{"data":{"id":14009,"title":"Orbital Supermax: Episode Two","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/serialized-fiction\/14009-Orbital-Supermax-Episode-Two","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/14009","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/14009","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"Orbital Supermax","images":[{"id":1947,"name":"OSM_FI2v4a.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/hqo978t1u2njxr\/source\/OSM_FI2v4a.jpg","alt":"","size":1895039,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2014-07-03T22:49:29+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/1947","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/1947\/similar"}],"images_count":1,"translations":{"en_EN":"The fire in the Maximum Security block travelled through wiring ducts in the drop-ceiling, burning so hot that it had begun to melt the plastic fascia on the walls. The thick black smoke that poured into the corridor reminded me of ink slowly spreading through water.\n\nWes Morgan, the man we\u2019d come to spring, pressed his face close to mine. He\u2019d torn a sleeve off his prison uniform, wet it in his small sink, and then tied it over his face. The other sleeve, he passed to me. \u201cUp there,\u201d he pointed at the ceiling, \u201cis superheated steam. Down there is chemical smoke that\u2019ll kill you if you breathe it. So stay low, but not too low.\u201d He turned to step further down the corridor.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ve got to get to the flight deck. It\u2019s the only way off the station,\u201d I said, pointing back up toward where Cayla Wyrick waited for us. The prison was in lockdown and she was the only one with the codes to get us there. We didn\u2019t have time for detours. I was armed with a snub-nosed stun gun I\u2019d taken from a locker outside the block and there was always the option to turn it on him, but we needed his help to get us past the pirate blockade.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re not leaving without Asari,\u201d he said gruffly.\n\n\u201cWho\u2019s Asari?\u201d I asked, but Morgan had already begun moving down the corridor toward the next cell. I was certain I\u2019d heard the name before but couldn\u2019t remember where, so I followed reluctantly, half-hunched over as I\u2019d been instructed. Though I could see no open flame, the air was blistering hot and seared my lungs when I breathed, even through the wet cloth.\n\n\u201cThis one,\u201d said Morgan through his sleeve. He stood in front of the only other occupied cell on the block. There was no identifying mark beyond a string of numbers above the door.\n\nWyrick had given me her ident card and it would open any door in the station. But this was the Maximum Security block. This was where the UEE parked prisoners they didn\u2019t want anyone to find. Men who\u2019d committed atrocious crimes, or who had known pirate affiliations, or \u2026\n\nI remembered who Yusaf Asari was.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m not opening that door.\u201d I said firmly. Asari was up on charges of attempted genocide. A Tevarin terrorist, he\u2019d released a weaponized virus on one of the colonies in the Geddon system. The idea had been to spread the infection through colony transports that were returning to UEE space. The Advocacy had gotten wind of the plan and locked down the colony before the virus could spread, but the casualties on the ground had been horrendous. He was a monster in every sense of the word.\n\n\u201cWe can sit here and argue, or I could just take the ident card from you and open the cell myself. Letting you keep the card is just a courtesy.\u201d\n\nMorgan knew I was armed and didn\u2019t seem to care. Maybe he just wanted to keep Asari from dying in the fire, I reasoned. If that was the case, I could bend a little. \u201cI want your personal guarantee that he doesn\u2019t get off the station.\u201d\n\nMorgan considered that. \u201cI won\u2019t help him leave the station. What he does on his own is up to him.\u201d It was the best I was going to get.\n\nAsari did not immediately emerge from his cell. He was big for a Tevarin and that was saying something. He\u2019d also been scarred across his face and upper shoulders, scars that were plainly visible because of the white, sleeveless shirt he wore. \u201cMorgan,\u201d he said with a slurred voice. \u201cYou don\u2019t look anything like I imagined.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou look just like your newsreels,\u201d said Morgan. \u201cConsider this a rescue.\u201d\n\nAsari\u2019s gaze passed over me as if I wasn\u2019t even there. \u201cI cannot join you,\u201d he said. \u201cMy brother Tevarin are being held on a lower deck. I will find them and then join the invaders if they\u2019ll take us. If not, then we will kill them.\u201d\n\n\u201cI understand,\u201d said Morgan. He held out a hand, which Asari shook. \u201cIt\u2019s been a pleasure.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll see you again, Wes Morgan, if not before death, than after.\u201d With that, the giant Tevarin turned down the corridor and disappeared deeper into the prison.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re still not going to the flight deck yet,\u201d said Morgan when we\u2019d returned to Wyrick. He spoke again before either of us could object. \u201cThat toy stun gun you have isn\u2019t going to mean squat if we run into the people responsible for taking out the defenses of an Orbital Supermax, and I\u2019ll be damned if I face them armed with nothing more than my winning personality.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo guns,\u201d said Wyrick firmly.\n\nMorgan looked her up and down. \u201cYou\u2019re a sweet girl. Good looking too. You don\u2019t want to find out what these guys\u2019ll do to you if they have the chance.\u201d He let that gruesome thought hang in the air for a moment before continuing. \u201cYou know who am I?\u201d\n\nShe\u2019d gone pale, but she nodded.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ve read my file?\u201d\n\nAnother nod. \u201cKellogg IV wanted a psychological profile before we transferred you. I was going to conduct it sometime next week.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood. Then you know I\u2019m not a psychopath. Guns are a negotiating tool. If I don\u2019t have to fire one, I won\u2019t.\u201d\n\nShe studied him a moment longer, then nodded a third time. Funnily enough, I didn\u2019t think it was Morgan\u2019s threat that had made up her mind. She was a shrink, and shrinks were good at reading people. I\u2019m guessing she saw something in him that told her that he was telling the truth.\n\nUnfortunately, we weren\u2019t the first people on the station to think of the armory. We risked the elevator, taking it down two levels, and then passed through a maze of hallways. As we got close, we began to hear noises, metal-on-metal, yells and curses. The source was apparent when we rounded a corner. A prisoner so skinny he looked like he had a concave chest was holding a patch gun against a sealed vault-like door. The gun, usually used to seal holes in the hull made by micro-meteorites, sparked as it contacted the metal. Char marks stained a wide swatch where previous attempts to open it had failed.\n\nA giant prisoner whom I knew as Albus Cronock stood with a cluster of men. His arms were folded over his chest and he oversaw the operation with heavily-lidded eyes. A weapon taken from a dead guard leaned against a wall nearby, within easy reach.\n\n\u201cLast chance to turn around and head for the flight deck,\u201d I offered nervously.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re staying,\u201d said Morgan. He held out his hand. \u201cGive me the gun.\u201d\n\nI hesitated, but surprisingly, Wyrick agreed with him. \u201cDo you think it would make a difference one way or another?\u201d\n\nIt might not make a difference, but its weight on my hip was comforting and I was reluctant to give it up. As soon as I\u2019d handed it over, Morgan stepped up to one of the control panels that was mounted on the wall, smashed it with his fist, and then removed a wire from its insides. He popped out the stun gun\u2019s clip and did something to it with the wire that caused it to spark. He gave it a brief inspection and when he\u2019d come to a satisfactory conclusion, he popped the clip back into the gun.\n\n\u201cThere. Now it\u2019s lethal.\u201d He lifted the barrel and pointed it right at us.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d I said, glaring at Wyrick, \u201cthat didn\u2019t take long.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is all part of the plan, isn\u2019t it, Morgan?\u201d asked Wyrick optimistically.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s part of a plan, sure,\u201d answered Morgan with a shrug. \u201cYou know that advice you get about your first day in prison? Find the biggest meanest sonofabitch and start a fight? That\u2019s what we\u2019re going to do.\u201d\n\nThen he waved us forward with the gun. \u201cNow get moving.\u201d\n\nIt took a few seconds for the man with the patch gun to notice that the other prisoners had fallen silent, but when he did he lowered the tool, lifted his safety goggles, and then looked towards Cronock. The bigger prisoner pushed off from the wall, caught the butt of the guard\u2019s rifle with the edge of his toe, and then tossed it into the air where he caught it with his hands. As he advanced towards us, several of the other prisoners followed in his wake. \u201cWell, well. Cayla Wyrick. Nice to see your pretty face. Who are your two friends?\u201d\n\nI should have realized that everyone knew the prison shrink. Morgan caught my eye. His grip tightened on the gun and he nodded deliberately at the skinny guy with the patch gun, as if to suggest that I should charge him if things went south. I shrugged and pretended like I didn\u2019t understand him. I\u2019m as brave as the next guy, but a patch gun fuses metal together. There was no way I was going to throw myself against the sparkly end.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s Dr. Wyrick,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was Dr. Wyrick the first time we met and it was Dr. Wyrick last week when you were crying in my office like a baby because your girlfriend got tired of waiting for you and ran off with her boss.\u201d\n\nCronock blinked like he\u2019d been struck, and then shot looks left and right. \u201cCrying? Me? You got the wrong guy.\u201d He hunched his shoulder and spoke in a softer, pleading tone of voice. \u201cIsn\u2019t there supposed to be some kind of doctor\/patient confidentiality or something?\u201d\n\nBut Wyrick wasn\u2019t done. She looked at the man holding the patch gun. \u201cHello, James. I\u2019m surprised to see you here. What do you think your sister will do when you get another twenty years added to your sentence for attempting to escape? Stay with Slade and end up in the hospital? You were going to save her from all that, weren\u2019t you?\u201d\n\n\u2018James\u2019 reddened and then set the patch gun on the ground. \u201cSorry, Cronock, I ain\u2019t gonna let that happen.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd you! Mick Brown! Weren\u2019t you going to \u2014?\u201d\n\nThis time the prisoner in question didn\u2019t even wait for her to finish. \u201cAll right, all right. You made your point. I ain\u2019t touching a hair on your head.\u201d\n\nI was stunned. Wyrick had managed to neutralize one of the most violent group of men on the Supermax. Using words.\n\nMorgan\u2019s eyes were wide. \u201cIs there anyone she hasn\u2019t got dirt on?\u201d\n\nI could only shrug.\n\nWyrick strode right into the middle of the group. Even in heels, her head didn\u2019t even come up to their shoulders, but it was like she owned them, body and soul. \u201cI\u2019ve got news for you. I am this facility\u2019s new Warden. That means that I am free to offer station paroles and sentencing recommendations to anyone who helps us out.\u201d She looked around, waiting for that news to sink in. Then she held up her ident card. \u201cAnd because I am the acting warden I have access to the armory.\u201d\n\nMorgan blinked, as if he\u2019d only been half-listening up until that point. \u201cHold on a second \u2026\u201d\n\nI stuttered out something too. We were going to arm them? But a cheer went up from the prisoners that drowned me out. Then Wyrick had the door open and we found ourselves in the center of a bunch of celebrating madmen who were armed to the teeth.\n\nSince the only thing that was keeping them from throwing us out the nearest airlock was Wyrick\u2019s lack of hesitation in divulging confidential information, I made sure to grab a P4SC assault rifle. If they ever came for me, I was going to be armed.\n\nto be continued \u2026","de_DE":"Das Feuer im Block Maximale Sicherheit zog sich durch Verdrahtungskan\u00e4le in der abgeh\u00e4ngten Decke und brannte so hei\u00df, dass es begonnen hatte, die Kunststoffblende an den W\u00e4nden zu schmelzen. Der dicke schwarze Rauch, der in den Flur str\u00f6mte, erinnerte mich an Tinte, die sich langsam durch Wasser ausbreitete.\n\nWes Morgan, der Mann, zu dessen Fr\u00fchling wir gekommen waren, dr\u00fcckte sein Gesicht nahe an meins. Er hatte einen \u00c4rmel von seiner Gef\u00e4ngnisuniform gerissen, ihn in seinem kleinen Waschbecken befeuchtet und dann \u00fcber sein Gesicht gebunden. Der andere \u00c4rmel, er ging an mich vorbei. \" Da oben\", zeigte er auf die Decke, \"ist \u00fcberhitzter Dampf. Da unten ist chemischer Rauch, der dich t\u00f6ten wird, wenn du ihn einatmest. Also bleib tief, aber nicht zu tief.\" Er drehte sich um, um weiter den Flur hinunterzugehen.\n\n\"Wir m\u00fcssen zum Flugdeck. Es ist der einzige Weg vom Bahnhof\", sagte ich und zeigte wieder nach oben, wo Cayla Wyrick auf uns wartete. Das Gef\u00e4ngnis war abgeriegelt und sie war die Einzige mit den Codes, die uns dorthin brachte. Wir hatten keine Zeit f\u00fcr Umwege. Ich war mit einer stupsnasigen Bet\u00e4ubungswaffe bewaffnet, die ich aus einem Schlie\u00dffach au\u00dferhalb des Blocks genommen hatte, und es gab immer die M\u00f6glichkeit, sie gegen ihn zu wenden, aber wir brauchten seine Hilfe, um die Piratenblockade zu \u00fcberwinden.\n\n\"Wir gehen nicht ohne Asari\", sagte er schroff.\n\n\"Wer ist Asari?\" Ich fragte, aber Morgan hatte bereits damit begonnen, den Flur hinunter zur n\u00e4chsten Zelle zu gehen. Ich war mir sicher, dass ich den Namen schon einmal geh\u00f6rt hatte, konnte mich aber nicht erinnern, wo, also folgte ich widerwillig, halb gebeugt, wie mir befohlen worden war. Obwohl ich keine offene Flamme sehen konnte, war die Luft gl\u00fchend hei\u00df und verbrannte meine Lungen, wenn ich atmete, sogar durch das nasse Tuch.\n\n\"Dieser hier\", sagte Morgan durch seinen \u00c4rmel. Er stand vor der einzigen anderen besetzten Zelle auf dem Block. Es gab kein Erkennungszeichen \u00fcber einer Reihe von Zahlen \u00fcber der T\u00fcr.\n\nWyrick hatte mir ihren Ausweis gegeben und er w\u00fcrde jede T\u00fcr im Bahnhof \u00f6ffnen. Aber das war der Hochsicherheitsblock. Hier parkten die UEE-H\u00e4ftlinge, von denen sie nicht wollten, dass sie jemand findet. M\u00e4nner, die schreckliche Verbrechen begangen hatten, oder die Piratenzugeh\u00f6rigkeiten gekannt hatten, oder....\n\nIch erinnerte mich daran, wer Yusaf Asari war.\n\n\"Ich werde diese T\u00fcr nicht \u00f6ffnen.\" sagte ich fest. Asari stand unter dem Vorwurf des versuchten V\u00f6lkermords. Als Terrorist aus Tevarin hatte er einen waffenf\u00e4higen Virus in einer der Kolonien des Geddon-Systems freigesetzt. Die Idee war, die Infektion durch Kolonietransporte zu verbreiten, die in den UEE-Raum zur\u00fcckkehrten. Die Advocacy hatte Wind von dem Plan bekommen und die Kolonie gesperrt, bevor sich das Virus verbreiten konnte, aber die Verluste am Boden waren schrecklich. Er war ein Monster im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes.\n\n\"Wir k\u00f6nnen hier sitzen und streiten, oder ich k\u00f6nnte einfach den Ausweis von dir nehmen und die Zelle selbst \u00f6ffnen. Es ist nur eine Gef\u00e4lligkeit, Ihnen die Karte zu \u00fcberlassen.\"\n\nMorgan wusste, dass ich bewaffnet war und schien sich nicht darum zu k\u00fcmmern. Vielleicht wollte er nur verhindern, dass Asari im Feuer stirbt, dachte ich. Wenn das der Fall w\u00e4re, k\u00f6nnte ich mich ein wenig verbiegen. \"Ich will Ihre pers\u00f6nliche Garantie, dass er nicht vom Revier kommt.\"\n\nMorgan dachte dar\u00fcber nach. \"Ich werde ihm nicht helfen, die Station zu verlassen. Was er alleine macht, liegt an ihm.\" Es war das Beste, was ich kriegen konnte.\n\nAsari tauchte nicht sofort aus seiner Zelle auf. Er war gro\u00df f\u00fcr einen Tevarin und das sagte etwas aus. Er war auch \u00fcber sein Gesicht und seine oberen Schultern vernarbt worden, Narben, die wegen des wei\u00dfen, \u00e4rmellosen Hemdes, das er trug, deutlich sichtbar waren. \"Morgan\", sagte er mit undeutlicher Stimme. \"Du siehst gar nicht so aus, wie ich es mir vorgestellt habe.\"\n\n\"Du siehst aus wie deine Wochenschau\", sagte Morgan. \"Betrachte das als Rettung.\"\n\nAsaris Blick ging \u00fcber mich hinweg, als w\u00e4re ich nicht einmal da. \"Ich kann mich euch nicht anschlie\u00dfen\", sagte er. \"Mein Bruder Tevarin wird auf einem Unterdeck festgehalten. Ich werde sie finden und mich dann den Eindringlingen anschlie\u00dfen, wenn sie uns nehmen. Wenn nicht, dann werden wir sie t\u00f6ten.\"\n\n\"Ich verstehe\", sagte Morgan. Er streckte eine Hand aus, die Asari zitterte. \"Es war mir ein Vergn\u00fcgen.\"\n\n\"Wir sehen uns wieder, Wes Morgan, wenn nicht vor dem Tod, dann danach.\" Damit drehte der Riese Tevarin den Flur hinunter und verschwand tiefer ins Gef\u00e4ngnis.\n\n\"Wir gehen immer noch nicht zum Flugdeck\", sagte Morgan, als wir nach Wyrick zur\u00fcckgekehrt waren. Er sprach noch einmal, bevor einer von uns Einspruch erheben konnte. \"Diese Spielzeug-Blindheitskanone, die du hast, wird kein Kniebeugen bedeuten, wenn wir den Leuten begegnen, die f\u00fcr die Zerst\u00f6rung der Verteidigung eines Orbital Supermax verantwortlich sind, und ich werde verdammt sein, wenn ich mich ihnen stelle, bewaffnet mit nichts anderem als meiner gewinnenden Pers\u00f6nlichkeit.\"\n\n\"Keine Waffen\", sagte Wyrick fest.\n\nMorgan sah sie auf und ab. \"Du bist ein s\u00fc\u00dfes M\u00e4dchen. Sieht auch gut aus. Du willst nicht herausfinden, was diese Typen mit dir machen werden, wenn sie die Chance dazu haben.\" Er lie\u00df diesen grausamen Gedanken f\u00fcr einen Moment in der Luft h\u00e4ngen, bevor er weitermachte. \"Wei\u00dft du, wer ich bin?\"\n\nSie war blass geworden, aber sie nickte.\n\n\"Du hast meine Akte gelesen?\"\n\nNoch ein Nicken. \"Kellogg IV wollte ein psychologisches Profil, bevor wir Sie versetzen. Ich wollte es irgendwann n\u00e4chste Woche durchf\u00fchren.\"\n\n\"Gut. Dann wei\u00dft du, dass ich kein Psychopath bin. Kanonen sind ein Verhandlungsinstrument. Wenn ich keinen feuern muss, werde ich es nicht tun.\"\n\nSie studierte ihn noch einen Moment, dann nickte sie ein drittes Mal. Lustigerweise dachte ich nicht, dass es Morgans Drohung war, die ihre Entscheidung getroffen hatte. Sie war eine Psychiaterin, und Psychiater waren gut darin, Menschen zu lesen. Ich sch\u00e4tze, sie sah etwas in ihm, das ihr sagte, dass er die Wahrheit sagte.\n\nLeider waren wir nicht die ersten auf dem Revier, die an die Waffenkammer dachten. Wir riskierten den Aufzug, fuhren ihn zwei Stockwerke hinunter und passierten dann ein Labyrinth von G\u00e4ngen. Als wir n\u00e4her kamen, begannen wir Ger\u00e4usche zu h\u00f6ren, Metall-auf-Metall, Schreie und Fl\u00fcche. Die Quelle war offensichtlich, als wir um eine Ecke gingen. Ein Gefangener, der so d\u00fcnn aussah, als h\u00e4tte er eine konkave Brust, hielt eine Patchpistole gegen eine versiegelte, gew\u00f6lbte T\u00fcr. Die Kanone, die normalerweise zum Verschlie\u00dfen von L\u00f6chern im Rumpf aus Mikrometeoriten verwendet wird, funkte, als sie das Metall ber\u00fchrte. Die Char-Markierungen f\u00e4rbten ein breites Muster, wo fr\u00fchere Versuche, es zu \u00f6ffnen, fehlgeschlagen waren.\n\nEin riesiger Gefangener, den ich als Albus Cronock kannte, stand mit einer Gruppe von M\u00e4nnern da. Seine Arme waren \u00fcber seine Brust gefaltet und er \u00fcberwachte die Operation mit schwerlippigen Augen. Eine Waffe, die von einem toten Wachmann genommen wurde, lehnte sich in der N\u00e4he an eine Wand, in Reichweite.\n\n\"Letzte Chance, sich umzudrehen und zum Flugdeck zu gehen\", bot ich nerv\u00f6s an.\n\n\"Wir bleiben\", sagte Morgan. Er streckte seine Hand aus. \"Gib mir die Waffe.\"\n\nIch z\u00f6gerte, aber \u00fcberraschenderweise stimmte Wyrick mit ihm \u00fcberein. \"Glaubst du, es w\u00fcrde einen Unterschied machen, so oder so?\"\n\nEs mag keinen Unterschied machen, aber sein Gewicht auf meiner H\u00fcfte war beruhigend und ich z\u00f6gerte, es aufzugeben. Sobald ich es ihm \u00fcbergeben hatte, trat Morgan zu einem der Bedienpulte, die an der Wand montiert waren, und zertr\u00fcmmerte es mit der Faust und entfernte dann einen Draht aus seinem Inneren. Er sprang aus dem Clip der Elektroschocker und machte etwas damit mit dem Draht, der sie zum Funken brachte. Er gab ihm eine kurze Inspektion und als er zu einem zufriedenstellenden Ergebnis gekommen war, steckte er den Clip wieder in die Waffe.\n\n\"Da. Jetzt ist es t\u00f6dlich.\" Er hob das Fass an und zeigte es direkt auf uns.\n\n\"Nun,\" sagte ich und starrte Wyrick an, \"das dauerte nicht lange.\"\n\n\"Das ist alles Teil des Plans, nicht wahr, Morgan?\", fragte Wyrick optimistisch.\n\n\"Es ist Teil eines Plans, sicher\", antwortete Morgan mit einem Achselzucken. \"Kennst du den Rat, den du \u00fcber deinen ersten Tag im Gef\u00e4ngnis bekommst? Den gr\u00f6\u00dften b\u00f6sartigsten Hurensohn finden und einen Streit anfangen? Das ist es, was wir tun werden.\"\n\nDann winkte er uns mit der Waffe nach vorne. \"Jetzt beweg dich.\"\n\nEs dauerte einige Sekunden, bis der Mann mit der Flickenpistole bemerkte, dass die anderen Gefangenen verstummt waren, aber als er es tat, senkte er das Werkzeug, hob seine Schutzbrille an und schaute dann auf Cronock. Der gr\u00f6\u00dfere Gefangene, der von der Wand abgesto\u00dfen wurde, fing den Kolben des Gewehrs des W\u00e4chters mit dem Rand seiner Zehe, und warf ihn dann in die Luft, wo er ihn mit seinen H\u00e4nden fing. Als er auf uns zukam, folgten ihm mehrere der anderen Gefangenen. \"Nun, nun, nun. Cayla Wyrick. Sch\u00f6n, dein h\u00fcbsches Gesicht zu sehen. Wer sind deine beiden Freunde?\"\n\nIch h\u00e4tte erkennen sollen, dass jeder den Gef\u00e4ngnispsychologen kannte. Morgan fiel mir auf. Sein Griff zog sich an der Waffe fest und er nickte dem d\u00fcnnen Kerl mit der Patchpistole bewusst zu, als ob er vorschlagen wollte, dass ich ihn belasten sollte, wenn es nach S\u00fcden ging. Ich zuckte mit den Achseln und tat so, als w\u00fcrde ich ihn nicht verstehen. Ich bin so mutig wie der n\u00e4chste Kerl, aber eine Patchpistole verschmilzt Metall miteinander. Es war unm\u00f6glich, dass ich mich gegen das funkelnde Ende stellen w\u00fcrde.\n\n\"Das ist Dr. Wyrick\", sagte sie. \"Es war Dr. Wyrick, als wir uns das erste Mal trafen, und es war Dr. Wyrick letzte Woche, als du wie ein Baby in meinem B\u00fcro geweint hast, weil deine Freundin es satt hatte, auf dich zu warten und mit ihrem Chef weggelaufen ist.\"\n\nCronock blinzelte, als w\u00e4re er getroffen worden, und dann schoss er nach links und rechts. \"Weinen? Ich? Du hast den falschen Kerl.\" Er schob seine Schulter und sprach mit einem weicheren, flehentlichen Tonfall. \"Sollte es nicht eine Art Arzt-\/Patientengeheimnis geben oder so?\"\n\nAber Wyrick war noch nicht fertig. Sie sah den Mann an, der die Flickenpistole hielt. \"Hallo, James. Ich bin \u00fcberrascht, dich hier zu sehen. Was denkst du, was deine Schwester tun wird, wenn du weitere zwanzig Jahre zu deiner Strafe f\u00fcr den Fluchtversuch hinzu bekommst? Bei Slade bleiben und im Krankenhaus landen? Du wolltest sie vor all dem retten, nicht wahr?\"\n\nJames' r\u00f6tte sich und legte dann die Patchpistole auf den Boden. \"Tut mir leid, Cronock, das werde ich nicht zulassen.\"\n\n\"Und du! Mick Brown! Wolltest du nicht -?\"\n\nDiesmal wartete der fragliche Gefangene nicht einmal darauf, dass sie fertig war. \"In Ordnung, in Ordnung, in Ordnung. Du hast deinen Standpunkt klar gemacht. Ich fasse dir kein Haar an den Kopf.\"\n\nIch war fassungslos. Wyrick hatte es geschafft, eine der gewaltt\u00e4tigsten Gruppen von M\u00e4nnern auf dem Supermax zu neutralisieren. Mit Worten.\n\nMorgans Augen waren gro\u00df. \"Gibt es jemanden, auf dem sie keinen Dreck hat?\"\n\nIch konnte nur mit den Achseln zucken.\n\nWyrick ging direkt in die Mitte der Gruppe. Sogar in den Abs\u00e4tzen kam ihr Kopf nicht einmal bis zu den Schultern, aber es war, als ob sie sie besa\u00df, K\u00f6rper und Seele. \"Ich habe Neuigkeiten f\u00fcr dich. Ich bin der neue Direktor dieser Einrichtung. Das bedeutet, dass es mir freisteht, jedem, der uns hilft, Bew\u00e4hrungsstrafen und Strafempfehlungen anzubieten.\" Sie sah sich um und wartete darauf, dass diese Nachricht eintrat. Dann hielt sie ihren Ausweis hoch. \"Und weil ich der amtierende Direktor bin, habe ich Zugang zur Waffenkammer.\"\n\nMorgan blinzelte, als h\u00e4tte er bis zu diesem Zeitpunkt nur halb zugeh\u00f6rt. \"Warte mal eine Sekunde....\"\n\nIch habe auch etwas gestottert. Wir wollten sie bewaffnen? Aber es ert\u00f6nte ein Jubel von den Gefangenen, die mich \u00fcbert\u00f6nt hatten. Dann hatte Wyrick die T\u00fcr offen und wir befanden uns im Zentrum eines Haufens von feiernden Verr\u00fcckten, die bis an die Z\u00e4hne bewaffnet waren.\n\nDa das Einzige, was sie davon abhielt, uns aus der n\u00e4chsten Luftschleuse zu werfen, Wyricks mangelndes Z\u00f6gern bei der Verbreitung vertraulicher Informationen war, stellte ich sicher, dass ich ein P4SC-Sturmgewehr ergatterte. Wenn sie jemals zu mir kommen w\u00fcrden, w\u00e4re ich bewaffnet gewesen.\n\nwird fortgesetzt.....","zh_CN":"The fire in the Maximum Security block travelled through wiring ducts in the drop-ceiling, burning so hot that it had begun to melt the plastic fascia on the walls. The thick black smoke that poured into the corridor reminded me of ink slowly spreading through water.\n\nWes Morgan, the man we\u2019d come to spring, pressed his face close to mine. He\u2019d torn a sleeve off his prison uniform, wet it in his small sink, and then tied it over his face. The other sleeve, he passed to me. \u201cUp there,\u201d he pointed at the ceiling, \u201cis superheated steam. Down there is chemical smoke that\u2019ll kill you if you breathe it. So stay low, but not too low.\u201d He turned to step further down the corridor.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ve got to get to the flight deck. It\u2019s the only way off the station,\u201d I said, pointing back up toward where Cayla Wyrick waited for us. The prison was in lockdown and she was the only one with the codes to get us there. We didn\u2019t have time for detours. I was armed with a snub-nosed stun gun I\u2019d taken from a locker outside the block and there was always the option to turn it on him, but we needed his help to get us past the pirate blockade.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re not leaving without Asari,\u201d he said gruffly.\n\n\u201cWho\u2019s Asari?\u201d I asked, but Morgan had already begun moving down the corridor toward the next cell. I was certain I\u2019d heard the name before but couldn\u2019t remember where, so I followed reluctantly, half-hunched over as I\u2019d been instructed. Though I could see no open flame, the air was blistering hot and seared my lungs when I breathed, even through the wet cloth.\n\n\u201cThis one,\u201d said Morgan through his sleeve. He stood in front of the only other occupied cell on the block. There was no identifying mark beyond a string of numbers above the door.\n\nWyrick had given me her ident card and it would open any door in the station. But this was the Maximum Security block. This was where the UEE parked prisoners they didn\u2019t want anyone to find. Men who\u2019d committed atrocious crimes, or who had known pirate affiliations, or \u2026\n\nI remembered who Yusaf Asari was.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m not opening that door.\u201d I said firmly. Asari was up on charges of attempted genocide. A Tevarin terrorist, he\u2019d released a weaponized virus on one of the colonies in the Geddon system. The idea had been to spread the infection through colony transports that were returning to UEE space. The Advocacy had gotten wind of the plan and locked down the colony before the virus could spread, but the casualties on the ground had been horrendous. He was a monster in every sense of the word.\n\n\u201cWe can sit here and argue, or I could just take the ident card from you and open the cell myself. Letting you keep the card is just a courtesy.\u201d\n\nMorgan knew I was armed and didn\u2019t seem to care. Maybe he just wanted to keep Asari from dying in the fire, I reasoned. If that was the case, I could bend a little. \u201cI want your personal guarantee that he doesn\u2019t get off the station.\u201d\n\nMorgan considered that. \u201cI won\u2019t help him leave the station. What he does on his own is up to him.\u201d It was the best I was going to get.\n\nAsari did not immediately emerge from his cell. He was big for a Tevarin and that was saying something. He\u2019d also been scarred across his face and upper shoulders, scars that were plainly visible because of the white, sleeveless shirt he wore. \u201cMorgan,\u201d he said with a slurred voice. \u201cYou don\u2019t look anything like I imagined.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou look just like your newsreels,\u201d said Morgan. \u201cConsider this a rescue.\u201d\n\nAsari\u2019s gaze passed over me as if I wasn\u2019t even there. \u201cI cannot join you,\u201d he said. \u201cMy brother Tevarin are being held on a lower deck. I will find them and then join the invaders if they\u2019ll take us. If not, then we will kill them.\u201d\n\n\u201cI understand,\u201d said Morgan. He held out a hand, which Asari shook. \u201cIt\u2019s been a pleasure.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll see you again, Wes Morgan, if not before death, than after.\u201d With that, the giant Tevarin turned down the corridor and disappeared deeper into the prison.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re still not going to the flight deck yet,\u201d said Morgan when we\u2019d returned to Wyrick. He spoke again before either of us could object. \u201cThat toy stun gun you have isn\u2019t going to mean squat if we run into the people responsible for taking out the defenses of an Orbital Supermax, and I\u2019ll be damned if I face them armed with nothing more than my winning personality.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo guns,\u201d said Wyrick firmly.\n\nMorgan looked her up and down. \u201cYou\u2019re a sweet girl. Good looking too. You don\u2019t want to find out what these guys\u2019ll do to you if they have the chance.\u201d He let that gruesome thought hang in the air for a moment before continuing. \u201cYou know who am I?\u201d\n\nShe\u2019d gone pale, but she nodded.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ve read my file?\u201d\n\nAnother nod. \u201cKellogg IV wanted a psychological profile before we transferred you. I was going to conduct it sometime next week.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood. Then you know I\u2019m not a psychopath. Guns are a negotiating tool. If I don\u2019t have to fire one, I won\u2019t.\u201d\n\nShe studied him a moment longer, then nodded a third time. Funnily enough, I didn\u2019t think it was Morgan\u2019s threat that had made up her mind. She was a shrink, and shrinks were good at reading people. I\u2019m guessing she saw something in him that told her that he was telling the truth.\n\nUnfortunately, we weren\u2019t the first people on the station to think of the armory. We risked the elevator, taking it down two levels, and then passed through a maze of hallways. As we got close, we began to hear noises, metal-on-metal, yells and curses. The source was apparent when we rounded a corner. A prisoner so skinny he looked like he had a concave chest was holding a patch gun against a sealed vault-like door. The gun, usually used to seal holes in the hull made by micro-meteorites, sparked as it contacted the metal. Char marks stained a wide swatch where previous attempts to open it had failed.\n\nA giant prisoner whom I knew as Albus Cronock stood with a cluster of men. His arms were folded over his chest and he oversaw the operation with heavily-lidded eyes. A weapon taken from a dead guard leaned against a wall nearby, within easy reach.\n\n\u201cLast chance to turn around and head for the flight deck,\u201d I offered nervously.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re staying,\u201d said Morgan. He held out his hand. \u201cGive me the gun.\u201d\n\nI hesitated, but surprisingly, Wyrick agreed with him. \u201cDo you think it would make a difference one way or another?\u201d\n\nIt might not make a difference, but its weight on my hip was comforting and I was reluctant to give it up. As soon as I\u2019d handed it over, Morgan stepped up to one of the control panels that was mounted on the wall, smashed it with his fist, and then removed a wire from its insides. He popped out the stun gun\u2019s clip and did something to it with the wire that caused it to spark. He gave it a brief inspection and when he\u2019d come to a satisfactory conclusion, he popped the clip back into the gun.\n\n\u201cThere. Now it\u2019s lethal.\u201d He lifted the barrel and pointed it right at us.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d I said, glaring at Wyrick, \u201cthat didn\u2019t take long.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is all part of the plan, isn\u2019t it, Morgan?\u201d asked Wyrick optimistically.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s part of a plan, sure,\u201d answered Morgan with a shrug. \u201cYou know that advice you get about your first day in prison? Find the biggest meanest sonofabitch and start a fight? That\u2019s what we\u2019re going to do.\u201d\n\nThen he waved us forward with the gun. \u201cNow get moving.\u201d\n\nIt took a few seconds for the man with the patch gun to notice that the other prisoners had fallen silent, but when he did he lowered the tool, lifted his safety goggles, and then looked towards Cronock. The bigger prisoner pushed off from the wall, caught the butt of the guard\u2019s rifle with the edge of his toe, and then tossed it into the air where he caught it with his hands. As he advanced towards us, several of the other prisoners followed in his wake. \u201cWell, well. Cayla Wyrick. Nice to see your pretty face. Who are your two friends?\u201d\n\nI should have realized that everyone knew the prison shrink. Morgan caught my eye. His grip tightened on the gun and he nodded deliberately at the skinny guy with the patch gun, as if to suggest that I should charge him if things went south. I shrugged and pretended like I didn\u2019t understand him. I\u2019m as brave as the next guy, but a patch gun fuses metal together. There was no way I was going to throw myself against the sparkly end.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s Dr. Wyrick,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was Dr. Wyrick the first time we met and it was Dr. Wyrick last week when you were crying in my office like a baby because your girlfriend got tired of waiting for you and ran off with her boss.\u201d\n\nCronock blinked like he\u2019d been struck, and then shot looks left and right. \u201cCrying? Me? You got the wrong guy.\u201d He hunched his shoulder and spoke in a softer, pleading tone of voice. \u201cIsn\u2019t there supposed to be some kind of doctor\/patient confidentiality or something?\u201d\n\nBut Wyrick wasn\u2019t done. She looked at the man holding the patch gun. \u201cHello, James. I\u2019m surprised to see you here. What do you think your sister will do when you get another twenty years added to your sentence for attempting to escape? Stay with Slade and end up in the hospital? You were going to save her from all that, weren\u2019t you?\u201d\n\n\u2018James\u2019 reddened and then set the patch gun on the ground. \u201cSorry, Cronock, I ain\u2019t gonna let that happen.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd you! Mick Brown! Weren\u2019t you going to \u2014?\u201d\n\nThis time the prisoner in question didn\u2019t even wait for her to finish. \u201cAll right, all right. You made your point. I ain\u2019t touching a hair on your head.\u201d\n\nI was stunned. Wyrick had managed to neutralize one of the most violent group of men on the Supermax. Using words.\n\nMorgan\u2019s eyes were wide. \u201cIs there anyone she hasn\u2019t got dirt on?\u201d\n\nI could only shrug.\n\nWyrick strode right into the middle of the group. Even in heels, her head didn\u2019t even come up to their shoulders, but it was like she owned them, body and soul. \u201cI\u2019ve got news for you. I am this facility\u2019s new Warden. That means that I am free to offer station paroles and sentencing recommendations to anyone who helps us out.\u201d She looked around, waiting for that news to sink in. Then she held up her ident card. \u201cAnd because I am the acting warden I have access to the armory.\u201d\n\nMorgan blinked, as if he\u2019d only been half-listening up until that point. \u201cHold on a second \u2026\u201d\n\nI stuttered out something too. We were going to arm them? But a cheer went up from the prisoners that drowned me out. Then Wyrick had the door open and we found ourselves in the center of a bunch of celebrating madmen who were armed to the teeth.\n\nSince the only thing that was keeping them from throwing us out the nearest airlock was Wyrick\u2019s lack of hesitation in divulging confidential information, I made sure to grab a P4SC assault rifle. If they ever came for me, I was going to be armed.\n\nto be continued \u2026"},"links_count":0,"comment_count":72,"created_at":"2014-07-11T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"11 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-14 06:33:21","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":14008,"next_id":14011}}