{"data":{"id":13795,"title":"DATELINE: SESEN: Part Eleven","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/serialized-fiction\/13795-DATELINE-SESEN-Part-Eleven","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/13795","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/13795","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":"Treason, or Mutiny? What Happens when a Family Feud Involves Political Infighting and Pirate Posturing?\n\nThe large guard dropped Yadav and rushed Martinez. More shots went off as they wrestled with the gun. It took three of the five guards, but in moments they had Martinez on the ground.\n\nYadav slid to her knees in front of Jones. Working quickly, she pulled out the sanitary wipes and thrust them against the wound.\n\n\u201cBad?\u201d Jones groaned. Her face blanched, and she shivered as though caught in a blast of arctic wind.\n\nYadav didn\u2019t answer her question.\n\nSato and another guard joined them and tried to take Jones away. \u201cWe need to get her to the Hill,\u201d Sato said. \u201cThe med bay.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, stop,\u201d Yadav implored them, grabbing Sato\u2019s sleeve. \u201cI\u2019ve seen your facilities. She\u2019s got no chance there.\u201d She dropped her voice. \u201cLook, there\u2019s a ship coming for me. It\u2019s a rescue transport; they\u2019ll have the right emergency equipment aboard. If we can fly her up to meet them, she might make it.\u201d\n\nThey both scanned the hangar. Nothing but Drake pirate ships \u2014 except for Jones\u2019 ride.\nTogether, Yadav and the guards carried the bleeding governor to her Constellation. Jones tried to protest. \u201cSkins are malfunctioning,\u201d she said, her voice airy and distant.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019ll have to do, Madam Governor,\u201d said Yadav.\n\nThe inside of the ship was sleek, but dated. Definitely not designed for medical transport. They had to buckle Jones in upright, with the restraints pressing on her injury.\n\nSato jumped into the pilot\u2019s seat, and Yadav opened up the comm channels to the incoming transport. \u201cThis is Ulla Yadav of New United,\u201d she said. \u201cI am approaching in a government ship. Validation codes are being sent to you now.\u201d She muted the broadcast. \u201cWe do have valid identification codes, don\u2019t we?\u201d\n\n\u201cWouldn\u2019t be very good pirates if we didn\u2019t,\u201d Sato said.\n\n\u201cUlla, Ulla,\u201d Jones said, waving her arm limply in Yadav\u2019s direction.\n\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\nJones tossed her head slowly from side to side. \u201cHere. We took this off your partner,\u201d she said, trying to pull something out of her jacket pocket. The other guard retrieved it and passed it to Yadav.\n\nIt was a paper image. A moment passed while she puzzled out what it was and where it had come from. Two young girls, a woman, and Haddix stood together, smiling, in the offices of New United\u2019s headquarters. Several desks made up the background, and Yadav sat at one, MobiGlas in hand, mouth open mid-word.\n\nThe picture\u2019s edges were frayed and soft, and various folds and bends ran through the middle.\n\nThis was what she\u2019d seen Haddix kiss in the field, what she\u2019d called his \u2018security blanket.\u2019 An image of his family visiting him at work.\n\nYadav clasped the photo her chest.\n\nThe ship rattled as they accelerated through the hangar tunnel. Jones let out a groan or yelp with every new bump.\n\n\u201cIs this thing going to get us out of the atmosphere, or are we going to fly apart first?\u201d Yadav asked.\n\n\u201cSorry we\u2019re not as up-to-date as your company,\u201d Sato snarked.\n\n\u201cUlla.\u201d Jones struggled to speak as they rose into the sky. \u201cI want to finish our interview.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t think now is the best time,\u201d Yadav said.\n\n\u201cI might not get to, later.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll get you on my company\u2019s ship and you\u2019ll be fine.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, you have to know. Not that we\u2019re pirates, but why we\u2019re pirates.\u201d\n\nWhy. Yadav had spent her whole life trying to stamp out that word. Why equaled excuses.\n\u201cYou don\u2019t need to \u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cWei was right, we are involved in a war. An economic war. Other nations have their people spend mandatory time in the military. We have our own service requirements. Everyone at some point is a pirate.\u201d They broke through the bright atmosphere and into star-speckled space. Jones kept talking. \u201cWe want to be self-sustaining. But in order to get there we need resources. We have nothing to trade. We can only take.\u201d\n\n\u201cIncoming craft, we have you on visual,\u201d came the reply, finally, from the New United craft. \u201cYou are not a government ship. We believe your ID codes are forged. Stand down. Do not approach, or we will be forced to defend ourselves.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe skins,\u201d Jones coughed. \u201cI told you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am Ulla Yadav of New United,\u201d she repeated. \u201cSending my press and personal ID codes to you now.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do I know those aren\u2019t stolen, too?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou followed a signal here from an ingested beacon, did you not? Where\u2019s the signal coming from?\u201d Jackass.\n\n\u201cSection 32B of the Advocacy\u2019s hijacking prevention guidelines states that if a ship\u2019s validation codes are thought to be forgeries, then we should refuse boarding to \u2014\u201d\n\nWhy did she have to get the greenhorn team? Sounded like this kid had never been in the field before. \u201cI don\u2019t care what the damn guidelines say. We have an injured woman on board who is likely to bleed to death unless you let her board your ship. Can you authenticate my IDs and the beacon\u2019s signal, or not?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou may be a hostage. Do not approach,\u201d he repeated.\n\nSato shot her a questioning look. She gestured for him to press on.\n\nThe rescue transport revved its cannons. They shone aqua-blue against the starry backdrop. \u201cDo not approach.\u201d\n\n\u201cDamn it, are you here to rescue me or not? This is code blue. I am not under duress. Open your damn docking doors so we can come aboard. Did you not hear me say I\u2019ve got a dying woman here?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter, Ma\u2019am. Even without suspicion of kidnapping and piracy, we only have clearance to transport the persons we came for. One James Haddix and one Ulla Yadav. No other persons are authorized to board this vessel.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen you\u2019re in the field, life gets messy,\u201d Yadav said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to break the rules. Either you can damn your clearance and the handbook, take the governor of this planet aboard and save her life \u2014 or you can let a woman die just because her name isn\u2019t on your list. No matter which you choose, understand this: I am Ulla Yadav, so you know I\u2019m going to write about it, no matter what you decide. Would you prefer to be the coward who was so afraid for his own skin that he let a defenseless woman bleed out? Or would you rather be the hero who rescued the stranded reporter and saved an important politician?\u201d\n\nShe turned to Jones. \u201cDoes your ship have an internal feed?\u201d\n\nThe governor gestured toward a switch that Sato flipped. \u201cTake a good look,\u201d she said. \u201cThink this woman can survive much more of this back and forth bureaucratic bullshit?\u201d\n\nA long silence followed. Then, \u201cStand by for docking.\u201d\n\nAs the guards prepared to move Jones, the governor reached out for Yadav\u2019s hand. It had been less than two days since they\u2019d met. Now they were in similar circumstances, but on opposite sides of the equation.\n\n\u201cWill you help us? Still write about us? The drill you saw \u2014 it\u2019s for reaching the deep water table. If we can get enough fresh water for irrigation, we can farm more efficiently. Better crops means more animals. We can develop trade, for real. Then we can \u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cStop trying to convince me,\u201d Yadav ordered. \u201cI\u2019ll go back and cover your colony. Write about the people. Get to, uh, get to know them, if that\u2019s what you want.\u201d\n\n\u201cPlease.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs long as no one will try to kill me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll make sure of that,\u201d said Sato.\n\nThe rescue team met them with medical equipment at the ready. One guard boarded with Jones.\nYadav took out the crumpled photograph and kissed it, just as she\u2019d seen Haddix do. Perhaps this was the best way to pay tribute to him. She hadn\u2019t gotten to know him, but she could get to know these people. She could uncover more than the facts. They had reasons for doing what they were doing. Bad reasons? Good reasons? That wasn\u2019t her call. But their whys definitely weren\u2019t excuses.\n\nNo one had helped them when criminals had ruined their lives, but people wanted to take them down now that they\u2019d turned criminal themselves. But this wasn\u2019t a news story about greed or power. No one in the universe would take a shot to the gut for either of those things. Sesen\u2019s story was purely about survival. Jones was willing to sacrifice her life so that her colony might find allies through Yadav\u2019s work.\n\nNow she envisioned a new headline: Stranded and Abused, but Not Broken. One Colony Strives to Succeed against All Odds, Battling Political Subterfuge, Starvation and Self-Doubt.\n\nAfter all these years, Humanity still found ways to surprise even the most cynical reporter.\n\nThe End\n\nAbout the Author:\nMarina J. Lostetter\u2019s short fiction has appeared in venues such as InterGalactic Medicine Show, Galaxy\u2019s Edge, and Writers of the Future. Originally from Oregon, Marina now lives in Arkansas with her husband, Alex. She tweets as @MarinaLostetter. Please visit her homepage at http:\/\/www.lostetter.net\/.","de_DE":"Verrat oder Meuterei? Was passiert, wenn eine Familienfehde politische Machtk\u00e4mpfe und Piratenhaltung beinhaltet?\n\nDie gro\u00dfe Wache lie\u00df Yadav fallen und st\u00fcrzte Martinez. Weitere Sch\u00fcsse gingen los, als sie mit der Waffe k\u00e4mpften. Es brauchte drei der f\u00fcnf Wachen, aber in wenigen Augenblicken hatten sie Martinez am Boden.\n\nYadav rutschte vor Jones auf die Knie. Schnell arbeitete sie, zog die Hygienet\u00fccher heraus und stie\u00df sie gegen die Wunde.\n\n\" Schlecht?\" st\u00f6hnte Jones. Ihr Gesicht blanchierte, und sie zitterte, als w\u00e4re sie in einem arktischen Windsto\u00df gefangen.\n\nYadav hat ihre Frage nicht beantwortet.\n\nSato und eine andere Wache schlossen sich ihnen an und versuchten, Jones wegzubringen. \"Wir m\u00fcssen sie auf den H\u00fcgel bringen\", sagte Sato. \" Die Med-Bay.\"\n\n\"Nein, stop\", flehte Yadav sie an und packte Satos \u00c4rmel. \"Ich habe deine Einrichtungen gesehen. Sie hat dort keine Chance.\" Sie lie\u00df ihre Stimme fallen. \"Schau, da kommt ein Schiff, das mich holen will. Es ist ein Rettungstransport; sie haben die richtige Notfallausr\u00fcstung an Bord. Wenn wir sie hochfliegen k\u00f6nnen, um sie zu treffen, k\u00f6nnte sie es schaffen.\"\n\nSie scannten beide den Hangar. Nichts als Drake-Piratenschiffe - au\u00dfer Jones' Fahrt.\nGemeinsam trugen Yadav und die Wachen den blutenden Gouverneur zu ihrem Sternbild. Jones versuchte zu protestieren. \"Die Haut funktioniert nicht richtig\", sagte sie, ihre Stimme luftig und distanziert.\n\n\"Es muss reichen, Frau Gouverneurin\", sagte Yadav.\n\nDas Innere des Schiffes war schlank, aber veraltet. Definitiv nicht f\u00fcr den medizinischen Transport konzipiert. Sie mussten Jones aufrecht schnallen, wobei die Fesseln auf ihre Verletzung dr\u00fcckten.\n\nSato sprang auf den Pilotenplatz, und Yadav \u00f6ffnete die Kommunikationskan\u00e4le zum ankommenden Transport. \"Das ist Ulla Yadav von New United\", sagte sie. \"Ich n\u00e4here mich in einem Regierungsschiff. Die Validierungscodes werden Ihnen jetzt zugesandt.\" Sie hat die Sendung stumm geschaltet. \"Wir haben g\u00fcltige Identifikationscodes, nicht wahr?\"\n\n\"W\u00e4ren keine sehr guten Piraten, wenn wir es nicht t\u00e4ten\", sagte Sato.\n\n\"Ulla, Ulla\", sagte Jones und schwang mit ihrem Arm schlaff in Yadavs Richtung.\n\n\" Was?\"\n\nJones warf ihren Kopf langsam von einer Seite zur anderen. \"Hier. Wir haben das deinem Partner abgenommen\", sagte sie und versuchte, etwas aus ihrer Jackentasche zu ziehen. Die andere Wache holte es ab und gab es an Yadav weiter.\n\nEs war ein Papierbild. Ein Moment verging, als sie herausfand, was es war und woher es gekommen war. Zwei junge M\u00e4dchen, eine Frau und Haddix standen l\u00e4chelnd in den B\u00fcros des Hauptsitzes von New United zusammen. Mehrere Schreibtische bildeten den Hintergrund, und Yadav sa\u00df auf einem, MobiGlas in der Hand, Mund offen Mittelwort.\n\nDie Kanten des Bildes waren ausgefranst und weich, und verschiedene Falten und Biegungen liefen durch die Mitte.\n\nDas war es, was sie gesehen hatte, wie Haddix sich auf dem Feld k\u00fcsste, was sie seine \"Rettungsdecke\" genannt hatte. Ein Bild von seiner Familie, die ihn bei der Arbeit besucht.\n\nYadav umschloss das Foto an ihrer Brust.\n\nDas Schiff rasselte, als sie durch den Hangartunnel beschleunigten. Jones l\u00e4sst bei jeder neuen Beule ein St\u00f6hnen oder Schreien los.\n\n\"Wird uns dieses Ding aus der Atmosph\u00e4re herausholen, oder werden wir zuerst auseinander fliegen?\" fragte Yadav.\n\n\"Tut mir leid, dass wir nicht so aktuell sind wie Ihr Unternehmen\", murmelte Sato.\n\n\" Ulla.\" Jones k\u00e4mpfte darum, zu sprechen, als sie in den Himmel stiegen. \"Ich m\u00f6chte unser Interview beenden.\"\n\n\"Ich glaube nicht, dass jetzt die beste Zeit ist\", sagte Yadav.\n\n\"Ich komme vielleicht sp\u00e4ter nicht dazu.\"\n\n\"Wir bringen dich auf das Schiff meiner Firma und es wird dir gut gehen.\"\n\n\"Nein, du musst es wissen. Nicht, dass wir Piraten sind, aber warum wir Piraten sind.\"\n\nWarum. Yadav hatte ihr ganzes Leben damit verbracht, dieses Wort auszul\u00f6schen. Warum gleiche Ausreden.\n\"Du musst nicht -\"\n\n\"Wei hatte Recht, wir sind in einen Krieg verwickelt. Ein Wirtschaftskrieg. Andere Nationen haben ihre Leute, die obligatorische Zeit im Milit\u00e4r verbringen. Wir haben unsere eigenen Serviceanforderungen. Irgendwann sind alle Piraten.\" Sie durchbrachen die helle Atmosph\u00e4re und den sternf\u00f6rmigen Raum. Jones sprach weiter. \"Wir wollen uns selbst erhalten. Aber um dorthin zu gelangen, brauchen wir Ressourcen. Wir haben nichts zu tauschen. Wir k\u00f6nnen nur nehmen.\"\n\n\"Ankommendes Schiff, wir haben Sie auf Sicht\", kam die Antwort schlie\u00dflich vom New United Schiff. \"Ihr seid kein Regierungsschiff. Wir glauben, dass Ihre ID-Codes gef\u00e4lscht sind. Bleibt zur\u00fcck. N\u00e4hern Sie sich nicht, sonst werden wir gezwungen sein, uns zu verteidigen.\"\n\n\"Die Felle\", hustete Jones. \"Ich habe es dir gesagt.\"\n\n\"Ich bin Ulla Yadav von New United\", wiederholte sie. \"Ich schicke dir jetzt meine Presse- und pers\u00f6nlichen Ausweiscodes.\"\n\n\"Woher wei\u00df ich, dass die nicht auch gestohlen wurden?\"\n\n\"Du bist einem Signal von einem verschluckten Leuchtfeuer gefolgt, nicht wahr? Woher kommt das Signal?\" Bl\u00f6dmann.\n\n\"Abschnitt 32B der Richtlinien der Advocacy zur Verhinderung von Entf\u00fchrungen besagt, dass, wenn die Validierungscodes eines Schiffes als F\u00e4lschungen angesehen werden, wir uns weigern sollten, an Bord zu gehen -\"\n\nWarum musste sie das Greenhorn-Team holen? Es klang, als w\u00e4re dieses Kind noch nie zuvor auf dem Feld gewesen. \"Es ist mir egal, was die verdammten Richtlinien sagen. Wir haben eine verletzte Frau an Bord, die wahrscheinlich verbluten wird, wenn Sie sie nicht an Bord Ihres Schiffes lassen. K\u00f6nnen Sie meine IDs und das Signal des Bakens authentifizieren oder nicht?\"\n\n\"Du bist vielleicht eine Geisel. N\u00e4hern Sie sich nicht\", wiederholte er.\n\nSato schoss ihr einen fragenden Blick zu. Sie deutete darauf hin, dass er weitermachen sollte.\n\nDer Rettungstransport drehte seine Kanonen. Sie strahlten aqua-blau vor der sternenklaren Kulisse. \"Nicht n\u00e4hern.\"\n\n\"Verdammt, bist du hier, um mich zu retten oder nicht? Hier ist Code Blau. Ich bin nicht unter Druck. \u00d6ffne deine verdammten Andockt\u00fcren, damit wir an Bord kommen k\u00f6nnen. Hast du mich nicht sagen h\u00f6ren, dass ich hier eine sterbende Frau habe?\"\n\n\"Es spielt keine Rolle, Ma'am. Auch ohne Verdacht auf Entf\u00fchrung und Piraterie haben wir nur die Erlaubnis, die Personen zu transportieren, f\u00fcr die wir gekommen sind. Ein James Haddix und eine Ulla Yadav. Keine anderen Personen sind berechtigt, an Bord dieses Schiffes zu gehen.\"\n\n\"Wenn man auf dem Feld ist, wird das Leben chaotisch\", sagte Yadav. \"Du musst die Regeln brechen. Entweder du kannst deine Freigabe und das Handbuch verdammen, den Gouverneur dieses Planeten an Bord nehmen und ihr Leben retten - oder du kannst eine Frau sterben lassen, nur weil ihr Name nicht auf deiner Liste steht. Egal f\u00fcr welche du dich entscheidest, verstehe das: Ich bin Ulla Yadav, also wei\u00dft du, dass ich dar\u00fcber schreiben werde, egal was du entscheidest. W\u00fcrdest du lieber der Feigling sein, der so viel Angst um seine eigene Haut hatte, dass er eine wehrlose Frau ausbluten lie\u00df? Oder w\u00e4rst du lieber der Held, der den gestrandeten Reporter rettete und einen wichtigen Politiker rettete?\"\n\nSie wandte sich an Jones. \"Hat Ihr Schiff eine interne Zuf\u00fchrung?\"\n\nDer Gouverneur deutete auf einen Schalter zu, den Sato umlegte. \"Schau genau hin\", sagte sie. \"Denkst du, diese Frau kann noch viel mehr von diesem b\u00fcrokratischen Mist hin und her \u00fcberleben?\"\n\nEs folgte eine lange Stille. Dann: \"Bereithalten zum Andocken.\"\n\nAls die Wachen bereit waren, Jones zu bewegen, griff der Gouverneur nach Yadavs Hand. Es waren weniger als zwei Tage vergangen, seit sie sich getroffen hatten. Jetzt waren sie unter \u00e4hnlichen Umst\u00e4nden, aber auf entgegengesetzten Seiten der Gleichung.\n\n\"Wirst du uns helfen? Schreibst du immer noch \u00fcber uns? Der Bohrer, den du gesehen hast - er ist f\u00fcr das Erreichen des tiefen Grundwasserspiegels. Wenn wir gen\u00fcgend Frischwasser f\u00fcr die Bew\u00e4sserung bekommen, k\u00f6nnen wir effizienter wirtschaften. Bessere Ernten bedeuten mehr Tiere. Wir k\u00f6nnen den Handel entwickeln, wirklich. Dann k\u00f6nnen wir -\"\n\n\"H\u00f6r auf, mich zu \u00fcberzeugen\", befahl Yadav. \"Ich gehe zur\u00fcck und decke deine Kolonie ab. Schreib \u00fcber die Menschen. Lerne sie kennen, wenn es das ist, was du willst.\"\n\n\" Bitte.\"\n\n\"Solange niemand versucht, mich zu t\u00f6ten.\"\n\n\"Daf\u00fcr werde ich sorgen\", sagte Sato.\n\nDas Rettungsteam traf sie mit medizinischer Ausr\u00fcstung in Bereitschaft. Eine Wache ging mit Jones an Bord.\nYadav nahm das zerknitterte Foto heraus und k\u00fcsste es, genau wie sie Haddix gesehen hatte. Vielleicht war dies der beste Weg, um ihm Tribut zu zollen. Sie hatte ihn nicht kennengelernt, aber sie konnte diese Leute kennenlernen. Sie konnte mehr als nur die Fakten aufdecken. Sie hatten Gr\u00fcnde, das zu tun, was sie taten. Schlechte Gr\u00fcnde? Gute Gr\u00fcnde? Das war nicht ihre Entscheidung. Aber ihre Gr\u00fcnde waren definitiv keine Ausreden.\n\nNiemand hatte ihnen geholfen, als Kriminelle ihr Leben ruiniert hatten, aber die Leute wollten sie niedermachen, jetzt, wo sie selbst zum Verbrecher geworden waren. Aber das war keine Nachrichtenstory \u00fcber Gier oder Macht. Niemand im Universum w\u00fcrde f\u00fcr keines dieser beiden Dinge einen Schuss in den Bauch wagen. Sesen's Geschichte handelte nur vom \u00dcberleben. Jones war bereit, ihr Leben zu opfern, damit ihre Kolonie durch Yadavs Werk Verb\u00fcndete finden konnte.\n\nNun stellte sie sich eine neue Schlagzeile vor: Gestrandet und missbraucht, aber nicht gebrochen. Eine Kolonie strebt danach, gegen alle Chancen erfolgreich zu sein und k\u00e4mpft gegen politische Ausfl\u00fcchte, Hunger und Selbstzweifel.\n\nNach all den Jahren fand die Menschheit immer noch Wege, um selbst den zynischsten Reporter zu \u00fcberraschen.\n\nDas Ende\n\n\u00dcber den Autor:\nMarina J. Lostetters Kurzspielfilm erschien an Orten wie der InterGalactic Medicine Show, Galaxy's Edge und Writers of the Future. Urspr\u00fcnglich aus Oregon stammend, lebt Marina heute mit ihrem Mann Alex in Arkansas. Sie twittert als @MarinaLostetter. Bitte besuchen Sie ihre Homepage unter http:\/\/www.lostetter.net\/.","zh_CN":"Treason, or Mutiny? What Happens when a Family Feud Involves Political Infighting and Pirate Posturing?\n\nThe large guard dropped Yadav and rushed Martinez. More shots went off as they wrestled with the gun. It took three of the five guards, but in moments they had Martinez on the ground.\n\nYadav slid to her knees in front of Jones. Working quickly, she pulled out the sanitary wipes and thrust them against the wound.\n\n\u201cBad?\u201d Jones groaned. Her face blanched, and she shivered as though caught in a blast of arctic wind.\n\nYadav didn\u2019t answer her question.\n\nSato and another guard joined them and tried to take Jones away. \u201cWe need to get her to the Hill,\u201d Sato said. \u201cThe med bay.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, stop,\u201d Yadav implored them, grabbing Sato\u2019s sleeve. \u201cI\u2019ve seen your facilities. She\u2019s got no chance there.\u201d She dropped her voice. \u201cLook, there\u2019s a ship coming for me. It\u2019s a rescue transport; they\u2019ll have the right emergency equipment aboard. If we can fly her up to meet them, she might make it.\u201d\n\nThey both scanned the hangar. Nothing but Drake pirate ships \u2014 except for Jones\u2019 ride.\nTogether, Yadav and the guards carried the bleeding governor to her Constellation. Jones tried to protest. \u201cSkins are malfunctioning,\u201d she said, her voice airy and distant.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019ll have to do, Madam Governor,\u201d said Yadav.\n\nThe inside of the ship was sleek, but dated. Definitely not designed for medical transport. They had to buckle Jones in upright, with the restraints pressing on her injury.\n\nSato jumped into the pilot\u2019s seat, and Yadav opened up the comm channels to the incoming transport. \u201cThis is Ulla Yadav of New United,\u201d she said. \u201cI am approaching in a government ship. Validation codes are being sent to you now.\u201d She muted the broadcast. \u201cWe do have valid identification codes, don\u2019t we?\u201d\n\n\u201cWouldn\u2019t be very good pirates if we didn\u2019t,\u201d Sato said.\n\n\u201cUlla, Ulla,\u201d Jones said, waving her arm limply in Yadav\u2019s direction.\n\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\nJones tossed her head slowly from side to side. \u201cHere. We took this off your partner,\u201d she said, trying to pull something out of her jacket pocket. The other guard retrieved it and passed it to Yadav.\n\nIt was a paper image. A moment passed while she puzzled out what it was and where it had come from. Two young girls, a woman, and Haddix stood together, smiling, in the offices of New United\u2019s headquarters. Several desks made up the background, and Yadav sat at one, MobiGlas in hand, mouth open mid-word.\n\nThe picture\u2019s edges were frayed and soft, and various folds and bends ran through the middle.\n\nThis was what she\u2019d seen Haddix kiss in the field, what she\u2019d called his \u2018security blanket.\u2019 An image of his family visiting him at work.\n\nYadav clasped the photo her chest.\n\nThe ship rattled as they accelerated through the hangar tunnel. Jones let out a groan or yelp with every new bump.\n\n\u201cIs this thing going to get us out of the atmosphere, or are we going to fly apart first?\u201d Yadav asked.\n\n\u201cSorry we\u2019re not as up-to-date as your company,\u201d Sato snarked.\n\n\u201cUlla.\u201d Jones struggled to speak as they rose into the sky. \u201cI want to finish our interview.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t think now is the best time,\u201d Yadav said.\n\n\u201cI might not get to, later.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll get you on my company\u2019s ship and you\u2019ll be fine.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, you have to know. Not that we\u2019re pirates, but why we\u2019re pirates.\u201d\n\nWhy. Yadav had spent her whole life trying to stamp out that word. Why equaled excuses.\n\u201cYou don\u2019t need to \u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cWei was right, we are involved in a war. An economic war. Other nations have their people spend mandatory time in the military. We have our own service requirements. Everyone at some point is a pirate.\u201d They broke through the bright atmosphere and into star-speckled space. Jones kept talking. \u201cWe want to be self-sustaining. But in order to get there we need resources. We have nothing to trade. We can only take.\u201d\n\n\u201cIncoming craft, we have you on visual,\u201d came the reply, finally, from the New United craft. \u201cYou are not a government ship. We believe your ID codes are forged. Stand down. Do not approach, or we will be forced to defend ourselves.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe skins,\u201d Jones coughed. \u201cI told you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am Ulla Yadav of New United,\u201d she repeated. \u201cSending my press and personal ID codes to you now.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do I know those aren\u2019t stolen, too?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou followed a signal here from an ingested beacon, did you not? Where\u2019s the signal coming from?\u201d Jackass.\n\n\u201cSection 32B of the Advocacy\u2019s hijacking prevention guidelines states that if a ship\u2019s validation codes are thought to be forgeries, then we should refuse boarding to \u2014\u201d\n\nWhy did she have to get the greenhorn team? Sounded like this kid had never been in the field before. \u201cI don\u2019t care what the damn guidelines say. We have an injured woman on board who is likely to bleed to death unless you let her board your ship. Can you authenticate my IDs and the beacon\u2019s signal, or not?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou may be a hostage. Do not approach,\u201d he repeated.\n\nSato shot her a questioning look. She gestured for him to press on.\n\nThe rescue transport revved its cannons. They shone aqua-blue against the starry backdrop. \u201cDo not approach.\u201d\n\n\u201cDamn it, are you here to rescue me or not? This is code blue. I am not under duress. Open your damn docking doors so we can come aboard. Did you not hear me say I\u2019ve got a dying woman here?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter, Ma\u2019am. Even without suspicion of kidnapping and piracy, we only have clearance to transport the persons we came for. One James Haddix and one Ulla Yadav. No other persons are authorized to board this vessel.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen you\u2019re in the field, life gets messy,\u201d Yadav said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to break the rules. Either you can damn your clearance and the handbook, take the governor of this planet aboard and save her life \u2014 or you can let a woman die just because her name isn\u2019t on your list. No matter which you choose, understand this: I am Ulla Yadav, so you know I\u2019m going to write about it, no matter what you decide. Would you prefer to be the coward who was so afraid for his own skin that he let a defenseless woman bleed out? Or would you rather be the hero who rescued the stranded reporter and saved an important politician?\u201d\n\nShe turned to Jones. \u201cDoes your ship have an internal feed?\u201d\n\nThe governor gestured toward a switch that Sato flipped. \u201cTake a good look,\u201d she said. \u201cThink this woman can survive much more of this back and forth bureaucratic bullshit?\u201d\n\nA long silence followed. Then, \u201cStand by for docking.\u201d\n\nAs the guards prepared to move Jones, the governor reached out for Yadav\u2019s hand. It had been less than two days since they\u2019d met. Now they were in similar circumstances, but on opposite sides of the equation.\n\n\u201cWill you help us? Still write about us? The drill you saw \u2014 it\u2019s for reaching the deep water table. If we can get enough fresh water for irrigation, we can farm more efficiently. Better crops means more animals. We can develop trade, for real. Then we can \u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cStop trying to convince me,\u201d Yadav ordered. \u201cI\u2019ll go back and cover your colony. Write about the people. Get to, uh, get to know them, if that\u2019s what you want.\u201d\n\n\u201cPlease.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs long as no one will try to kill me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll make sure of that,\u201d said Sato.\n\nThe rescue team met them with medical equipment at the ready. One guard boarded with Jones.\nYadav took out the crumpled photograph and kissed it, just as she\u2019d seen Haddix do. Perhaps this was the best way to pay tribute to him. She hadn\u2019t gotten to know him, but she could get to know these people. She could uncover more than the facts. They had reasons for doing what they were doing. Bad reasons? Good reasons? That wasn\u2019t her call. But their whys definitely weren\u2019t excuses.\n\nNo one had helped them when criminals had ruined their lives, but people wanted to take them down now that they\u2019d turned criminal themselves. But this wasn\u2019t a news story about greed or power. No one in the universe would take a shot to the gut for either of those things. Sesen\u2019s story was purely about survival. Jones was willing to sacrifice her life so that her colony might find allies through Yadav\u2019s work.\n\nNow she envisioned a new headline: Stranded and Abused, but Not Broken. One Colony Strives to Succeed against All Odds, Battling Political Subterfuge, Starvation and Self-Doubt.\n\nAfter all these years, Humanity still found ways to surprise even the most cynical reporter.\n\nThe End\n\nAbout the Author:\nMarina J. Lostetter\u2019s short fiction has appeared in venues such as InterGalactic Medicine Show, Galaxy\u2019s Edge, and Writers of the Future. Originally from Oregon, Marina now lives in Arkansas with her husband, Alex. She tweets as @MarinaLostetter. Please visit her homepage at http:\/\/www.lostetter.net\/."},"links_count":0,"comment_count":75,"created_at":"2014-04-11T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"12 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-14 16:21:12","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":13794,"next_id":13796}}