport. Moments later, the hulking orange ship pushed forward, into the jump point.\n\nYadav and Haddix\u2019s hands flew over their respective control panels, restoring full functionality to all portions of the ship. \u201cIf we lose the transport we lose the story,\u201d she said.\n\nAs she swung around to tail the escaping bandits, Haddix scanned the escape pods. \u201cBeacons are working. Five pods for five individuals \u2014 can\u2019t read if there are any injuries, but everyone is alive, at least.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor a transport this size that\u2019s got to be the entire crew. The pirates didn\u2019t kill anyone?\u201d Suspicious, but consistent with her conspiracy theory. Only one death had been recorded out of the seven attacks she\u2019d flagged as unusual.\n\n\u201cMaybe with the influx of assaults on this kind of cargo, the crew was given bargaining money,\u201d Haddix suggested.\n\nShe shook her head. \u201cI checked \u2014 the companies haven\u2019t sprung for defensive weapons or personnel from private security companies. Which means they aren\u2019t likely to foot the bill for ransom, either. Now, is that because no one company has been hit enough times for them to think they need to resort to these measures, or because they know the crew will be spared?\u201d\n\nSparks shed off of the orange hull here and there as it slipped into the jump point \u2014 a slight static discharge. Yadav was counting on the energy differentials between normal space and interspace to confuse the transport\u2019s sensors and help shield the newscraft from sight. She rode up on the transport\u2019s stern, keeping out of the way of the thrusters.\n\n\u201cReady?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cReady,\u201d Haddix confirmed. He primed the WillsOp targeting software, in case they met a pirate welcoming party on the other side.\n\nThe trip through the jump point was nearly instantaneous, but the mind couldn\u2019t tell. Had it taken them a day or a second? Jump points were hell on the memory, made Yadav feel like she\u2019d been drugged. The backward-forward, now-then swampy sensation took her minutes to shake. Some people said they couldn\u2019t feel anything when going through a jump point. Yadav wished she could say the same.\n\nWhen they popped out the other side, Yadav kept firmly to her prey. They swung wide through the system, keeping away from the inner orbits where the rocky, inhabited planets lay. \u201cMy records say this shipment was intended for the fourth planet here,\u201d Yadav said for the benefit of her recorder.\n\nThe pirates\u2019 course took them afar, to yet another jump point. Before following them through, Yadav dropped a press beacon. Breadcrumbs were important. She had no way of knowing where they were headed, so it was best to make sure they had a trail of their own devising for New United to find if necessary.\n\nAfter three more jumps, Yadav began wondering if they were being taken for a ride. \u201cWe\u2019re heading off into the middle of nowhere,\u201d she said, glancing at her charts. \u201cVery few terraformed planets out this way.\u201d Long way to travel for fraud. Even longer way for pirates, who liked to offload sooner rather than later.\n\n\u201cRemind me to check back with those systems,\u201d she said. \u201cI want to know what ID codes the guys are using.\u201d\n\nThe last jump brought them into a small system with only three planets \u2014 at least, according to the surveys they could pull up, which seemed spotty. \u201cCan\u2019t even tell if the terraforming\u2019s complete on the third one out,\u201d Haddix noted. \u201cDamn shoddy recordkeeping.\u201d\n\nRegardless, the transport didn\u2019t head for any of the planets. It made for the asteroid belt, which sat within the orbit of the outermost planet.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m picking up on a lot of ships,\u201d Haddix warned. \u201cThirty or so, mostly Drake models, stationed on several of the mid-sized asteroids. I think the transport is headed for that planetoid.\u201d\n\n\u201cMe too,\u201d she agreed. The object was just massive enough to be rounded under its own weight. \u201cDisengaging from target. We need to find a rock to hide behind.\u201d\n\nShe looked for a prime position: an asteroid she could cling to without being noticed, close enough to the planetoid that she could zoom in on the activity.\n\n\u201cI think we should pull back,\u201d said Haddix. \u201cI don\u2019t like this. All those ships are reading hot. They\u2019re definitely packing.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ve been chasing them for hours. I\u2019m not pulling back now.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs your security advisor and bodyguard \u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cAs a tagalong assigned by the agency without my consent, be quiet and let me do my job.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re not the only one on this ship, Ulla.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ve been up against worse.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot without backup.\u201d\n\nThere! An ideal spot. Slow end-to-end rotation, deep craters, with wide orbit around the planetoid. She swooped in, careful upon landing not to cause a massive ejection that could be spotted. Only a smattering of dust and loose rock rose from the surface. Most of the debris stayed within the light gravity field, hanging above the rough surface for a long while before settling back down again.\n\nBelow, on the planetoid, was a massive chop-shop. As soon as the transport touched down, suited workers began dismantling it like ants dismantling a dead beetle. This was not at all what she\u2019d expected to find. \u201cThere\u2019s no way this could be cost-effective for insurance frau \u2014\u201d\n\nRed lights blinked in the cabin. A warning siren wailed. \u201cWe\u2019re being targeted,\u201d Haddix said. \u201cSomeone\u2019s seen us. Confirming, shots fired.\u201d\n\nYadav craned her neck to look high and low through the Plexi. Nothing within view, but that didn\u2019t matter. She thrust off, sacrificing subtlety for speed. Dust and ice particles rocketed out of the asteroid\u2019s gravitational field at well past escape velocity. A moment later the rock beneath them fractured. Chunks of shattered asteroid banged off their hull.\n\nThe blast had just missed them. The next might not.\n\nHaddix was too much of a gentleman to say, I told you so.\n\nto be continued \u2026"},"links_count":0,"comment_count":123,"created_at":"2014-01-31T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"12 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-12 03:57:53","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":13499,"next_id":13501}}