{"data":{"id":13570,"title":"DATELINE: SESEN Part Four","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/serialized-fiction\/13570-DATELINE-SESEN-Part-Four","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/13570","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/13570","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 Accused of Piracy. Government of Small Planet Refuses to Extradite Her to the Proper Authorities. UEE Suspects Yadav was Executed Without Trial.\n\nOut in the field, Yadav never woke up in the same place twice, but decades had passed since she\u2019d last opened her eyes after a long sleep and felt disoriented. However, when she regained consciousness in the governor\u2019s med bay, she slipped into a rare moment of pure panic.\n\nShe\u2019d never been this far out of her depth before. Information was her trade and her ally. She never entered a situation without knowing what kind of conflicts she might face. Insurgent camps, syndicate strongholds, warlords\u2019 compounds \u2014 she\u2019d spent years of her life surrounded by criminals and pirates with no easy means of escape, and she\u2019d always felt safer than she did right now.\n\nHer ship\u2019s databases hadn\u2019t even been sure this planet was inhabitable \u2014 let alone inhabited. Research was impossible. They\u2019d gone in blind. She knew nothing about the customs, traditions, or what might be a simple gaffe versus a deadly mistake.\n\nInformation was the only thing that kept a reporter safe. And here she had none.\n\nThe recovery room lay quiet. No ambient music, no bustle out in the hall. A doorless toilet sat in one corner, next to a small window that let in a stream of bright light. How long had she been under? Someone had left a plate covered with foiled paper on a nearby nightstand. Hers was the only bed.\n\nWhere was Haddix?\n\nTesting her elbow, she found it functional, though it still had a bit of a twinge. That was odd. The bones should have been re-fused well enough to erase all signs of injury. She touched her temple \u2014 at least the gouge was completely gone.\n\nShe\u2019d been dressed in a pale blue smock, and a thin robe had been laid by the bedside. They\u2019d scrubbed her skin so clean that she smelled fresh as an infant. A few of her fingers had wireless monitor caps attached, and a simple saline IV trailed from her forearm.\n\nEverything she deemed unnecessary proved easy to remove.\n\nAfter throwing on the robe, she tiptoed, barefooted, to the door. All was quiet \u2014 not like in a regular hospital.\n\nShe tried the doorknob. Locked.\n\nYadav jumped back as a voice addressed her from the other side. \u201cMadame?\u201d\n\n\u201cUh, yes?\u201d\n\n\u201cPlease step away from the door and get back in bed.\u201d It was Sato, the man who had held an Arclight to her head. \u201cThe doctor will be with you soon.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan you tell me where my colleague is? There was a man who came in with me.\u201d\n\nSilence. For a moment, she wondered if he had walked away.\n\nThen there came an uncomfortable cough. \u201cI\u2019m not at liberty to say.\u201d\n\nYadav stumbled back. She knew what that meant. Good news was never confidential. But \u2018bad news\u2019 could comprise a million different possibilities. Her mind jumped to an extreme: \u201cHow could he have died?\u201d Her voice rose several decibels. Though she\u2019d made a leap in logic, her instincts told her it was true. \u201cHaddix was alive when we got here. If he made it into surgery there\u2019s no way his wounds would have led to a permakill. Not in these facilities.\u201d\n\nUnless they let him die.\n\nShe\u2019d had run-ins (and interviews) with AntiLaz killers. There were ways of making sure that when you assassinated someone, they stayed dead. Shooting down an ejection pod, high-temp disintegration and bone grinding. But the easiest method, by far, was just to make sure they never received the proper resuscitation. Deny them medical treatment. Let the body lie.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re kidding me, right?\u201d She lunged at the door, yanking hard on the handle. \u201cLet me see him. Now.\u201d\n\n\u201cMa\u2019am, please get back in bed. The doctor will be here shortly.\u201d\n\nShe walked backwards until she hit the bed, and sat down heavily. How can he be gone? she thought. He was right here, in a hospital. Why is he gone?\n\nUncontrollable tremors took over her limbs. She clasped her hands in her lap to steady herself. Whether she was shaking from anger or shock, she couldn\u2019t say. Colleagues had been injured in the field under her watch before. But this was the first death.\n\nHe\u2019d wanted to turn back. Not because he was afraid, but because he was a professional. He knew the odds of anything resembling a good outcome were low. He knew that if they infiltrated that asteroid belt that he might never see \u2014\n\nHis kids. He had two daughters. And a wife. Yadav had met them once, at a company affair a long time ago. Beyond that, she didn\u2019t know much about Haddix. She didn\u2019t socialize while on the job, preferring to stay focused, in pure business mode. It kept things clean. Everyone knew where they stood and what their task was without personal matters getting in the way. She liked it. It was an efficient way to work. But it also meant she never got to know her colleagues.\n\nThis was supposed to be a simple fraud case. Clean. Low-risk.\n\nYadav wanted to scream, and pound on the door, and throw things. But this was no time for self-reproach.\n\nIf they\u2019d let Haddix die, she had to get out of here.\n\nHer flight suit was nowhere in the room. None of her effects were there, broken or otherwise. No MobiGlas, no camera drones, no travel kit. Her fingers flew to her ear. Thankfully they hadn\u2019t extracted her recorder. It was cybernetically attached, but the individual recording device could be changed out.\n\nQuickly, she examined the window. Fully sealed. The duct work was minimal, maybe big enough for a cat to crawl through, but certainly not a mature woman. The only way in or out was through the door, and it had at least one guard.\n\nShe could wait for the doctor to arrive and rush the gap when she entered. But this was a government facility, surely crawling with personnel. The chances that Yadav would be able to get anywhere near the front door without someone stopping her were slim to none.\n\nMaybe there was a way to get the guard to help her. Not bribery, something more subtle. How could she convince him to let her out? She couldn\u2019t fake choking or convulsing or anything medical, obviously.\n\nWhat would make him escort her from the room? From the building?\n\nFire.\n\nIf she could reach some bare wiring \u2026\n\nThe monitoring caps she\u2019d had on her fingers must have sent her data elsewhere in the med bay, as there weren\u2019t any screens or machines. Nothing with easily exposable wiring. And all of the light fixtures were too high for her to reach, even if she stood on the bed. But there were several electrical outlets in the room, all with safety plates guarding them. She needed a tool \u2014 something to pry with.\n\nShe scooped up the IV needle, but immediately realized it wouldn\u2019t have enough tensile strength to pull up the plates.\n\nThe hooks that supported the IV bag were too thick, as was the bolt that controlled the stand\u2019s height.\n\nPerhaps there was some part of the bed she could use. She dug under the mattress and found a wireless remote \u2014 ah ha! It was an electric bed. If she needed to she could root around until she found the motor, but she suspected the batteries in the remote would do the job. She\u2019d started many fires in her day \u2014 usually for survival out in the desert, or the jungle. Remote, inhospitable places. All in the name of tracking down a lead. It took three volts to start a fire.\n\nDismantling the remote was a swift job. Now she just needed something combustible. The waste basket was empty, of course, so she wadded up the blue hospital gown and tossed it in.\n\nNow, how to form a circuit and cause a spark? Again she looked to the needle, but didn\u2019t think she could bend it properly. She picked up the plate that had been left for her. Beneath the foiled paper was a pile of couscous. The covering was the same consistency as a gum wrapper \u2014 perfect. She rolled it into a thin strip, then ripped the center a bit \u2014 not all the way through. The foiled top would conduct the electricity, and the paper would ignite.\n\nAfter cinching the robe tight around her waist, she squatted over the basket. It took her several false starts, but eventually a spark took hold, smoldering before evolving into a full flame.\n\nThe small curl of smoke it generated was laughable at best. Yadav hoisted the basket above her head, hoping to tease the detectors into going off. No dice. She needed a bigger, better flame.\n\nThe only thing left to burn was the mattress.\n\nShe shook the contents of the waste basket onto the hospital bed. For a moment she feared she\u2019d smothered what little fire she had, but soon there was a faint whomp, and a strong stench of burning synthetic fabric.\n\nPuffs of light gray smoke billowed from beneath the crumpled gown, followed by lapping orange flames. Small, black clouds amassed near the ceiling.\n\nYadav waited. And waited. The smoke stung her nose and tickled her throat. After another thirty seconds she could feel it in her lungs. She covered her face with the sleeve of her robe.\n\nSirens should have wailed, flame retardant should have burst from hidden compartments in the walls and ceiling. But nothing happened.\n\n\u201cHelp,\u201d she yelled, running to the door. She slapped her open palm against the metal. She noticed the seal around the door was tight \u2014 a measure meant to reduce the spread of air-born infection. \u201cThere\u2019s a fire, let me out.\u201d She sneezed. \u201cThe smoke \u2014 \u201d\n\n\u201cMa\u2019am, no offense, but this isn\u2019t my first day on the job.\u201d\n\nShe couldn\u2019t believe the fire system was malfunctioning. This had to be some kind of cosmic joke. She\u2019d been held at gunpoint by mentally ill prisoners off their anti-psychotics. She\u2019d been trapped in the New United headquarters with a bomb less than five minutes from detonation. But this was how she was going to die?\n\nto be continued \u2026","de_DE":"Ulla Yadav wegen Piraterie angeklagt. Die Regierung von Small Planet weigert sich, sie an die zust\u00e4ndigen Beh\u00f6rden weiterzugeben. UEE-Verd\u00e4chtige Yadav wurde ohne Prozess hingerichtet.\n\nAuf dem Feld wachte Yadav nie zweimal am selben Ort auf, aber Jahrzehnte waren vergangen, seit sie nach einem langen Schlaf die Augen ge\u00f6ffnet hatte und sich desorientiert f\u00fchlte. Als sie jedoch in der Med-Bucht des Gouverneurs wieder zu Bewusstsein kam, rutschte sie in einen seltenen Moment reiner Panik.\n\nSie war noch nie zuvor so weit \u00fcber ihre Grenzen hinausgegangen. Informationen waren ihr Handwerk und ihr Verb\u00fcndeter. Sie trat nie in eine Situation ein, ohne zu wissen, mit welchen Konflikten sie konfrontiert sein k\u00f6nnte. Aufst\u00e4ndische Lager, Syndikatsburgen, Kriegsherrengel\u00e4nde - sie hatte Jahre ihres Lebens inmitten von Kriminellen und Piraten ohne einfache Fluchtwege verbracht, und sie hatte sich immer sicherer gef\u00fchlt, als sie es jetzt tat.\n\nDie Datenbanken ihres Schiffes waren nicht einmal sicher, ob dieser Planet bewohnbar war - geschweige denn bewohnt. Forschung war unm\u00f6glich. Sie waren blind geworden. Sie wusste nichts \u00fcber die Br\u00e4uche, Traditionen oder was ein einfaches Versehen gegen\u00fcber einem t\u00f6dlichen Fehler sein k\u00f6nnte.\n\nInformationen waren das Einzige, was einen Reporter sicher hielt. Und hier hatte sie keine.\n\nDer Aufwachraum lag ruhig. Keine Hintergrundmusik, kein Treiben im Flur. Eine t\u00fcrlose Toilette sa\u00df in einer Ecke, neben einem kleinen Fenster, das einen hellen Lichtstrahl hereinl\u00e4sst. Wie lange war sie schon unter Wasser? Jemand hatte einen mit folienbeschichtetem Papier bedeckten Teller auf einem nahegelegenen Nachttisch zur\u00fcckgelassen. Ihr Bett war das einzige.\n\nWo war Haddix?\n\nAls sie ihren Ellenbogen testete, fand sie ihn funktionsf\u00e4hig, obwohl er immer noch ein wenig stechend war. Das war merkw\u00fcrdig. Die Knochen sollten gut genug wieder zusammengef\u00fcgt worden sein, um alle Anzeichen von Verletzungen zu beseitigen. Sie ber\u00fchrte ihren Tempel - zumindest war der Hohlmei\u00dfel komplett weg.\n\nSie war in einen hellblauen Kittel gekleidet, und am Bett war ein d\u00fcnnes Gewand gelegt worden. Sie hatten ihre Haut so sauber geschrubbt, dass sie wie ein S\u00e4ugling frisch roch. Einige ihrer Finger hatten drahtlose Monitorkappen angebracht, und eine einfache Kochsalzl\u00f6sung IV zog aus ihrem Unterarm.\n\nAlles, was sie f\u00fcr unn\u00f6tig hielt, war leicht zu entfernen.\n\nNachdem sie das Gewand angeworfen hatte, ging sie barfu\u00df zur T\u00fcr. Alles war ruhig - nicht wie in einem normalen Krankenhaus.\n\nSie versuchte es mit dem T\u00fcrknauf. Abgeschlossen.\n\nYadav sprang zur\u00fcck, als eine Stimme sie von der anderen Seite ansprach. \" Madame?\"\n\n\"\u00c4h, ja?\"\n\n\"Bitte geh von der T\u00fcr weg und geh wieder ins Bett.\" Es war Sato, der Mann, der ihr ein Bogenlicht an den Kopf gehalten hatte. \"Der Arzt wird bald bei dir sein.\"\n\n\"K\u00f6nnen Sie mir sagen, wo mein Kollege ist? Da war ein Mann, der mit mir reinkam.\"\n\nStille. F\u00fcr einen Moment fragte sie sich, ob er weggegangen sei.\n\nDann kam ein unangenehmer Husten. \"Es steht mir nicht frei, das zu sagen.\"\n\nYadav stolperte zur\u00fcck. Sie wusste, was das bedeutet. Gute Nachrichten waren nie vertraulich. Aber \"schlechte Nachrichten\" k\u00f6nnten eine Million verschiedene M\u00f6glichkeiten umfassen. Ihr Verstand sprang auf die Spitze: \"Wie konnte er nur sterben?\" Ihre Stimme stieg um mehrere Dezibel. Obwohl sie einen Sprung in der Logik gemacht hatte, sagten ihr Instinkte ihr, dass es wahr sei. \"Haddix war am Leben, als wir hier ankamen. Wenn er es in die Operation geschafft h\u00e4tte, h\u00e4tten seine Wunden auf keinen Fall zu einer Permakillit\u00e4t gef\u00fchrt. Nicht in diesen Einrichtungen.\"\n\nEs sei denn, sie lassen ihn sterben.\n\nSie hatte Zusammenst\u00f6\u00dfe (und Interviews) mit AntiLaz-Killern. Es gab M\u00f6glichkeiten, sicherzustellen, dass, wenn man jemanden ermordet hat, dieser tot blieb. Abschuss einer Auswurfs\u00e4ule, Hochtemperatur-Desintegration und Knochenmahlung. Aber die einfachste Methode war bei weitem nur, sicherzustellen, dass sie nie die richtige Reanimation erhielten. Verweigere ihnen die medizinische Behandlung. Lasst den K\u00f6rper liegen.\n\n\"Du verarscht mich, oder?\" Sie st\u00fcrzte sich an die T\u00fcr und zog hart am Griff. \"Lass mich ihn sehen. Jetzt.\"\n\n\"Ma'am, bitte gehen Sie wieder ins Bett. Der Arzt wird in K\u00fcrze hier sein.\"\n\nSie ging r\u00fcckw\u00e4rts, bis sie auf das Bett traf, und setzte sich schwer hin. Wie kann er weg sein? dachte sie. Er war genau hier, in einem Krankenhaus. Warum ist er weg?\n\nUnkontrollierbare Zittern \u00fcberzogen ihre Gliedma\u00dfen. Sie fasste ihre H\u00e4nde in ihrem Scho\u00df, um sich zu beruhigen. Ob sie vor Wut oder Schock zitterte, konnte sie nicht sagen. Kollegen waren unter ihrer Aufsicht schon einmal auf dem Feld verletzt worden. Aber das war der erste Tod.\n\nEr wollte umkehren. Nicht, weil er Angst hatte, sondern weil er ein Profi war. Er wusste, dass die Chancen auf etwas, das einem guten Ergebnis \u00e4hnelt, gering waren. Er wusste, dass, wenn sie den Asteroideng\u00fcrtel infiltrieren, den er vielleicht nie sieht -\n\nSeine Kinder. Er hatte zwei T\u00f6chter. Und eine Frau. Yadav hatte sie einmal getroffen, bei einer Firmenangelegenheit vor langer Zeit. Dar\u00fcber hinaus wusste sie nicht viel \u00fcber Haddix. Sie sozialisierte sich nicht w\u00e4hrend der Arbeit und zog es vor, konzentriert zu bleiben, im reinen Gesch\u00e4ftsmodus. Es hielt die Dinge sauber. Jeder wusste, wo er stand und was seine Aufgabe war, ohne dass pers\u00f6nliche Angelegenheiten im Weg standen. Es gefiel ihr. Es war eine effiziente Art zu arbeiten. Aber es bedeutete auch, dass sie ihre Kollegen nie kennenlernte.\n\nDas sollte ein einfacher Betrugsfall sein. Sauber. Geringes Risiko.\n\nYadav wollte schreien, an die T\u00fcr klopfen und Sachen werfen. Aber das war keine Zeit f\u00fcr Selbstvorw\u00fcrfe.\n\nWenn sie Haddix sterben lie\u00dfen, musste sie hier raus.\n\nIhr Fluganzug war nirgendwo im Raum. Keine ihrer Auswirkungen war da, weder gebrochen noch anderweitig. Kein MobiGlas, keine Kameradrohnen, keine Reiseausr\u00fcstung. Ihre Finger flogen zu ihrem Ohr. Zum Gl\u00fcck hatten sie ihren Rekorder nicht herausgezogen. Es war kybernetisch angebunden, aber das einzelne Aufnahmeger\u00e4t konnte ausgetauscht werden.\n\nSchnell untersuchte sie das Fenster. Vollst\u00e4ndig versiegelt. Die Kanalarbeit war minimal, vielleicht gro\u00df genug, damit eine Katze durchkriechen konnte, aber sicherlich keine reife Frau. Der einzige Weg hinein oder hinaus f\u00fchrte durch die T\u00fcr, und sie hatte mindestens eine Wache.\n\nSie konnte auf die Ankunft des Arztes warten und die L\u00fccke st\u00fcrmen, als sie eintrat. Aber das war eine Regierungseinrichtung, die sicher mit Personal \u00fcberh\u00e4uft war. Die Chancen, dass Yadav in der Lage sein w\u00fcrde, irgendwo in die N\u00e4he der Haust\u00fcr zu gelangen, ohne dass jemand sie aufh\u00e4lt, waren gering bis gar nicht.\n\nVielleicht gab es einen Weg, die Wache dazu zu bringen, ihr zu helfen. Keine Bestechung, etwas Subtileres. Wie konnte sie ihn davon \u00fcberzeugen, sie rauszulassen? Sie konnte nicht vort\u00e4uschen, zu w\u00fcrgen oder zu krampfen oder irgendetwas Medizinisches, offensichtlich.\n\nWas w\u00fcrde ihn dazu bringen, sie aus dem Zimmer zu begleiten? Vom Geb\u00e4ude aus?\n\nFeuer.\n\nWenn sie ein paar blanke Kabel erreichen k\u00f6nnte....\n\nDie \u00dcberwachungskappen, die sie an den Fingern hatte, m\u00fcssen ihre Daten an einen anderen Ort in der Med-Bay geschickt haben, da es keine Bildschirme oder Maschinen gab. Nichts mit leicht exponierbarer Verkabelung. Und alle Leuchten waren zu hoch, um sie zu erreichen, selbst wenn sie auf dem Bett stand. Aber es gab mehrere Steckdosen im Raum, alle mit Sicherheitsschildern, die sie sch\u00fctzten. Sie brauchte ein Werkzeug - etwas, womit sie sich auseinandersetzen konnte.\n\nSie sch\u00f6pfte die IV-Nadel hoch, erkannte aber sofort, dass sie nicht gen\u00fcgend Zugfestigkeit haben w\u00fcrde, um die Platten hochzuziehen.\n\nDie Haken, die den IV-Beutel trugen, waren zu dick, ebenso wie der Bolzen, der die H\u00f6he des St\u00e4nders steuerte.\n\nVielleicht war da ein Teil des Bettes, das sie benutzen konnte. Sie grub unter der Matratze und fand eine drahtlose Fernbedienung - ah ha! Es war ein elektrisches Bett. Wenn sie es brauchte, konnte sie herumwurzeln, bis sie den Motor fand, aber sie vermutete, dass die Batterien in der Fernbedienung die Arbeit erledigen w\u00fcrden. Sie hatte zu ihrer Zeit viele Br\u00e4nde gelegt - meist zum \u00dcberleben in der W\u00fcste oder im Dschungel. Abgelegene, unwirtliche Orte. Alles im Namen der Suche nach einer Spur. Es dauerte drei Volt, um ein Feuer zu entfachen.\n\nDie Demontage der Fernbedienung war schnell erledigt. Jetzt brauchte sie nur noch etwas Brennbarem. Der Papierkorb war nat\u00fcrlich leer, also wickelte sie das blaue Krankenhauskleid auf und warf es hinein.\n\nNun, wie bildet man einen Stromkreis und verursacht einen Funken? Wieder blickte sie zur Nadel, dachte aber nicht, dass sie sie sie richtig biegen k\u00f6nnte. Sie hob den Teller auf, der f\u00fcr sie \u00fcbrig geblieben war. Unter dem folierten Papier befand sich ein Haufen Couscous. Der Bezug war die gleiche Konsistenz wie eine Gummiverpackung - perfekt. Sie rollte es zu einem d\u00fcnnen Streifen und riss dann die Mitte ein wenig auf - nicht ganz durch. Das folierte Oberteil w\u00fcrde den Strom leiten, und das Papier w\u00fcrde sich entz\u00fcnden.\n\nNachdem sie das Gewand eng um ihre Taille gelegt hatte, hockte sie sich \u00fcber den Korb. Es dauerte mehrere Fehlstarts, aber schlie\u00dflich setzte sich ein Funke durch, der schwelte, bevor er sich zu einer vollen Flamme entwickelte.\n\nDie kleine Rauchw\u00f6lbung, die sie erzeugte, war bestenfalls l\u00e4cherlich. Yadav hob den Korb \u00fcber ihren Kopf und hoffte, die Detektoren dazu zu bringen, loszugehen. Keine W\u00fcrfel. Sie brauchte eine gr\u00f6\u00dfere, bessere Flamme.\n\nDas Einzige, was noch zu verbrennen war, war die Matratze.\n\nSie sch\u00fcttelte den Inhalt des Papierkorbes auf das Krankenhausbett. F\u00fcr einen Moment bef\u00fcrchtete sie, dass sie das kleine Feuer, das sie hatte, erstickt hatte, aber bald gab es ein schwaches Wespen und einen starken Gestank von brennendem synthetischem Gewebe.\n\nPuffs von hellgrauem Rauch wehten unter dem zerknitterten Kleid, gefolgt von orangefarbenen Flammen. Kleine, schwarze Wolken sammelten sich in der N\u00e4he der Decke.\n\nYadav wartete. Und wartete. Der Rauch stechen ihre Nase und kitzelten ihre Kehle. Nach weiteren drei\u00dfig Sekunden konnte sie es in ihrer Lunge sp\u00fcren. Sie bedeckte ihr Gesicht mit dem \u00c4rmel ihres Gewandes.\n\nSirenen sollten geheult haben, Flammschutzmittel sollte aus versteckten F\u00e4chern in W\u00e4nden und Decke explodiert sein. Aber es ist nichts passiert.\n\n\"Hilfe\", schrie sie und rannte zur T\u00fcr. Sie schlug ihre offene Handfl\u00e4che gegen das Metall. Sie bemerkte, dass die Dichtung um die T\u00fcr herum dicht war - eine Ma\u00dfnahme, die die Ausbreitung von luftgetragenen Infektionen reduzieren sollte. \"Es brennt, lass mich raus.\" Sie hat geniest. \"Der Rauch -\"\n\n\"Ma'am, nichts f\u00fcr ungut, aber das ist nicht mein erster Tag im Job.\"\n\nSie konnte nicht glauben, dass das Feuersystem nicht funktionierte. Das musste eine Art kosmischer Witz sein. Sie war von psychisch kranken Gefangenen festgehalten worden, die von ihren Antipsychotika befreit waren. Sie war im Hauptquartier von New United mit einer Bombe weniger als f\u00fcnf Minuten vor der Detonation gefangen. Aber so sollte sie sterben?\n\nwird fortgesetzt.....","zh_CN":"Ulla Yadav Accused of Piracy. Government of Small Planet Refuses to Extradite Her to the Proper Authorities. UEE Suspects Yadav was Executed Without Trial.\n\nOut in the field, Yadav never woke up in the same place twice, but decades had passed since she\u2019d last opened her eyes after a long sleep and felt disoriented. However, when she regained consciousness in the governor\u2019s med bay, she slipped into a rare moment of pure panic.\n\nShe\u2019d never been this far out of her depth before. Information was her trade and her ally. She never entered a situation without knowing what kind of conflicts she might face. Insurgent camps, syndicate strongholds, warlords\u2019 compounds \u2014 she\u2019d spent years of her life surrounded by criminals and pirates with no easy means of escape, and she\u2019d always felt safer than she did right now.\n\nHer ship\u2019s databases hadn\u2019t even been sure this planet was inhabitable \u2014 let alone inhabited. Research was impossible. They\u2019d gone in blind. She knew nothing about the customs, traditions, or what might be a simple gaffe versus a deadly mistake.\n\nInformation was the only thing that kept a reporter safe. And here she had none.\n\nThe recovery room lay quiet. No ambient music, no bustle out in the hall. A doorless toilet sat in one corner, next to a small window that let in a stream of bright light. How long had she been under? Someone had left a plate covered with foiled paper on a nearby nightstand. Hers was the only bed.\n\nWhere was Haddix?\n\nTesting her elbow, she found it functional, though it still had a bit of a twinge. That was odd. The bones should have been re-fused well enough to erase all signs of injury. She touched her temple \u2014 at least the gouge was completely gone.\n\nShe\u2019d been dressed in a pale blue smock, and a thin robe had been laid by the bedside. They\u2019d scrubbed her skin so clean that she smelled fresh as an infant. A few of her fingers had wireless monitor caps attached, and a simple saline IV trailed from her forearm.\n\nEverything she deemed unnecessary proved easy to remove.\n\nAfter throwing on the robe, she tiptoed, barefooted, to the door. All was quiet \u2014 not like in a regular hospital.\n\nShe tried the doorknob. Locked.\n\nYadav jumped back as a voice addressed her from the other side. \u201cMadame?\u201d\n\n\u201cUh, yes?\u201d\n\n\u201cPlease step away from the door and get back in bed.\u201d It was Sato, the man who had held an Arclight to her head. \u201cThe doctor will be with you soon.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan you tell me where my colleague is? There was a man who came in with me.\u201d\n\nSilence. For a moment, she wondered if he had walked away.\n\nThen there came an uncomfortable cough. \u201cI\u2019m not at liberty to say.\u201d\n\nYadav stumbled back. She knew what that meant. Good news was never confidential. But \u2018bad news\u2019 could comprise a million different possibilities. Her mind jumped to an extreme: \u201cHow could he have died?\u201d Her voice rose several decibels. Though she\u2019d made a leap in logic, her instincts told her it was true. \u201cHaddix was alive when we got here. If he made it into surgery there\u2019s no way his wounds would have led to a permakill. Not in these facilities.\u201d\n\nUnless they let him die.\n\nShe\u2019d had run-ins (and interviews) with AntiLaz killers. There were ways of making sure that when you assassinated someone, they stayed dead. Shooting down an ejection pod, high-temp disintegration and bone grinding. But the easiest method, by far, was just to make sure they never received the proper resuscitation. Deny them medical treatment. Let the body lie.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re kidding me, right?\u201d She lunged at the door, yanking hard on the handle. \u201cLet me see him. Now.\u201d\n\n\u201cMa\u2019am, please get back in bed. The doctor will be here shortly.\u201d\n\nShe walked backwards until she hit the bed, and sat down heavily. How can he be gone? she thought. He was right here, in a hospital. Why is he gone?\n\nUncontrollable tremors took over her limbs. She clasped her hands in her lap to steady herself. Whether she was shaking from anger or shock, she couldn\u2019t say. Colleagues had been injured in the field under her watch before. But this was the first death.\n\nHe\u2019d wanted to turn back. Not because he was afraid, but because he was a professional. He knew the odds of anything resembling a good outcome were low. He knew that if they infiltrated that asteroid belt that he might never see \u2014\n\nHis kids. He had two daughters. And a wife. Yadav had met them once, at a company affair a long time ago. Beyond that, she didn\u2019t know much about Haddix. She didn\u2019t socialize while on the job, preferring to stay focused, in pure business mode. It kept things clean. Everyone knew where they stood and what their task was without personal matters getting in the way. She liked it. It was an efficient way to work. But it also meant she never got to know her colleagues.\n\nThis was supposed to be a simple fraud case. Clean. Low-risk.\n\nYadav wanted to scream, and pound on the door, and throw things. But this was no time for self-reproach.\n\nIf they\u2019d let Haddix die, she had to get out of here.\n\nHer flight suit was nowhere in the room. None of her effects were there, broken or otherwise. No MobiGlas, no camera drones, no travel kit. Her fingers flew to her ear. Thankfully they hadn\u2019t extracted her recorder. It was cybernetically attached, but the individual recording device could be changed out.\n\nQuickly, she examined the window. Fully sealed. The duct work was minimal, maybe big enough for a cat to crawl through, but certainly not a mature woman. The only way in or out was through the door, and it had at least one guard.\n\nShe could wait for the doctor to arrive and rush the gap when she entered. But this was a government facility, surely crawling with personnel. The chances that Yadav would be able to get anywhere near the front door without someone stopping her were slim to none.\n\nMaybe there was a way to get the guard to help her. Not bribery, something more subtle. How could she convince him to let her out? She couldn\u2019t fake choking or convulsing or anything medical, obviously.\n\nWhat would make him escort her from the room? From the building?\n\nFire.\n\nIf she could reach some bare wiring \u2026\n\nThe monitoring caps she\u2019d had on her fingers must have sent her data elsewhere in the med bay, as there weren\u2019t any screens or machines. Nothing with easily exposable wiring. And all of the light fixtures were too high for her to reach, even if she stood on the bed. But there were several electrical outlets in the room, all with safety plates guarding them. She needed a tool \u2014 something to pry with.\n\nShe scooped up the IV needle, but immediately realized it wouldn\u2019t have enough tensile strength to pull up the plates.\n\nThe hooks that supported the IV bag were too thick, as was the bolt that controlled the stand\u2019s height.\n\nPerhaps there was some part of the bed she could use. She dug under the mattress and found a wireless remote \u2014 ah ha! It was an electric bed. If she needed to she could root around until she found the motor, but she suspected the batteries in the remote would do the job. She\u2019d started many fires in her day \u2014 usually for survival out in the desert, or the jungle. Remote, inhospitable places. All in the name of tracking down a lead. It took three volts to start a fire.\n\nDismantling the remote was a swift job. Now she just needed something combustible. The waste basket was empty, of course, so she wadded up the blue hospital gown and tossed it in.\n\nNow, how to form a circuit and cause a spark? Again she looked to the needle, but didn\u2019t think she could bend it properly. She picked up the plate that had been left for her. Beneath the foiled paper was a pile of couscous. The covering was the same consistency as a gum wrapper \u2014 perfect. She rolled it into a thin strip, then ripped the center a bit \u2014 not all the way through. The foiled top would conduct the electricity, and the paper would ignite.\n\nAfter cinching the robe tight around her waist, she squatted over the basket. It took her several false starts, but eventually a spark took hold, smoldering before evolving into a full flame.\n\nThe small curl of smoke it generated was laughable at best. Yadav hoisted the basket above her head, hoping to tease the detectors into going off. No dice. She needed a bigger, better flame.\n\nThe only thing left to burn was the mattress.\n\nShe shook the contents of the waste basket onto the hospital bed. For a moment she feared she\u2019d smothered what little fire she had, but soon there was a faint whomp, and a strong stench of burning synthetic fabric.\n\nPuffs of light gray smoke billowed from beneath the crumpled gown, followed by lapping orange flames. Small, black clouds amassed near the ceiling.\n\nYadav waited. And waited. The smoke stung her nose and tickled her throat. After another thirty seconds she could feel it in her lungs. She covered her face with the sleeve of her robe.\n\nSirens should have wailed, flame retardant should have burst from hidden compartments in the walls and ceiling. But nothing happened.\n\n\u201cHelp,\u201d she yelled, running to the door. She slapped her open palm against the metal. She noticed the seal around the door was tight \u2014 a measure meant to reduce the spread of air-born infection. \u201cThere\u2019s a fire, let me out.\u201d She sneezed. \u201cThe smoke \u2014 \u201d\n\n\u201cMa\u2019am, no offense, but this isn\u2019t my first day on the job.\u201d\n\nShe couldn\u2019t believe the fire system was malfunctioning. This had to be some kind of cosmic joke. She\u2019d been held at gunpoint by mentally ill prisoners off their anti-psychotics. She\u2019d been trapped in the New United headquarters with a bomb less than five minutes from detonation. But this was how she was going to die?\n\nto be continued \u2026"},"links_count":0,"comment_count":47,"created_at":"2014-02-21T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"12 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-14 06:33:16","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":13569,"next_id":13571}}