{"data":{"id":13820,"title":"The First Run: Episode One","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/serialized-fiction\/13820-The-First-Run-Episode-One","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/13820","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/13820","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"The First Run","images":[{"id":1571,"name":"SorriLyrax_test2.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/khggyuby7bo7rr\/source\/SorriLyrax_test2.jpg","alt":"","size":1760627,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2014-04-17T20:30:23+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/1571","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/1571\/similar"}],"images_count":1,"translations":{"en_EN":"As I settled onto the olive-gray seat and strapped the malleable plasteel harness around my chest, the last words of my father as I left the Golden Horde, my father\u2019s bar, echoed in my head.\n\n\u201cNobody ever made a livin\u2019 in space that didn\u2019t regret it. It\u2019s all warmongers and thieves up there. Nobody worth knowing. So when you\u2019ve had your fill of adventure, scurry back home. I\u2019ll keep your spot behind the bar warm for that day you get some sense behind that thick skull of yours, Sorri.\u201d\n\nEven as I tried to get the harness to snug tightly \u2013 you could fit two of me inside it \u2013 I could still hear the tone in my father\u2019s voice as he said the word adventure. It sounded like he\u2019d just taken a bit of apple crisp and found out it\u2019d really been manure.\n\nWaiting for the last passenger, I shivered and rubbed my arms, trying to get warm. They kept it as cold as the beer locker back home.\n\nI\u2019d pulled on my favorite woolen sweater, the one my Uncle Cab had given me, but even that wasn\u2019t enough to stop the cold from leaking into my bones. The sweater was the color of sunsets, something I knew I\u2019d miss, traveling through the darkness of space as a courier for the FTL Courier Service.\n\nThis last passenger better be worth the wait.\n\nBut even the cold, or the echoes of my father, or waiting for the last passenger couldn\u2019t dampen my enthusiasm.\n\nI was in space at last!\n\nAfter all the arguing with my father, the scraping together of funds from my tips, the entry tests, and sleeping on hard beds as I went through the training at the FTL office here on Castra II \u2014 I\u2019d finally made it.\n\nI rubbed my fingertips along the crack that separated two plates in the smooth wall. The Solar Jammer, a modified Caterpillar turned commercial transport, wasn\u2019t exactly a sexy-sleek Idris but like a first kiss, it wasn\u2019t the looks, but the experience itself.\n\nI started to settle into my seat, when a memory goosed me. I\u2019d forgotten that I wanted to record everything I could from my first trip, so I could send back a video to my father, letting him know that everyone wasn\u2019t a thief, and that you didn\u2019t just \u2018fall into a space battle as simple as going to the store.\u2019\n\nI clipped the remote camera onto the straps of my backpack and checked my personal MobiGlas to confirm it was recording. When I was finished, I shoved it back into the bottom of the backpack. The FTL Courier Service didn\u2019t really want us to carry our personal units, but they also didn\u2019t like personal software running on company issued hardware. I figured it was a good compromise.\n\nI was checking my company MobiGlas for messages when the last passenger arrived.\n\nHe ducked beneath the overhead bin and gave me a smile that would have made the devil proud.\n\nHe was handsome, but not the kind you see on the holovids. He had a scar on his lip that made his smile into half-smirk, half-sneer.\n\nJust from his looks and his professional attire, I guessed he was a salesman. I hate salesmen. They always came into the bar with an attitude like they owned the place. Like they were better than us. Probably a Citizen, as well.\n\nIt was better this way, I decided. The courier service frowned on striking up conversations while on business. Didn\u2019t look good for potential customers and created security risks.\nSo I went back to checking my MobiGlas, confirming my transport and connections once I arrived on Oya. I had seven days to get the files on the MobiGlas to the WillsOp Corporation, which was plenty of time, but I thought doing it in a third of the time would leave a good impression on my employer.\n\nThen the co-pilot brought an animal carrier down to the gentleman across from me and strapped it into the seat.\n\nBig brown eyes ringed with gold stared out from the cage.\n\nThe words fell out of my mouth before I remembered I wasn\u2019t interested: \u201cIs that a red-tailed lynx?\u201d\n\nThe handsome passenger had been adjusting the harness for his longer frame when I asked the question. He glanced up, one eyebrow arched.\n\nWell, I thought to myself, my father always said I couldn\u2019t keep my mouth shut.\n\n\u201cI had one when I was a kid. I wouldn\u2019t take a picture without Sasha in it,\u201d I told him.\n\n\u201cSasha?\u201d he asked in a melodic voice. \u201cI assume that\u2019s the name of the lynx?\u201d\n\nI gave him a well-of-course shrug.\n\n\u201cAnimal breeder?\u201d I asked.\n\nHe looked me right in the eyes. Gray with specks of green. Eyes that had seen things.\n\u201cNow why wouldn\u2019t you assume it\u2019s my pet?\u201d he asked, skin crinkling around the corners of his mouth.\n\n\u201cMy parent\u2019s own a bar up north on Castra II. I\u2019ve met all kinds of people, all kinds, and you don\u2019t strike me as a red-tailed lynx kinda guy. They\u2019re too active and need space.\u201d\nAs if it knew it was being discussed, the lynx pushed its furry face against the wires.\n\nI wanted to reach out and rub the little grayish tufts of hair that stuck out from its ears, but the captain announced we\u2019d be leaving the station for the jump point.\n\n\u201cYou never answered my question,\u201d I said.\n\nThe man gave a short, incredulous laugh. \u201cYou\u2019re a bold one. You know, typically people introduce themselves before they start interrogations. I\u2019m Dario Oberon.\u201d\n\nThe Solar Jammer lurched as it left the station and I felt the gravity shift to the ship\u2019s system.\n\n\u201cNever been fond of names, myself. Maybe too much time spent as a bar rat. Half the customers never gave their real name and the other half didn\u2019t deserve theirs. I\u2019m Sorri Lyrax, if it matters.\u201d\n\nHe had a smile you could hang your heart on.\n\n\u201cSorri? Given or earned name?\u201d he asked, with a twinkle in his eye.\n\n\u201cBoth,\u201d I said, lifting one shoulder in a half-shrug. \u201cAnd the answer?\u201d\n\nThe Solar Jammer banked and headed out towards the jump point, pressing me into my seat and Dario against the harness.\n\n\u201cA gift.\u201d\n\nHe winked.\n\n\u201cNot for a lady friend,\u201d I mused. \u201cA business venture? Something to grease the wheels, I\u2019d say.\u201d\n\nDario leaned forward, furrowed his brow, and pursed his lips in faux-thought. \u201cAnd why would you say that, Sorri Lyrax?\u201d\n\n\u201cPets are terrible gifts for a lady friend, and you seem too smart for such a rookie mistake. As for the business venture, I saw the way you shook the hand of the co-pilot when he brought the lynx down. I\u2019ve seen that smile and firm handshake a million times. My first guess was a salesman, but your confidence is real, not worn like a flabby second skin.\u201d\n\nHe gave a tilted nod. \u201cAll this from a few minutes\u2019 time?\u201d\n\n\u201cGrowing up like I did was like getting an advanced degree in human behavior. If you bothered paying attention,\u201d I said.\n\nPart of me was screaming inside to keep my mouth shut, but the other part liked impressing Dario. My father\u2019d always made me stay in the background, and let the customers talk. It was nice to be in front of the counter for once.\n\n\u201cAnd I\u2019m guessing since you\u2019re travelling without luggage, you deal in intellectual property,\u201d I said. \u201cProbably something lucrative like ship designs or something like that.\u201d\nWhen the twinkle in his gray-green eyes turned as cold and hard as deep space, I knew I\u2019d said too much, but the look disappeared just as fast as it\u2019d appeared. The roguish smile resumed its seemingly familiar place on his lips.\n\nDario showed me his teeth. \u201cNow that we\u2019re at cruising speed, would you like to pet the lynx? She\u2019s quite docile.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019d love to,\u201d I said, noting that he\u2019d changed the subject, but I quickly reminded myself that I was on company business and intrigue was the last thing I should be involving myself with.\n\nDario handed the lynx over, careful not to release the creature. The lynx wrapped its red-tail around my arm and snuggled its face under into my armpit. I\u2019d have lynx fur all over my woolen sweater before we arrived, but I didn\u2019t care.\n\nBefore long, with the warm body of the lynx on my lap, and the soft fur soothing my fingertips as I brushed its back, I fell asleep, the excitement of starting a journey faded.\n\nWhen I awoke, Dario was tugging the lynx from my arms. Outside the Solar Jammer, the orange and blue planet of Oya III was coming into view. A massive, cyclonic sand storm could be seen swirling across the Great Desolation on the northern continent. It was said the storm had been raging for the last three decades. Thankfully, I\u2019d be landing on the green patch in the southern hemisphere, in the metropolitan city of New Alexandria.\n\nDario was busy on his MobiGlas when we arrived, so I didn\u2019t bother him. I had to confirm my ride down the gravity well to Oya III planetside. I\u2019d gotten a deal by signing on as an overflow passenger, but I had to hurry if I wanted to make the lander before it left. Traveling super-economy left no guarantees for seats.\n\nBy the time I made it out of the Solar Jammer, Dario had gone on ahead, which made me a little sad, since given the size of the UEE, I\u2019d likely never see him again.\n\nThe antiseptic smell and bright, colorless tiles of the customs gate assaulted my groggy senses. Approaching the gray-green uniformed Security, I adjusted the straps on my backpack as I pulled out my papers, including the FTL Courier Badge, and readied to hand them over.\n\nAfter stepping through a scanning device that gave off a high-pitched hum I could barely hear except as a vibration on the back of my teeth, I held out my identification to the broad-shouldered guard with a seemingly bored expression.\n\nHis MobiGlas gave him a bright beep and his expression went from boredom to annoyance to aggravation. Before I could do anything else, he reached out and grabbed my arm, squeezing hard enough to leave a bruise.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s a security breach alarm,\u201d he said, his ire firmly directed at me. \u201cYou\u2019re coming with me.\u201d\n\nto be continued \u2026","de_DE":"Als ich mich auf den olivgrauen Sitz setzte und das formbare Plastikgeschirr um meine Brust schnallte, hallten die letzten Worte meines Vaters, als ich die Goldene Horde, die Bar meines Vaters, verlie\u00df, in meinem Kopf wider.\n\n\"Niemand hat jemals im Weltraum gelebt, der es nicht bereut hat. Da oben sind nur Kriegshetzer und Diebe. Niemand, der wissenswert ist. Wenn du also genug Abenteuer hattest, geh nach Hause. Ich werde deinen Platz hinter der Bar warm halten, f\u00fcr den Tag, an dem du etwas Verstand hinter deinem dicken Sch\u00e4del hast, Sorri.\"\n\nSelbst als ich versuchte, das Gurtzeug festzuhalten - man konnte zwei von mir darin unterbringen -, konnte ich immer noch den Ton in der Stimme meines Vaters h\u00f6ren, als er das Wort Abenteuer sagte. Es klang, als h\u00e4tte er nur ein wenig Apfelmus genommen und herausgefunden, dass es wirklich G\u00fclle war.\n\nAls ich auf den letzten Passagier wartete, zitterte und rieb ich mir die Arme und versuchte, warm zu werden. Sie hielten es so kalt wie den Bierkeller zu Hause.\n\nIch hatte meinen Lieblingspullover aus Wolle angezogen, den mein Onkel Cab mir geschenkt hatte, aber selbst das reichte nicht aus, um zu verhindern, dass die K\u00e4lte in meine Knochen eindrang. Der Pullover war die Farbe der Sonnenunterg\u00e4nge, etwas, von dem ich wusste, dass ich es vermissen w\u00fcrde, als Kurier f\u00fcr den FTL-Kurierdienst durch die Dunkelheit des Weltraums zu reisen.\n\nDieser letzte Passagier ist besser die Wartezeit wert.\n\nAber auch die K\u00e4lte, das Echo meines Vaters oder das Warten auf den letzten Passagier konnten meine Begeisterung nicht bremsen.\n\nIch war endlich im Weltraum!\n\nNach all dem Streit mit meinem Vater, dem Zusammenkratzen von Geldern aus meinen Tipps, den Eingangstests und dem Schlafen auf harten Betten, als ich die Ausbildung im FTL-B\u00fcro hier auf Castra II durchlief - hatte ich es endlich geschafft.\n\nIch rieb meine Fingerspitzen entlang des Risses, der zwei Platten in der glatten Wand trennte. Der Solar Jammer, eine modifizierte Caterpillar, die zum kommerziellen Transport wurde, war nicht gerade ein sexy-schlanker Idris, aber wie ein erster Kuss, waren es nicht das Aussehen, sondern das Erlebnis selbst.\n\nIch fing an, mich auf meinem Sitz niederzulassen, als mich eine Erinnerung \u00fcberw\u00e4ltigte. Ich hatte vergessen, dass ich von meiner ersten Reise an alles aufnehmen wollte, was ich konnte, um meinem Vater ein Video zur\u00fcckzuschicken, das ihn wissen lie\u00df, dass jeder kein Dieb war und dass man nicht einfach in eine Weltraumschlacht fiel, so einfach wie das Gehen in den Laden.\n\nIch befestigte die Remote-Kamera an den Gurten meines Rucksacks und \u00fcberpr\u00fcfte mein pers\u00f6nliches MobiGlas, um sicherzustellen, dass es sich um eine Aufnahme handelte. Als ich fertig war, schob ich ihn wieder in den Boden des Rucksacks. Der FTL-Kurierdienst wollte nicht wirklich, dass wir unsere pers\u00f6nlichen Einheiten mitnehmen, aber er mochte auch keine pers\u00f6nliche Software, die auf firmeneigener Hardware l\u00e4uft. Ich dachte, es w\u00e4re ein guter Kompromiss.\n\nIch habe meine Firma MobiGlas nach Nachrichten durchsucht, wann der letzte Passagier angekommen ist.\n\nEr duckte sich unter den \u00dcberkopfbeh\u00e4lter und schenkte mir ein L\u00e4cheln, das den Teufel stolz gemacht h\u00e4tte.\n\nEr war gutaussehend, aber nicht die Art, die man auf den Holovids sieht. Er hatte eine Narbe auf der Lippe, die sein L\u00e4cheln zu einem Halbgrinsen und einem Halbspott machte.\n\nNur aus seinem Aussehen und seiner professionellen Kleidung sch\u00e4tze ich, dass er ein Verk\u00e4ufer war. Ich hasse Verk\u00e4ufer. Sie kamen immer mit einer Einstellung in die Bar, als ob ihnen der Ort geh\u00f6rte. Als w\u00e4ren sie besser als wir. Wahrscheinlich auch ein B\u00fcrger.\n\nEs war besser so, entschied ich mich. Der Kurierdienst runzelte die Stirn, w\u00e4hrend der Gesch\u00e4ftsreise Gespr\u00e4che zu f\u00fchren. Sah f\u00fcr potenzielle Kunden nicht gut aus und schuf Sicherheitsrisiken.\nAlso ging ich zur\u00fcck zu meinem MobiGlas und best\u00e4tigte meinen Transport und meine Verbindungen, als ich auf Oya ankam. Ich hatte sieben Tage Zeit, um die Dateien auf dem MobiGlas an die WillsOp Corporation zu \u00fcbergeben, was viel Zeit war, aber ich dachte, es in einem Drittel der Zeit zu tun, w\u00fcrde einen guten Eindruck auf meinen Arbeitgeber hinterlassen.\n\nDann brachte der Co-Pilot einen Tiertr\u00e4ger zu dem Herrn gegen\u00fcber von mir und schnallte ihn auf den Sitz.\n\nGro\u00dfe braune, mit Gold umrandete Augen starrten aus dem K\u00e4fig.\n\nDie Worte fielen mir aus dem Mund, bevor ich mich erinnerte, dass ich nicht interessiert war: \"Ist das ein Rotschwanz-Luchs?\"\n\nDer stattliche Beifahrer hatte das Gurtzeug an seinen l\u00e4ngeren Rahmen angepasst, als ich die Frage stellte. Er blickte nach oben, eine Augenbraue w\u00f6lbte sich.\n\nNun, ich dachte mir, mein Vater sagte immer, ich k\u00f6nne meinen Mund nicht halten.\n\n\"Ich hatte einen, als ich ein Kind war. Ich w\u00fcrde kein Foto ohne Sasha machen\", sagte ich ihm.\n\n\"Sasha?\" fragte er mit melodischer Stimme. \"Ich nehme an, das ist der Name des Luchses?\"\n\nIch gab ihm ein gut funktionierendes Achselzucken.\n\n\" Tierz\u00fcchter?\" fragte ich.\n\nEr sah mir direkt in die Augen. Grau mit gr\u00fcnen Flecken. Augen, die Dinge gesehen hatten.\n\"Warum nimmst du nicht an, dass es mein Haustier ist?\" fragte er und die Haut knitterte um seine Mundwinkel.\n\n\"Meine Eltern besitzen eine Bar im Norden auf der Castra II. Ich habe alle m\u00f6glichen Leute getroffen, alle Arten, und du kommst mir nicht wie ein Kerl mit dem Rotschwanz-Luchs vor. Sie sind zu aktiv und brauchen Platz.\"\nAls ob er w\u00fcsste, dass dar\u00fcber diskutiert wurde, dr\u00fcckte der Luchs sein pelziges Gesicht gegen die Dr\u00e4hte.\n\nIch wollte die kleinen grauen Haarb\u00fcschel, die aus den Ohren ragten, ausstrecken und reiben, aber der Kapit\u00e4n k\u00fcndigte an, dass wir die Station f\u00fcr den Sprungpunkt verlassen w\u00fcrden.\n\n\"Du hast meine Frage nie beantwortet\", sagte ich.\n\nDer Mann lachte kurz und ungl\u00e4ubig. \"Du bist ein mutiger Mann. Wei\u00dft du, normalerweise stellen sich die Leute vor, bevor sie mit den Verh\u00f6ren beginnen. Ich bin Dario Oberon.\"\n\nDer Solar Jammer taumelte, als er die Station verlie\u00df, und ich sp\u00fcrte, wie sich die Schwerkraft auf das Schiffssystem verlagerte.\n\n\"Ich habe noch nie Namen geliebt, ich selbst. Vielleicht zu viel Zeit als Barratte. Die H\u00e4lfte der Kunden gab nie ihren richtigen Namen an und die andere H\u00e4lfte verdiente ihren Namen nicht. Ich bin Sorri Lyrax, wenn es darauf ankommt.\"\n\nEr hatte ein L\u00e4cheln, an dem man sein Herz h\u00e4ngen konnte.\n\n\"Sorri? Vor- oder Nachname?\", fragte er, mit einem Augenzwinkern.\n\n\"Beide\", sagte ich und hob eine Schulter in einem halben Achselzucken an. \"Und die Antwort?\"\n\nDer Solar-Jammer kippte und ging zum Sprungpunkt hinaus, dr\u00fcckte mich in meinen Sitz und Dario gegen das Gurtzeug.\n\n\" Ein Geschenk.\"\n\nEr zwinkerte.\n\n\"Nicht f\u00fcr eine Freundin\", dachte ich. \"Ein Gesch\u00e4ftsprojekt? Etwas, um die R\u00e4der zu schmieren, w\u00fcrde ich sagen.\"\n\nDario lehnte sich nach vorne, zerfurchte seine Stirn und sch\u00fcrzte seine Lippen in falschem Denken. \"Und warum sagst du das, Sorri Lyrax?\"\n\n\"Haustiere sind schreckliche Geschenke f\u00fcr eine Freundin, und du scheinst zu klug f\u00fcr so einen Anf\u00e4ngerfehler zu sein. Was das Gesch\u00e4ft betrifft, so habe ich gesehen, wie Sie dem Co-Piloten die Hand gesch\u00fcttelt haben, als er den Luchs herunterbrachte. Ich habe dieses L\u00e4cheln und diesen festen H\u00e4ndedruck schon eine Million Mal gesehen. Meine erste Vermutung war ein Verk\u00e4ufer, aber dein Selbstvertrauen ist echt, nicht getragen wie eine schlaffe zweite Haut.\"\n\nEr nickte schr\u00e4g. \"All das aus ein paar Minuten Zeit?\"\n\n\"So aufzuwachsen wie ich, war wie ein fortgeschrittener Abschluss in menschlichem Verhalten. Wenn Sie sich die M\u00fche machen w\u00fcrden, aufmerksam zu sein\", sagte ich.\n\nEin Teil von mir schrie innerlich, um meinen Mund zu halten, aber der andere Teil mochte es, Dario zu beeindrucken. Mein Vater hatte mich immer dazu gebracht, im Hintergrund zu bleiben und die Kunden reden zu lassen. Es war sch\u00f6n, einmal vor der Theke zu stehen.\n\n\"Und ich sch\u00e4tze, da Sie ohne Gep\u00e4ck reisen, handeln Sie mit geistigem Eigentum\", sagte ich. \"Wahrscheinlich so etwas Lukratives wie Schiffsdesigns oder so etwas.\"\nAls das Funkeln in seinen graugr\u00fcnen Augen so kalt und hart wie der Weltraum wurde, wusste ich, dass ich zu viel gesagt hatte, aber der Blick verschwand genauso schnell, wie er erschien. Das schalkhafte L\u00e4cheln nahm seinen scheinbar vertrauten Platz auf seinen Lippen wieder ein.\n\nDario zeigte mir seine Z\u00e4hne. \"Jetzt, wo wir mit Reisegeschwindigkeit unterwegs sind, m\u00f6chtest du den Luchs streicheln? Sie ist ziemlich zahm.\"\n\n\"Ich w\u00fcrde gerne\", sagte ich und bemerkte, dass er das Thema gewechselt hatte, aber ich erinnerte mich schnell daran, dass ich in der Firma t\u00e4tig war und Intrigen das Letzte waren, womit ich mich besch\u00e4ftigen sollte.\n\nDario \u00fcbergab den Luchs und achtete darauf, die Kreatur nicht freizulassen. Der Luchs wickelte seinen roten Schwanz um meinen Arm und kuschelte sein Gesicht darunter in meine Achselh\u00f6hle. Ich h\u00e4tte vor unserer Ankunft Luchspelz auf meinem Wollpullover, aber es war mir egal.\n\nBald darauf, mit dem warmen K\u00f6rper des Luchses auf meinem Scho\u00df und dem weichen Fell, das meine Fingerspitzen beruhigt, als ich seinen R\u00fccken streichelte, schlief ich ein, die Aufregung, eine Reise zu beginnen, verblasste.\n\nAls ich erwachte, zog Dario den Luchs aus meinen Armen. Au\u00dferhalb des Solar-Jammers kam der orange-blaue Planet Oya III in Sicht. Ein massiver, zyklonischer Sandsturm wirbelte \u00fcber die Gro\u00dfe Verw\u00fcstung auf dem n\u00f6rdlichen Kontinent. Es hie\u00df, der Sturm habe in den letzten drei Jahrzehnten gew\u00fctet. Gl\u00fccklicherweise landete ich auf dem gr\u00fcnen Fleck auf der S\u00fcdhalbkugel, in der Metropole New Alexandria.\n\nDario war bei unserer Ankunft mit seinem MobiGlas besch\u00e4ftigt, also habe ich ihn nicht gest\u00f6rt. Ich musste meine Fahrt den Schwerkraftbrunnen hinunter zum Planeten Oya III best\u00e4tigen. Ich hatte einen Deal bekommen, indem ich mich als \u00dcberlaufpassagier angemeldet hatte, aber ich musste mich beeilen, wenn ich den Lander machen wollte, bevor er ging. Das Reisen in der Super-Economy brachte keine Garantie f\u00fcr die Sitzpl\u00e4tze.\n\nAls ich es aus dem Solar Jammer schaffte, war Dario weiter gegangen, was mich ein wenig traurig machte, da ich ihn angesichts der Gr\u00f6\u00dfe der UEE wahrscheinlich nie wieder sehen w\u00fcrde.\n\nDer antiseptische Geruch und die hellen, farblosen Fliesen des Zolltores griffen meine groggy Sinne an. Als ich mich der grau-gr\u00fcnen Uniform-Sicherheit n\u00e4herte, passte ich die Gurte an meinem Rucksack an, als ich meine Papiere, einschlie\u00dflich des FTL-Kurierabzeichens, herauszog und bereit war, sie zu \u00fcbergeben.\n\nNachdem ich durch ein Scan-Ger\u00e4t gegangen war, das ein hohes Summen abgab, das ich kaum h\u00f6ren konnte, au\u00dfer als Vibration auf der R\u00fcckseite meiner Z\u00e4hne, streckte ich meine Identifikation gegen\u00fcber der breitschultrigen Wache mit einem scheinbar gelangweilten Ausdruck aus.\n\nSein MobiGlas gab ihm einen hellen Piepton und sein Ausdruck ging von Langeweile \u00fcber \u00c4rger bis hin zu \u00c4rger. Bevor ich etwas anderes tun konnte, streckte er die Hand aus und packte meinen Arm und dr\u00fcckte hart genug, um einen blauen Fleck zu hinterlassen.\n\n\"Das ist ein Alarm bei Sicherheitsverletzungen\", sagte er, sein Zorn richtete sich fest auf mich. \"Du kommst mit mir mit.\"\n\nwird fortgesetzt.....","zh_CN":"As I settled onto the olive-gray seat and strapped the malleable plasteel harness around my chest, the last words of my father as I left the Golden Horde, my father\u2019s bar, echoed in my head.\n\n\u201cNobody ever made a livin\u2019 in space that didn\u2019t regret it. It\u2019s all warmongers and thieves up there. Nobody worth knowing. So when you\u2019ve had your fill of adventure, scurry back home. I\u2019ll keep your spot behind the bar warm for that day you get some sense behind that thick skull of yours, Sorri.\u201d\n\nEven as I tried to get the harness to snug tightly \u2013 you could fit two of me inside it \u2013 I could still hear the tone in my father\u2019s voice as he said the word adventure. It sounded like he\u2019d just taken a bit of apple crisp and found out it\u2019d really been manure.\n\nWaiting for the last passenger, I shivered and rubbed my arms, trying to get warm. They kept it as cold as the beer locker back home.\n\nI\u2019d pulled on my favorite woolen sweater, the one my Uncle Cab had given me, but even that wasn\u2019t enough to stop the cold from leaking into my bones. The sweater was the color of sunsets, something I knew I\u2019d miss, traveling through the darkness of space as a courier for the FTL Courier Service.\n\nThis last passenger better be worth the wait.\n\nBut even the cold, or the echoes of my father, or waiting for the last passenger couldn\u2019t dampen my enthusiasm.\n\nI was in space at last!\n\nAfter all the arguing with my father, the scraping together of funds from my tips, the entry tests, and sleeping on hard beds as I went through the training at the FTL office here on Castra II \u2014 I\u2019d finally made it.\n\nI rubbed my fingertips along the crack that separated two plates in the smooth wall. The Solar Jammer, a modified Caterpillar turned commercial transport, wasn\u2019t exactly a sexy-sleek Idris but like a first kiss, it wasn\u2019t the looks, but the experience itself.\n\nI started to settle into my seat, when a memory goosed me. I\u2019d forgotten that I wanted to record everything I could from my first trip, so I could send back a video to my father, letting him know that everyone wasn\u2019t a thief, and that you didn\u2019t just \u2018fall into a space battle as simple as going to the store.\u2019\n\nI clipped the remote camera onto the straps of my backpack and checked my personal MobiGlas to confirm it was recording. When I was finished, I shoved it back into the bottom of the backpack. The FTL Courier Service didn\u2019t really want us to carry our personal units, but they also didn\u2019t like personal software running on company issued hardware. I figured it was a good compromise.\n\nI was checking my company MobiGlas for messages when the last passenger arrived.\n\nHe ducked beneath the overhead bin and gave me a smile that would have made the devil proud.\n\nHe was handsome, but not the kind you see on the holovids. He had a scar on his lip that made his smile into half-smirk, half-sneer.\n\nJust from his looks and his professional attire, I guessed he was a salesman. I hate salesmen. They always came into the bar with an attitude like they owned the place. Like they were better than us. Probably a Citizen, as well.\n\nIt was better this way, I decided. The courier service frowned on striking up conversations while on business. Didn\u2019t look good for potential customers and created security risks.\nSo I went back to checking my MobiGlas, confirming my transport and connections once I arrived on Oya. I had seven days to get the files on the MobiGlas to the WillsOp Corporation, which was plenty of time, but I thought doing it in a third of the time would leave a good impression on my employer.\n\nThen the co-pilot brought an animal carrier down to the gentleman across from me and strapped it into the seat.\n\nBig brown eyes ringed with gold stared out from the cage.\n\nThe words fell out of my mouth before I remembered I wasn\u2019t interested: \u201cIs that a red-tailed lynx?\u201d\n\nThe handsome passenger had been adjusting the harness for his longer frame when I asked the question. He glanced up, one eyebrow arched.\n\nWell, I thought to myself, my father always said I couldn\u2019t keep my mouth shut.\n\n\u201cI had one when I was a kid. I wouldn\u2019t take a picture without Sasha in it,\u201d I told him.\n\n\u201cSasha?\u201d he asked in a melodic voice. \u201cI assume that\u2019s the name of the lynx?\u201d\n\nI gave him a well-of-course shrug.\n\n\u201cAnimal breeder?\u201d I asked.\n\nHe looked me right in the eyes. Gray with specks of green. Eyes that had seen things.\n\u201cNow why wouldn\u2019t you assume it\u2019s my pet?\u201d he asked, skin crinkling around the corners of his mouth.\n\n\u201cMy parent\u2019s own a bar up north on Castra II. I\u2019ve met all kinds of people, all kinds, and you don\u2019t strike me as a red-tailed lynx kinda guy. They\u2019re too active and need space.\u201d\nAs if it knew it was being discussed, the lynx pushed its furry face against the wires.\n\nI wanted to reach out and rub the little grayish tufts of hair that stuck out from its ears, but the captain announced we\u2019d be leaving the station for the jump point.\n\n\u201cYou never answered my question,\u201d I said.\n\nThe man gave a short, incredulous laugh. \u201cYou\u2019re a bold one. You know, typically people introduce themselves before they start interrogations. I\u2019m Dario Oberon.\u201d\n\nThe Solar Jammer lurched as it left the station and I felt the gravity shift to the ship\u2019s system.\n\n\u201cNever been fond of names, myself. Maybe too much time spent as a bar rat. Half the customers never gave their real name and the other half didn\u2019t deserve theirs. I\u2019m Sorri Lyrax, if it matters.\u201d\n\nHe had a smile you could hang your heart on.\n\n\u201cSorri? Given or earned name?\u201d he asked, with a twinkle in his eye.\n\n\u201cBoth,\u201d I said, lifting one shoulder in a half-shrug. \u201cAnd the answer?\u201d\n\nThe Solar Jammer banked and headed out towards the jump point, pressing me into my seat and Dario against the harness.\n\n\u201cA gift.\u201d\n\nHe winked.\n\n\u201cNot for a lady friend,\u201d I mused. \u201cA business venture? Something to grease the wheels, I\u2019d say.\u201d\n\nDario leaned forward, furrowed his brow, and pursed his lips in faux-thought. \u201cAnd why would you say that, Sorri Lyrax?\u201d\n\n\u201cPets are terrible gifts for a lady friend, and you seem too smart for such a rookie mistake. As for the business venture, I saw the way you shook the hand of the co-pilot when he brought the lynx down. I\u2019ve seen that smile and firm handshake a million times. My first guess was a salesman, but your confidence is real, not worn like a flabby second skin.\u201d\n\nHe gave a tilted nod. \u201cAll this from a few minutes\u2019 time?\u201d\n\n\u201cGrowing up like I did was like getting an advanced degree in human behavior. If you bothered paying attention,\u201d I said.\n\nPart of me was screaming inside to keep my mouth shut, but the other part liked impressing Dario. My father\u2019d always made me stay in the background, and let the customers talk. It was nice to be in front of the counter for once.\n\n\u201cAnd I\u2019m guessing since you\u2019re travelling without luggage, you deal in intellectual property,\u201d I said. \u201cProbably something lucrative like ship designs or something like that.\u201d\nWhen the twinkle in his gray-green eyes turned as cold and hard as deep space, I knew I\u2019d said too much, but the look disappeared just as fast as it\u2019d appeared. The roguish smile resumed its seemingly familiar place on his lips.\n\nDario showed me his teeth. \u201cNow that we\u2019re at cruising speed, would you like to pet the lynx? She\u2019s quite docile.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019d love to,\u201d I said, noting that he\u2019d changed the subject, but I quickly reminded myself that I was on company business and intrigue was the last thing I should be involving myself with.\n\nDario handed the lynx over, careful not to release the creature. The lynx wrapped its red-tail around my arm and snuggled its face under into my armpit. I\u2019d have lynx fur all over my woolen sweater before we arrived, but I didn\u2019t care.\n\nBefore long, with the warm body of the lynx on my lap, and the soft fur soothing my fingertips as I brushed its back, I fell asleep, the excitement of starting a journey faded.\n\nWhen I awoke, Dario was tugging the lynx from my arms. Outside the Solar Jammer, the orange and blue planet of Oya III was coming into view. A massive, cyclonic sand storm could be seen swirling across the Great Desolation on the northern continent. It was said the storm had been raging for the last three decades. Thankfully, I\u2019d be landing on the green patch in the southern hemisphere, in the metropolitan city of New Alexandria.\n\nDario was busy on his MobiGlas when we arrived, so I didn\u2019t bother him. I had to confirm my ride down the gravity well to Oya III planetside. I\u2019d gotten a deal by signing on as an overflow passenger, but I had to hurry if I wanted to make the lander before it left. Traveling super-economy left no guarantees for seats.\n\nBy the time I made it out of the Solar Jammer, Dario had gone on ahead, which made me a little sad, since given the size of the UEE, I\u2019d likely never see him again.\n\nThe antiseptic smell and bright, colorless tiles of the customs gate assaulted my groggy senses. Approaching the gray-green uniformed Security, I adjusted the straps on my backpack as I pulled out my papers, including the FTL Courier Badge, and readied to hand them over.\n\nAfter stepping through a scanning device that gave off a high-pitched hum I could barely hear except as a vibration on the back of my teeth, I held out my identification to the broad-shouldered guard with a seemingly bored expression.\n\nHis MobiGlas gave him a bright beep and his expression went from boredom to annoyance to aggravation. Before I could do anything else, he reached out and grabbed my arm, squeezing hard enough to leave a bruise.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s a security breach alarm,\u201d he said, his ire firmly directed at me. \u201cYou\u2019re coming with me.\u201d\n\nto be continued \u2026"},"links_count":0,"comment_count":171,"created_at":"2014-04-18T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"12 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-09 03:06:38","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":13819,"next_id":13821}}