{"data":{"id":17365,"title":"The Second Run: A Sorri Lyrax Delivery (Part Three)","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/serialized-fiction\/17365-The-Second-Run-A-Sorri-Lyrax-Delivery-Part-Three","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/17365","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/17365","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"Second Run","images":[{"id":22600,"name":"SecondRun2.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/i2airxtll1002r\/source\/SecondRun2.jpg","alt":"","size":3681003,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2019-09-20T00:49:52+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/22600","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/22600\/similar"}],"images_count":1,"translations":{"en_EN":"Writer\u2019s Note: The Second Run: A Sorri Lyrax Delivery (Part Three) was published originally in Jump Point 4.3. You can read Part One here, and Part Two here.\nPart 3: Act Like You Know\nDodecahedron had already passed through the Kilian system, and was well on its way through Ellis towards the Magnus jump where it would then continue on its way to Stanton. The complete opposite direction of where I wanted to go. Under normal circumstances, the pilot of the ship would have honored his agreement and have already dropped me off at a starport so I could continue my journey to Tyrol IV and finish my delivery on time. Normal circumstances might also indicate a place to sit that didn\u2019t involve slightly-above-freezing ship flooring and a less than insane number of wooden games and puzzles in my general vicinity.\n\nBut nothing about Dodecahedron had been normal thus far. Now I was going to miss the timetable and I was out more funds that I couldn\u2019t recover. At the rate I was going, I\u2019d use up my ship savings and be back at zero year soon.\n\nI hadn\u2019t given up, but I didn\u2019t have any more ideas about how to convince him to take me to an Ellis station. I\u2019d threatened to destroy his puzzles, but he calmly replied that he would cut the oxygen supply off and throw my body out the airlock. I thought it was a bad joke at first. But since I hadn\u2019t registered my trip on Vita Perry, nor the transfer to Dodecahedron, no one would ever know that he\u2019d killed me. I was at his mercy.\n\nBased on the twisted games on the shelves, I should count myself lucky that he hadn\u2019t knocked me out and cut me into tiny pieces.\n\nI didn\u2019t even really know how to read him. Men like him never came into my father\u2019s bar. Occasionally, we\u2019d see \u2018proper folk\u2019 \u2014 that\u2019s what my father called anyone who could speak for more than ten minutes about a subject not involving making, fixing, or operating something \u2014 wander in when the sky chose to drench them, looking for a dry place to hunker down. They\u2019d ask for a menu and when my father would point to the list of eight items we cooked on the wall, they would wrinkle their noses like mice sniffing a trap. To be fair, \u201ccooked\u201d was a liberal use of the term. We had a vat of semi-regularly changed synthetic oil that served to flash-fry the various food-like items we carried. My father only had the food because the late night drunks wanted something to soak up the alcohol before they tried to take a hover back to their apartments. I imagine many of those meals were hurled out the window at vomit-speed to rain down on unfortunate pedestrians.\n\nSo I only had my brief interactions with Senet Mehen and his museum of puzzles to judge him by. Mostly, I was at a loss. In my mind, I could replace him with a sorting robot and a programmed auto-pilot, and the ship would go on doing business without a hitch.\n\nAnd maybe that was the problem. He didn\u2019t understand, nor care, about people. We were a blank wall to him. Heck, my initial message to him was a spam comm. I should have been more suspicious when it got a reply. Normal people knew enough about Human nature to ignore messages like that. Instead, all he cared about was his puzzles and nothing else, which, honestly, seemed a little sad to me. I wondered about the kind of childhood that would drive him away from Humanity, to hide in a box flying through space.\n\nIt might seem hypocritical for me to think that, given my plan to do something vaguely similar, but it wasn\u2019t the travel between the star systems that interested me. I wanted to know the people at each destination, learn about their customs, be grossed out by their meals, dance awkwardly at their parties, laugh at their jokes.\n\nFrustrated and chilled, with no way to influence Senet Mehen at my disposal, I stared at the puzzle tower on the table. The jagged, fractal-like pieces were meant to scissor together in three dimensions, creating a wooden sculpture.\n\nOn their own, the pieces seemed impossible to decipher. I\u2019d put together jigsaw puzzles on my mobi when I was a young girl, but with those there was always a picture to give a clue to the final result. With this one there seemed to be no target shape to shoot for. The maddening interlocking pieces had to be fitted together in ways that seemed random to create the final shape, and the only clues the creator had given were in the form of wispy lines on the individual pieces.\n\nI wasn\u2019t a puzzle expert by any means, but I was surprised by Senet Mehen\u2019s inability to solve it, if, as he said, it was only supposed to be of a moderate difficulty.\n\nWhich got me thinking: what if didn\u2019t require raw problem solving skills but something else which Senet Mehen lacked?\n\nI didn\u2019t know how long I had until we reached the Magnus jump point, but if I could figure the puzzle out before then, I had a chance.\n\nI quickly started organizing the pieces, trying to understand how they fit together. At first, I tried to match the geometric shapes, but decided that Senet Mehen had probably tried that, so I shouldn\u2019t bother. That line of thinking eliminated a few other strategies. Basically anything involving geometry, physics, or mathematics.\n\nEach piece had wispy ink-drawn lines that made me think of map contours. They tickled my memory, but I couldn\u2019t pick out what they were trying to represent. Each section was thin enough not to give enough information.\n\nRather than look at the pieces, I thought about what they could represent that Senet Mehen wouldn\u2019t be able to figure out given a significant amount of time. When I caught my reflection on the highly polished table I knew the answer: faces.\n\nSenet Mehen knew nothing about people, therefore he wouldn\u2019t know how to interpret faces. I\u2019d heard that sociopaths saw others as interchangeable and disposable in their self-mythologized universe.\n\nIt didn\u2019t take me long to construct a partial face given a dozen pieces. A woman\u2019s wind-swept hair and forehead with arched eyebrows formed on the curved wooden section.\n\nIn case Senet Mehen was watching me on a video feed, I stopped solving the puzzle and quickly mixed up the pieces. Then I started taking pictures and used my mobi to study them further. In doing so, I figured out that the goal of the puzzle was to make interlocking sheets. The faces helped you put the sheets together and then the sheets had to be fit together to form a larger picture. The shapes of the outside pieces would create a wooden head.\n\nAfter organizing the pictures I took and writing a few instructions, I went to the intercom at the front of the cargo bay.\n\n\u201cHello, Senet Mehen. I need to speak about the puzzle you have on your table,\u201d I said.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve already explained that I will not be intimidated, and destroying anything will only put your life at risk,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cWhat if I told you I know how to solve it?\u201d I asked, as my lips curled into a grin.\n\nAfter a few moments, he replied, \u201cI\u2019d say you are a liar. I checked my feeds and the puzzle looks exactly as it was when I left it.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I haven\u2019t put it together,\u201d I said, \u201cbut I figured out how to do so. The rest is a formality. It was quite simple really. I\u2019m surprised you didn\u2019t figure it out months ago. How long ago did you say you started working on it?\u201d\n\nThe comm crackled with static and then I heard a muffled rage-scream through the metal wall.\n\nI had his attention, but was a little worried I\u2019d pushed him too far. I listened for the recyclers to stop their humming.\n\nAfter a few minutes, he replied, \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d\n\n\u201cDrop me off at Green. The planet\u2019s not far from the Magnus jump point, so it wouldn\u2019t be out of your way,\u201d I said, taking a deep breath. \u201cAnd in return, I\u2019ll tell you how to solve the puzzle.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, it\u2019s a trick. There\u2019s no way someone like you\u2014\u201d\n\nHeat rose in my chest. \u201cSomeone like me?! Yeah, maybe I grew up slinging drinks to gristle-faced workers, listening to their complaints \u2014 not all unwarranted! \u2014 about how they\u2019ve spent their lives getting screwed. But at least I tried to get out. To be better. I may be common to someone like you, but I figured out your damn puzzle, in a few short hours, I might add, and if you want to know how to put it together, I\u2019ll send you a file explaining the missing link that\u2019s kept you from solving it. But I won\u2019t send it to you until I\u2019m safely off at Green, no earlier, no later. Do we have a deal?\u201d\n\nThe outburst felt entirely too good, but I worried I\u2019d gone too far. The silence was oppressive.\n\nWhen the comm crackled to life, I closed my eyes and crossed my fingers.\n\n\u201cI will reroute my journey for Green in exchange for the solution,\u201d he said. \u201cPrepare for disembarking in five point two hours.\u201d\n\nRelief flooded my limbs. I sunk to the floor and put my head in my hands. I was back on track. In fact, since Ellis was a jump closer to Tyrol, by the end of this whole mess on Dodecahedron, I\u2019d wind up saving some time.\n\nWhen we neared a small transfer hub on a far orbit around Green, I took off the EVA suit that I\u2019d been keeping on for warmth, and started searching for a ship headed to Taranis system once my mobiGlas linked up.\n\nThere were no wet-eyed goodbyes when I left Dodecahedron, but I stayed long enough for him to check the solution. His eyes widened when he saw why the puzzle had resisted his efforts to solve it.\n\n\u201cThat was quite remarkable. Do you have time to look at another puzzle that\u2019s been plaguing me?\u201d he asked.\n\nI was so incredulous at his offer that I almost forgot to respond. \u201cNo, sorry. I have another ship to catch.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d he said. \u201cFarewell and good luck.\u201d\n\nI\u2019d landed in time to catch a low-rent transport to Bethor on the surface of Taranis III and didn\u2019t want to miss it. I made Filigree Angel with time to spare.\n\nThe ship was wonderfully boring with my newfound love for beige carpets and comfortable seating. The journey was uneventful, but despite the lack of stimulus, I couldn\u2019t sleep. Landing at Bethor would put me over halfway to my destination. In fact, I found two more trips that lined up perfectly, getting me to Tyrol IV with a half a day to spare. I could practically taste the credits rolling into my account. One year closer to my dream ship, the Aurora LX. I hadn\u2019t dared name her yet, feeling that was too presumptuous, but when that day came, it would be glorious.\n\n[31:05:05]\n\nThe approach to Taranis III was spectacular. The storm-covered planet crackled with electricity. The northern hemisphere was cast in darkness, which highlighted trails of glowing gas that weaved through the upper atmosphere. It was like giant luminescent constrictors, a thousand kilometers long, were snaking through the sky.\n\nThe only blemish I could see on the planet was a blue domed station hovering high above the equator. Bethor was home to a large settlement of Tevarin and Human refugees and expatriates; basically, anyone looking to escape the reach of the Empire for one reason or another. The cloud city was one of the more civilized parts of uncivilized space.\n\nNo time to fully appreciate it, though. I\u2019d have to come back one day when I didn\u2019t have a countdown hanging over my head. It was only a brief stopover before I managed to book another ship to Tangaroa in the Helios system.\n\n[22:13:56]\n\nOther than the pilot who liked to sing a little bit too much for my taste, the flight to Helios was as smooth as could be. It was the traffic outside of the Tangaroa transfer junction that was the problem. Ships were backed up in a long queue waiting for clearance to land at the busy station. About half of them were starliners filled with tourists who had come to vacation along the ocean planet\u2019s temporary beaches or subsurf beneath its massive waves. Another place to add to my running \u201ccome back and visit\u201d list.\n\nIt was about another hour before we were able to land and by that point I really was regretting not having the EVA suit with me. Jumping out of the ship would have been preferable to hearing another verse of the pilot\u2019s favorite song, \u201cNo Room for Love.\u201d\n\nAfter moving through the security, I made my way across the station towards my next flight. The press of people was a little overwhelming and with the exhaustion of the trip settling on my bones, I almost didn\u2019t see her before it was too late.\n\nBetrix LaGrange was coming out of another tunnel, blonde hair bobbing to a beat as she was listening to her mobiGlas. She stopped momentarily to adjust her right shoe.\n\nI used her distraction to turn and walk right through the nearest door. A male voice cleared his throat. I looked around and realized that the door I had chosen blindly was the men\u2019s bathroom.\n\nI moved into a stall before anyone else came in, sat down, and contemplated my next move.\n\nWhat was Betrix doing here? Did she have a plan to steal the case from me or was this pure coincidence? Suddenly, the way to Tyrol IV seemed laden with danger.\n\nI checked my messages from FTL, finding a list of deliveries due in the next two days. Somehow, I\u2019d been signed up without my consent and the normal protocols about such things overridden.\n\n\u201cWhat the\u2014?\u201d\n\nIt clicked into place. Betrix must have had her boyfriend overload my schedule to force me to make a decision between keeping my job at FTL and making it to Tyrol IV. The due dates were manageable, assuming I left right now and headed back towards Sol. There were enough deliveries that if I missed them, I\u2019d be put on probation, which in company terms was just a formality before firing. Canceling jobs once you accepted them was nearly as bad.\n\nI punched the plastic wall as hard as I could. It hurt.\n\n\u201cIs there a problem?\u201d came a deep voice from the other side.\n\n\u201cNo TP,\u201d I said, lowering my voice.\n\nA roll wrapped in white cellophane was shoved under the wall. The quick response caught my notice, so I leaned down. On the other side of the wall was a stack of toilet paper, neatly placed into rows or stacked into towers and pyramids. The gentleman in the next stall seemed to be hoarding them.\n\n\u201cNo thanks,\u201d I said. \u201cI have some napkins.\u201d\n\nTurning back to my current dilemma, Betrix had me cornered. I knew she was counting on me to abandon the delivery and save my job, so she could swoop in and take the case from me when I did. I bit my lower lip. I\u2019d survived a life-support malfunction and a space-faring lunatic. I wasn\u2019t going to be stopped by little-miss-hagfish.\n\nThe toilet on the other side of the TP-hoarding gentleman flushed, which reminded me where I was hiding. While squeezing my nose closed because of the smell wafting under the wall, I studied the list. If I made the freelance delivery, and then prioritized two of the other six deliveries using non-commercial ships while ignoring the rest, I would barely stay above probation. The gambit would cost me more credits against my expected returns, and I wouldn\u2019t be able to make a mistake for another two years, but it could work.\n\nOf course, all that was counting on Betrix not having some other backup strategy in place, like knocking me over the head with a hammer or something equally desperate. To be safe, I should make sure to get to my flight without encountering her.\n\nExiting the stall, I was greeted by a janitor in a blue-green jumpsuit and company hat, with a spray bottle in one hand and a rag in the other. His cart was loaded down with cleaning supplies. He acknowledged my gender with a heavy blink, before moving on with wiping down the sink.\n\nI wrinkled my forehead and nose, not because of the awful smell still lingering in the men\u2019s room, but due to an idea that came to me like a supernova.\n\n\u201cExcuse me,\u201d I said. \u201cWould you like to make a few credits?\u201d\n\n[20:58:44]\n\nThe janitor\u2019s clothes weren\u2019t as baggy as the EVA suit, but they did the trick. I wasn\u2019t as worried about my outfit as I was the silvery case. Which was why I\u2019d bribed the janitor to borrow his cart, too. The silvery case was buried beneath the cleaning supplies.\n\nBetrix had positioned herself near a tunnel to the other section where my departing ship was waiting. She was scanning the people as they went past her.\n\nI kept my head down, so the hat covered my face, and kept moving. The station was busy enough that Betrix would have to focus on looking for the silvery case. It was quite distinctive. I had to hope that was enough to get me past her.\n\nAs I neared her position, I held my breath. Betrix was standing on her tippy-toes trying to see over the crowd. As I approached, I was certain she\u2019d notice my baggy jumpsuit and realize it was me beneath the hat.\n\nBut as quickly as I approached, I was past her and headed down the tube. Another fifty meters further, I took off the jumpsuit and liberated the case, leaving the cart where the janitor told me to. Then I hurried towards my destination, hoping they\u2019d let me board early in case Betrix came looking for me.\n\nThe departure gate was in sight when I saw the security detail close the door. My mobi indicated that I wasn\u2019t late. I was confused until I noticed the displays on the wall listing all commercial flights cancelled.\n\nWas Betrix more powerful and desperate than I had given her credit for?\n\nA few irate customers had already lined up at the commercial counter. I knew I wouldn\u2019t learn anything there, but I spied a knot of security guards talking by a vending machine. As discreetly as I could, I feigned fixing my boot laces, while I listened to their conversation.\n\n\u201c. . . don\u2019t know why, just that we\u2019re on lockdown . . .\u201d\n\n\u201c. . . it\u2019s a medical quarantine. A code yellow, so not deadly, but they don\u2019t want it to get out. Makes people act loopy. Heard that the first guy who was sick had pulled out his hair one by one . . .\u201d\n\n\u201c. . . dammit, this means I\u2019ll miss my son\u2019s sataball game . . .\u201d\n\n\u201c. . . at least we\u2019ll get hazard overtime . . .\u201d\n\n\u201c. . . they say how it\u2019s transmitted?\u201d\n\n\u201c. . . a contact virus, so unless it got picked up by the foodies, it shouldn\u2019t spread too quickly . . .\u201d\n\nCrite. Quarantine. Who knows how long that might last?\n\nWith the commercial ships shut down, there\u2019d be no way off the station, unless I could find a captain willing to break quarantine. As I started walking back towards the main terminal, I dug through the ship list, looking for small ships with newer ID numbers. Those would give me the best chance, since they probably needed the credits most. The likelihood that they would take me was small, but I had to try.\n\nI\u2019d identified three ships that might take me when I heard my name spoken with well-worn disdain.\n\n\u201cSorri Lyrax,\u201d said Betrix, standing with her arms crossed. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t look like you\u2019ll be making your delivery.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you haven\u2019t noticed, nobody\u2019s leaving the station, which means you too,\u201d I said. \u201cNeither of us is going to deliver the job right now.\u201d\n\nWhen the self-satisfied smug smile appeared on her lips, I knew she had a ship waiting that would take her and the case directly to Tyrol IV. Betrix wasn\u2019t above using unorthodox methods either, it seemed.\n\n\u201cHand over the case. You had a good run, but it ends here. I\u2019ll give you five percent, as a token gesture of good faith,\u201d she said, holding out her hand.\n\n\u201cWhy do you even want this job so bad?\u201d I asked.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m saving up to buy a ship, you ninny,\u201d she said. \u201cAn Aurora LX. Best long-range hauler for a freelance courier. Comfortable as sin. I have a replica patent leather captain\u2019s chair in my apartment on Saisei, just waiting to be installed in it.\u201d\n\nThe fire in her eyes practically glowed. Though I didn\u2019t agree with her methods, I knew exactly what drove her. It was what was pushing me to take chances with every delivery. Knowing this made me realize, as much as I loathed to admit it, that we might actually have something in common.\n\n\u201cWhy?\u201d I persisted.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s with all the questions?\u201d asked Betrix, glancing around as if she thought it might be a trick.\n\n\u201cHumor me, and I might hand over the case,\u201d I said.\n\nBetrix visibly recoiled, as if that act seemed ridiculous under the circumstances. She almost ignored my question, but then her lower lip tightened, as if memories came bubbling up unwarranted.\n\n\u201cI never want to be stuck on any planet. Ever. Space is the only place you can be safe and free,\u201d she said.\n\nWhatever fire was burning in her eyes became eclipsed by darkness. I didn\u2019t even want to know what had caused her that amount of pain. And as much as I hated every slimy inch of her guts, I wanted to give her a hug.\n\nWhile I mulled the insane idea that I was about to offer, I noticed something odd going on with the nearby fruit vendor. He\u2019d taken his wares and dumped them onto the floor and was sorting them into groups by shape and color. The passengers in the area were giving him a wide berth.\n\nIt wasn\u2019t the only oddity in the vicinity. A businessman had dumped his suitcase on the ground and was putting his clothes into piles. In the distance, I saw a group of people in yellow hazard suits marching in our direction.\n\nCrite.\n\n\u201cLook, we shouldn\u2019t be fighting,\u201d I said in a hurried breath. \u201cWe both want the same thing. We\u2019re both smart, savvy and driven. But our competition is costing us credits, when we could be working as a team. What if we made the delivery together, and then pooled our credits to purchase an Aurora and had it modified for a crew of two? Yes, I know, we\u2019d probably still hate each other, but it\u2019d only be for a year or so, and after that, I\u2019m sure we could earn enough to purchase a second ship and take our separate ways. Before you say no, think about it. It\u2019ll knock years off our plans to be on our own. If we\u2019re willing to put up with each other, I\u2019m sure we could have a ship by the end of this year and be on our own within two.\u201d\n\nFor a brief and wonderful moment, she was a totally different person. There wasn\u2019t a shred of the self-absorbed, manipulative, hateful . . . sorry, went on a roll there. I gathered that no one had ever made an offer to work with her before. Suddenly, her stand-offish and often vicious behavior made sense, despite not knowing what original pain had caused it.\n\nThen her features slowly started to harden, as if the frost in her soul was freezing its way up. By the time the words, \u201cNo, not ever,\u201d reached her lips, I\u2019d already formulated a new plan.\n\nFine. But don\u2019t ever say I didn\u2019t try.\n\nI tried to move past Betrix, but she grabbed my arm. I swear she was an android in disguise by that grip.\n\n\u201cLet me go, Betrix,\u201d I said.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re not making that delivery,\u201d she said, as she reached for the case.\n\nI tried to pull my arm free, but she wouldn\u2019t let me. The people around us began moving away, sensing the conflict. The people in hazard suits were approaching, and they were starting to notice us.\n\n\u201cNot now, Betrix, or you\u2019ll get us both thrown in a private quarantine,\u201d I said.\n\nEither Betrix didn\u2019t hear me or didn\u2019t care, but she kept tugging on the case, trying to yank it from my grip. The yellow-suited authorities had shifted their path and were coming directly for us.\n\nWhen I realized she wasn\u2019t going to let go, I yelled, \u201cShe\u2019s got it! She\u2019s got it! She\u2019s got the virus!\u201d\n\nRule number six: Act like you know.\n\nIn moments of panic or confusion, be the person who takes charge so you can ensure the chaos forms around your needs.\n\nIt was another lesson that I\u2019d learned from my father. On the occasions that the corrupt local police would come into the Golden Horde to solicit bribes, my father would ensure that an \u201cincident\u201d would occur down the street at the moment they arrived. In truth, he had a friend in the department who usually warned him when they were coming. My father would always be outside during the incident \u2014 usually a small fire, or reported purse-snatching \u2014 and he would start yelling at the police to go put out the fire or stop the thief, who was never caught. Despite their intentions in collecting monies rather than doing their job, they hated to be seen not doing simple police work when someone was highlighting a problem.\n\nThus, the hazard-suited folk, despite having multiple obvious virus outbreaks within visual distance, would tackle Betrix LaGrange when she tried to run away, or the other people in the terminal might see that they \u201cweren\u2019t doing their job.\u201d Societal peer pressure is a bitch.\n\nIn the ensuing chaos, I slipped away then took off in a full sprint down the passage. At this point, it was total bedlam as a panic gripped the people in the station. I ran, not in the direction of those three ships, but in search of the ship that Betrix had hired. I just had to figure out which one it was first.\n\nI thought it might be difficult until I pulled up the destinations of all the ships at Tangaroa. Two ships were headed to Tyrol IV, but one of them was commercial, which meant the other was Betrix\u2019s ride: the aptly named Vengeance Valkyrie.\n\nAfter a five-minute sprint across the station, my arm was shaking from carrying the silvery case. I had to hurry as more yellow-suits were arriving by the minute. Announcements went over the PA, asking everyone for cooperation. Uneasy fear hovered over the people like a dark cloud.\n\nSigns of the virus could be seen everywhere. One woman in a white research jacket was disassembling the seats in a lounge using a screwdriver. She had the posts sitting in one pile, the seat backs in another, and was busy trying to rip the fabric loose to make a third. Another man was smearing condiments from the food area on the wall by color, while a third had pushed over a vending machine and was ripping out the guts to sort.\n\nVengeance Valkyrie was in a private bay. I ran towards the ship, waving the silvery case. The lift came down but when I pressed the button to send it up, a disembodied voice spoke through the comms.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re not Betrix,\u201d he said, in an accent I wasn\u2019t familiar with. It sounded like he was trying to hide a formal education.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m her partner. I got the case here, but she got detained. She said to make the delivery without her,\u201d I said.\n\n\u201cThat still doesn\u2019t change the fact that you\u2019re not Betrix. She hired me, so I\u2019m waiting for her,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cHow else would I have known to come for your ship if she hadn\u2019t told me? Hurry up and let me on. If we don\u2019t leave soon, they might bring in gunships to ensure a tight quarantine and you won\u2019t get your bonus,\u201d I said, guessing Betrix had offered one.\n\nWhen static was my answer, I pressed the button again and said, \u201cI\u2019ll up your fee twenty percent.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do I know you don\u2019t have this virus that\u2019s in the station?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cI haven\u2019t touched anyone,\u201d I said, but realizing he wouldn\u2019t understand that context, I elaborated, \u201cthe virus is transmitted by contact. I overheard the security talking.\u201d\n\nAfter a moment of silence, he said, \u201cTwenty-five.\u201d\n\n\u201cDeal,\u201d I said, hoping that wasn\u2019t too much.\n\nWhen the platform started lifting into the ship, I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but until we were back in space, I didn\u2019t dare.\n\nThe room behind the cabin wasn\u2019t large, but it had a take-off chair. I strapped myself in after shoving the case beneath it.\n\n\u201cReady!\u201d I yelled, hoping he could hear me through the door.\n\nI worried he wasn\u2019t going to light his engines, especially when the internal lights switched off, leaving me in near-darkness, but then I felt a sudden wash of vertigo and realized we were moving. He\u2019d untethered us from station gravity and we drifted away, spinning. The momentum dragged us towards the planet. Through the whirling viewport, I watched UEE emergency response vessels descend on the station.\n\nThe ship began to pick up speed as we hurled towards the planet. Sparks flashed across the viewport. I began to worry that the pilot had died, when at what felt like the last moment, he switched on the engines and propelled us through the atmosphere, coming out on the other side of the planet, away from the station and the incoming UEE ships.\n\nAfter successfully escaping the quarantine, the ship headed towards the Tyrol jump point. The captain invited me into the forward cabin.\n\nHe was a ruggedly handsome man in his late thirties with olive skin and dark messy hair that went to his shoulders. He looked more at home in the wilderness on a wind-swept hilltop surrounded by alien trees than in a ship cabin. His teeth were a little crooked but that made his smile more endearing.\n\n\u201cSatchel,\u201d he said, offering his hand.\n\nWe shook and I felt a warm tingle travel up my arm. Maybe this final leg of the journey wouldn\u2019t be so bad after all.\n\n\u201cCare for an orange?\u201d he asked, offering the fruit after plucking it from a bag. \u201cHelios has some of the best oranges. They taste like sunshine and beaches.\u201d\n\n\u201cSure,\u201d I said, brushing his hand lightly when I accepted the orange.\n\nHe gave me a smile that made my face tingle.\n\nFeeling a little worn out from my sprint through the station and general lack of sleep, I peeled my orange in quiet as we sped through the great emptiness. Using my fingernail, I broke the skin and started ripping back the peel. I put the orange against my nose. He was right. It smelled like sunshine. Sweet sugary sunshine, but sunshine none-the-less. I inhaled deeply. The smell took the edge off my exhaustion. Before I could rip off a wedge and plop it in my waiting mouth, I noticed Captain Satchel doing something strange in his lap.\n\nHe had his orange already peeled, but instead of eating it, he was piling up the identically sized pieces and arranging them on his leg. As soon as we shared a glance, I saw the fear in his eyes. He had the virus, which meant that I had it too, and we were too far away to get help.\n\n[18:15:25]\n\nTo be continued\u2026","de_DE":"Anmerkung des Autors: Der zweite Lauf: A Sorri Lyrax Delivery (Part Three) wurde urspr\u00fcnglich in Jump Point 4.3 ver\u00f6ffentlicht. Du kannst Teil Eins hier und Teil Zwei hier lesen.\nTeil 3: Verhalte dich so, als ob du wei\u00dft.\nDas Dodekaeder hatte bereits das Kiliansystem durchlaufen und war auf dem besten Weg durch Ellis in Richtung Magnus-Sprung, wo es dann auf dem Weg nach Stanton weiterging. Die v\u00f6llig entgegengesetzte Richtung dessen, wohin ich gehen wollte. Unter normalen Umst\u00e4nden h\u00e4tte der Lotse des Schiffes seine Vereinbarung eingehalten und mich bereits an einem Starthafen abgesetzt, damit ich meine Reise nach Tirol IV fortsetzen und meine Lieferung p\u00fcnktlich abschlie\u00dfen konnte. Normale Umst\u00e4nde k\u00f6nnten auch auf einen Sitzplatz hinweisen, der nicht mit leicht \u00fcberfrierenden Schiffsb\u00f6den und einer weniger als wahnsinnigen Anzahl von Holzspielen und R\u00e4tseln in meiner allgemeinen Umgebung verbunden war.\n\nAber nichts an Dodekaedern war bisher normal gewesen. Jetzt w\u00fcrde ich den Zeitplan verpassen und ich h\u00e4tte mehr Geld bekommen, das ich nicht zur\u00fcckbekommen konnte. Bei der Geschwindigkeit, mit der ich ging, w\u00fcrde ich meine Schiffsersparnisse aufbrauchen und bald wieder bei Null sein.\n\nIch hatte nicht aufgegeben, aber ich hatte keine Ideen mehr, wie ich ihn davon \u00fcberzeugen k\u00f6nnte, mich zu einer Ellis-Station zu bringen. Ich hatte gedroht, seine R\u00e4tsel zu zerst\u00f6ren, aber er antwortete ruhig, dass er die Sauerstoffversorgung unterbrechen und meinen K\u00f6rper aus der Luftschleuse werfen w\u00fcrde. Ich dachte zuerst, es w\u00e4re ein schlechter Witz. Aber da ich meine Reise auf Vita Perry und den Transfer nach Dodekaeder nicht registriert hatte, w\u00fcrde niemand jemals erfahren, dass er mich get\u00f6tet hatte. Ich war seiner Gnade ausgeliefert.\n\nBasierend auf den verdrehten Spielen in den Regalen sollte ich mich gl\u00fccklich sch\u00e4tzen, dass er mich nicht ausgeknockt und in kleine St\u00fccke geschnitten hatte.\n\nIch wusste nicht einmal wirklich, wie ich ihn lesen sollte. M\u00e4nner wie er kamen nie in die Bar meines Vaters. Gelegentlich sahen wir \"richtige Leute\" - so nannte mein Vater jeden, der mehr als zehn Minuten lang \u00fcber ein Thema sprechen konnte, das nichts mit dem Herstellen, Reparieren oder Bedienen zu tun hatte - hereinkommen, als der Himmel sich entschied, sie zu durchn\u00e4ssen und nach einem trockenen Ort zum Verstecken suchte. Sie baten um ein Men\u00fc, und wenn mein Vater auf die Liste der acht Gegenst\u00e4nde zeigte, die wir an der Wand gekocht hatten, knitterten sie mit den Nasen wie M\u00e4use, die an einer Falle schn\u00fcffelten. Um fair zu sein, \"gekocht\" war eine liberale Verwendung des Begriffs. Wir hatten eine Wanne mit halbwegs regelm\u00e4\u00dfig wechselndem synthetischem \u00d6l, das dazu diente, die verschiedenen Lebensmittel, die wir trugen, zu flashen. Mein Vater hatte nur das Essen, weil die sp\u00e4ten Betrunkenen etwas wollten, um den Alkohol aufzusaugen, bevor sie versuchten, einen Schwebeflug zur\u00fcck in ihre Wohnungen zu nehmen. Ich stelle mir vor, dass viele dieser Mahlzeiten mit Brechgeschwindigkeit aus dem Fenster geworfen wurden, um auf ungl\u00fcckliche Fu\u00dfg\u00e4nger zu regnen.\n\nSo hatte ich nur meine kurzen Interaktionen mit Senet Mehen und seinem R\u00e4tselmuseum, nach denen ich ihn beurteilen konnte. Meistens war ich ratlos. Meiner Meinung nach k\u00f6nnte ich ihn durch einen Sortierroboter und einen programmierten Autopiloten ersetzen, und das Schiff w\u00fcrde ohne Probleme weitermachen.\n\nUnd vielleicht war das das Problem. Er verstand und interessierte sich nicht f\u00fcr Menschen. Wir waren eine leere Wand f\u00fcr ihn. Verdammt, meine erste Nachricht an ihn war ein Spam-Kommando. Ich h\u00e4tte misstrauischer sein sollen, als es eine Antwort bekam. Normale Menschen wussten genug \u00fcber die menschliche Natur, um solche Botschaften zu ignorieren. Stattdessen k\u00fcmmerte er sich nur um seine R\u00e4tsel und nichts anderes, was mir ehrlich gesagt ein wenig traurig erschien. Ich fragte mich \u00fcber die Art der Kindheit, die ihn von der Menschheit vertreiben w\u00fcrde, um sich in einer Kiste zu verstecken, die durch den Weltraum fliegt.\n\nEs mag f\u00fcr mich heuchlerisch erscheinen, das zu denken, angesichts meines Plans, etwas vage \u00c4hnliches zu tun, aber es war nicht die Reise zwischen den Sternensystemen, die mich interessierte. Ich wollte die Leute an jedem Zielort kennenlernen, ihre Br\u00e4uche kennenlernen, von ihren Mahlzeiten eingenommen werden, ungeschickt auf ihren Partys tanzen, \u00fcber ihre Witze lachen.\n\nFrustriert und entspannt, ohne die M\u00f6glichkeit, Senet Mehen zu beeinflussen, starrte ich auf den R\u00e4tselturm auf dem Tisch. Die zerkl\u00fcfteten, fraktalen St\u00fccke sollten dreidimensional zusammenschneiden und eine Holzskulptur bilden.\n\nAllein schienen die St\u00fccke unm\u00f6glich zu entziffern. Ich hatte schon als junges M\u00e4dchen Puzzles auf meinem Mobi zusammengestellt, aber bei denen gab es immer ein Bild, um einen Hinweis auf das Endergebnis zu geben. Bei diesem schien es keine Zielform zu geben, auf die man schie\u00dfen k\u00f6nnte. Die verr\u00fcckten, ineinandergreifenden Teile mussten auf scheinbar zuf\u00e4llige Weise zusammengef\u00fcgt werden, um die endg\u00fcltige Form zu erhalten, und die einzigen Hinweise, die der Sch\u00f6pfer gegeben hatte, waren in Form von d\u00fcrftigen Linien auf den einzelnen Teilen.\n\nIch war keineswegs ein R\u00e4tselexperte, aber ich war \u00fcberrascht von Senet Mehens Unf\u00e4higkeit, es zu l\u00f6sen, wenn es, wie er sagte, nur von mittlerer Schwierigkeit sein sollte.\n\nWas mich zum Nachdenken brachte: Was w\u00e4re, wenn man nicht rohe Probleml\u00f6sungsf\u00e4higkeiten voraussetzen w\u00fcrde, sondern etwas anderes, was Senet Mehen fehlte?\n\nIch wusste nicht, wie lange ich noch Zeit hatte, bis wir den Magnus-Sprungpunkt erreichten, aber wenn ich das Puzzle vorher herausfinden konnte, hatte ich eine Chance.\n\nIch fing schnell an, die St\u00fccke zu organisieren und versuchte zu verstehen, wie sie zusammenpassen. Zuerst versuchte ich, die geometrischen Formen anzupassen, entschied aber, dass Senet Mehen das wahrscheinlich versucht hatte, also sollte ich mich nicht darum k\u00fcmmern. Diese Denkweise eliminierte ein paar andere Strategien. Im Grunde alles, was mit Geometrie, Physik oder Mathematik zu tun hat.\n\nJedes St\u00fcck hatte zarte, tintengezeichnete Linien, die mich an Kartenkonturen denken lie\u00dfen. Sie kitzelten mein Ged\u00e4chtnis, aber ich konnte nicht herausfinden, was sie darstellen wollten. Jeder Abschnitt war d\u00fcnn genug, um nicht gen\u00fcgend Informationen zu liefern.\n\nAnstatt mir die St\u00fccke anzusehen, dachte ich dar\u00fcber nach, was sie darstellen k\u00f6nnten, dass Senet Mehen angesichts einer betr\u00e4chtlichen Zeitspanne nicht in der Lage sein w\u00fcrde, es herauszufinden. Als ich auf dem hochglanzpolierten Tisch mein Spiegelbild sah, wusste ich die Antwort: Gesichter.\n\nSenet Mehen wusste nichts \u00fcber Menschen, deshalb wusste er nicht, wie man Gesichter interpretiert. Ich hatte geh\u00f6rt, dass Soziopathen andere als austauschbar und verf\u00fcgbar in ihrem selbstmythologisierten Universum betrachten.\n\nEs dauerte nicht lange, bis ich eine Teilfl\u00e4che mit einem Dutzend Teilen konstruierte. Das windgepeitschte Haar und die Stirn einer Frau mit gew\u00f6lbten Augenbrauen, die auf dem geschwungenen Holzteil geformt sind.\n\nFalls Senet Mehen mich auf einem Video-Feed beobachtete, h\u00f6rte ich auf, das R\u00e4tsel zu l\u00f6sen und verwechselte schnell die Teile. Dann fing ich an, Fotos zu machen und benutzte mein Mobi, um sie weiter zu studieren. Dabei habe ich herausgefunden, dass das Ziel des Puzzles darin bestand, ineinandergreifende Platten herzustellen. Die Fl\u00e4chen halfen dir, die Bl\u00e4tter zusammenzusetzen, und dann mussten die Bl\u00e4tter zusammengef\u00fcgt werden, um ein gr\u00f6\u00dferes Bild zu erhalten. Die Formen der Au\u00dfenteile w\u00fcrden einen Holzkopf bilden.\n\nNachdem ich die Bilder organisiert und ein paar Anweisungen geschrieben hatte, ging ich zur Sprechanlage an der Vorderseite des Laderaums.\n\n\"Hallo, Senet Mehen. Ich muss \u00fcber das R\u00e4tsel sprechen, das du auf deinem Tisch hast\", sagte ich.\n\n\"Ich habe bereits erkl\u00e4rt, dass ich mich nicht einsch\u00fcchtern lasse, und die Zerst\u00f6rung von etwas wird nur dein Leben gef\u00e4hrden\", sagte er.\n\n\"Was, wenn ich dir sage, dass ich wei\u00df, wie man es l\u00f6st?\" fragte ich, als sich meine Lippen zu einem Grinsen zusammenrollen.\n\nNach ein paar Augenblicken antwortete er: \"Ich w\u00fcrde sagen, dass du ein L\u00fcgner bist. Ich habe meine Feeds \u00fcberpr\u00fcft und das Puzzle sieht genau so aus, wie es war, als ich es verlassen habe.\"\n\n\"Oh, ich habe es nicht zusammengesetzt\", sagte ich, \"aber ich habe herausgefunden, wie man es macht. Der Rest ist eine Formalit\u00e4t. Es war wirklich ganz einfach. Ich bin \u00fcberrascht, dass du es vor Monaten noch nicht herausgefunden hast. Wie lange ist es her, sagtest du, dass du angefangen hast, daran zu arbeiten?\"\n\nSie knisterten vor Rauschen und dann h\u00f6rte ich eine ged\u00e4mpfte Wut-Schrei durch die Metallwand.\n\nIch hatte seine Aufmerksamkeit, war aber etwas besorgt, dass ich ihn zu weit getrieben hatte. Ich h\u00f6rte auf die Recycler, die ihr Brummen beenden sollten.\n\nNach ein paar Minuten antwortete er: \"Was willst du?\"\n\n\"Setz mich bei Green ab. Der Planet ist nicht weit vom Magnus-Sprungpunkt entfernt, also w\u00e4re er nicht aus dem Weg\", sagte ich und atmete tief durch. \"Und im Gegenzug werde ich dir sagen, wie du das R\u00e4tsel l\u00f6sen kannst.\"\n\n\"Nein, es ist ein Trick. Auf keinen Fall kann jemand wie du....\"\n\nDie Hitze stieg in meiner Brust auf. \"Jemand wie ich?! Ja, vielleicht bin ich mit Drinks aufgewachsen, um Arbeiter mit knorrigen Gesichtern zu verw\u00f6hnen, und habe ihren Beschwerden zugeh\u00f6rt - nicht nur ungerechtfertigt! - dar\u00fcber, wie sie ihr Leben damit verbracht haben, gefickt zu werden. Aber wenigstens habe ich versucht, rauszukommen. Um besser zu sein. Ich mag jemand wie du gemeinsam haben, aber ich habe dein verdammtes R\u00e4tsel in ein paar kurzen Stunden herausgefunden, das ich hinzuf\u00fcgen m\u00f6chte, und wenn du wissen willst, wie man es zusammensetzt, schicke ich dir eine Datei, die das fehlende Glied erkl\u00e4rt, das dich davon abgehalten hat, es zu l\u00f6sen. Aber ich werde es dir erst schicken, wenn ich bei Green sicher bin, nicht fr\u00fcher und nicht sp\u00e4ter. Haben wir einen Deal?\"\n\nDer Ausbruch f\u00fchlte sich v\u00f6llig zu gut an, aber ich hatte Angst, dass ich zu weit gegangen w\u00e4re. Die Stille war bedr\u00fcckend.\n\nAls das Komma zum Leben erwachte, schloss ich die Augen und dr\u00fcckte die Daumen.\n\n\"Ich werde meine Reise nach Gr\u00fcn im Austausch f\u00fcr die L\u00f6sung umleiten\", sagte er. \"Bereitet euch darauf vor, in f\u00fcnf Minuten und zwei Stunden von Bord zu gehen.\"\n\nDie Erleichterung \u00fcberflutete meine Glieder. Ich sank auf den Boden und legte meinen Kopf in die H\u00e4nde. Ich war wieder auf dem richtigen Weg. Da Ellis ein Sprung n\u00e4her an Tirol war, w\u00fcrde ich am Ende dieses ganzen Durcheinanders am Dodekaeder etwas Zeit sparen.\n\nAls wir uns einem kleinen Umsteigeknoten auf einer weiten Umlaufbahn um Gr\u00fcn n\u00e4herten, zog ich den EVA-Anzug aus, den ich f\u00fcr die W\u00e4rme gehalten hatte, und machte mich auf die Suche nach einem Schiff, das zum Taranis-System fuhr, nachdem mein mobiGlas angeschlossen war.\n\nEs gab keine nassen Verabschiedungen, als ich das Dodekaeder verlie\u00df, aber ich blieb lange genug, damit er die L\u00f6sung \u00fcberpr\u00fcfen konnte. Seine Augen weiteten sich, als er sah, warum sich das Puzzle seinen Bem\u00fchungen, es zu l\u00f6sen, widersetzt hatte.\n\n\"Das war schon bemerkenswert. Hast du Zeit, dir ein weiteres R\u00e4tsel anzusehen, das mich geplagt hat?\" fragte er.\n\nIch war so ungl\u00e4ubig \u00fcber sein Angebot, dass ich fast vergessen h\u00e4tte zu antworten. \"Nein, tut mir leid. Ich muss noch ein anderes Schiff erwischen.\"\n\n\"Ah\", sagte er. \"Lebt wohl und viel Gl\u00fcck.\"\n\nIch war rechtzeitig gelandet, um einen g\u00fcnstigen Transport nach Bethor auf der Oberfl\u00e4che von Taranis III zu erwischen, und wollte es nicht verpassen. Ich habe Filigrane Angel mit Zeit zur Verf\u00fcgung gestellt.\n\nDas Schiff war wunderbar langweilig mit meiner neu entdeckten Liebe zu beigen Teppichen und bequemen Sitzen. Die Reise war ereignislos, aber trotz des fehlenden Reizes konnte ich nicht schlafen. Die Landung in Bethor w\u00fcrde mich auf halbem Weg zu meinem Ziel bringen. Tats\u00e4chlich fand ich zwei weitere Ausfl\u00fcge, die perfekt aufeinander abgestimmt waren und mich mit einem halben Tag Aufenthalt nach Tirol IV brachten. Ich konnte praktisch die Credits schmecken, die in mein Konto flossen. Ein Jahr n\u00e4her an meinem Traumschiff, der Aurora LX. Ich hatte es noch nicht gewagt, sie zu benennen, das Gef\u00fchl, dass das zu anma\u00dfend war, aber wenn dieser Tag kam, w\u00fcrde es herrlich sein.\n\n[31:05:05]\n\nDie Ann\u00e4herung an Taranis III war spektakul\u00e4r. Der sturmgepeitschte Planet knisterte mit Strom. Die Nordhalbkugel war in Dunkelheit geh\u00fcllt, was Spuren von gl\u00fchendem Gas hervorhob, die durch die obere Atmosph\u00e4re flossen. Es war, als w\u00fcrden sich riesige, tausend Kilometer lange, leuchtende Konstriktoren durch den Himmel schl\u00e4ngeln.\n\nDer einzige Fehler, den ich auf dem Planeten sehen konnte, war eine blau gew\u00f6lbte Station, die hoch \u00fcber dem \u00c4quator schwebte. Bethor war die Heimat einer gro\u00dfen Siedlung von Tevarin- und Menschenfl\u00fcchtlingen und Expatriates; im Grunde genommen jeder, der aus dem einen oder anderen Grund der Reichweite des Imperiums entfliehen wollte. Die Wolkenstadt war einer der zivilisierteren Teile des unzivilisierten Raums.\n\nAber keine Zeit, es zu sch\u00e4tzen. Ich m\u00fcsste eines Tages zur\u00fcckkommen, wenn mir kein Countdown \u00fcber den Kopf h\u00e4ngt. Es war nur ein kurzer Zwischenstopp, bevor es mir gelang, ein weiteres Schiff nach Tangaroa im Helios-System zu buchen.\n\n[22:13:56]\n\nAbgesehen von dem Piloten, der gerne ein wenig zu viel f\u00fcr meinen Geschmack sang, war der Flug nach Helios so reibungslos wie m\u00f6glich. Es war der Verkehr au\u00dferhalb des Transferknotens Tangaroa, der das Problem darstellte. Die Schiffe wurden in einer langen Warteschlange gesichert, die auf die Freigabe zur Landung am gesch\u00e4ftigen Bahnhof wartete. Etwa die H\u00e4lfte von ihnen waren Sternenhimmel voller Touristen, die in den Urlaub an den vor\u00fcbergehenden Str\u00e4nden des Ozeanplaneten gekommen waren oder unter seinen massiven Wellen subsurfen. Ein weiterer Ort, um meine laufende \"Come back and visit\"-Liste zu erweitern.\n\nEs dauerte etwa eine weitere Stunde, bis wir landen konnten, und zu diesem Zeitpunkt bedauerte ich wirklich, dass ich den EVA-Anzug nicht dabei hatte. Aus dem Schiff zu springen w\u00e4re besser gewesen, als einen weiteren Vers aus dem Lieblingslied des Piloten zu h\u00f6ren, \"No Room for Love\".\n\nNachdem ich durch die Sicherheitskontrolle gegangen war, machte ich mich auf den Weg \u00fcber die Station zu meinem n\u00e4chsten Flug. Die Presse der Leute war ein wenig \u00fcberw\u00e4ltigend und mit der Ersch\u00f6pfung der Reise, die sich auf meinen Knochen niederlie\u00df, sah ich sie fast nicht, bevor es zu sp\u00e4t war.\n\nBetrix LaGrange kam aus einem anderen Tunnel, blonde Haare wackelten zu einem Beat, als sie ihr mobiGlas h\u00f6rte. Sie hielt kurz an, um ihren rechten Schuh anzupassen.\n\nIch benutzte ihre Ablenkung, um mich zu drehen und direkt durch die n\u00e4chste T\u00fcr zu gehen. Eine m\u00e4nnliche Stimme r\u00e4usperte sich. Ich sah mich um und erkannte, dass die T\u00fcr, die ich blind gew\u00e4hlt hatte, die Herrentoilette war.\n\nIch ging in einen Stall, bevor jemand anderes hereinkam, setzte mich hin und dachte \u00fcber meinen n\u00e4chsten Zug nach.\n\nWas wollte Betrix hier? Hatte sie einen Plan, mir den Fall zu stehlen, oder war das reiner Zufall? Pl\u00f6tzlich schien der Weg nach Tirol IV voller Gefahren.\n\nIch \u00fcberpr\u00fcfte meine Nachrichten vom FTL und fand eine Liste der Lieferungen, die in den n\u00e4chsten zwei Tagen f\u00e4llig waren. Irgendwie war ich ohne meine Zustimmung angemeldet worden und die normalen Protokolle \u00fcber solche Dinge wurden \u00fcberschrieben.\n\n\"Was zum...?\"\n\nEs raste ein. Betrix muss ihren Freund dazu gebracht haben, meinen Zeitplan zu \u00fcberladen, um mich zu zwingen, eine Entscheidung zu treffen, zwischen dem Halten meines Jobs bei FTL und dem Treffen in Tirol IV. Die F\u00e4lligkeitstermine waren \u00fcberschaubar, vorausgesetzt, ich bin gerade gegangen und bin zur\u00fcck nach Sol gefahren. Es gab genug Lieferungen, dass, wenn ich sie verpassen w\u00fcrde, ich auf Bew\u00e4hrung gesetzt w\u00fcrde, was im Unternehmen nur eine Formalit\u00e4t vor dem Brand war. Jobs zu stornieren, sobald Sie sie angenommen haben, war fast genauso schlimm.\n\nIch schlug so hart ich konnte auf die Kunststoffwand. Es tat weh.\n\n\"Gibt es ein Problem?\" kam eine tiefe Stimme von der anderen Seite.\n\n\"Kein TP\", sagte ich und senkte meine Stimme.\n\nEine mit wei\u00dfem Zellophan umh\u00fcllte Rolle wurde unter die Wand geschoben. Die schnelle Reaktion fiel mir auf, also lehnte ich mich nach unten. Auf der anderen Seite der Wand befand sich ein Stapel Toilettenpapier, der ordentlich in Reihen gelegt oder zu T\u00fcrmen und Pyramiden gestapelt war. Der Herr im n\u00e4chsten Stall schien sie zu horten.\n\n\"Nein danke\", sagte ich. \"Ich habe ein paar Servietten.\"\n\nUm auf mein aktuelles Dilemma zur\u00fcckzukommen, lie\u00df Betrix mich in die Enge treiben. Ich wusste, dass sie darauf z\u00e4hlte, dass ich die Lieferung aufgeben und meinen Job retten w\u00fcrde, damit sie hereinkommen und den Fall von mir \u00fcbernehmen konnte, als ich es tat. Ich biss mir auf die Unterlippe. Ich hatte eine lebenserhaltende Fehlfunktion und einen raumfliegenden Irren \u00fcberlebt. Ich wollte nicht von Klein-Miss-Hungern aufgehalten werden.\n\nDie Toilette auf der anderen Seite des TP-Hortenden Herrn err\u00f6tete, was mich daran erinnerte, wo ich mich versteckte. W\u00e4hrend ich meine Nase wegen des Geruchs, der unter der Wand weht, geschlossen dr\u00fcckte, studierte ich die Liste. Wenn ich die freiberufliche Lieferung durchf\u00fchren und dann zwei der anderen sechs Lieferungen mit nicht-kommerziellen Schiffen priorisieren w\u00fcrde, w\u00e4hrend ich den Rest ignoriere, w\u00fcrde ich kaum \u00fcber der Bew\u00e4hrungsstrafe bleiben. Der Gambit w\u00fcrde mich mehr Credits kosten, wenn ich meine Renditeerwartungen erf\u00fcllen k\u00f6nnte, und ich k\u00f6nnte f\u00fcr weitere zwei Jahre keinen Fehler machen, aber es k\u00f6nnte funktionieren.\n\nNat\u00fcrlich z\u00e4hlte all das darauf, dass Betrix keine andere Backup-Strategie hatte, wie z.B. mich mit einem Hammer \u00fcber den Kopf zu schlagen oder etwas \u00e4hnlich Verzweifeltes. Um sicher zu sein, sollte ich sicherstellen, dass ich zu meinem Flug komme, ohne ihr zu begegnen.\n\nAls ich den Stand verlie\u00df, wurde ich von einem Hausmeister in einem blaugr\u00fcnen Overall und Firmenhut begr\u00fc\u00dft, mit einer Spr\u00fchflasche in der einen Hand und einem Lappen in der anderen. Sein Wagen war mit Reinigungsmitteln beladen. Er best\u00e4tigte mein Geschlecht mit einem heftigen Blinzeln, bevor er mit dem Abwischen der Sp\u00fcle weitermachte.\n\nIch runzelte Stirn und Nase, nicht wegen des schrecklichen Geruchs, der noch in der Herrentoilette verweilt, sondern wegen einer Idee, die wie eine Supernova zu mir kam.\n\n\"Entschuldigung\", sagte ich. \"M\u00f6chtest du ein paar Credits machen?\"\n\n[20:58:44]\n\nDie Kleidung des Hausmeisters war nicht so ausgeleiert wie der EVA-Anzug, aber sie haben es geschafft. Ich war nicht so besorgt um mein Outfit wie um den silbernen Fall. Deshalb hatte ich den Hausmeister bestochen, um mir auch seinen Wagen zu leihen. Die silberne H\u00fclse wurde unter den Reinigungsmitteln vergraben.\n\nBetrix hatte sich in der N\u00e4he eines Tunnels zu dem anderen Abschnitt positioniert, auf dem mein abfahrendes Schiff wartete. Sie scannte die Leute, als sie an ihr vorbeikamen.\n\nIch hielt meinen Kopf unten, also bedeckte der Hut mein Gesicht und bewegte mich weiter. Die Station war so besch\u00e4ftigt, dass Betrix sich auf die Suche nach dem silbernen Koffer konzentrieren musste. Es war sehr ausgepr\u00e4gt. Ich musste hoffen, dass das genug war, um mich an ihr vorbeizubringen.\n\nAls ich mich ihrer Position n\u00e4herte, hielt ich den Atem an. Betrix stand auf ihren Zehenspitzen und versuchte, \u00fcber die Menge hinwegzusehen. Als ich mich n\u00e4herte, war ich mir sicher, dass sie meinen ausgeleierten Overall bemerken w\u00fcrde und erkannte, dass ich es unter dem Hut war.\n\nAber als ich mich n\u00e4herte, war ich an ihr vorbei und ging die R\u00f6hre hinunter. Noch f\u00fcnfzig Meter weiter zog ich den Overall aus, befreite den Koffer und verlie\u00df den Wagen, wozu mir der Hausmeister sagte. Dann eilte ich zu meinem Ziel und hoffte, dass sie mich fr\u00fch an Bord lassen w\u00fcrden, falls Betrix nach mir suchen w\u00fcrde.\n\nDer Abfluggate war in Sichtweite, als ich sah, wie die Sicherheitskr\u00e4fte die T\u00fcr schlossen. Mein Mobi sagte, dass ich nicht zu sp\u00e4t komme. Ich war verwirrt, bis ich die Anzeigen an der Wand bemerkte, die alle annullierten kommerziellen Fl\u00fcge auflisten.\n\nWar Betrix m\u00e4chtiger und verzweifelter, als ich ihr zugeschrieben hatte?\n\nEinige w\u00fctende Kunden hatten sich bereits an der Verkaufstheke angestellt. Ich wusste, dass ich dort nichts lernen w\u00fcrde, aber ich beobachtete einen Knoten von Sicherheitskr\u00e4ften, die an einem Automaten sprachen. So diskret ich konnte, t\u00e4uschte ich vor, meine Schn\u00fcrsenkel zu reparieren, w\u00e4hrend ich ihrem Gespr\u00e4ch zuh\u00f6rte.\n\n\u201c. ... wei\u00df nicht warum, nur dass wir abgeriegelt sind....\"\n\n\u201c. ...es ist eine medizinische Quarant\u00e4ne. Ein Code gelb, also nicht t\u00f6dlich, aber sie wollen nicht, dass er rauskommt. L\u00e4sst die Leute verr\u00fcckt spielen. Ich h\u00f6rte, dass der erste Typ, der krank war, sich die Haare einzeln herausgezogen hatte....\"\n\n\u201c. ...verdammt, das bedeutet, dass ich das Sataballspiel meines Sohnes vermissen werde....\"\n\n\u201c. ...zumindest bekommen wir gef\u00e4hrliche \u00dcberstunden....\"\n\n\u201c. ...sagen sie, wie es \u00fcbertragen wird?\"\n\n\u201c. ... ein Kontaktvirus, also sollte es sich nicht zu schnell verbreiten, es sei denn, es wurde von den Feinschmeckern aufgenommen....\"\n\nH\u00f6flich. Quarant\u00e4ne. Wer wei\u00df, wie lange das dauern k\u00f6nnte?\n\nWenn die kommerziellen Schiffe abgeschaltet w\u00e4ren, g\u00e4be es keinen Weg von der Station, es sei denn, ich k\u00f6nnte einen Kapit\u00e4n finden, der bereit ist, die Quarant\u00e4ne zu durchbrechen. Als ich anfing, zur\u00fcck zum Hauptterminal zu gehen, grub ich die Schiffsliste durch und suchte nach kleinen Schiffen mit neueren ID-Nummern. Diese w\u00fcrden mir die beste Chance geben, da sie wahrscheinlich die meisten Credits ben\u00f6tigten. Die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass sie mich mitnehmen w\u00fcrden, war gering, aber ich musste es versuchen.\n\nIch hatte drei Schiffe identifiziert, die mich mitnehmen k\u00f6nnten, als ich meinen Namen mit ausgetretener Verachtung sprechen h\u00f6rte.\n\n\"Sorri Lyrax\", sagte Betrix und stand mit verschr\u00e4nkten Armen da. \"Es sieht nicht so aus, als w\u00fcrdest du deine Lieferung machen.\"\n\n\"Wenn du es nicht bemerkt hast, niemand verl\u00e4sst den Bahnhof, was auch dich bedeutet\", sagte ich. \"Keiner von uns beiden wird den Auftrag jetzt erf\u00fcllen.\"\n\nAls das selbstzufriedene, selbstgef\u00e4llige L\u00e4cheln auf ihren Lippen erschien, wusste ich, dass sie ein Schiff hatte, das auf sie und den Fall direkt nach Tirol IV warten w\u00fcrde. Betrix war auch nicht dar\u00fcber hinaus, unorthodoxe Methoden zu verwenden, wie es schien.\n\n\" Gib mir den Fall. Du hattest einen guten Lauf, aber er endet hier. Ich gebe dir f\u00fcnf Prozent, als Zeichen des guten Willens\", sagte sie und streckte ihre Hand aus.\n\n\"Warum willst du diesen Job \u00fcberhaupt so sehr?\" fragte ich.\n\n\"Ich spare, um ein Schiff zu kaufen, du Idiot\", sagte sie. \" Eine Aurora LX. Bester Langstreckenspediteur f\u00fcr einen freiberuflichen Kurier. Bequem wie die S\u00fcnde. Ich habe einen Nachbau eines Kapit\u00e4nsstuhls aus Lackleder in meiner Wohnung auf Saisei, der nur darauf wartet, darin installiert zu werden.\"\n\nDas Feuer in ihren Augen leuchtete praktisch. Obwohl ich mit ihren Methoden nicht einverstanden war, wusste ich genau, was sie antreibt. Es war das, was mich dazu brachte, bei jeder Lieferung ein Risiko einzugehen. Das zu wissen, lie\u00df mich erkennen, so sehr ich es auch verabscheute, dass wir vielleicht tats\u00e4chlich etwas gemeinsam haben.\n\n\" Warum?\" Ich bestand darauf.\n\n\"Was ist mit all den Fragen?\" fragte Betrix und blickte sich um, als ob sie dachte, dass es ein Trick w\u00e4re.\n\n\"Stimm mir zu, und ich k\u00f6nnte den Fall \u00fcbergeben\", sagte ich.\n\nBetrix schlug sichtlich zur\u00fcck, als ob dieser Akt unter den gegebenen Umst\u00e4nden l\u00e4cherlich schien. Sie ignorierte fast meine Frage, aber dann straffte sich ihre Unterlippe, als ob Erinnerungen unberechtigterweise aufflammten.\n\n\"Ich will nie auf irgendeinem Planeten festsitzen. Niemals. Der Weltraum ist der einzige Ort, an dem man sicher und frei sein kann\", sagte sie.\n\nWas auch immer in ihren Augen brannte, wurde von der Dunkelheit verdunkelt. Ich wollte nicht einmal wissen, was ihr diese Menge an Schmerzen bereitet hatte. Und so sehr ich auch jeden schleimigen Zentimeter ihrer Eingeweide hasste, ich wollte sie umarmen.\n\nW\u00e4hrend ich \u00fcber die verr\u00fcckte Idee nachdachte, die ich im Begriff war anzubieten, bemerkte ich etwas Seltsames mit dem nahegelegenen Obsth\u00e4ndler. Er hatte seine Waren genommen und auf den Boden geworfen und sortierte sie nach Form und Farbe in Gruppen. Die Passagiere in der Gegend legten ihm einen weiten Bogen.\n\nEs war nicht die einzige Besonderheit in der N\u00e4he. Ein Gesch\u00e4ftsmann hatte seinen Koffer auf den Boden geworfen und legte seine Kleider in Haufen. In der Ferne sah ich eine Gruppe von Menschen in gelben Gefahrenanz\u00fcgen, die in unsere Richtung marschierten.\n\nH\u00f6flich.\n\n\"Schau, wir sollten nicht streiten\", sagte ich in einem eiligen Atemzug. \"Wir wollen beide das Gleiche. Wir sind beide klug, klug und motiviert. Aber unsere Konkurrenz kostet uns Kredite, wenn wir als Team arbeiten k\u00f6nnten. Was w\u00e4re, wenn wir die Lieferung gemeinsam durchf\u00fchren und dann unsere Kredite b\u00fcndeln w\u00fcrden, um eine Aurora zu kaufen und sie f\u00fcr eine Crew von zwei Personen modifizieren zu lassen? Ja, ich wei\u00df, wir w\u00fcrden uns wahrscheinlich immer noch hassen, aber es w\u00e4re nur f\u00fcr ein Jahr oder so, und danach bin ich sicher, dass wir genug verdienen k\u00f6nnten, um ein zweites Schiff zu kaufen und unsere getrennten Wege zu gehen. Bevor du nein sagst, denk dar\u00fcber nach. Es wird unsere Pl\u00e4ne, auf sich allein gestellt zu sein, um Jahre hinausz\u00f6gern. Wenn wir bereit sind, uns gegenseitig zu ertragen, bin ich sicher, dass wir bis Ende dieses Jahres ein Schiff haben und in zwei Minuten allein sein k\u00f6nnten.\"\n\nF\u00fcr einen kurzen und wunderbaren Moment war sie ein ganz anderer Mensch. Es gab nicht einen Funken von dem selbstaufgenommenen, manipulativen, hasserf\u00fcllten.... sorry, ging dort auf eine Rolle. Ich stellte fest, dass noch nie jemand ein Angebot gemacht hatte, mit ihr zusammenzuarbeiten. Pl\u00f6tzlich machte ihr abweisendes und oft b\u00f6sartiges Verhalten Sinn, obwohl sie nicht wusste, was der urspr\u00fcngliche Schmerz verursacht hatte.\n\nDann begannen sich ihre Gesichtsz\u00fcge langsam zu verh\u00e4rten, als ob der Frost in ihrer Seele ihren Weg nach oben einfrieren w\u00fcrde. Als die Worte \"Nein, niemals\" ihre Lippen erreichten, hatte ich bereits einen neuen Plan formuliert.\n\nGut. Aber sag nicht, dass ich es nicht versucht habe.\n\nIch versuchte, an Betrix vorbeizukommen, aber sie packte meinen Arm. Ich schw\u00f6re, sie war ein Androide, der sich durch diesen Griff verkleidet hat.\n\n\"Lass mich gehen, Betrix\", sagte ich.\n\n\"Du machst diese Lieferung nicht\", sagte sie, als sie nach dem Fall griff.\n\nIch versuchte, meinen Arm frei zu ziehen, aber sie wollte mich nicht lassen. Die Menschen um uns herum begannen sich zu entfernen und sp\u00fcrten den Konflikt. Die Leute in den Gefahrenanz\u00fcgen n\u00e4herten sich, und sie begannen, uns zu bemerken.\n\n\"Nicht jetzt, Betrix, sonst werden wir beide in eine private Quarant\u00e4ne gesteckt\", sagte ich.\n\nEntweder h\u00f6rte Betrix mich nicht oder es war ihr egal, aber sie zog weiter an dem Fall und versuchte, ihn aus meinem Griff zu ziehen. Die gelb gekleideten Beh\u00f6rden hatten ihren Weg ge\u00e4ndert und kamen direkt zu uns.\n\nAls mir klar wurde, dass sie nicht loslassen w\u00fcrde, schrie ich: \"Sie hat es geschafft! Sie hat es geschafft! Sie hat den Virus!\"\n\nRegel Nummer sechs: Verhalte dich, als ob du es w\u00fcsstest.\n\nIn Momenten der Panik oder Verwirrung, sei die Person, die die Verantwortung \u00fcbernimmt, damit du sicherstellen kannst, dass sich das Chaos um deine Bed\u00fcrfnisse herum bildet.\n\nEs war eine weitere Lektion, die ich von meinem Vater gelernt hatte. Bei den Gelegenheiten, bei denen die korrupte lokale Polizei in die Goldene Horde kam, um Bestechungsgelder zu erbitten, sorgte mein Vater daf\u00fcr, dass sich in dem Moment, in dem sie ankam, ein \"Vorfall\" ereignen w\u00fcrde. In Wahrheit hatte er einen Freund in der Abteilung, der ihn normalerweise warnte, wenn sie kamen. Mein Vater war w\u00e4hrend des Vorfalls immer drau\u00dfen - normalerweise ein kleines Feuer oder ein gemeldeter Taschendiebstahl - und er fing an, die Polizei anzuschreien, um das Feuer zu l\u00f6schen oder den Dieb zu stoppen, der nie erwischt wurde. Trotz ihrer Absichten, Geld zu sammeln und nicht zu arbeiten, hassten sie es, gesehen zu werden, wie sie keine einfache Polizeiarbeit verrichteten, wenn jemand ein Problem aufzeigte.\n\nSo w\u00fcrden die gef\u00e4hrdeten Leute, obwohl sie mehrere offensichtliche Virusausbr\u00fcche in Sichtweite hatten, Betrix LaGrange bek\u00e4mpfen, wenn sie versuchte wegzulaufen, oder die anderen Leute im Terminal k\u00f6nnten sehen, dass sie \"ihren Job nicht machten\". Gesellschaftlicher Gruppendruck ist eine Schlampe.\n\nIm anschlie\u00dfenden Chaos schl\u00fcpfte ich weg und startete dann in einem vollen Sprint den Gang hinunter. An diesem Punkt war es totaler Chaos, als eine Panik die Leute in der Station packte. Ich rannte, nicht in Richtung dieser drei Schiffe, sondern auf der Suche nach dem Schiff, das Betrix angeheuert hatte. Ich musste nur herausfinden, welcher es zuerst war.\n\nIch dachte, es k\u00f6nnte schwierig werden, bis ich die Ziele aller Schiffe in Tangaroa erreichte. Zwei Schiffe waren auf dem Weg nach Tirol IV, aber eines davon war kommerziell, was bedeutete, dass das andere die Fahrt von Betrix war: die passend benannte Rache Walk\u00fcre.\n\nNach einem f\u00fcnfmin\u00fctigen Sprint \u00fcber die Station zitterte mein Arm beim Tragen der silbernen Tasche. Ich musste mich beeilen, da von Minute zu Minute mehr gelbe Anz\u00fcge ankamen. Die Ank\u00fcndigungen gingen \u00fcber die PA und baten alle um Zusammenarbeit. Unbehagliche Angst schwebte \u00fcber den Menschen wie eine dunkle Wolke.\n\n\u00dcberall waren Anzeichen des Virus zu sehen. Eine Frau in einer wei\u00dfen Forschungsjacke demontierte die Sitze in einer Lounge mit einem Schraubendreher. Sie hatte die Pfosten auf einem Flor, die Sitzlehnen in einem anderen und war damit besch\u00e4ftigt, den Stoff zu rei\u00dfen, um einen dritten zu machen. Ein anderer Mann schmierte farbig Gew\u00fcrze aus dem Lebensmittelbereich an der Wand, w\u00e4hrend ein Dritter einen Automaten \u00fcbergedr\u00fcckt hatte und die Eingeweide zum Sortieren herausri\u00df.\n\nRache Walk\u00fcre war in einer privaten Bucht. Ich rannte auf das Schiff zu und winkte mit dem silbernen Koffer. Der Aufzug kam nach unten, aber als ich den Knopf dr\u00fcckte, um ihn nach oben zu senden, sprach eine k\u00f6rperlose Stimme durch die Kommunikation.\n\n\"Du bist nicht Betrix\", sagte er, mit einem Akzent, der mir nicht bekannt war. Es klang, als w\u00fcrde er versuchen, eine formale Bildung zu verstecken.\n\n\"Ich bin ihr Partner. Ich habe den Fall hier, aber sie wurde festgenommen. Sie sagte, ich solle die Lieferung ohne sie machen\", sagte ich.\n\n\"Das \u00e4ndert immer noch nichts an der Tatsache, dass du nicht Betrix bist. Sie hat mich eingestellt, also warte ich auf sie\", sagte er.\n\n\"Woher h\u00e4tte ich sonst wissen sollen, dass ich dein Schiff holen soll, wenn sie es mir nicht gesagt h\u00e4tte? Beeil dich und lass mich rein. Wenn wir nicht bald abreisen, k\u00f6nnten sie Kampfhubschrauber einsetzen, um eine strenge Quarant\u00e4ne zu gew\u00e4hrleisten, und Sie werden Ihren Bonus nicht bekommen\", sagte ich und vermutete, dass Betrix einen angeboten hatte.\n\nAls ich statisch antwortete, dr\u00fcckte ich erneut auf den Knopf und sagte: \"Ich erh\u00f6he deine Geb\u00fchr um zwanzig Prozent.\"\n\n\"Woher wei\u00df ich, dass du den Virus nicht hast, der in der Station ist?\", fragte er.\n\n\"Ich habe niemanden ber\u00fchrt\", sagte ich, aber als ich erkannte, dass er diesen Kontext nicht verstehen w\u00fcrde, erkl\u00e4rte ich, \"wird das Virus durch Kontakt \u00fcbertragen. Ich h\u00f6rte die Sicherheitsleute reden.\"\n\nNach einer Schweigeminute sagte er: \"F\u00fcnfundzwanzig.\"\n\n\"Abgemacht\", sagte ich und hoffte, dass das nicht zu viel war.\n\nAls die Plattform anfing, in das Schiff zu heben, wollte ich aufatmen, aber bis wir wieder im Weltraum waren, traute ich mich nicht.\n\nDer Raum hinter der Kabine war nicht gro\u00df, aber er hatte einen Absetzstuhl. Ich schnallte mich an, nachdem ich das Geh\u00e4use darunter geschoben hatte.\n\n\" Bereit!\" schrie ich und hoffte, dass er mich durch die T\u00fcr h\u00f6ren konnte.\n\nIch hatte Angst, dass er seine Motoren nicht anmachen w\u00fcrde, besonders wenn die Innenbeleuchtung ausgeschaltet war und mich in der Dunkelheit zur\u00fccklie\u00df, aber dann sp\u00fcrte ich eine pl\u00f6tzliche Schwindelanf\u00e4lle und merkte, dass wir uns bewegten. Er hatte uns von der Schwerkraft der Station befreit und wir drifteten weg und drehten uns. Der Schwung zog uns auf den Planeten zu. Durch das wirbelnde Sichtfenster beobachtete ich, wie UEE-Notfallreaktionsschiffe auf die Station herabstiegen.\n\nDas Schiff fing an, an Fahrt aufzunehmen, als wir auf den Planeten schleuderten. Funken blitzten \u00fcber das Ansichtsfenster. Ich begann mir Sorgen zu machen, dass der Pilot gestorben war, als er im letzten Moment die Motoren einschaltete und uns durch die Atmosph\u00e4re trieb, auf der anderen Seite des Planeten, weg von der Station und den ankommenden UEE-Schiffen.\n\nNach erfolgreicher Flucht aus der Quarant\u00e4ne machte sich das Schiff auf den Weg zum Tiroler Sprungplatz. Der Kapit\u00e4n lud mich in die vordere Kabine ein.\n\nEr war ein robuster, gutaussehender Mann Ende der drei\u00dfiger Jahre mit olivgr\u00fcner Haut und dunklem, schmutzigen Haar, das bis zu seinen Schultern ging. Er f\u00fchlte sich in der Wildnis auf einem windgepeitschten H\u00fcgel, der von fremden B\u00e4umen umgeben war, wohler als in einer Schiffskabine. Seine Z\u00e4hne waren etwas schief, aber das machte sein L\u00e4cheln liebenswerter.\n\n\"Umh\u00e4ngetasche\", sagte er und bot seine Hand an.\n\nWir zitterten und ich sp\u00fcrte, wie ein warmes Kribbeln meinen Arm hochging. Vielleicht w\u00e4re diese letzte Etappe der Reise doch nicht so schlimm.\n\n\"Lust auf eine Orange?\", fragte er und bot die Frucht an, nachdem er sie aus einem Beutel gepfl\u00fcckt hatte. \"Helios hat einige der besten Orangen. Sie schmecken nach Sonne und Strand.\"\n\n\"Sicher\", sagte ich und streichelte seine Hand leicht, als ich die Orange annahm.\n\nEr schenkte mir ein L\u00e4cheln, das mein Gesicht zum Kribbeln brachte.\n\nIch f\u00fchlte mich ein wenig ersch\u00f6pft von meinem Sprint durch die Station und allgemeinem Schlafmangel und sch\u00e4lte meine Orange in Ruhe, als wir durch die gro\u00dfe Leere rasten. Mit meinem Fingernagel brach ich mir die Haut und fing an, die Schale zur\u00fcckzurei\u00dfen. Ich legte die Orange auf meine Nase. Er hatte Recht. Es roch nach Sonnenschein. S\u00fc\u00dfer zuckerhaltiger Sonnenschein, aber Sonnenschein ohne Ende. Ich atmete tief ein. Der Geruch linderte meine Ersch\u00f6pfung. Bevor ich einen Keil abrei\u00dfen und ihn in meinen Wartemund stecken konnte, bemerkte ich, wie Captain Satchel etwas Seltsames auf seinem Scho\u00df tat.\n\nEr lie\u00df seine Orange bereits sch\u00e4len, aber anstatt sie zu essen, stapelte er die gleich gro\u00dfen St\u00fccke auf und ordnete sie auf seinem Bein an. Sobald wir einen Blick teilten, sah ich die Angst in seinen Augen. Er hatte den Virus, was bedeutete, dass ich ihn auch hatte, und wir waren zu weit weg, um Hilfe zu holen.\n\n[18:15:25]\n\nFortsetzung folgt.....","zh_CN":"Writer\u2019s Note: The Second Run: A Sorri Lyrax Delivery (Part Three) was published originally in Jump Point 4.3. You can read Part One here, and Part Two here.\nPart 3: Act Like You Know\nDodecahedron had already passed through the Kilian system, and was well on its way through Ellis towards the Magnus jump where it would then continue on its way to Stanton. The complete opposite direction of where I wanted to go. Under normal circumstances, the pilot of the ship would have honored his agreement and have already dropped me off at a starport so I could continue my journey to Tyrol IV and finish my delivery on time. Normal circumstances might also indicate a place to sit that didn\u2019t involve slightly-above-freezing ship flooring and a less than insane number of wooden games and puzzles in my general vicinity.\n\nBut nothing about Dodecahedron had been normal thus far. Now I was going to miss the timetable and I was out more funds that I couldn\u2019t recover. At the rate I was going, I\u2019d use up my ship savings and be back at zero year soon.\n\nI hadn\u2019t given up, but I didn\u2019t have any more ideas about how to convince him to take me to an Ellis station. I\u2019d threatened to destroy his puzzles, but he calmly replied that he would cut the oxygen supply off and throw my body out the airlock. I thought it was a bad joke at first. But since I hadn\u2019t registered my trip on Vita Perry, nor the transfer to Dodecahedron, no one would ever know that he\u2019d killed me. I was at his mercy.\n\nBased on the twisted games on the shelves, I should count myself lucky that he hadn\u2019t knocked me out and cut me into tiny pieces.\n\nI didn\u2019t even really know how to read him. Men like him never came into my father\u2019s bar. Occasionally, we\u2019d see \u2018proper folk\u2019 \u2014 that\u2019s what my father called anyone who could speak for more than ten minutes about a subject not involving making, fixing, or operating something \u2014 wander in when the sky chose to drench them, looking for a dry place to hunker down. They\u2019d ask for a menu and when my father would point to the list of eight items we cooked on the wall, they would wrinkle their noses like mice sniffing a trap. To be fair, \u201ccooked\u201d was a liberal use of the term. We had a vat of semi-regularly changed synthetic oil that served to flash-fry the various food-like items we carried. My father only had the food because the late night drunks wanted something to soak up the alcohol before they tried to take a hover back to their apartments. I imagine many of those meals were hurled out the window at vomit-speed to rain down on unfortunate pedestrians.\n\nSo I only had my brief interactions with Senet Mehen and his museum of puzzles to judge him by. Mostly, I was at a loss. In my mind, I could replace him with a sorting robot and a programmed auto-pilot, and the ship would go on doing business without a hitch.\n\nAnd maybe that was the problem. He didn\u2019t understand, nor care, about people. We were a blank wall to him. Heck, my initial message to him was a spam comm. I should have been more suspicious when it got a reply. Normal people knew enough about Human nature to ignore messages like that. Instead, all he cared about was his puzzles and nothing else, which, honestly, seemed a little sad to me. I wondered about the kind of childhood that would drive him away from Humanity, to hide in a box flying through space.\n\nIt might seem hypocritical for me to think that, given my plan to do something vaguely similar, but it wasn\u2019t the travel between the star systems that interested me. I wanted to know the people at each destination, learn about their customs, be grossed out by their meals, dance awkwardly at their parties, laugh at their jokes.\n\nFrustrated and chilled, with no way to influence Senet Mehen at my disposal, I stared at the puzzle tower on the table. The jagged, fractal-like pieces were meant to scissor together in three dimensions, creating a wooden sculpture.\n\nOn their own, the pieces seemed impossible to decipher. I\u2019d put together jigsaw puzzles on my mobi when I was a young girl, but with those there was always a picture to give a clue to the final result. With this one there seemed to be no target shape to shoot for. The maddening interlocking pieces had to be fitted together in ways that seemed random to create the final shape, and the only clues the creator had given were in the form of wispy lines on the individual pieces.\n\nI wasn\u2019t a puzzle expert by any means, but I was surprised by Senet Mehen\u2019s inability to solve it, if, as he said, it was only supposed to be of a moderate difficulty.\n\nWhich got me thinking: what if didn\u2019t require raw problem solving skills but something else which Senet Mehen lacked?\n\nI didn\u2019t know how long I had until we reached the Magnus jump point, but if I could figure the puzzle out before then, I had a chance.\n\nI quickly started organizing the pieces, trying to understand how they fit together. At first, I tried to match the geometric shapes, but decided that Senet Mehen had probably tried that, so I shouldn\u2019t bother. That line of thinking eliminated a few other strategies. Basically anything involving geometry, physics, or mathematics.\n\nEach piece had wispy ink-drawn lines that made me think of map contours. They tickled my memory, but I couldn\u2019t pick out what they were trying to represent. Each section was thin enough not to give enough information.\n\nRather than look at the pieces, I thought about what they could represent that Senet Mehen wouldn\u2019t be able to figure out given a significant amount of time. When I caught my reflection on the highly polished table I knew the answer: faces.\n\nSenet Mehen knew nothing about people, therefore he wouldn\u2019t know how to interpret faces. I\u2019d heard that sociopaths saw others as interchangeable and disposable in their self-mythologized universe.\n\nIt didn\u2019t take me long to construct a partial face given a dozen pieces. A woman\u2019s wind-swept hair and forehead with arched eyebrows formed on the curved wooden section.\n\nIn case Senet Mehen was watching me on a video feed, I stopped solving the puzzle and quickly mixed up the pieces. Then I started taking pictures and used my mobi to study them further. In doing so, I figured out that the goal of the puzzle was to make interlocking sheets. The faces helped you put the sheets together and then the sheets had to be fit together to form a larger picture. The shapes of the outside pieces would create a wooden head.\n\nAfter organizing the pictures I took and writing a few instructions, I went to the intercom at the front of the cargo bay.\n\n\u201cHello, Senet Mehen. I need to speak about the puzzle you have on your table,\u201d I said.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve already explained that I will not be intimidated, and destroying anything will only put your life at risk,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cWhat if I told you I know how to solve it?\u201d I asked, as my lips curled into a grin.\n\nAfter a few moments, he replied, \u201cI\u2019d say you are a liar. I checked my feeds and the puzzle looks exactly as it was when I left it.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I haven\u2019t put it together,\u201d I said, \u201cbut I figured out how to do so. The rest is a formality. It was quite simple really. I\u2019m surprised you didn\u2019t figure it out months ago. How long ago did you say you started working on it?\u201d\n\nThe comm crackled with static and then I heard a muffled rage-scream through the metal wall.\n\nI had his attention, but was a little worried I\u2019d pushed him too far. I listened for the recyclers to stop their humming.\n\nAfter a few minutes, he replied, \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d\n\n\u201cDrop me off at Green. The planet\u2019s not far from the Magnus jump point, so it wouldn\u2019t be out of your way,\u201d I said, taking a deep breath. \u201cAnd in return, I\u2019ll tell you how to solve the puzzle.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, it\u2019s a trick. There\u2019s no way someone like you\u2014\u201d\n\nHeat rose in my chest. \u201cSomeone like me?! Yeah, maybe I grew up slinging drinks to gristle-faced workers, listening to their complaints \u2014 not all unwarranted! \u2014 about how they\u2019ve spent their lives getting screwed. But at least I tried to get out. To be better. I may be common to someone like you, but I figured out your damn puzzle, in a few short hours, I might add, and if you want to know how to put it together, I\u2019ll send you a file explaining the missing link that\u2019s kept you from solving it. But I won\u2019t send it to you until I\u2019m safely off at Green, no earlier, no later. Do we have a deal?\u201d\n\nThe outburst felt entirely too good, but I worried I\u2019d gone too far. The silence was oppressive.\n\nWhen the comm crackled to life, I closed my eyes and crossed my fingers.\n\n\u201cI will reroute my journey for Green in exchange for the solution,\u201d he said. \u201cPrepare for disembarking in five point two hours.\u201d\n\nRelief flooded my limbs. I sunk to the floor and put my head in my hands. I was back on track. In fact, since Ellis was a jump closer to Tyrol, by the end of this whole mess on Dodecahedron, I\u2019d wind up saving some time.\n\nWhen we neared a small transfer hub on a far orbit around Green, I took off the EVA suit that I\u2019d been keeping on for warmth, and started searching for a ship headed to Taranis system once my mobiGlas linked up.\n\nThere were no wet-eyed goodbyes when I left Dodecahedron, but I stayed long enough for him to check the solution. His eyes widened when he saw why the puzzle had resisted his efforts to solve it.\n\n\u201cThat was quite remarkable. Do you have time to look at another puzzle that\u2019s been plaguing me?\u201d he asked.\n\nI was so incredulous at his offer that I almost forgot to respond. \u201cNo, sorry. I have another ship to catch.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d he said. \u201cFarewell and good luck.\u201d\n\nI\u2019d landed in time to catch a low-rent transport to Bethor on the surface of Taranis III and didn\u2019t want to miss it. I made Filigree Angel with time to spare.\n\nThe ship was wonderfully boring with my newfound love for beige carpets and comfortable seating. The journey was uneventful, but despite the lack of stimulus, I couldn\u2019t sleep. Landing at Bethor would put me over halfway to my destination. In fact, I found two more trips that lined up perfectly, getting me to Tyrol IV with a half a day to spare. I could practically taste the credits rolling into my account. One year closer to my dream ship, the Aurora LX. I hadn\u2019t dared name her yet, feeling that was too presumptuous, but when that day came, it would be glorious.\n\n[31:05:05]\n\nThe approach to Taranis III was spectacular. The storm-covered planet crackled with electricity. The northern hemisphere was cast in darkness, which highlighted trails of glowing gas that weaved through the upper atmosphere. It was like giant luminescent constrictors, a thousand kilometers long, were snaking through the sky.\n\nThe only blemish I could see on the planet was a blue domed station hovering high above the equator. Bethor was home to a large settlement of Tevarin and Human refugees and expatriates; basically, anyone looking to escape the reach of the Empire for one reason or another. The cloud city was one of the more civilized parts of uncivilized space.\n\nNo time to fully appreciate it, though. I\u2019d have to come back one day when I didn\u2019t have a countdown hanging over my head. It was only a brief stopover before I managed to book another ship to Tangaroa in the Helios system.\n\n[22:13:56]\n\nOther than the pilot who liked to sing a little bit too much for my taste, the flight to Helios was as smooth as could be. It was the traffic outside of the Tangaroa transfer junction that was the problem. Ships were backed up in a long queue waiting for clearance to land at the busy station. About half of them were starliners filled with tourists who had come to vacation along the ocean planet\u2019s temporary beaches or subsurf beneath its massive waves. Another place to add to my running \u201ccome back and visit\u201d list.\n\nIt was about another hour before we were able to land and by that point I really was regretting not having the EVA suit with me. Jumping out of the ship would have been preferable to hearing another verse of the pilot\u2019s favorite song, \u201cNo Room for Love.\u201d\n\nAfter moving through the security, I made my way across the station towards my next flight. The press of people was a little overwhelming and with the exhaustion of the trip settling on my bones, I almost didn\u2019t see her before it was too late.\n\nBetrix LaGrange was coming out of another tunnel, blonde hair bobbing to a beat as she was listening to her mobiGlas. She stopped momentarily to adjust her right shoe.\n\nI used her distraction to turn and walk right through the nearest door. A male voice cleared his throat. I looked around and realized that the door I had chosen blindly was the men\u2019s bathroom.\n\nI moved into a stall before anyone else came in, sat down, and contemplated my next move.\n\nWhat was Betrix doing here? Did she have a plan to steal the case from me or was this pure coincidence? Suddenly, the way to Tyrol IV seemed laden with danger.\n\nI checked my messages from FTL, finding a list of deliveries due in the next two days. Somehow, I\u2019d been signed up without my consent and the normal protocols about such things overridden.\n\n\u201cWhat the\u2014?\u201d\n\nIt clicked into place. Betrix must have had her boyfriend overload my schedule to force me to make a decision between keeping my job at FTL and making it to Tyrol IV. The due dates were manageable, assuming I left right now and headed back towards Sol. There were enough deliveries that if I missed them, I\u2019d be put on probation, which in company terms was just a formality before firing. Canceling jobs once you accepted them was nearly as bad.\n\nI punched the plastic wall as hard as I could. It hurt.\n\n\u201cIs there a problem?\u201d came a deep voice from the other side.\n\n\u201cNo TP,\u201d I said, lowering my voice.\n\nA roll wrapped in white cellophane was shoved under the wall. The quick response caught my notice, so I leaned down. On the other side of the wall was a stack of toilet paper, neatly placed into rows or stacked into towers and pyramids. The gentleman in the next stall seemed to be hoarding them.\n\n\u201cNo thanks,\u201d I said. \u201cI have some napkins.\u201d\n\nTurning back to my current dilemma, Betrix had me cornered. I knew she was counting on me to abandon the delivery and save my job, so she could swoop in and take the case from me when I did. I bit my lower lip. I\u2019d survived a life-support malfunction and a space-faring lunatic. I wasn\u2019t going to be stopped by little-miss-hagfish.\n\nThe toilet on the other side of the TP-hoarding gentleman flushed, which reminded me where I was hiding. While squeezing my nose closed because of the smell wafting under the wall, I studied the list. If I made the freelance delivery, and then prioritized two of the other six deliveries using non-commercial ships while ignoring the rest, I would barely stay above probation. The gambit would cost me more credits against my expected returns, and I wouldn\u2019t be able to make a mistake for another two years, but it could work.\n\nOf course, all that was counting on Betrix not having some other backup strategy in place, like knocking me over the head with a hammer or something equally desperate. To be safe, I should make sure to get to my flight without encountering her.\n\nExiting the stall, I was greeted by a janitor in a blue-green jumpsuit and company hat, with a spray bottle in one hand and a rag in the other. His cart was loaded down with cleaning supplies. He acknowledged my gender with a heavy blink, before moving on with wiping down the sink.\n\nI wrinkled my forehead and nose, not because of the awful smell still lingering in the men\u2019s room, but due to an idea that came to me like a supernova.\n\n\u201cExcuse me,\u201d I said. \u201cWould you like to make a few credits?\u201d\n\n[20:58:44]\n\nThe janitor\u2019s clothes weren\u2019t as baggy as the EVA suit, but they did the trick. I wasn\u2019t as worried about my outfit as I was the silvery case. Which was why I\u2019d bribed the janitor to borrow his cart, too. The silvery case was buried beneath the cleaning supplies.\n\nBetrix had positioned herself near a tunnel to the other section where my departing ship was waiting. She was scanning the people as they went past her.\n\nI kept my head down, so the hat covered my face, and kept moving. The station was busy enough that Betrix would have to focus on looking for the silvery case. It was quite distinctive. I had to hope that was enough to get me past her.\n\nAs I neared her position, I held my breath. Betrix was standing on her tippy-toes trying to see over the crowd. As I approached, I was certain she\u2019d notice my baggy jumpsuit and realize it was me beneath the hat.\n\nBut as quickly as I approached, I was past her and headed down the tube. Another fifty meters further, I took off the jumpsuit and liberated the case, leaving the cart where the janitor told me to. Then I hurried towards my destination, hoping they\u2019d let me board early in case Betrix came looking for me.\n\nThe departure gate was in sight when I saw the security detail close the door. My mobi indicated that I wasn\u2019t late. I was confused until I noticed the displays on the wall listing all commercial flights cancelled.\n\nWas Betrix more powerful and desperate than I had given her credit for?\n\nA few irate customers had already lined up at the commercial counter. I knew I wouldn\u2019t learn anything there, but I spied a knot of security guards talking by a vending machine. As discreetly as I could, I feigned fixing my boot laces, while I listened to their conversation.\n\n\u201c. . . don\u2019t know why, just that we\u2019re on lockdown . . .\u201d\n\n\u201c. . . it\u2019s a medical quarantine. A code yellow, so not deadly, but they don\u2019t want it to get out. Makes people act loopy. Heard that the first guy who was sick had pulled out his hair one by one . . .\u201d\n\n\u201c. . . dammit, this means I\u2019ll miss my son\u2019s sataball game . . .\u201d\n\n\u201c. . . at least we\u2019ll get hazard overtime . . .\u201d\n\n\u201c. . . they say how it\u2019s transmitted?\u201d\n\n\u201c. . . a contact virus, so unless it got picked up by the foodies, it shouldn\u2019t spread too quickly . . .\u201d\n\nCrite. Quarantine. Who knows how long that might last?\n\nWith the commercial ships shut down, there\u2019d be no way off the station, unless I could find a captain willing to break quarantine. As I started walking back towards the main terminal, I dug through the ship list, looking for small ships with newer ID numbers. Those would give me the best chance, since they probably needed the credits most. The likelihood that they would take me was small, but I had to try.\n\nI\u2019d identified three ships that might take me when I heard my name spoken with well-worn disdain.\n\n\u201cSorri Lyrax,\u201d said Betrix, standing with her arms crossed. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t look like you\u2019ll be making your delivery.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you haven\u2019t noticed, nobody\u2019s leaving the station, which means you too,\u201d I said. \u201cNeither of us is going to deliver the job right now.\u201d\n\nWhen the self-satisfied smug smile appeared on her lips, I knew she had a ship waiting that would take her and the case directly to Tyrol IV. Betrix wasn\u2019t above using unorthodox methods either, it seemed.\n\n\u201cHand over the case. You had a good run, but it ends here. I\u2019ll give you five percent, as a token gesture of good faith,\u201d she said, holding out her hand.\n\n\u201cWhy do you even want this job so bad?\u201d I asked.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m saving up to buy a ship, you ninny,\u201d she said. \u201cAn Aurora LX. Best long-range hauler for a freelance courier. Comfortable as sin. I have a replica patent leather captain\u2019s chair in my apartment on Saisei, just waiting to be installed in it.\u201d\n\nThe fire in her eyes practically glowed. Though I didn\u2019t agree with her methods, I knew exactly what drove her. It was what was pushing me to take chances with every delivery. Knowing this made me realize, as much as I loathed to admit it, that we might actually have something in common.\n\n\u201cWhy?\u201d I persisted.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s with all the questions?\u201d asked Betrix, glancing around as if she thought it might be a trick.\n\n\u201cHumor me, and I might hand over the case,\u201d I said.\n\nBetrix visibly recoiled, as if that act seemed ridiculous under the circumstances. She almost ignored my question, but then her lower lip tightened, as if memories came bubbling up unwarranted.\n\n\u201cI never want to be stuck on any planet. Ever. Space is the only place you can be safe and free,\u201d she said.\n\nWhatever fire was burning in her eyes became eclipsed by darkness. I didn\u2019t even want to know what had caused her that amount of pain. And as much as I hated every slimy inch of her guts, I wanted to give her a hug.\n\nWhile I mulled the insane idea that I was about to offer, I noticed something odd going on with the nearby fruit vendor. He\u2019d taken his wares and dumped them onto the floor and was sorting them into groups by shape and color. The passengers in the area were giving him a wide berth.\n\nIt wasn\u2019t the only oddity in the vicinity. A businessman had dumped his suitcase on the ground and was putting his clothes into piles. In the distance, I saw a group of people in yellow hazard suits marching in our direction.\n\nCrite.\n\n\u201cLook, we shouldn\u2019t be fighting,\u201d I said in a hurried breath. \u201cWe both want the same thing. We\u2019re both smart, savvy and driven. But our competition is costing us credits, when we could be working as a team. What if we made the delivery together, and then pooled our credits to purchase an Aurora and had it modified for a crew of two? Yes, I know, we\u2019d probably still hate each other, but it\u2019d only be for a year or so, and after that, I\u2019m sure we could earn enough to purchase a second ship and take our separate ways. Before you say no, think about it. It\u2019ll knock years off our plans to be on our own. If we\u2019re willing to put up with each other, I\u2019m sure we could have a ship by the end of this year and be on our own within two.\u201d\n\nFor a brief and wonderful moment, she was a totally different person. There wasn\u2019t a shred of the self-absorbed, manipulative, hateful . . . sorry, went on a roll there. I gathered that no one had ever made an offer to work with her before. Suddenly, her stand-offish and often vicious behavior made sense, despite not knowing what original pain had caused it.\n\nThen her features slowly started to harden, as if the frost in her soul was freezing its way up. By the time the words, \u201cNo, not ever,\u201d reached her lips, I\u2019d already formulated a new plan.\n\nFine. But don\u2019t ever say I didn\u2019t try.\n\nI tried to move past Betrix, but she grabbed my arm. I swear she was an android in disguise by that grip.\n\n\u201cLet me go, Betrix,\u201d I said.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re not making that delivery,\u201d she said, as she reached for the case.\n\nI tried to pull my arm free, but she wouldn\u2019t let me. The people around us began moving away, sensing the conflict. The people in hazard suits were approaching, and they were starting to notice us.\n\n\u201cNot now, Betrix, or you\u2019ll get us both thrown in a private quarantine,\u201d I said.\n\nEither Betrix didn\u2019t hear me or didn\u2019t care, but she kept tugging on the case, trying to yank it from my grip. The yellow-suited authorities had shifted their path and were coming directly for us.\n\nWhen I realized she wasn\u2019t going to let go, I yelled, \u201cShe\u2019s got it! She\u2019s got it! She\u2019s got the virus!\u201d\n\nRule number six: Act like you know.\n\nIn moments of panic or confusion, be the person who takes charge so you can ensure the chaos forms around your needs.\n\nIt was another lesson that I\u2019d learned from my father. On the occasions that the corrupt local police would come into the Golden Horde to solicit bribes, my father would ensure that an \u201cincident\u201d would occur down the street at the moment they arrived. In truth, he had a friend in the department who usually warned him when they were coming. My father would always be outside during the incident \u2014 usually a small fire, or reported purse-snatching \u2014 and he would start yelling at the police to go put out the fire or stop the thief, who was never caught. Despite their intentions in collecting monies rather than doing their job, they hated to be seen not doing simple police work when someone was highlighting a problem.\n\nThus, the hazard-suited folk, despite having multiple obvious virus outbreaks within visual distance, would tackle Betrix LaGrange when she tried to run away, or the other people in the terminal might see that they \u201cweren\u2019t doing their job.\u201d Societal peer pressure is a bitch.\n\nIn the ensuing chaos, I slipped away then took off in a full sprint down the passage. At this point, it was total bedlam as a panic gripped the people in the station. I ran, not in the direction of those three ships, but in search of the ship that Betrix had hired. I just had to figure out which one it was first.\n\nI thought it might be difficult until I pulled up the destinations of all the ships at Tangaroa. Two ships were headed to Tyrol IV, but one of them was commercial, which meant the other was Betrix\u2019s ride: the aptly named Vengeance Valkyrie.\n\nAfter a five-minute sprint across the station, my arm was shaking from carrying the silvery case. I had to hurry as more yellow-suits were arriving by the minute. Announcements went over the PA, asking everyone for cooperation. Uneasy fear hovered over the people like a dark cloud.\n\nSigns of the virus could be seen everywhere. One woman in a white research jacket was disassembling the seats in a lounge using a screwdriver. She had the posts sitting in one pile, the seat backs in another, and was busy trying to rip the fabric loose to make a third. Another man was smearing condiments from the food area on the wall by color, while a third had pushed over a vending machine and was ripping out the guts to sort.\n\nVengeance Valkyrie was in a private bay. I ran towards the ship, waving the silvery case. The lift came down but when I pressed the button to send it up, a disembodied voice spoke through the comms.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019re not Betrix,\u201d he said, in an accent I wasn\u2019t familiar with. It sounded like he was trying to hide a formal education.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m her partner. I got the case here, but she got detained. She said to make the delivery without her,\u201d I said.\n\n\u201cThat still doesn\u2019t change the fact that you\u2019re not Betrix. She hired me, so I\u2019m waiting for her,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cHow else would I have known to come for your ship if she hadn\u2019t told me? Hurry up and let me on. If we don\u2019t leave soon, they might bring in gunships to ensure a tight quarantine and you won\u2019t get your bonus,\u201d I said, guessing Betrix had offered one.\n\nWhen static was my answer, I pressed the button again and said, \u201cI\u2019ll up your fee twenty percent.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow do I know you don\u2019t have this virus that\u2019s in the station?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cI haven\u2019t touched anyone,\u201d I said, but realizing he wouldn\u2019t understand that context, I elaborated, \u201cthe virus is transmitted by contact. I overheard the security talking.\u201d\n\nAfter a moment of silence, he said, \u201cTwenty-five.\u201d\n\n\u201cDeal,\u201d I said, hoping that wasn\u2019t too much.\n\nWhen the platform started lifting into the ship, I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but until we were back in space, I didn\u2019t dare.\n\nThe room behind the cabin wasn\u2019t large, but it had a take-off chair. I strapped myself in after shoving the case beneath it.\n\n\u201cReady!\u201d I yelled, hoping he could hear me through the door.\n\nI worried he wasn\u2019t going to light his engines, especially when the internal lights switched off, leaving me in near-darkness, but then I felt a sudden wash of vertigo and realized we were moving. He\u2019d untethered us from station gravity and we drifted away, spinning. The momentum dragged us towards the planet. Through the whirling viewport, I watched UEE emergency response vessels descend on the station.\n\nThe ship began to pick up speed as we hurled towards the planet. Sparks flashed across the viewport. I began to worry that the pilot had died, when at what felt like the last moment, he switched on the engines and propelled us through the atmosphere, coming out on the other side of the planet, away from the station and the incoming UEE ships.\n\nAfter successfully escaping the quarantine, the ship headed towards the Tyrol jump point. The captain invited me into the forward cabin.\n\nHe was a ruggedly handsome man in his late thirties with olive skin and dark messy hair that went to his shoulders. He looked more at home in the wilderness on a wind-swept hilltop surrounded by alien trees than in a ship cabin. His teeth were a little crooked but that made his smile more endearing.\n\n\u201cSatchel,\u201d he said, offering his hand.\n\nWe shook and I felt a warm tingle travel up my arm. Maybe this final leg of the journey wouldn\u2019t be so bad after all.\n\n\u201cCare for an orange?\u201d he asked, offering the fruit after plucking it from a bag. \u201cHelios has some of the best oranges. They taste like sunshine and beaches.\u201d\n\n\u201cSure,\u201d I said, brushing his hand lightly when I accepted the orange.\n\nHe gave me a smile that made my face tingle.\n\nFeeling a little worn out from my sprint through the station and general lack of sleep, I peeled my orange in quiet as we sped through the great emptiness. Using my fingernail, I broke the skin and started ripping back the peel. I put the orange against my nose. He was right. It smelled like sunshine. Sweet sugary sunshine, but sunshine none-the-less. I inhaled deeply. The smell took the edge off my exhaustion. Before I could rip off a wedge and plop it in my waiting mouth, I noticed Captain Satchel doing something strange in his lap.\n\nHe had his orange already peeled, but instead of eating it, he was piling up the identically sized pieces and arranging them on his leg. As soon as we shared a glance, I saw the fear in his eyes. He had the virus, which meant that I had it too, and we were too far away to get help.\n\n[18:15:25]\n\nTo be continued\u2026"},"links_count":2,"comment_count":19,"created_at":"2019-11-27T03:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"6 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-07 21:45:41","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":17364,"next_id":17366}}