{"data":{"id":14036,"title":"Orbital Supermax: Episode Four","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/serialized-fiction\/14036-Orbital-Supermax-Episode-Four","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/14036","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/14036","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 twelve of us who had made it to the loading platform alive had to wait in the dark as the thirteenth choked to death on his own blood. The sound was hideous and wet, and no man spoke until it stopped.\n\nIt was a sign of how badly the pirate force led by Martin Kilkenny had damaged the station that the lights wouldn\u2019t come on in the cargo area in which we now hid for several minutes. When they did flicker to life, the light was dim and uncertain.\n\nWe felt the platform begin to stir in response to a summons from above, but Morgan bashed the panel to pieces with the butt of his rifle. Nearby, Wyrick, the prison\u2019s therapist and our de facto conscience wept softly over the dead man.\n\n\u201cOkay Nylund,\u201d said Morgan. \u201cWe need another way off the station.\u201d\n\nI realized that I\u2019d been staring into space and shook my head. We\u2019d gone to the Flight Deck to steal the station\u2019s two Hornet fighters and then use them to run the blockade set up by the Nova Dogs and their Captain, Martin Kilkenny, a pirate about whom I knew little, save that he was a cannibal and that there was, in the words of Cayla Wyrick, something wrong with his jaw. Now, with the Flight Deck in pirate hands, not only would we have to find another ship, we\u2019d have to fight our way past those very same Hornets.\n\n\u201cNylund?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m thinking,\u201d I said quickly. \u201cThere are two mothballed fighters and an old station transport in a hangar on the other side of the station, but it would take a miracle worker to get them battle-ready. Besides, Kilkenny\u2019s men would simply follow us in the Hornets and gun us down. They wouldn\u2019t even need the rest of their ships.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen we need to take out the fighters.\u201d Morgan glanced ruefully at the destroyed control panel. \u201cI guess that was a little hasty. Is there another way to get back up to the Flight Deck?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe can\u2019t go back there.\u201d Wyrick rose. She\u2019d dealt with the prisoners at the armory, traveled through the station with ex-convicts, and survived being shot at by the Nova Dogs. Some women would have crumbled under the pressure, but she seemed to have gained something from the experience. She stood straighter, held her chin up. Gone was the therapist\u2019s passivity. She would have a hard time re-entering the practice once this was all over. \u201cWe need every man we have left.\u201d\n\nMorgan\u2019s fist clenched. \u201cWe have no other choice\u2013,\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2013We don\u2019t negotiate with terrorists,\u201d I said, not realizing that I\u2019d spoken aloud. When I found all eyes upon me, I realized that I\u2019ve have to explain myself. \u201cWe don\u2019t negotiate with terrorists. If a group of prisoners ever seized the Flight Deck, we were to activate the automated turrets. Blow them to kingdom come.\u201d\n\nWyrick flushed with anger. \u201cI never knew about that policy. Flushing prisoners into space is inhuman.\u201d\n\nMorgan put his hand out to stop her. \u201cIt\u2019s that or die.\u201d He gave her room to object, but she remained sullenly silent. \u201cOkay,\u201d he said, continuing on, \u201cwe activate the turrets, blow up Kilkenny and his men, and then escape on the backup fighters.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot so fast,\u201d I interjected. \u201cThere are a lot of missing steps there. The turrets were activated on the Command Deck and that\u2019s gone. Then there\u2019s the matter of fixing the fighters\u2026\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind that. I know a guy. The turrets though\u2026\u201d Morgan looked around and pointed at several circular nodules in the ceiling. \u201cThere. Can we hack them from here?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo. They\u2019re strictly remote. Can\u2019t have the prisoners disabling the turrets themselves.\u201d I rose, excited despite myself. \u201cBut there is the server room. If it hasn\u2019t been destroyed.\u201d\n\n\u201cFine\u2013,\u201d\n\nWhatever Morgan was about to say was drowned out by a burst of static from the station-wide comm system. The voice that came up was so deep and sonorous that I had no doubt it belonged to a pirate captain. Of course, it was Kilkenny himself.\n\nMy name is Martin Kilkenny, and you can consider me your parole officer. I say parole because you are not free men. A free man is a man who can do any task he chooses, but there is only one task you need to accomplish to earn a place aboard my ship. I am looking for a man named Martin Browning. Prisoner number AX-345987.\n\nThere was a pause.\n\nYou may have heard that the Nova Dogs are cannibals. You have not heard wrong. We are creatures of the Void, and the Void is a hungry place. Does it not try and claw its way into your station? Does it not suck you into its belly like wet pasta? We follow its example. What we don\u2019t use, we eat. There are twelve spots aboard my ship. One in the crew cabin and eleven in the kitchen. A useful man will earn his place in the crew.\n\nComplete silence.\n\n\u201cCharming,\u201d said Wyrick dryly.\n\n\u201cMaybe he\u2019ll find this chap and leave?\u201d said one of the prisoners. Wispy hair, body like a bag of sticks. It was Relic, I think, the prisoner who\u2019d threatened us with a patch gun.\n\n\u201cMaybe,\u201d I said and let the word dangle in the air. If Kilkenny was hunting this Browning character, he\u2019d leave us alone. That was the thought of course, but I knew that we\u2019d killed some of Kilkenny\u2019s men and he\u2019d come after us for that if he could.\n\nWe made our way through the utility corridors towards the server room. The former prisoners who trailed behind us whispered about Kilkenny\u2019s offer. No one seemed to know anyone named Browning, but each of them thought they knew someone who did. Despite the recent massacre of their friends, they all dreamed that they would be the one to claim Kilkenny\u2019s unused berth. The thought that the winner of their little contest might have to eat the losers never occurred to them.\n\nI thought I knew a better way to find Martin Browning. Wyrick walked at the front of the group, just behind Morgan. I caught her arm and then with a nod of my head indicated that she should slow her pace. If Morgan noticed he said nothing.\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s a direct terminal in the server room. With your access codes, you can find out who this Browning guy is. Which cell he\u2019s in.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou want to turn him over to Kilkenny? After everything we\u2019ve seen?\u201d\n\n\u201cMaybe. We need to consider our options here. What if he gets his man and\u2026,\u201d the unlikelihood of my own suggestion made me stumble. \u201c\u2026well, he just leaves. One man\u2019s life in exchange for everyone on the station. Who wouldn\u2019t make that deal?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe man in question, I suspect.\u201d Wyrick seemed to think that ended the argument and rejoined Morgan in the front.\n\nThe deck which housed the server room was dark, and I worried that it had no power. If that was the case we\u2019d have to draft a new plan, and quickly. Morgan found a few palm lights on a wall, which he distributed. We passed through a door that had once been secure and entered a room that was the kind of hot that soaked through our clothes and dried out our eyes. Banks upon banks of black boxes stared at us with flickering green and red lights.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s hot in here,\u201d said Relic unnecessarily.\n\nMorgan looked around and then moved down one of the rows. \u201cLet\u2019s find an active terminal. Spread out.\u201d\n\nI followed Wyrick. I had worked out something important on the journey here. The server room was truly the heart of the station. From here, all things were possible. Though the records of my arrest and trial would eventually be sent back to the UEE, we were isolated enough that transferring large amounts of data could get expensive. For now, it was all stored on the station\u2019s servers. Given the right access, I could wipe out evidence of my crimes. Everyone who knew that I was even a prisoner was dead, aside from Wyrick herself, and after this was all over I could perhaps find some way to buy her silence.\n\n\u201cAll I\u2019m saying is that there is no harm in finding out which cell is his. It\u2019s the only thing that Kilkenny wants. It has value. We could trade that information. But then maybe warn Browning that Kilkenny is coming for him.\u201d\n\nWyrick stopped cold. I nearly ran into her. She turned and I could see the blue of her eyes in the palm light. \u201cI\u2019m your therapist, Nylund. I know you better than you know yourself. You\u2019re not a coward at heart. You know that caving in to Kilkenny is wrong. This self-serving criminal that you\u2019ve become, it\u2019s just your way of dealing with your guilt. You\u2019re punishing yourself.\u201d\n\nThe palm-light dipped and I caught hold of one of the server racks. \u201cMy brother has nothing to do with this.\u201d I licked my lips with a dry tongue. \u201cAnd I may be a self-serving criminal, but I am not punishing myself. I am trying to use every tool at my disposal to get us all out of here alive.\u201d\n\nIf therapists can lie, then so too can their patients.\n\nWyrick caught my gaze for an uncomfortably long time, her blue eyes darting microscopically, as if to keep the line between our pupils unbroken. At last, she seemed to come to some conclusion. \u201cI will give you the access codes. If you want them. Do you really want them, Nylund? Think very carefully.\u201d\n\nDespite myself, I did. I thought of Danny and our days in the Academy. Before his death, I\u2019d been a straight arrow. I never would have considered committing a crime, let alone wiping out the evidence that I\u2019d done it. What had changed since then? I shied away from that thought. Damned headshrinkers were starting to get to me.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d I said as innocently as I could.\n\nI was uncertain if she\u2019d follow through on her promise, but she pressed on a sliver of metal and a terminal popped open. She punched in her codes and then walked away. Her radical therapy had failed, I told myself victoriously.\n\nIt was only after I\u2019d wiped the evidence of my crimes from the database that I realized that it was not a victory at all. For some reason, it felt more like a loss.\n\nI had pulled up a query window and the cursor flashed at me. I suddenly felt a huge weight on me that had nothing to do with the heat. I was betraying Wyrick\u2019s trust twice in as many minutes. I told myself I\u2019d make it up to her. At first, the thought was flippant, but it felt right, so I told myself again that I\u2019d make it up to her and meant it this time.\n\nMy fingers danced across the keyboard as I punched in Martin Browning\u2019s name. To my surprise it came up blank. Out of the 2400 prisoners on OSP-4, not a single one had the misfortune to be named \u201cMartin Browning\u201d, and the ident Kilkenny had given belonged to a dead man named Wilbur Marx.\n\nMorgan had found another terminal in the back of the room and brought up a view of the Flight Deck. A targeting reticle hovered over the two Hornets. \u201cThe connections are fried,\u201d he said, wiping sweat off the back of his neck and flicking droplets onto the floor. \u201cIt\u2019s this damn heat. Only one of the turrets is responding. We won\u2019t have much time.\u201d\n\n\u201cTarget the fighters first,\u201d I said, wiping sweaty palms against my pants. \u201cThe freighter\u2019s deadly but we can outrun her.\u201d\n\n\u201cFind what you were looking for?\u201d asked Morgan, glancing over his shoulder.\n\n\u201cSure. Used one of the terminals to check my messages. Pay some bills. You know.\u201d It was a weak joke, but he grunted a laugh and didn\u2019t follow up. Wyrick, standing beside him, studiously avoided looking at me. I tried to think of something to say to win back her trust, but I couldn\u2019t.\n\nMorgan punched a few keys into the terminal and the targeting reticle turned red. \u201cConsider this a love letter addressed to Captain Kilkenny,\u201d he said, mashing down the keys.\n\nto be continued \u2026","de_DE":"Wir Zw\u00f6lf, die wir es lebend zur Ladefl\u00e4che geschafft hatten, mussten im Dunkeln warten, als der Dreizehnte an seinem eigenen Blut erstickte. Das Ger\u00e4usch war h\u00e4sslich und nass, und kein Mann sprach, bis es aufh\u00f6rte.\n\nEs war ein Zeichen daf\u00fcr, wie sehr die von Martin Kilkenny angef\u00fchrte Piratenarmee die Station besch\u00e4digt hatte, dass die Lichter in dem Laderaum, in dem wir uns nun f\u00fcr einige Minuten versteckt hatten, nicht angelassen w\u00fcrden. Als sie zum Leben flackerten, war das Licht schwach und unsicher.\n\nWir f\u00fchlten, dass sich die Plattform als Reaktion auf eine Ladung von oben zu bewegen begann, aber Morgan schlug die Platte mit dem Hintern seines Gewehrs in St\u00fccke. In der N\u00e4he weinten Wyrick, der Therapeut des Gef\u00e4ngnisses, und unser tats\u00e4chliches Gewissen leise \u00fcber den Toten.\n\n\"Okay Nylund\", sagte Morgan. \"Wir brauchen einen anderen Weg vom Bahnhof.\"\n\nIch erkannte, dass ich in den Weltraum starrte und sch\u00fcttelte den Kopf. Wir waren zum Flugdeck gegangen, um die beiden Hornissenj\u00e4ger der Station zu stehlen und sie dann zu benutzen, um die Blockade zu leiten, die von den Nova Dogs und ihrem Kapit\u00e4n Martin Kilkenny, einem Piraten, \u00fcber den ich wenig wusste, eingerichtet wurde, au\u00dfer dass er ein Kannibale war und dass mit seinem Kiefer etwas nicht stimmte, wie Cayla Wyrick sagte. Jetzt, mit dem Flugdeck in Piratenh\u00e4nden, m\u00fcssten wir nicht nur ein anderes Schiff finden, sondern auch an den gleichen Hornissen vorbei k\u00e4mpfen.\n\n\" Nylund?\"\n\n\"Ich denke nach\", sagte ich schnell. \"Es gibt zwei eingemottete J\u00e4ger und einen alten Stationstransport in einem Hangar auf der anderen Seite der Station, aber es w\u00fcrde einen Wunderheiler erfordern, um sie kampfbereit zu machen. Au\u00dferdem folgten Kilkenny's M\u00e4nner uns einfach in die Hornissen und schossen uns nieder. Sie w\u00fcrden nicht einmal den Rest ihrer Schiffe brauchen.\"\n\n\"Dann m\u00fcssen wir die J\u00e4ger ausschalten.\" Morgan blickte reum\u00fctig auf das zerst\u00f6rte Bedienfeld. \"Ich sch\u00e4tze, das war etwas voreilig. Gibt es eine andere M\u00f6glichkeit, wieder zum Flugdeck zu gelangen?\"\n\n\"Wir k\u00f6nnen nicht zur\u00fcckgehen.\" Wyrick Rose. Sie hatte mit den Gefangenen in der Waffenkammer zu tun gehabt, mit Ex-H\u00e4ftlingen durch den Bahnhof gereist und \u00fcberlebte, von den Nova Dogs angeschossen zu werden. Einige Frauen w\u00e4ren unter dem Druck zerfallen, aber sie schien etwas aus der Erfahrung gewonnen zu haben. Sie stand gerade, hielt ihr Kinn hoch. Weg war die Passivit\u00e4t des Therapeuten. Sie w\u00fcrde es schwer haben, wieder in das Training einzusteigen, wenn das alles vorbei ist. \"Wir brauchen jeden Mann, den wir noch haben.\"\n\nMorgans Faust zusammengebissen. \"Wir haben keine andere Wahl.\"\n\n\"Wir verhandeln nicht mit Terroristen\", sagte ich und bemerkte nicht, dass ich laut gesprochen hatte. Als ich alle Augen auf mich gerichtet fand, wurde mir klar, dass ich mich erkl\u00e4ren muss. \"Wir verhandeln nicht mit Terroristen. Wenn eine Gruppe von Gefangenen jemals das Flugdeck eroberte, sollten wir die automatisierten T\u00fcrme aktivieren. Bl\u00e4st sie ins K\u00f6nigreich, kommt.\"\n\nWyrick err\u00f6tete vor Wut. \"Ich wusste nichts von dieser Richtlinie. Gefangene in den Weltraum zu sp\u00fclen ist unmenschlich.\"\n\nMorgan streckte seine Hand aus, um sie aufzuhalten. \"Das ist es oder ich sterbe.\" Er gab ihr Raum zum Einspruch, aber sie blieb m\u00fcrrisch still. \"Okay\", sagte er und fuhr fort, \"wir aktivieren die T\u00fcrme, sprengen Kilkenny und seine M\u00e4nner in die Luft und fliehen dann mit den Ersatzj\u00e4gern.\"\n\n\"Nicht so schnell\", habe ich eingeworfen. \"Da fehlen viele Schritte. Die Gesch\u00fctzt\u00fcrme wurden auf dem Kommandodeck aktiviert und das ist vorbei. Dann gibt es noch die Frage der Reparatur der J\u00e4ger....\"\n\n\"Vergiss das. Ich kenne einen Kerl. Die Gesch\u00fctzt\u00fcrme aber....\" Morgan blickte sich um und zeigte auf mehrere kreisf\u00f6rmige Kn\u00f6tchen in der Decke. \"Da. K\u00f6nnen wir sie von hier aus hacken?\"\n\n\"Nein. Sie sind strikt entfernt. Es kann nicht sein, dass die Gefangenen die T\u00fcrme selbst deaktivieren.\" Ich stand auf, aufgeregt trotz allem. \"Aber da ist der Serverraum. Wenn es nicht zerst\u00f6rt wurde.\"\n\n\"Gut...\"\n\nWas auch immer Morgan im Begriff war zu sagen, wurde durch einen Ausbruch von Rauschen aus dem station\u00e4ren Kommunikationssystem \u00fcbert\u00f6nt. Die Stimme, die aufkam, war so tief und sonor, dass ich keinen Zweifel daran hatte, dass sie einem Piratenkapit\u00e4n geh\u00f6rte. Nat\u00fcrlich war es Kilkenny selbst.\n\nMein Name ist Martin Kilkenny, und du kannst mich als deinen Bew\u00e4hrungshelfer bezeichnen. Ich sage Bew\u00e4hrung, weil ihr keine freien M\u00e4nner seid. Ein freier Mann ist ein Mann, der jede Aufgabe erf\u00fcllen kann, die er w\u00e4hlt, aber es gibt nur eine Aufgabe, die du erf\u00fcllen musst, um einen Platz an Bord meines Schiffes zu erhalten. Ich suche einen Mann namens Martin Browning. H\u00e4ftlingsnummer AX-345987.\n\nEs gab eine Pause.\n\nSie haben vielleicht geh\u00f6rt, dass die Nova Dogs Kannibalen sind. Du hast nichts Falsches geh\u00f6rt. Wir sind Gesch\u00f6pfe der Leere, und die Leere ist ein hungriger Ort. Versucht er nicht, sich in deine Station zu bohren? Saugt es dich nicht in seinen Bauch wie nasse Nudeln? Wir folgen seinem Beispiel. Was wir nicht benutzen, essen wir. Es gibt zw\u00f6lf Pl\u00e4tze an Bord meines Schiffes. Einer in der Mannschaftskabine und elf in der K\u00fcche. Ein n\u00fctzlicher Mann wird sich seinen Platz in der Crew verdienen.\n\nV\u00f6llige Stille.\n\n\"Charmant\", sagte Wyrick trocken.\n\n\"Vielleicht findet er diesen Kerl und geht?\" sagte einer der Gefangenen. Weiche Haare, K\u00f6rper wie ein Beutel mit St\u00f6cken. Es war Relikt, glaube ich, der Gefangene, der uns mit einer Flickenkanone bedroht hatte.\n\n\"Vielleicht\", sagte ich und lie\u00df das Wort in der Luft schweben. Wenn Kilkenny diesen Browning jagen w\u00fcrde, w\u00fcrde er uns in Ruhe lassen. Das war nat\u00fcrlich der Gedanke, aber ich wusste, dass wir einige von Kilkenny's M\u00e4nnern get\u00f6tet hatten und er w\u00fcrde uns deswegen verfolgen, wenn er k\u00f6nnte.\n\nWir machten uns auf den Weg durch die Versorgungsg\u00e4nge zum Serverraum. Die ehemaligen Gefangenen, die hinter uns her waren, fl\u00fcsterten \u00fcber Kilkenny's Angebot. Niemand schien jemanden namens Browning zu kennen, aber jeder von ihnen dachte, er kenne jemanden, der das tat. Trotz des j\u00fcngsten Massakers an ihren Freunden tr\u00e4umten sie alle davon, dass sie diejenige sein w\u00fcrden, die Kilkenny's ungenutzten Liegeplatz in Anspruch nehmen w\u00fcrde. Der Gedanke, dass der Gewinner ihres kleinen Wettbewerbs die Verlierer essen muss, kam ihnen nie in den Sinn.\n\nIch dachte, ich kenne einen besseren Weg, um Martin Browning zu finden. Wyrick ging an der Spitze der Gruppe, direkt hinter Morgan. Ich fing ihren Arm ein und zeigte dann mit einem Kopfnicken an, dass sie ihr Tempo verlangsamen sollte. Wenn Morgan es bemerkt, hat er nichts gesagt.\n\n\"Es gibt ein direktes Terminal im Serverraum. Mit deinen Zugangscodes kannst du herausfinden, wer dieser Browning-Typ ist. In welcher Zelle er sich befindet.\"\n\n\"Du willst ihn Kilkenny \u00fcbergeben? Nach allem, was wir gesehen haben?\"\n\n\"Vielleicht. Wir m\u00fcssen hier \u00fcber unsere M\u00f6glichkeiten nachdenken. Was, wenn er seinen Mann bekommt und....\", die Unwahrscheinlichkeit meines eigenen Vorschlags lie\u00df mich stolpern. \"...nun, er geht einfach. Das Leben eines Mannes im Austausch f\u00fcr alle auf der Station. Wer w\u00fcrde diesen Deal nicht machen?\"\n\n\"Der fragliche Mann, vermute ich.\" Wyrick schien zu denken, dass dies das Argument beendete und Morgan wieder an der Front schloss.\n\nDas Deck, auf dem sich der Serverraum befand, war dunkel, und ich machte mir Sorgen, dass es keinen Strom hatte. Wenn das der Fall w\u00e4re, m\u00fcssten wir einen neuen Plan entwerfen, und zwar schnell. Morgan fand ein paar Handleuchten an einer Wand, die er verteilte. Wir gingen durch eine T\u00fcr, die einst sicher war, und betraten einen Raum, der so hei\u00df war, dass er durch unsere Kleidung eindrang und unsere Augen austrocknete. Banken an Ufern von Black Boxes starrten uns mit flackernden gr\u00fcnen und roten Lichtern an.\n\n\"Es ist hei\u00df hier drin\", sagte Relic unn\u00f6tigerweise.\n\nMorgan sah sich um und bewegte sich dann in einer der Reihen nach unten. \"Lasst uns ein aktives Terminal finden. Ausbreiten.\"\n\nIch folgte Wyrick. Ich hatte mir auf der Reise hierher etwas Wichtiges ausgedacht. Der Serverraum war wirklich das Herzst\u00fcck der Station. Von hier aus war alles m\u00f6glich. Obwohl die Aufzeichnungen meiner Verhaftung und meines Prozesses schlie\u00dflich an die UEE zur\u00fcckgeschickt w\u00fcrden, wurden wir so isoliert, dass die \u00dcbertragung gro\u00dfer Datenmengen teuer werden k\u00f6nnte. Im Moment war alles auf den Servern der Station gespeichert. Mit dem richtigen Zugang k\u00f6nnte ich Beweise f\u00fcr meine Verbrechen vernichten. Jeder, der wusste, dass ich \u00fcberhaupt eine Gefangene war, war tot, abgesehen von Wyrick selbst, und nachdem das alles vorbei war, konnte ich vielleicht einen Weg finden, ihr Schweigen zu kaufen.\n\n\"Alles, was ich sage, ist, dass es nicht schadet, herauszufinden, welche Zelle seine ist. Es ist das Einzige, was Kilkenny will. Es hat einen Wert. Wir k\u00f6nnten diese Informationen austauschen. Aber dann warne Browning vielleicht, dass Kilkenny ihn holen wird.\"\n\nWyrick blieb kalt stehen. Ich bin ihr fast begegnet. Sie drehte sich um und ich konnte das Blau ihrer Augen im Handlicht sehen. \"Ich bin dein Therapeut, Nylund. Ich kenne dich besser, als du dich selbst kennst. Du bist im Grunde genommen kein Feigling. Du wei\u00dft, dass es falsch ist, in Kilkenny nachzugeben. Dieser egoistische Verbrecher, der du geworden bist, ist nur deine Art, mit deiner Schuld umzugehen. Du bestrafst dich selbst.\"\n\nDas Handlicht tauchte ab und ich ergriff einen der Serverracks. \"Mein Bruder hat nichts damit zu tun.\" Ich leckte meine Lippen mit einer trockenen Zunge. \"Und ich mag ein egoistischer Verbrecher sein, aber ich bestrafe mich nicht selbst. Ich versuche, jedes mir zur Verf\u00fcgung stehende Werkzeug zu benutzen, um uns alle lebend hier rauszuholen.\"\n\nWenn Therapeuten l\u00fcgen k\u00f6nnen, dann k\u00f6nnen es auch ihre Patienten.\n\nWyrick hat meinen Blick f\u00fcr eine unangenehme lange Zeit gefangen, ihre blauen Augen huschten mikroskopisch, als ob sie die Linie zwischen unseren Pupillen ungebrochen halten wollten. Endlich schien sie zu einer gewissen Schlussfolgerung zu kommen. \"Ich gebe dir die Zugangsdaten. Wenn du sie willst. Willst du sie wirklich, Nylund? Denke sehr sorgf\u00e4ltig nach.\"\n\nTrotz mir habe ich das getan. Ich dachte an Danny und unsere Tage auf der Akademie. Vor seinem Tod war ich ein gerader Pfeil. Ich h\u00e4tte nie in Betracht gezogen, ein Verbrechen zu begehen, geschweige denn die Beweise zu vernichten, dass ich es getan hatte. Was hatte sich seitdem ge\u00e4ndert? Ich scheute mich vor diesem Gedanken. Verfluchte Seelenklempner fingen an, mich zu kriegen.\n\n\"Ja,\" sagte ich so unschuldig ich konnte.\n\nIch war mir nicht sicher, ob sie ihr Versprechen einhalten w\u00fcrde, aber sie dr\u00fcckte auf ein Metallband und ein Terminal sprang auf. Sie gab ihre Codes ein und ging dann weg. Ihre radikale Therapie war gescheitert, sagte ich mir siegreich.\n\nErst nachdem ich die Beweise f\u00fcr meine Verbrechen aus der Datenbank gel\u00f6scht hatte, wurde mir klar, dass es \u00fcberhaupt kein Sieg war. Aus irgendeinem Grund f\u00fchlte es sich eher wie ein Verlust an.\n\nIch hatte ein Abfragefenster aufgerufen und der Cursor blinzelte auf mich. Ich sp\u00fcrte pl\u00f6tzlich ein riesiges Gewicht auf mir, das nichts mit der Hitze zu tun hatte. Ich habe Wyricks Vertrauen in ebenso vielen Minuten zweimal hintergangen. Ich sagte mir, ich w\u00fcrde es wieder gutmachen. Zuerst war der Gedanke leichtfertig, aber es f\u00fchlte sich richtig an, also sagte ich mir wieder, dass ich es wieder gutmachen w\u00fcrde und meinte es diesmal so.\n\nMeine Finger tanzten \u00fcber die Tastatur, als ich Martin Brownings Namen einpr\u00e4gte. Zu meiner \u00dcberraschung kam es leer heraus. Von den 2400 Gefangenen auf OSP-4 hatte kein einziger das Ungl\u00fcck, \"Martin Browning\" genannt zu werden, und die Identit\u00e4t, die Kilkenny gegeben hatte, geh\u00f6rte einem Toten namens Wilbur Marx.\n\nMorgan hatte ein weiteres Terminal im hinteren Teil des Raumes gefunden und einen Blick auf das Flugdeck geworfen. Ein Zielabsehen schwebte \u00fcber den beiden Hornissen. \"Die Verbindungen sind gefroren\", sagte er, wischte Schwei\u00df von der R\u00fcckseite seines Halses und schnippte Tropfen auf den Boden. \"Es ist diese verdammte Hitze. Nur einer der Gesch\u00fctzt\u00fcrme reagiert. Wir werden nicht viel Zeit haben.\"\n\n\"Zielt zuerst auf die K\u00e4mpfer\", sagte ich und wischte verschwitzte Handfl\u00e4chen an meiner Hose ab. \"Der Frachter ist t\u00f6dlich, aber wir k\u00f6nnen ihr entkommen.\"\n\n\"Hast du gefunden, was du gesucht hast?\" fragte Morgan und blickte \u00fcber seine Schulter.\n\n\"Sicher. Ich habe eines der Terminals benutzt, um meine Nachrichten zu \u00fcberpr\u00fcfen. Bezahle ein paar Rechnungen. Du wei\u00dft schon.\" Es war ein schwacher Witz, aber er grunzte lachend und folgte nicht. Wyrick, der neben ihm stand, vermied es flei\u00dfig, mich anzusehen. Ich versuchte, mir etwas auszudenken, um ihr Vertrauen zur\u00fcckzugewinnen, aber ich konnte es nicht.\n\nMorgan schlug ein paar Schl\u00fcssel in das Terminal und das Zielabsehen wurde rot. \"Betrachten Sie dies als einen Liebesbrief an Captain Kilkenny\", sagte er und schlug die Schl\u00fcssel nieder.\n\nwird fortgesetzt.....","zh_CN":"The twelve of us who had made it to the loading platform alive had to wait in the dark as the thirteenth choked to death on his own blood. The sound was hideous and wet, and no man spoke until it stopped.\n\nIt was a sign of how badly the pirate force led by Martin Kilkenny had damaged the station that the lights wouldn\u2019t come on in the cargo area in which we now hid for several minutes. When they did flicker to life, the light was dim and uncertain.\n\nWe felt the platform begin to stir in response to a summons from above, but Morgan bashed the panel to pieces with the butt of his rifle. Nearby, Wyrick, the prison\u2019s therapist and our de facto conscience wept softly over the dead man.\n\n\u201cOkay Nylund,\u201d said Morgan. \u201cWe need another way off the station.\u201d\n\nI realized that I\u2019d been staring into space and shook my head. We\u2019d gone to the Flight Deck to steal the station\u2019s two Hornet fighters and then use them to run the blockade set up by the Nova Dogs and their Captain, Martin Kilkenny, a pirate about whom I knew little, save that he was a cannibal and that there was, in the words of Cayla Wyrick, something wrong with his jaw. Now, with the Flight Deck in pirate hands, not only would we have to find another ship, we\u2019d have to fight our way past those very same Hornets.\n\n\u201cNylund?\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m thinking,\u201d I said quickly. \u201cThere are two mothballed fighters and an old station transport in a hangar on the other side of the station, but it would take a miracle worker to get them battle-ready. Besides, Kilkenny\u2019s men would simply follow us in the Hornets and gun us down. They wouldn\u2019t even need the rest of their ships.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen we need to take out the fighters.\u201d Morgan glanced ruefully at the destroyed control panel. \u201cI guess that was a little hasty. Is there another way to get back up to the Flight Deck?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe can\u2019t go back there.\u201d Wyrick rose. She\u2019d dealt with the prisoners at the armory, traveled through the station with ex-convicts, and survived being shot at by the Nova Dogs. Some women would have crumbled under the pressure, but she seemed to have gained something from the experience. She stood straighter, held her chin up. Gone was the therapist\u2019s passivity. She would have a hard time re-entering the practice once this was all over. \u201cWe need every man we have left.\u201d\n\nMorgan\u2019s fist clenched. \u201cWe have no other choice\u2013,\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2013We don\u2019t negotiate with terrorists,\u201d I said, not realizing that I\u2019d spoken aloud. When I found all eyes upon me, I realized that I\u2019ve have to explain myself. \u201cWe don\u2019t negotiate with terrorists. If a group of prisoners ever seized the Flight Deck, we were to activate the automated turrets. Blow them to kingdom come.\u201d\n\nWyrick flushed with anger. \u201cI never knew about that policy. Flushing prisoners into space is inhuman.\u201d\n\nMorgan put his hand out to stop her. \u201cIt\u2019s that or die.\u201d He gave her room to object, but she remained sullenly silent. \u201cOkay,\u201d he said, continuing on, \u201cwe activate the turrets, blow up Kilkenny and his men, and then escape on the backup fighters.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot so fast,\u201d I interjected. \u201cThere are a lot of missing steps there. The turrets were activated on the Command Deck and that\u2019s gone. Then there\u2019s the matter of fixing the fighters\u2026\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind that. I know a guy. The turrets though\u2026\u201d Morgan looked around and pointed at several circular nodules in the ceiling. \u201cThere. Can we hack them from here?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo. They\u2019re strictly remote. Can\u2019t have the prisoners disabling the turrets themselves.\u201d I rose, excited despite myself. \u201cBut there is the server room. If it hasn\u2019t been destroyed.\u201d\n\n\u201cFine\u2013,\u201d\n\nWhatever Morgan was about to say was drowned out by a burst of static from the station-wide comm system. The voice that came up was so deep and sonorous that I had no doubt it belonged to a pirate captain. Of course, it was Kilkenny himself.\n\nMy name is Martin Kilkenny, and you can consider me your parole officer. I say parole because you are not free men. A free man is a man who can do any task he chooses, but there is only one task you need to accomplish to earn a place aboard my ship. I am looking for a man named Martin Browning. Prisoner number AX-345987.\n\nThere was a pause.\n\nYou may have heard that the Nova Dogs are cannibals. You have not heard wrong. We are creatures of the Void, and the Void is a hungry place. Does it not try and claw its way into your station? Does it not suck you into its belly like wet pasta? We follow its example. What we don\u2019t use, we eat. There are twelve spots aboard my ship. One in the crew cabin and eleven in the kitchen. A useful man will earn his place in the crew.\n\nComplete silence.\n\n\u201cCharming,\u201d said Wyrick dryly.\n\n\u201cMaybe he\u2019ll find this chap and leave?\u201d said one of the prisoners. Wispy hair, body like a bag of sticks. It was Relic, I think, the prisoner who\u2019d threatened us with a patch gun.\n\n\u201cMaybe,\u201d I said and let the word dangle in the air. If Kilkenny was hunting this Browning character, he\u2019d leave us alone. That was the thought of course, but I knew that we\u2019d killed some of Kilkenny\u2019s men and he\u2019d come after us for that if he could.\n\nWe made our way through the utility corridors towards the server room. The former prisoners who trailed behind us whispered about Kilkenny\u2019s offer. No one seemed to know anyone named Browning, but each of them thought they knew someone who did. Despite the recent massacre of their friends, they all dreamed that they would be the one to claim Kilkenny\u2019s unused berth. The thought that the winner of their little contest might have to eat the losers never occurred to them.\n\nI thought I knew a better way to find Martin Browning. Wyrick walked at the front of the group, just behind Morgan. I caught her arm and then with a nod of my head indicated that she should slow her pace. If Morgan noticed he said nothing.\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s a direct terminal in the server room. With your access codes, you can find out who this Browning guy is. Which cell he\u2019s in.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou want to turn him over to Kilkenny? After everything we\u2019ve seen?\u201d\n\n\u201cMaybe. We need to consider our options here. What if he gets his man and\u2026,\u201d the unlikelihood of my own suggestion made me stumble. \u201c\u2026well, he just leaves. One man\u2019s life in exchange for everyone on the station. Who wouldn\u2019t make that deal?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe man in question, I suspect.\u201d Wyrick seemed to think that ended the argument and rejoined Morgan in the front.\n\nThe deck which housed the server room was dark, and I worried that it had no power. If that was the case we\u2019d have to draft a new plan, and quickly. Morgan found a few palm lights on a wall, which he distributed. We passed through a door that had once been secure and entered a room that was the kind of hot that soaked through our clothes and dried out our eyes. Banks upon banks of black boxes stared at us with flickering green and red lights.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s hot in here,\u201d said Relic unnecessarily.\n\nMorgan looked around and then moved down one of the rows. \u201cLet\u2019s find an active terminal. Spread out.\u201d\n\nI followed Wyrick. I had worked out something important on the journey here. The server room was truly the heart of the station. From here, all things were possible. Though the records of my arrest and trial would eventually be sent back to the UEE, we were isolated enough that transferring large amounts of data could get expensive. For now, it was all stored on the station\u2019s servers. Given the right access, I could wipe out evidence of my crimes. Everyone who knew that I was even a prisoner was dead, aside from Wyrick herself, and after this was all over I could perhaps find some way to buy her silence.\n\n\u201cAll I\u2019m saying is that there is no harm in finding out which cell is his. It\u2019s the only thing that Kilkenny wants. It has value. We could trade that information. But then maybe warn Browning that Kilkenny is coming for him.\u201d\n\nWyrick stopped cold. I nearly ran into her. She turned and I could see the blue of her eyes in the palm light. \u201cI\u2019m your therapist, Nylund. I know you better than you know yourself. You\u2019re not a coward at heart. You know that caving in to Kilkenny is wrong. This self-serving criminal that you\u2019ve become, it\u2019s just your way of dealing with your guilt. You\u2019re punishing yourself.\u201d\n\nThe palm-light dipped and I caught hold of one of the server racks. \u201cMy brother has nothing to do with this.\u201d I licked my lips with a dry tongue. \u201cAnd I may be a self-serving criminal, but I am not punishing myself. I am trying to use every tool at my disposal to get us all out of here alive.\u201d\n\nIf therapists can lie, then so too can their patients.\n\nWyrick caught my gaze for an uncomfortably long time, her blue eyes darting microscopically, as if to keep the line between our pupils unbroken. At last, she seemed to come to some conclusion. \u201cI will give you the access codes. If you want them. Do you really want them, Nylund? Think very carefully.\u201d\n\nDespite myself, I did. I thought of Danny and our days in the Academy. Before his death, I\u2019d been a straight arrow. I never would have considered committing a crime, let alone wiping out the evidence that I\u2019d done it. What had changed since then? I shied away from that thought. Damned headshrinkers were starting to get to me.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d I said as innocently as I could.\n\nI was uncertain if she\u2019d follow through on her promise, but she pressed on a sliver of metal and a terminal popped open. She punched in her codes and then walked away. Her radical therapy had failed, I told myself victoriously.\n\nIt was only after I\u2019d wiped the evidence of my crimes from the database that I realized that it was not a victory at all. For some reason, it felt more like a loss.\n\nI had pulled up a query window and the cursor flashed at me. I suddenly felt a huge weight on me that had nothing to do with the heat. I was betraying Wyrick\u2019s trust twice in as many minutes. I told myself I\u2019d make it up to her. At first, the thought was flippant, but it felt right, so I told myself again that I\u2019d make it up to her and meant it this time.\n\nMy fingers danced across the keyboard as I punched in Martin Browning\u2019s name. To my surprise it came up blank. Out of the 2400 prisoners on OSP-4, not a single one had the misfortune to be named \u201cMartin Browning\u201d, and the ident Kilkenny had given belonged to a dead man named Wilbur Marx.\n\nMorgan had found another terminal in the back of the room and brought up a view of the Flight Deck. A targeting reticle hovered over the two Hornets. \u201cThe connections are fried,\u201d he said, wiping sweat off the back of his neck and flicking droplets onto the floor. \u201cIt\u2019s this damn heat. Only one of the turrets is responding. We won\u2019t have much time.\u201d\n\n\u201cTarget the fighters first,\u201d I said, wiping sweaty palms against my pants. \u201cThe freighter\u2019s deadly but we can outrun her.\u201d\n\n\u201cFind what you were looking for?\u201d asked Morgan, glancing over his shoulder.\n\n\u201cSure. Used one of the terminals to check my messages. Pay some bills. You know.\u201d It was a weak joke, but he grunted a laugh and didn\u2019t follow up. Wyrick, standing beside him, studiously avoided looking at me. I tried to think of something to say to win back her trust, but I couldn\u2019t.\n\nMorgan punched a few keys into the terminal and the targeting reticle turned red. \u201cConsider this a love letter addressed to Captain Kilkenny,\u201d he said, mashing down the keys.\n\nto be continued \u2026"},"links_count":0,"comment_count":45,"created_at":"2014-07-25T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"11 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-09 08:05:04","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":14035,"next_id":14037}}