{"data":{"id":13594,"title":"DATELINE: SESEN Part Five","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/serialized-fiction\/13594-DATELINE-SESEN-Part-Five","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/13594","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/13594","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":"Breaking News: Ulla Yadav Suffocated in a Hospital by Her own Trash Fire. No One Noticed.\n\nSharp pinpricks attacked her lungs with every breath. It felt like the inside of her throat was peeling.\n\n\u201cCome on, you bastard,\u201d she said through her hacking. \u201cDon\u2019t you smell that?\u201d\n\n\u201cHow many times do I have to tell you to get back in bed?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s on fire!\u201d\n\n\u201cMr. Sato, sir \u2014 \u201d It was a second, female voice. \u201cSomething\u2019s seeping from the bottom of the door.\u201d\n\nYadav imagined him crouching, sniffing. There were boots shuffling, and shouts, and a keypad beeping. She let a little smile of vindication creep onto her face, and stepped back. The door flew inward. Two medical personnel with extinguishers barreled past her. Behind them, two guards filled the doorway, leaving here with no chance of escape.\n\nMr. Sato snatched Yadav\u2019s wrist. \u201cCall for an evacuation of the floor,\u201d he told his colleague. To Yadav he said, \u201cThis isn\u2019t nice behavior for a house guest.\u201d\n\n\u201cHouse guest? I thought I was under arrest,\u201d she replied.\n\nHe pulled another industrial zip tie from his vest pocket and secured her hands behind her back, then escorted her from the room.\n\nPeople rushed by, aiming for the emergency exits. But there were still no warning lights, or sirens, or pre-recorded announcements. Just the pushing and yelling of chaotic escape.\n\nA woman slammed heavily into Yadav, then spun away \u2014 her doctor. \u201cHey,\u201d Yadav called after. \u201cWhat happened to Haddix?\u201d Wrestling with her restraints, she tried to break free of the guard and give chase. But the man had a firm grip.\n\nTogether, they moved in the opposite direction of the others, swimming up the stream of people. \u201cDon\u2019t you know you\u2019re not supposed to use an elevator during a fire?\u201d Yadav asked as they stopped in front of the stainless-steel doors.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll risk it,\u201d he said gruffly.\n\nThey took the lift several floors down, but not all the way to ground level. When the doors opened, Yadav wondered if she was still in the same building.\n\nNo pristine, white walls here. No marble or glass or polished steel. Not even basic drywall or wood.\n\nNothing was finished. Insulation and iron supports stuck out from the walls. Simple light bulbs with chain switches hung from the ceiling. The doors were composite \u2014 cheap composite at that. All of the air ducts were visible in the ceiling, and the floors were covered with antiquated vinyl.\n\n\u201cRemodeling?\u201d she asked.\n\nA man in a thread-bare suit emerged from one room. He seemed surprised to find a guard standing there, prisoner in hand.\n\n\u201cGot an empty room I can stash her in for a while?\u201d asked Sato.\n\nThe man pointed down the hall. \u201cSeventy-four B,\u201d he said uncertainly.\n\nPink insulation puffed out from between the room\u2019s beams. A rickety desk and two chairs were the only furnishings. There wasn\u2019t even a waste bin to start a fire in.\n\nAfter securing her to a chair, the guard left, grumbling to himself.\n\nYadav\u2019s first instinct was, once again, to escape. Pushing and tugging against the ties would be useless \u2014 she\u2019d seen enough captives with bloody wrists to know. She could try filing the ties off, against one of the support beams.\n\n\u2026 Or she could just smash the poorly made chair, and run out the unlocked door. Peering closely, she could tell that the door was kept in place by a simple latch with a knob. There was nothing to stop her from walking out, chair tied to her back or no.\n\nShe noted a lack of dust in the air. There were no plaster fumes, or metal filings, or paint. No building supplies lying around. No workmen making a racket.\n\nThis wasn\u2019t a floor in transition. No renovations were happening. The floor was what it was: crappy.\n\nShe paused. Something was off here. The guard had treated her like an irritation, not a dangerous criminal suspected of piracy.\n\nSure enough, there were no signs of fire detectors or extinguisher housings in the ceiling. Her room in the med bay hadn\u2019t been malfunctioning, it simply hadn\u2019t been as state-of-the-art as it appeared. Less than that, even. The whole building had to be a damn death trap. Even in the poorest nations, she\u2019d never seen a government facility like this. Shoddily designed, shoddily constructed \u2014\n\nWhat kind of a hick planet had she landed on?\n\nThat\u2019s why her elbow hurt, that was why Haddix was dead. They hadn\u2019t killed him; they\u2019d simply been unable to help him. She didn\u2019t know if that made her feel better or worse, more understanding or more angry.\n\nMostly she just felt numb.\n\nGreen stamps on one wall\u2019s naked bracings caught her eye. A company logo, composed of an oval with an arrow through it. She\u2019d seen that recently \u2014 on a manifest. The logo belonged to one of the companies she\u2019d suspected of insurance fraud.\n\nWas it a coincidence, or had some of the pirate\u2019s booty made its way down to the planet?\n\nThe governor probably didn\u2019t care where she got her supplies, especially if she\u2019d okayed such slapdash craftsmanship. She wouldn\u2019t be the first politician to turn a blind eye to the origins of cheap goods.\n\nBut then again, the government didn\u2019t appear to be on friendly terms with the pirates. Perhaps the bandits dumped whatever items they couldn\u2019t move. A poor, nearly-empty planet might make for a good garbage pit. The inhabitants could have scooped up the leftovers, appropriating all they could salvage.\n\nShe wanted a closer look at those shanties.\n\n\u201cWhy did you bring her down here?\u201d asked a woman on the other side of the door. It took a moment for Yadav to place her voice. \u201cI was going to have her transported to my office when she awoke.\u201d Ah, the governor.\n\n\u201cI understand,\u201d said the guard, Mr. Sato. \u201cBut she started the fire in the med bay. It was an emergency. I needed someplace to stash her temporarily. In light of her destructive nature, I do not advise you to conduct your interrogation in your main suites.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe \u2026 transport her to a proper cell,\u201d said a new man\u2019s voice. He kept his tone even and quiet, which made it hard for Yadav to pick up, even through the thin walls. She could only catch snippets. \u201cI like keeping \u2026 compound. But I don\u2019t think \u2026 aware \u2026\u201d\n\n\u201cI can have a vehicle ready in a few minutes, and a set of men to escort her from the vicinity,\u201d said Sato.\n\n\u201cThank you,\u201d replied the governor. \u201cBut I think she\u2019s fine here. Dismissed, Mr. Sato.\u201d\n\n\u201cAny evidence \u2026 and sedate her until she can be moved \u2026 my advice,\u201d insisted the other man.\n\n\u201cPlease, Wei,\u201d the governor said imploringly. \u201cYou\u2019re not seeing the opportunity here. Isn\u2019t this what we\u2019ve been waiting for? An out? A way to put an end to the piracy?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re not listening to me,\u201d he insisted. \u201cNews people \u2026 own agendas \u2026 want is sensationalism. Blood, gore, human filth \u2026 aren\u2019t interested in helping anyone, just recording the carnage.\u201d\n\nYadav couldn\u2019t exactly say he was wrong. When you got right down to it, greed and power ruled the human condition. She\u2019d picked at that scab for decades, exposed all the little oozing bits. It was her job to get down to the nuts and bolts of a situation in order to expose how corroded they\u2019d become.\n\nShe wasn\u2019t a touchy-feely kind of newscaster.\n\nThieves and liars everywhere you go, Yadav thought. Perhaps that was the real reason why she never got close to people, never asked about their personal lives. Inevitably, they\u2019d disappoint her.\n\n\u201cWe have to protect ourselves,\u201d the man continued. \u201cEven song birds will peck our eyes out when their nest is threatened,\u201d he recited flatly, as though it were an old proverb.\n\n\u201cOur nest is fine, Wei.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right,\u201d he conceded with a sigh. \u201cBut, in my opinion, it\u2019s time to blind the intruder.\u201d\n\nto be continued \u2026","de_DE":"Breaking News: Ulla Yadav wurde in einem Krankenhaus durch ihr eigenes M\u00fcllfeuer erstickt. Niemand bemerkte es.\n\nScharfe Nadelstiche griffen bei jedem Atemzug ihre Lungen an. Es f\u00fchlte sich an, als w\u00fcrde sich das Innere ihrer Kehle sch\u00e4len.\n\n\"Komm schon, du Bastard\", sagte sie durch ihr Hacken. \"Riechst du das nicht?\"\n\n\"Wie oft muss ich dir noch sagen, dass du wieder ins Bett gehen sollst?\"\n\n\"Es brennt!\"\n\n\"Mr. Sato, Sir -\" Es war eine zweite, weibliche Stimme. \"Etwas sickert aus dem Boden der T\u00fcr.\"\n\nYadav stellte sich vor, wie er sich hockte, schn\u00fcffelte. Es gab Stiefel, die schlurften, und Schreie, und ein Tastenfeld, das piepste. Sie lie\u00df ein kleines L\u00e4cheln der Rechtfertigung auf ihr Gesicht kriechen und trat zur\u00fcck. Die T\u00fcr flog nach innen. Zwei Sanit\u00e4ter mit Feuerl\u00f6schern fuhren an ihr vorbei. Hinter ihnen f\u00fcllten zwei Wachen den Eingang und lie\u00dfen hier keine Chance zu entkommen.\n\nMr. Sato schnappte sich Yadavs Handgelenk. \"Ruf nach einer Evakuierung des Bodens\", sagte er seinem Kollegen. Zu Yadav sagte er: \"Das ist kein gutes Verhalten f\u00fcr einen Hausgast.\"\n\n\"Hausgast? Ich dachte, ich stehe unter Arrest\", antwortete sie.\n\nEr zog einen weiteren Industrie-Rei\u00dfverschluss aus seiner Westentasche und befestigte ihre H\u00e4nde hinter ihrem R\u00fccken, dann begleitete er sie aus dem Zimmer.\n\nDie Leute eilten vorbei und zielen auf die Notausg\u00e4nge. Aber es gab immer noch keine Warnblinkleuchten, Sirenen oder zuvor aufgezeichnete Ansagen. Nur das Schieben und Schreien von chaotischer Flucht.\n\nEine Frau knallte schwer in Yadav hinein und drehte sich dann weg - ihr Arzt. \"Hey\", rief Yadav nach. \"Was ist mit Haddix passiert?\" Sie rang mit ihren Fesseln und versuchte, sich von der Wache zu befreien und die Verfolgung aufzunehmen. Aber der Mann hatte einen festen Griff.\n\nGemeinsam bewegten sie sich in die entgegengesetzte Richtung der anderen und schwammen den Strom der Menschen hinauf. \"Wei\u00dft du nicht, dass man bei einem Brand keinen Aufzug benutzen darf?\" fragte Yadav, als sie vor den Edelstahlt\u00fcren anhielten.\n\n\"Wir riskieren es\", sagte er schroff.\n\nSie nahmen den Aufzug \u00fcber mehrere Stockwerke nach unten, aber nicht bis zum Erdgeschoss. Als sich die T\u00fcren \u00f6ffneten, fragte sich Yadav, ob sie sich noch im selben Geb\u00e4ude befand.\n\nKeine unber\u00fchrten, wei\u00dfen W\u00e4nde hier. Kein Marmor oder Glas oder polierter Stahl. Nicht einmal eine einfache Trockenbauwand oder Holz.\n\nNichts war fertig. Isolierung und Eisenst\u00fctzen ragten aus den W\u00e4nden heraus. Einfache Gl\u00fchbirnen mit Kettenschaltern, die an der Decke h\u00e4ngen. Die T\u00fcren waren aus Verbundwerkstoff - billiger Verbundwerkstoff dazu. Alle Luftkan\u00e4le waren in der Decke sichtbar, und die B\u00f6den waren mit antiquiertem Vinyl belegt.\n\n\"Umgestalten?\" fragte sie.\n\nEin Mann in einem fadenscheinigen Anzug tauchte aus einem Raum auf. Er schien \u00fcberrascht, eine Wache zu finden, die dort stand, einen Gefangenen in der Hand.\n\n\"Hast du ein leeres Zimmer, in dem ich sie eine Weile unterbringen kann?\" fragte Sato.\n\nDer Mann zeigte auf den Flur. \" Vierundsiebzig B\", sagte er unsicher.\n\nRosa Isolierung, die zwischen den Balken des Raumes herausgepumpt wurde. Ein wackeliger Schreibtisch und zwei St\u00fchle waren die einzige Einrichtung. Es gab nicht einmal einen M\u00fclleimer, in dem man ein Feuer legen konnte.\n\nNachdem er sie an einem Stuhl befestigt hatte, ging die Wache und meckerte vor sich hin.\n\nYadavs erster Instinkt war es, wieder einmal zu entkommen. Das Schieben und Ziehen gegen die B\u00e4nder w\u00e4re sinnlos - sie hatte genug Gefangene mit blutigen Handgelenken gesehen, um es zu wissen. Sie k\u00f6nnte versuchen, die Anker gegen einen der St\u00fctzbalken zu feilen.\n\n.... Oder sie k\u00f6nnte einfach den schlecht gemachten Stuhl zerschlagen und aus der unverschlossenen T\u00fcr rennen. Wenn sie genau hinsah, konnte sie erkennen, dass die T\u00fcr durch einen einfachen Verschluss mit einem Knopf an Ort und Stelle gehalten wurde. Es gab nichts, was sie davon abhalten konnte, zu gehen, einen Stuhl, der an ihren R\u00fccken gefesselt war oder nicht.\n\nSie bemerkte einen Mangel an Staub in der Luft. Es gab keine Gipsd\u00e4mpfe, Metallsp\u00e4ne oder Farben. Es liegen keine Baumaterialien herum. Keine Arbeiter, die einen Schl\u00e4ger machen.\n\nDas war kein Stockwerk im \u00dcbergang. Es fanden keine Renovierungsarbeiten statt. Der Boden war, was er war: beschissen.\n\nSie hielt inne. Irgendwas war hier nicht in Ordnung. Die Wache hatte sie wie eine Irritation behandelt, nicht wie einen gef\u00e4hrlichen Verbrecher, der der Piraterie verd\u00e4chtigt wurde.\n\nTats\u00e4chlich gab es keine Anzeichen von Brandmeldern oder Feuerl\u00f6schergeh\u00e4usen in der Decke. Ihr Zimmer in der Mediathek hatte keine Fehlfunktionen, es war einfach nicht so modern wie es aussah. Sogar weniger als das. Das ganze Geb\u00e4ude musste eine verdammte Todesfalle sein. Selbst in den \u00e4rmsten L\u00e4ndern hatte sie noch nie eine solche Regierungseinrichtung gesehen. Shoddily designed, shoddily constructed -\n\nAuf was f\u00fcr einem Hinterw\u00e4ldlerplaneten war sie gelandet?\n\nDeshalb tat ihr Ellbogen weh, deshalb war Haddix tot. Sie hatten ihn nicht get\u00f6tet, sie konnten ihm einfach nicht helfen. Sie wusste nicht, ob sie sich dadurch besser oder schlechter, verst\u00e4ndnisvoller oder w\u00fctender f\u00fchlte.\n\nMeistens f\u00fchlte sie sich nur taub.\n\nGr\u00fcne Stempel auf den nackten Verstrebungen einer Wand fielen ihr auf. Ein Firmenlogo, bestehend aus einem Oval mit einem Pfeil hindurch. Das hatte sie k\u00fcrzlich gesehen - auf einem Manifest. Das Logo geh\u00f6rte einer der Firmen, die sie wegen Versicherungsbetrugs verd\u00e4chtigt hatte.\n\nWar es ein Zufall, oder hat sich ein Teil der Beute des Piraten auf den Planeten ausgebreitet?\n\nDem Gouverneur war es wahrscheinlich egal, wo sie ihre Vorr\u00e4te herbekommen hatte, besonders wenn sie eine solche Slapdash-Kunstfertigkeit genehmigt hatte. Sie w\u00e4re nicht die erste Politikerin, die die Augen vor der Herkunft von Billigwaren verschlie\u00dft.\n\nAber andererseits schien die Regierung mit den Piraten nicht befreundet zu sein. Vielleicht haben die Banditen alle Gegenst\u00e4nde entsorgt, die sie nicht bewegen konnten. Ein armer, fast leerer Planet k\u00f6nnte f\u00fcr eine gute M\u00fcllgrube sorgen. Die Bewohner h\u00e4tten die Reste auffangen und sich alles aneignen k\u00f6nnen, was sie retten konnten.\n\nSie wollte sich diese Shanties genauer ansehen.\n\n\"Warum hast du sie hierher gebracht?\" fragte eine Frau auf der anderen Seite der T\u00fcr. Es dauerte einen Moment, bis Yadav ihre Stimme platziert hatte. \"Ich wollte sie in mein B\u00fcro bringen lassen, als sie aufwachte.\" Ah, der Gouverneur.\n\n\"Ich verstehe\", sagte die Wache, Mr. Sato. \"Aber sie hat das Feuer in der Krankenstation gelegt. Es war ein Notfall. Ich brauchte einen Ort, an dem ich sie vor\u00fcbergehend verstauen konnte. Angesichts ihrer zerst\u00f6rerischen Natur rate ich Ihnen nicht, Ihr Verh\u00f6r in Ihren Hauptsuiten durchzuf\u00fchren.\"\n\n\"Wir bringen sie in eine richtige Zelle\", sagte die Stimme eines neuen Mannes. Er hielt seinen Ton gleichm\u00e4\u00dfig und ruhig, was es Yadav schwer machte, ihn aufzunehmen, selbst durch die d\u00fcnnen W\u00e4nde hindurch. Sie konnte nur Ausschnitte sehen. \"Ich mag es, wenn ich.... zusammengesetzt bleibe. Aber ich glaube nicht, dass ich mir bewusst bin....\"\n\n\"Ich kann in ein paar Minuten ein Fahrzeug und eine Reihe von M\u00e4nnern bereit haben, um sie aus der N\u00e4he zu begleiten\", sagte Sato.\n\n\"Danke\", antwortete der Gouverneur. \"Aber ich denke, es geht ihr gut hier. Wegtreten, Mr. Sato.\"\n\n\"Jegliche Beweise.... und bet\u00e4uben Sie sie, bis sie bewegt werden kann... mein Ratschlag\", bestand der andere Mann darauf.\n\n\"Bitte, Wei\", sagte der Gouverneur flehentlich. \"Du siehst hier nicht die Gelegenheit. Ist es nicht das, worauf wir gewartet haben? Ein Out? Eine M\u00f6glichkeit, der Piraterie ein Ende zu setzen?\"\n\n\"Du h\u00f6rst mir nicht zu\", bestand er darauf. \"Nachrichtenleute... eigene Agenden... wollen Sensationslust. Blut, Blut, Blut, menschlicher Schmutz... sind nicht daran interessiert, jemandem zu helfen, sondern nur das Blutbad aufzuzeichnen.\"\n\nYadav konnte nicht genau sagen, dass er sich irrte. Als Sie gleich zur Sache kamen, beherrschten Gier und Macht den menschlichen Zustand. Sie hatte diesen Schorf jahrzehntelang gepfl\u00fcckt, all die kleinen n\u00e4ssenden Teile freigelegt. Es war ihre Aufgabe, sich mit den Schrauben und Muttern einer Situation zu befassen, um herauszufinden, wie korrodiert sie werden w\u00fcrden.\n\nSie war keine empfindliche, gef\u00fchlsbetonte Nachrichtensprecherin.\n\nDiebe und L\u00fcgner, wo immer du hingehst, dachte Yadav. Vielleicht war das der eigentliche Grund, warum sie den Menschen nie nahe kam, nie nach ihrem pers\u00f6nlichen Leben fragte. Unvermeidlich w\u00fcrden sie sie entt\u00e4uschen.\n\n\"Wir m\u00fcssen uns sch\u00fctzen\", fuhr der Mann fort. \"Sogar Singv\u00f6gel werden uns die Augen aushacken, wenn ihr Nest bedroht ist\", rezitierte er deutlich, als w\u00e4re es ein altes Sprichwort.\n\n\"Unser Nest ist in Ordnung, Wei.\"\n\n\"In Ordnung\", gab er mit einem Seufzer zu. \"Aber meiner Meinung nach ist es an der Zeit, den Eindringling zu blenden.\"\n\nwird fortgesetzt.....","zh_CN":"Breaking News: Ulla Yadav Suffocated in a Hospital by Her own Trash Fire. No One Noticed.\n\nSharp pinpricks attacked her lungs with every breath. It felt like the inside of her throat was peeling.\n\n\u201cCome on, you bastard,\u201d she said through her hacking. \u201cDon\u2019t you smell that?\u201d\n\n\u201cHow many times do I have to tell you to get back in bed?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s on fire!\u201d\n\n\u201cMr. Sato, sir \u2014 \u201d It was a second, female voice. \u201cSomething\u2019s seeping from the bottom of the door.\u201d\n\nYadav imagined him crouching, sniffing. There were boots shuffling, and shouts, and a keypad beeping. She let a little smile of vindication creep onto her face, and stepped back. The door flew inward. Two medical personnel with extinguishers barreled past her. Behind them, two guards filled the doorway, leaving here with no chance of escape.\n\nMr. Sato snatched Yadav\u2019s wrist. \u201cCall for an evacuation of the floor,\u201d he told his colleague. To Yadav he said, \u201cThis isn\u2019t nice behavior for a house guest.\u201d\n\n\u201cHouse guest? I thought I was under arrest,\u201d she replied.\n\nHe pulled another industrial zip tie from his vest pocket and secured her hands behind her back, then escorted her from the room.\n\nPeople rushed by, aiming for the emergency exits. But there were still no warning lights, or sirens, or pre-recorded announcements. Just the pushing and yelling of chaotic escape.\n\nA woman slammed heavily into Yadav, then spun away \u2014 her doctor. \u201cHey,\u201d Yadav called after. \u201cWhat happened to Haddix?\u201d Wrestling with her restraints, she tried to break free of the guard and give chase. But the man had a firm grip.\n\nTogether, they moved in the opposite direction of the others, swimming up the stream of people. \u201cDon\u2019t you know you\u2019re not supposed to use an elevator during a fire?\u201d Yadav asked as they stopped in front of the stainless-steel doors.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll risk it,\u201d he said gruffly.\n\nThey took the lift several floors down, but not all the way to ground level. When the doors opened, Yadav wondered if she was still in the same building.\n\nNo pristine, white walls here. No marble or glass or polished steel. Not even basic drywall or wood.\n\nNothing was finished. Insulation and iron supports stuck out from the walls. Simple light bulbs with chain switches hung from the ceiling. The doors were composite \u2014 cheap composite at that. All of the air ducts were visible in the ceiling, and the floors were covered with antiquated vinyl.\n\n\u201cRemodeling?\u201d she asked.\n\nA man in a thread-bare suit emerged from one room. He seemed surprised to find a guard standing there, prisoner in hand.\n\n\u201cGot an empty room I can stash her in for a while?\u201d asked Sato.\n\nThe man pointed down the hall. \u201cSeventy-four B,\u201d he said uncertainly.\n\nPink insulation puffed out from between the room\u2019s beams. A rickety desk and two chairs were the only furnishings. There wasn\u2019t even a waste bin to start a fire in.\n\nAfter securing her to a chair, the guard left, grumbling to himself.\n\nYadav\u2019s first instinct was, once again, to escape. Pushing and tugging against the ties would be useless \u2014 she\u2019d seen enough captives with bloody wrists to know. She could try filing the ties off, against one of the support beams.\n\n\u2026 Or she could just smash the poorly made chair, and run out the unlocked door. Peering closely, she could tell that the door was kept in place by a simple latch with a knob. There was nothing to stop her from walking out, chair tied to her back or no.\n\nShe noted a lack of dust in the air. There were no plaster fumes, or metal filings, or paint. No building supplies lying around. No workmen making a racket.\n\nThis wasn\u2019t a floor in transition. No renovations were happening. The floor was what it was: crappy.\n\nShe paused. Something was off here. The guard had treated her like an irritation, not a dangerous criminal suspected of piracy.\n\nSure enough, there were no signs of fire detectors or extinguisher housings in the ceiling. Her room in the med bay hadn\u2019t been malfunctioning, it simply hadn\u2019t been as state-of-the-art as it appeared. Less than that, even. The whole building had to be a damn death trap. Even in the poorest nations, she\u2019d never seen a government facility like this. Shoddily designed, shoddily constructed \u2014\n\nWhat kind of a hick planet had she landed on?\n\nThat\u2019s why her elbow hurt, that was why Haddix was dead. They hadn\u2019t killed him; they\u2019d simply been unable to help him. She didn\u2019t know if that made her feel better or worse, more understanding or more angry.\n\nMostly she just felt numb.\n\nGreen stamps on one wall\u2019s naked bracings caught her eye. A company logo, composed of an oval with an arrow through it. She\u2019d seen that recently \u2014 on a manifest. The logo belonged to one of the companies she\u2019d suspected of insurance fraud.\n\nWas it a coincidence, or had some of the pirate\u2019s booty made its way down to the planet?\n\nThe governor probably didn\u2019t care where she got her supplies, especially if she\u2019d okayed such slapdash craftsmanship. She wouldn\u2019t be the first politician to turn a blind eye to the origins of cheap goods.\n\nBut then again, the government didn\u2019t appear to be on friendly terms with the pirates. Perhaps the bandits dumped whatever items they couldn\u2019t move. A poor, nearly-empty planet might make for a good garbage pit. The inhabitants could have scooped up the leftovers, appropriating all they could salvage.\n\nShe wanted a closer look at those shanties.\n\n\u201cWhy did you bring her down here?\u201d asked a woman on the other side of the door. It took a moment for Yadav to place her voice. \u201cI was going to have her transported to my office when she awoke.\u201d Ah, the governor.\n\n\u201cI understand,\u201d said the guard, Mr. Sato. \u201cBut she started the fire in the med bay. It was an emergency. I needed someplace to stash her temporarily. In light of her destructive nature, I do not advise you to conduct your interrogation in your main suites.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe \u2026 transport her to a proper cell,\u201d said a new man\u2019s voice. He kept his tone even and quiet, which made it hard for Yadav to pick up, even through the thin walls. She could only catch snippets. \u201cI like keeping \u2026 compound. But I don\u2019t think \u2026 aware \u2026\u201d\n\n\u201cI can have a vehicle ready in a few minutes, and a set of men to escort her from the vicinity,\u201d said Sato.\n\n\u201cThank you,\u201d replied the governor. \u201cBut I think she\u2019s fine here. Dismissed, Mr. Sato.\u201d\n\n\u201cAny evidence \u2026 and sedate her until she can be moved \u2026 my advice,\u201d insisted the other man.\n\n\u201cPlease, Wei,\u201d the governor said imploringly. \u201cYou\u2019re not seeing the opportunity here. Isn\u2019t this what we\u2019ve been waiting for? An out? A way to put an end to the piracy?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re not listening to me,\u201d he insisted. \u201cNews people \u2026 own agendas \u2026 want is sensationalism. Blood, gore, human filth \u2026 aren\u2019t interested in helping anyone, just recording the carnage.\u201d\n\nYadav couldn\u2019t exactly say he was wrong. When you got right down to it, greed and power ruled the human condition. She\u2019d picked at that scab for decades, exposed all the little oozing bits. It was her job to get down to the nuts and bolts of a situation in order to expose how corroded they\u2019d become.\n\nShe wasn\u2019t a touchy-feely kind of newscaster.\n\nThieves and liars everywhere you go, Yadav thought. Perhaps that was the real reason why she never got close to people, never asked about their personal lives. Inevitably, they\u2019d disappoint her.\n\n\u201cWe have to protect ourselves,\u201d the man continued. \u201cEven song birds will peck our eyes out when their nest is threatened,\u201d he recited flatly, as though it were an old proverb.\n\n\u201cOur nest is fine, Wei.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right,\u201d he conceded with a sigh. \u201cBut, in my opinion, it\u2019s time to blind the intruder.\u201d\n\nto be continued \u2026"},"links_count":0,"comment_count":57,"created_at":"2014-02-28T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"12 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-14 16:22:19","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":13592,"next_id":13595}}