{"data":{"id":17923,"title":"Drifters (Part Four)","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/serialized-fiction\/17923-Drifters-Part-Four","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/17923","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/17923","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"Drifters","images":[{"id":24643,"name":"Drifters-Title.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/wtilj01zds70xr\/source\/Drifters-Title.jpg","alt":"","size":725702,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2020-09-21T17:00:57+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/24643","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/24643\/similar"}],"images_count":1,"translations":{"en_EN":"Writer\u2019s Note: Drifters: Part Four was published originally in Jump Point 5.4. Read Part One, Part Two, and Part Three\nThe gunshots were still echoing around the massive landing bay. That high-pitched whine rang in Mags\u2019 ears, but she was locked on Trin, watching as the blood seeped out of her body into the dirty grate. She felt Kel move beside her. He\u2019d put his hands up, as high as he could reach.\n\nMags looked up at Ozzy. He still had the pistol aimed. His face was twisted, filled with rage. Moments before he shot Trin, he\u2019d accused her of leaving him behind. Years ago, back when they both ran with the Souther Titans, a job went sideways and Ozzy got pinched. He lost five years of his life in the penal hellhole of Quarterdeck while she got away. Mags couldn\u2019t say it came as a complete surprise. Trin had threatened her more than once, most recently to shoot her and dump her out of an airlock. Hopefully in that order.\n\n\u201cWhat do you wanna do about them?\u201d asked the guy who looked like a spectrum show grandpa.\n\nOzzy finally broke away from Trin and looked at Mags and Kel. The rage faded as he holstered his pistol.\n\n\u201cLet \u2019em go, Jack.\u201d\n\nThe old man laughed one of those deep belly laughs.\n\n\u201cYou been outta the fold for too long, kiddo. Titans don\u2019t let witnesses walk.\u201d\n\n\u201cJack.\u201d Ozzy glared at him. \u201cLeave them alone.\u201d\n\nBlind Jack Sticha, she realized. Definitely not what she had imagined based on the rep. Maybe that was his trick. She saw him draw a pistol, out of sight from Ozzy.\n\n\u201cYou let people with grudges go, all you\u2019re doing is makin\u2019 headaches down the way,\u201d he said, like he was telling a kid about the facts of life. His thumb silently clicked off the safety.\n\nMags knew she didn\u2019t have long.\n\n\u201cI can get you out of here,\u201d she blurted out. Blind Jack hesitated. She kept going before he could reconsider. \u201cLevski\u2019s on lockdown. You got a way past that?\u201d\n\nBlind Jack didn\u2019t say anything. Ozzy gave her a quick shake of the head that said you don\u2019t want to do this.\n\n\u201cI know how to get you out.\u201d Mags continued. Her mind was racing. Back in the day when she ran with Frank McGarr, they had to slip past a lockdown or two. Hell knew if the same tricks would work on Delamar. Besides, if she could stick with the eriesium, maybe she\u2019d find a chance to steal it back. \u201cSeems to me like you\u2019d want to get a head start on those Four Point hitters roaming around here.\u201d\n\nShe could tell Blind Jack knew what she was talking about. Maybe he was the one who pointed the assassins their direction.\n\n\u201cYou let Kel walk,\u201d she said, taking a step towards Blind Jack and Ozzy, \u201cand I\u2019ll get you out of here.\u201d\n\nBlind Jack looked at Kel, who hadn\u2019t moved. His hands still reached for the sky.\n\n\u201cYour lucky day, Banu,\u201d he said and motioned to the other Titans. They lowered their weapons and started to leave. Ozzy gave Trin a last look then lifted the lockbox with the eriesium.\n\n\u201cAfter you,\u201d Blind Jack motioned for Mags to start walking. She looked back at Kel.\n\n\u201cCaptain Mags . . .\u201d he stammered as he lowered his hands.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll see you again.\u201d She squeezed his arm then backed away and joined the Titans in the airlock.\n\nShe gave him one last reassuring smile as the airlock sealed shut.\n\nKel stood there for a few moments, unsure what to do. He looked around. The mechanics who had been hanging out must have run when the shooting started. They\u2019d left their music playing. Strange Human whines droned on, providing a bizarre soundtrack to the scene.\n\nHe finally acted, going to Trin\u2019s body, but there was so much blood. He didn\u2019t even know where to start, so he just pressed on the wounds.\n\n\u201cHoly shit.\u201d\n\nKel jumped at the new voice. He looked over to the airlock to see Honan Yao clutching a bag of takeaway food. He might\u2019ve still been high \u2014 the black drug stains in his arm now ran all the way down through his hand \u2014 but he didn\u2019t act like it.\n\n\u201cShe is badly broken,\u201d Kel asked helplessly. \u201cWhat do I do?\u201d\n\nYao raced over to Trin and began examining her, checking her pulse, looking at her pupils.\n\n\u201cShe\u2019s alive, but barely.\u201d He said with a matter of factness that Kel had never heard from him. \u201cWe need to get her inside the ship. Now.\u201d\n\nKel grabbed Trin\u2019s legs and they quickly moved her into the Harlequin. Once inside, they cleaned off the table in the communal table and put her down. Yao took off for his bunk.\n\n\u201cPut pressure on the wounds,\u201d he yelled as he rooted around his sleeping berth, tossing bags, empty cans of beer and food wrappers onto the floor. He reappeared moments later carrying one of his duffel bags.\n\nHe tossed it down on the bench and rooted through clothing until he found a case buried all the way at the bottom. He unzipped it to reveal a basic field medic\u2019s kit, and quickly hooked up a handheld biometer which quietly beeped a subtle heartbeat.\n\nKel stepped back as Yao went to work. The Banu washed the blood off his hands.\n\nYao hooked her up to some oxygen and ran through a series of quick injections. Trin\u2019s vitals fluttered while he laid out some pristine surgical equipment.\n\nKel approached cautiously and fidgeted with the Captain Levo figure he\u2019d bought from a stall in the Grand Bazaar.\n\nYao moved precisely and expertly. Kel was impressed; he hardly seemed like the same Human who had fallen asleep while patching up laser wounds. He carefully extracted three of the rounds that were still inside her, then set about repairing the internal damage.\n\nKel stayed until he realized that he wasn\u2019t contributing anything to this. He drifted into the adjoining room and began looking up information about the Captain Levo character, anything to take his mind off the fact that Trin\u2019s life hung in the balance. More so, he was worried about Mags and her brave sacrifice to save him.\n\nHours passed. Kel had read everything he could get his hands on and was a few episodes into the first season of Voyage Beyond, the show that first introduced the character. He needed to get through two seasons of this before Captain Levo would get his own series.\n\nFinally, Yao shuffled into the room and slumped down on the bench next to Kel. He dragged a can of beer over, popped it open and took a long drink.\n\n\u201cIs she fixed?\u201d Kel finally mustered up the courage to ask.\n\nYao took another drink and leaned forward.\n\n\u201cYeah, all good,\u201d he replied.\n\nKel nodded and patted Yao on the forehead, a Human sign of affection he had learned a few months ago.\n\n\u201cThanks, buddy.\u201d Yao finished off the drink. \u201cI\u2019ll keep an eye on her, but vitals are strong and she\u2019s responding well to the meds. She\u2019ll probably be up soon.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s great to hear,\u201d another voice said from the side airlock. Kel and Yao looked over.\n\nArno and Osane, assassins of the Four Points criminal syndicate, stepped forward. Their weapons were aimed at the two of them. Kel put his hands up again.\n\nThis was getting to be a habit.\n\nExecutive Devin carefully stepped through the crime scene. He could smell traces of ozone in the air from the EMP grenade. From what he could piece together, there were anywhere from three to five combatants, but that was all he could get. Vague descriptions. No one willing to offer anything substantial.\n\nAll this chaos because some deal went wrong. Six dead. Eight wounded.\n\nBecause some deal went wrong. He shook his head and looked over the scene again. This was the kind of aggro nonsense that drove him out of \u2018civilized\u2019 space all those years ago.\n\nOne of his local administrators (the People\u2019s Alliance didn\u2019t like to use the term \u2018police\u2019) named Riegert stepped into the bar and waved. Devin beckoned him in. The young administrator quietly made his way down the stairs, carefully navigating around the bodies and pools of blood to approach Devin.\n\n\u201cExecutive,\u201d he said with a deferential nod. He was clearly uncomfortable around the corpses. Devin wished he could remember back when they would have bothered him.\n\n\u201cWhat is it, Riegert?\u201d\n\n\u201cGot reports of gunfire on one of the landing platforms.\u201d\n\nDevin muttered to himself.\n\n\u201cAny witnesses?\u201d he finally asked.\n\n\u201cNo, sir.\u201d\n\n\u201cCourse not,\u201d he said with another shake of the head.\n\n\u201cThat it?\u201d\n\nRiegert hesitated.\n\n\u201cWhat.\u201d\n\n\u201cSome of the maintenance engineers were looking into a clogged vent in subsection two,\u201d Riegert shifted uncomfortably. \u201cThey found Phillip Desmond inside. Dead.\u201d\n\nDevin pulled out one of the nearby barstools and sat down. He sipped from an abandoned drink at the bar while he thought. Phil was a longtime local. Didn\u2019t even drink, so there\u2019s no way he\u2019d have been in here when the fight broke out. This is getting out of hand.\n\nHe pushed off the stool and headed for the exit. Riegert followed.\n\n\u201cI want you to seal up the Residencies. Call for volunteers to reinforce the peace.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, sir.\u201d Riegert rushed to keep up without stepping in any blood.\n\nDevin slowed to a stop as a realization hit him.\n\n\u201cAll the hangars are routed through the emergency system, right?\u201d\n\n\u201cI think so.\u201d\n\n\u201cTake the backup generators offline. Just in case.\u201d Devin started walking again.\n\n\u201cOkay.\u201d\n\nThey stepped out of Cafe Musain and walked to the rail overlooking the Grand Bazaar which had almost resumed its usual hustle. Executive Devin scanned the faces.\n\n\u201cPull together whatever administrators we have left. Whoever\u2019s done this is still here. Since they can\u2019t slip our lockdown, I want to go into the tunnels to make sure they don\u2019t have any other ways out.\u201d\n\n\u201cGot it.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd break out the guns,\u201d Executive Devin added quietly. \u201cI have a feeling we\u2019ll need them.\u201d\n\nThe Souther Titans had taken over a large landing bay and packed it with a handful of smaller fighters, speedrunners and cargo boosters. Turns out the Harlequin ambush was just a small percentage of them. Mags counted about ten more.\n\nThey were all lounging outside of their ships when Blind Jack returned with their prize. He\u2019d already taken Mags\u2019 mobiGlas and gun. Ozzy hadn\u2019t said a word to Mags the whole walk back, just carried the lockbox with the priceless haul of eriesium. She could tell that he didn\u2019t entirely trust the Titans either.\n\nOnce inside, Blind Jack turned back to Mags.\n\n\u201cSo, how about it, little lady?\u201d he said with that trademark grin. \u201cIt\u2019s your show now.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019d be easier with my mobi,\u201d she said flatly and held out her hand.\n\n\u201cNah, I think I\u2019ll hold onto that.\u201d\n\nMags shot a glance to Ozzy then back at Jack. A couple of the other Titans got up as she started to cross the landing pad. On the far side, there was an old office originally used for this particular landing pad\u2019s flight operations. The inside had been completely stripped, wires dangled from open panels like rusted guts.\n\nBack in the early days of Levski, each of the landing pads had a dedicated flight control system, probably so they could keep a steady stream of cargo ships hauling away the minerals the station was extracting from the asteroid. When the People\u2019s Alliance took over, they consolidated all the separate flight control to a single terminal.\n\nMags trudged through the scattered trash, broken machines and spent bottles towards the gaping hole where the control center once stood. A couple Titans posted up at the window to keep an eye on her. They were watching her with the kind of look she\u2019d had to deal with in the past. She clocked a couple makeshift weapons if things turned south, then rooted through the wires in the wall.\n\nThis was an old trick they used to pull back when she was running scams out of here. In her early days here, the People\u2019s Alliance were just getting wise to the fact that any criminal with half a brain could take advantage of their hospitality and use Levski as a perfect hideout. When they\u2019d catch wind that someone was up to no good, they\u2019d do the same lockdown trick to try and identify the criminal element to \u2018exile\u2019 them.\n\nFrank had come up with a way to bypass the lockdown. Even though they had rerouted all the controls from the various landing bays into a single, central terminal, they didn\u2019t realize part of those wires were connected to backup generators with automatic overrides to open or close in the event of a catastrophic power failure. You just needed to tap into them, you could bypass the lockdown.\n\nShe checked one of the old hiding spots for the handheld terminal they\u2019d used to control. To her surprise, it was still there and even had fresh batteries. There must be some locals still using the same trick. She set the terminal aside and started sifting through the handfuls of wires for the ones that were going to flight control.\n\nOzzy walked into the room. He glanced at the Titans keeping guard, then put the eriesium lockbox down beside Mags and sat on it.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell do you think you\u2019re doing?\u201d\n\n\u201cGetting your new friends out of here,\u201d she replied without looking back. \u201cIsn\u2019t that what you want?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be here.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe was going to kill us both,\u201d she snapped back. \u201cBesides, why the hell do you care?\u201d\n\n\u201cI did you a favor,\u201d Ozzy said after a long pause.\n\n\u201cShe was your sister,\u201d she said as she looked back at him.\n\nOzzy was quiet for a few moments, like he was trying to form the words. Mags turned back to what she was doing.\n\n\u201cWhen I was down on QuarterDeck . . .\u201d he drifted off, lost in thought, then tried shifting direction. \u201cThe two of us, Trin and I, came up in juvie centers all over the \u2018verse. Worst of the worst. We\u2019d land in one, start dusting it up and they\u2019d cart us off to another. So I been in prisons my whole life. But after one month down on QuarterDeck, one. . . I did this.\u201d\n\nHe showed Mags his forearms. Two long jagged scars were hidden among the mess of tattoos.\n\n\u201cThe things I had to do to survive down there . . . I can\u2019t ever forget them.\u201d Ozzy stood and paced around the lockbox. \u201cShe put me there. She fed me to those agents and didn\u2019t even have the balls to own up to it. See, Trin\u2019s a survivor, always has been, but she didn\u2019t extend that shit to include other people. She\u2019d do what she has to do to make her way. Other people are useful when they\u2019re useful. Disposable when they\u2019re not. I know you\u2019ve seen that turn in her.\u201d\n\nMags was quiet. She had. The first time was when she convinced Trin that the Harlequin was better off without the previous captain. The second was when Trin was about to throw her out of the airlock.\n\n\u201cShe would\u2019ve turned on you eventually, Mags. And if you think she was going to let you have a single credit from this eriesium . . . you\u2019re crazier than she is.\u201d\n\nMags mulled it over for a second then turned back to the wiring. In the next cluster, she found the right ones. She separated the hangar control wires from the rest and plugged the connection points into the handheld terminal.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d she said as she powered up the terminal. It ran through its bootup sequence while negotiating with the hangar data flow. \u201cGuess it won\u2019t matter now.\u201d\n\n\u201cYeah?\u201d\n\n\u201cCause we\u2019re about to be free,\u201d she said and executed the command to open the hangar.\n\nNothing happened.\n\n\u201cWell, shit.\u201d\n\nBlobs of sounds pierced the darkness. There seemed to be nothing else. No feeling. The sound slowly began to crystallize and soon Trin could pick out single words. Her eyes still felt heavy, like she was slowly waking from a deep sleep, but her body wasn\u2019t ready to get up yet.\n\nFinally, she opened her eyes. The light flooded in, overwhelming her senses at first as she struggled to focus. That\u2019s when the pain hit too. Searing pain in her chest.\n\nAches everywhere else. Her limbs were mostly unresponsive.\n\nA form stepped into view. It was Arno, the syndicate hitter from Caf\u00e9 Musain.\n\n\u201cHey, sunshine,\u201d he said with a smirk.\n\nTrin looked around. She was on the Harlequin. Kel and Yao were seated nearby. Osane, the other hitter, was guarding them. Kel waved.\n\n\u201cThe hell\u2019s going on?\u201d Trin tried to sit up.\n\n\u201cI wouldn\u2019t do that,\u201d Yao tried to move forward, but Osane kept him in place with her pistol.\n\nPain exploded throughout Trin\u2019s body, but she wasn\u2019t about to wince in front of these Four Point assholes, so she just took it. Her throat was dry as hell too. The rest came flooding back as she grabbed a nearby can of beer: Ozzy, Blind Jack and the Titans, the eriesium . . .\n\nTrin finally looked down at herself. Five shots, cleaned and stitched up, dotted her chest. Her clothes were soaked in blood.\n\n\u201cDamn, doc,\u201d she said, poking at the wounds. She felt remarkably good. \u201cGuess you ain\u2019t so useless after all. I hardly feel a thing.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s just the drugs,\u201d Yao replied. \u201cWhen they wear off, it\u2019ll be agony.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhatever,\u201d Trin finished the beer and looked at Arno. \u201cYou know we haven\u2019t got the eriesium, right?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe know,\u201d Arno paced around, inspecting the faded and stained paneling on the walls. \u201cWe want to know where she took them.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho?\u201d\n\n\u201cCaptain Mags went with them,\u201d Kel chimed in as he nervously rocked back and forth. \u201cShe protect us.\u201d\n\nTrin nodded and swung her legs off the table, spilling some spent bloody bandages onto the floor. She tested out her feet. They felt like jelly. When she felt stable enough, she shuffled over to her bunk and started arming up.\n\n\u201cWhere do you think you\u2019re going?\u201d Arno rested his hand on his weapon.\n\n\u201cTo kill \u2018em all.\u201d Trin checked the round count on her shotgun. \u201cYou\u2019re welcome to help.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m telling you, it should\u2019ve worked,\u201d Mags said as she backed up from Blind Jack.\n\n\u201cIf you can\u2019t get us outta here, we ain\u2019t got much use for you then,\u201d he said as he kept pace with her.\n\n\u201cGive me a second,\u201d Mags wracked her brain, trying to think of the other ways her crew used to slink out of here. Trouble was, all the other tricks required much more technical knowhow than she had. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Blind Jack draw his pistol. \u201cOkay.\u201d\n\n\u201cOkay, what,\u201d Jack replied and hesitated with the gun.\n\n\u201cI think I got something,\u201d she said, still intently focused in thought. In truth, she didn\u2019t have anything, but every second she was alive was another opportunity to try and get out of this, so she had to stall.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m gonna need more than that,\u201d Blind Jack said with a chuckle. \u201cAnd choose your words careful.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou got any ships that didn\u2019t land?\u201d\n\nBlind Jack glanced at Ozzy as he thought.\n\n\u201cSure, we got a couple.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere are old storage bays in the tunnels. They were used to offload extracted ore from utility vehicles. They\u2019re on a completely separate line from the hangar bays. If we can get down there, it\u2019s easy to trip the wires and open the doors. We\u2019ll just need suits and then you can float out, get picked up and be on your way. The rest of you can leave when the lockdown lets up.\u201d\n\nAgain, she was making it all up. Sounded logical though. There were a bunch of large sealed doors down in the old tunnels. There was one in particular that she was thinking of. She\u2019d never been through it, but it would certainly sell the lie. There was just one thing she needed to do.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll need to separate though. It\u2019ll be obvious if we move in a big group.\u201d Mags went back to the handheld terminal she tried to hack the door with. She changed the connection wires from data to localized comm network. \u201cLet me double-check to make sure the area\u2019s still getting power.\u201d\n\nOn the terminal screen, she brought up the local network and found the name she needed to complete her plan and typed out a hasty message.\n\nShe hoped this worked . . .\n\nThen she hit send.\n\nTrin knew Blind Jack always wanted to have options when it came to escape routes. It was one of the tenets he drilled into his \u2018family.\u2019 Plan was to sweep the other landing pads first, then head back into the Grand Bazaar. She hit the crowd eager to find the walking dead in question.\n\nBoth Arno and Osane moved quiet. So quiet, she would occasionally forget they was there. Whoever these two were, they had serious training. She knew that from their tussle back in Musain. She couldn\u2019t take any chances when the time came to kill them. Unfortunately, she knew the Titans had traveled in force, so she needed them both for the moment.\n\nTrin cut her way through the crowd, studying the faces as she went. All of them, clusters of dirty pilots, annoyed by the launch freeze, had gathered in the halls to collectively complain to each other. Up ahead, someone hooked down a hallway.\n\nSomething about him caught Trin\u2019s eye.\n\nShe hustled forward and peeked around the corner to get a better look.\n\nHe was dressed in a ratty old patchwork flight suit and was still fidgeting with his helmet. He glanced around before pulling the helmet on, but that was all Trin needed.\n\nHe had Souther Titan tattoos.\n\nShe glanced back at Arno who was keeping an eye out.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re in business.\u201d\n\nMags tried to draw out their path down to the storage doors as much as possible without making it look like she was trying to. While most of the Titans had separated to look less conspicuous, Mags was stuck with Blind Jack, Ozzy and one other Titan. They passed remnants of mining endeavors, some of which dated back to the original owners of the base. After thirty minutes of descending through the winding tunnels, she could tell Blind Jack was getting impatient, so she headed for the rendezvous.\n\nThe hallway turned and then opened up into a large room. Two massive double doors occupied one of the walls. They were thankfully still closed. Empty crates were stacked throughout the room. Rocks and pebbles from extracted minerals littered the floor. There was an elevated sealed catwalk that ringed the space. This last feature was the reason why Mags choose this room.\n\nMost of the other Titans had already arrived, presumably having taken a more direct route. Mags glanced up at the catwalk as she made her way towards the control panel beside the door. She opened the panel to find the terminal ripped out. She stepped back like she was assessing the damage. In reality, she had no clue how to hotwire a door, much less this one.\n\nThankfully, she didn\u2019t have to wait long.\n\n\u201cAll right, everybody!\u201d a voice boomed from the catwalk. \u201cLet\u2019s see those hands.\u201d\n\nThe Souther Titans all turned to see Executive Devin and a small army of PA administrators aiming weapons from the catwalk.\n\nMags tried to look as surprised as everybody else. On the inside though, she was glad her message got through. She wasn\u2019t entirely sure how she was going to wiggle out of Devin\u2019s custody again, but one thing at a time. Especially since none of the Titans made a move to drop their weapons.\n\nBlind Jack Sticha stepped into the center of the room and looked over the faces of the administrators.\n\n\u201cGotta be honest,\u201d he slowly drew his pistol and kept it aimed at the ground. \u201cI don\u2019t see a killer among you. Now us . . .\u201d he motioned to his crew who started getting emboldened. \u201cKillin\u2019s our stock and trade.\u201d\n\nThis is not good, she thought to herself.\n\nA tense pause hung in the air. Weapon sights sought out targets. Every movement felt like it was going to be the one that kicked everything off.\n\nShe noticed one of the TItans slowly edge their way towards Ozzy. Dressed in an ill-fitted patchwork space suit, there was something weird about their walk. As they passed Mags, she noticed fresh blood on the collar of the suit and, more importantly, recognized the face inside.\n\n\u201cTrin?!\u201d she shouted without even thinking.\n\nTrin whipped up her shotgun and leveled it at Ozzy. Mags\u2019 shout gave him enough of a warning to yank up the eriesium lockbox right as the shotgun went off. The shot caught the lockbox flush and knocked Ozzy off balance.\n\nThat\u2019s when everything went to hell.\n\nBallistic and laser fire erupted from every direction. Titans scampered for cover as they opened up on the People\u2019s Alliance.\n\nMags dove behind the nearest crate. She could see the lockbox with the eriesium had landed between Ozzy and Trin, who was pinning him down with shotgun blasts.\n\nThe Titans and People\u2019s Alliance were each taking casualties at an even clip. Gunfire blasted apart cover.\n\nMags tried to time a dash to go for the eriesium. Right as she started to move, bolts from rapidfire energy weapons opened up on both groups, cutting down Titans and PA forces alike. Mags scurried back behind cover and looked at the source of the shots.\n\nArno and Osane had jumped into the fray. They were loaded with tac-vests, body armor and grenades, surgically firing at their targets with what looked like milspec assault rifles. Osane advanced quickly through the Titans, firing shots from her assault rifle until it ran out of charge. Without missing a step, she slung the rifle and drew a knife. The Titan she was approaching unleashed a desperate flurry of shots. She wove around the shots as she closed and finally dashed past him, slashing his throat in the process.\n\nOsane slid behind cover a short distance from the eriesium.\n\n\u201cGo for it, I got your back.\u201d Trin shouted.\n\nMags couldn\u2019t believe it. She\u2019d teamed up with the Four Points?\n\nOsane sprinted for the eriesium as Trin raised her shotgun towards Ozzy. At the last second, she turned the barrel on Osane and fired. The shotgun blast caught her flush in the midsection. Blood exploded out her back and her body slammed heavily into the ground.\n\nTrin grinned and racked another charge in the chamber.\n\nBlind Jack charged towards Executive Devin\u2019s positioned, two grenades cooking in his hands. Jack cackled as he puffed to get within throwing range. He flung one grenade.\n\nDevin tagged him in the shoulder before he could toss the other. The grenade landed with a thud by Jack\u2019s feet. One of the PA administrators dove to shield Devin right as the first grenade went off.\n\nThe second detonation marked the end of Blind Jack Sticha.\n\n\u201cOsane?\u201d Arno shouted from his firing position. \u201cOsane! Talk to me!\u201d\n\nHe must not have seen what happened, Mags thought and looked back at the lockbox. It was just sitting there, in the middle of a war zone, and she didn\u2019t have a gun. She could barely see Ozzy, but it looked like he had run out of ammo.\n\nTrin sensed it too and started to advance on his position. Most of the other gun battles had subsided. Moans of the wounded started to fill the space.\n\nMags took her chance. She raced out of hiding and slid to the lockbox near Osane\u2019s body. Trin realized too late. She turned her shotgun towards Mags. It took a moment for Trin to recognize her, but it didn\u2019t change anything. She had that same look in her eye she had when she almost threw Mags out of the airlock. She raised the shotgun.\n\nOzzy tackled Trin right as the shotgun went off. The blast went wide. Mags could feel the crackle of energy singe her head as it passed.\n\nTrin and Ozzy rolled on the ground. He fought to wrestle the shotgun from her. She went for the kill. She punched him in the kidney once. Twice. Three times. Rolled on top of him and rammed her forehead into his nose. It broke with a wet crack. His grip weakened on the shotgun and she took full advantage, ripping the weapon out of his grasp and rising.\n\n\u201cCouldn\u2019t even kill me, right, could you?\u201d she said as she paced around him and pumped another charge. \u201cWhat the hell happened to you? We used to be a team. You remember? What happened to that guy? That guy who was hard as nails. Who pushed me to get tougher? Nah, my brother died on QuarterDeck.\u201d\n\nShe spit out some blood and snapped up the shotgun to execute him.\n\n\u201cWait!\u201d Mags yelled.\n\nTrin stopped and looked over. Mags was standing, holding out the lockbox.\n\n\u201cYou want the eriesium? Take it.\u201d\n\nMags tossed the lockbox at Trin\u2019s feet.\n\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou heard me.\u201d Mags stepped back.\n\n\u201cWhat is this?\u201d Trin asked as she looked around suspiciously. \u201cYou\u2019d just give it over . . .\u201d\n\n\u201cSure,\u201d Mags said with a shrug. \u201cBetween you, the goddamn Four Points, the Titans and the cops. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll be walking out of here with it anyway.\u201d\n\nTrin studied Mags for a second, searching her face for signs of deception. She turned the shotgun from Ozzy to Mags as she walked over to the lockbox.\n\n\u201cSo I got to thinking,\u201d Mags stepped further back, hands still raised. Trin reached down, weapon still trained on Mags, and flipped it open. \u201cLike you said earlier, I can live with no one having it.\u201d\n\nTrin looked into the lockbox. One of Osane\u2019s grenades sat next to the lump of eriesium. The pin was out and it was whining to a high pitch. Trin flung the lockbox away at the last second. The thermal blast turned the eriesium, the lockbox and even part of the floor into molten slag.\n\nTrin\u2019s shock quickly turned into white hot homicidal rage as she whirled to face Mags. She raised the shotgun when a bullet punched through the side of her head. A fine mist puffed out the other side. Trin stood there for a second, like she had suddenly been unplugged. Then crumpled to the ground.\n\nExecutive Devin, charred and smoldering from Blind Jack\u2019s grenade attack, lowered his rifle.\n\nSilence settled over the room. A few Titans who were still mobile fled out into the tunnels while the remaining People\u2019s Alliance administrators moved in to secure the prisoners and treat the survivors.\n\nMags went over and helped Ozzy to his feet. He clutched his nose to try and stop the bleeding.\n\n\u201cYou okay?\u201d She asked, wincing at the still steady flow of blood.\n\n\u201cNo, but I\u2019ll be fine.\u201d\n\nNone of the administrators seemed that interested in them, so Mags started to ease her way out of the room. She then came face to face with Devin.\n\n\u201cHey, thanks for the save,\u201d she offered up.\n\n\u201cSure. Thanks for the tip-off, Kristin,\u201d he replied. \u201cOh wait, it\u2019s actually Magdalene, right?\u201d\n\n\u201cUm . . . yeah.\u201d She looked around for a moment. \u201cSo . . .\u201d\n\n\u201cGet out of here,\u201d he walked past her to rejoin his team.\n\n\u201cDo me a favor and don\u2019t come back?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou got it.\u201d\n\nMags motioned for Ozzy to follow and the two walked out.\n\nArno rushed through the tunnels of Levski towards the landing deck where his ship was waiting.\n\nHe broke out the second he saw the eriesium go up. This is not good. That was Four Points property and he knew his boss, much less the other Points, weren\u2019t going to accept \u2018a shitty turn of events\u2019 as an excuse for losing a fortune, so he had to disappear. Now.\n\nHe worked out a route to get to one of his safe houses, one of his personal failsafes in case he ever needed to get out. He had half a dozen similar ones spread around the \u2018verse, each stocked with credits, a clean ship and a new identity.\n\nArno climbed into his ship, stowed his gear and slipped into the pilot\u2019s seat to start his takeoff. The lockdown should end any time now and he wanted to be the first to bust out of here.\n\nThat\u2019s when his mobi pinged with an incoming comm.\n\nArno ignored it, but something caught his eye in front of his ship.\n\nA Xi\u2019an was standing just outside the airlock to the landing pad. It was the same one from Cafe Musain . . .\n\nHe could see the alien key a command into his mobi.\n\nArno\u2019s ship exploded right there on the pad.\n\nSoahm watched the wreckage burn for a few moments. Automatic Fire Suppression Systems activated as extinguishers targeted the flames.\n\nHe turned and stepped back into the airlock, already planning what he would say in the report to his bosses.\n\nBack aboard the Harlequin, their engines heated up the second the lockdown was lifted. Mags couldn\u2019t wait to get off this rock.\n\nKel was sitting in the back, calm now that she explained Ozzy was on their side again, working his way through some spectrum show and constantly giving updates to Yao. She hadn\u2019t seen the doc take a hit in a while. Something seemed different about him. She\u2019d figure out what.\n\nAs the dust and rocks above Levski gave way to the yawning blackness of space, all the madness, stress and pressure of the past few days started to fade and she was left with a single thought:\n\nHoly shit, that was fun.\n\nTrue, they were barely better financially than when they started this, and in the long term, she desperately wanted the kind of financial security that meant that she\u2019d never need to stress about money, but honestly, she realized she wasn\u2019t in a hurry. She\u2019d found a crew of people she finally trusted. Who had her back and she had theirs. They were young and they\u2019d have plenty of opportunities to hit that big score.\n\nThey just needed to keep hustling until they did.\n\nFor the first time, she was actually okay with that.\n\nThe End","de_DE":"Anmerkung des Autors: Drifters: Teil Vier wurde urspr\u00fcnglich in Jump Point 5.4 ver\u00f6ffentlicht. Lesen Sie Teil eins, Teil zwei und Teil drei\nDie Sch\u00fcsse hallten immer noch in der massiven Landebucht wider. Das schrille Wimmern klang in Mags' Ohren, aber sie war auf Trin fixiert und beobachtete, wie das Blut aus ihrem K\u00f6rper in das schmutzige Gitter sickerte. Sie sp\u00fcrte, wie Kel sich neben ihr bewegte. Er hatte seine H\u00e4nde hochgehalten, so hoch wie er sie erreichen konnte.\n\nMags sah zu Ozzy auf. Er hatte die Pistole immer noch im Anschlag. Sein Gesicht war verzerrt, voller Wut. Augenblicke bevor er Trin erschoss, hatte er sie beschuldigt, ihn zur\u00fcckgelassen zu haben. Vor Jahren, damals, als sie beide bei den Souther Titans waren, ging ein Job schief und Ozzy wurde gekniffen. Er verlor f\u00fcnf Jahre seines Lebens in der Strafvollzugsh\u00f6lle von Quarterdeck, w\u00e4hrend sie davonkam. Mags konnte nicht sagen, dass es v\u00f6llig \u00fcberraschend kam. Trin hatte ihr mehr als einmal gedroht, zuletzt, sie zu erschie\u00dfen und sie aus einer Luftschleuse zu werfen. Hoffentlich in dieser Reihenfolge.\n\n\"Was wollen Sie gegen sie tun?\", fragte der Typ, der wie ein Spectrum-Show-Opa aussah.\n\nOzzy l\u00f6ste sich endlich von Trin und sah Mags und Kel an. Die Wut verblasste, als er seine Pistole in den Halfter steckte.\n\n\"Lass sie gehen, Jack.\"\n\nDer alte Mann lachte eines dieser tiefen Bauchlacher.\n\n\"Du bist schon zu lange raus aus der Herde, Kleiner. Die Titanen lassen die Zeugen nicht laufen.\"\n\n\"Jack.\" Ozzy starrte ihn an. \"Lass sie in Ruhe.\"\n\nDer blinde Jack Sticha, erkannte sie. Definitiv nicht das, was sie sich anhand des Vertreters vorgestellt hatte. Vielleicht war das sein Trick. Sie sah, wie er eine Pistole zog, au\u00dfer Sichtweite von Ozzy.\n\n\"Wenn du Leute mit Groll gehen l\u00e4sst, verursachst du nur Kopfschmerzen auf dem Weg\", sagte er, als w\u00fcrde er einem Kind die Fakten des Lebens erkl\u00e4ren. Sein Daumen klickte leise die Sicherung aus.\n\nMags wusste, dass sie nicht mehr lange Zeit hatte.\n\n\"Ich kann Sie hier rausholen\", platzte sie heraus. Blind Jack z\u00f6gerte. Sie ging weiter, bevor er es sich anders \u00fcberlegen konnte. \"Levski ist abgeriegelt. Haben Sie einen Weg daran vorbei?\"\n\nBlind Jack sagte nichts. Ozzy gab ihr ein kurzes Kopfsch\u00fctteln, das sagte, dass du das nicht tun willst.\n\n\"Ich wei\u00df, wie ich dich da rauskriege.\" Mags fuhr fort. Ihre Gedanken rasten. Fr\u00fcher, als sie mit Frank McGarr zusammen war, mussten sie an der einen oder anderen Sperre vorbeischl\u00fcpfen. Die H\u00f6lle wusste, ob die gleichen Tricks bei Delamar funktionieren w\u00fcrden. Au\u00dferdem, wenn sie sich an das Eriesium halten konnte, w\u00fcrde sie vielleicht eine M\u00f6glichkeit finden, es zur\u00fcck zu stehlen. \"Scheint mir, als w\u00fcrden Sie einen Vorsprung vor den Four Point-K\u00e4mpfern haben wollen, die hier herumstreunen.\"\n\nSie konnte sehen, dass Blind Jack wusste, wovon sie sprach. Vielleicht war er derjenige, der die Attent\u00e4ter in ihre Richtung gelenkt hatte.\n\n\"Du l\u00e4sst Kel laufen\", sagte sie und machte einen Schritt auf Blind Jack und Ozzy zu, \"und ich bringe dich hier raus.\"\n\nBlind Jack schaute auf Kel, der sich nicht bewegt hatte. Seine H\u00e4nde griffen immer noch nach dem Himmel.\n\n\"Dein Gl\u00fcckstag, Banu\", sagte er und machte eine Bewegung zu den anderen Titanen. Sie lie\u00dfen ihre Waffen sinken und begannen zu gehen. Ozzy warf Trin einen letzten Blick zu, dann hob er die Schlie\u00dfkassette mit dem Eriesium an.\n\n\"Nach dir\", winkte Blind Jack Mags zum Gehen an. Sie blickte zur\u00fcck zu Kel.\n\n\"Captain Mags . .\", stammelte er, w\u00e4hrend er seine H\u00e4nde senkte.\n\n\"Wir sehen uns wieder.\" Sie dr\u00fcckte seinen Arm, dann wich sie zur\u00fcck und ging zu den Titanen in die Luftschleuse.\n\nSie schenkte ihm ein letztes beruhigendes L\u00e4cheln, als sich die Luftschleuse schloss.\n\nKel stand ein paar Augenblicke lang da, unsicher, was er tun sollte. Er schaute sich um. Die Mechaniker, die hier rumgehangen hatten, mussten weggelaufen sein, als die Schie\u00dferei begann. Sie hatten ihre Musik laufen lassen. Seltsames menschliches Wimmern dr\u00f6hnte weiter und bot einen bizarren Soundtrack zur Szene.\n\nEr handelte schlie\u00dflich und ging zu Trins Leiche, aber da war so viel Blut. Er wusste nicht einmal, wo er anfangen sollte, also dr\u00fcckte er einfach auf die Wunden.\n\n\"Heilige Schei\u00dfe.\"\n\nKel sprang bei der neuen Stimme auf. Er schaute zur Luftschleuse hin\u00fcber und sah Honan Yao, der eine T\u00fcte mit Essen zum Mitnehmen umklammerte. Er war vielleicht immer noch high - die schwarzen Drogenflecken in seinem Arm liefen jetzt den ganzen Weg hinunter durch seine Hand - aber er verhielt sich nicht so.\n\n\"Sie ist schwer gebrochen\", fragte Kel hilflos. \"Was soll ich tun?\"\n\nYao rannte zu Trin hin\u00fcber und begann sie zu untersuchen, \u00fcberpr\u00fcfte ihren Puls, sah sich ihre Pupillen an.\n\n\"Sie ist am Leben, aber nur knapp.\" Er sagte das mit einer Selbstverst\u00e4ndlichkeit, die Kel noch nie von ihm geh\u00f6rt hatte. \"Wir m\u00fcssen sie ins Innere des Schiffes bringen. Sofort.\"\n\nKel packte Trins Beine und sie brachten sie schnell in die Harlequin. Drinnen angekommen, s\u00e4uberten sie den Tisch im Gemeinschaftsraum und legten sie hin. Yao machte sich auf den Weg zu seiner Koje.\n\n\"Dr\u00fccken Sie auf die Wunden\", rief er, w\u00e4hrend er in seiner Schlafkoje herumw\u00fchlte und T\u00fcten, leere Bierdosen und Essensverpackungen auf den Boden warf. Wenige Augenblicke sp\u00e4ter tauchte er wieder auf und trug einen seiner Sees\u00e4cke.\n\nEr warf ihn auf die Bank und w\u00fchlte sich durch die Kleidung, bis er einen Koffer fand, der ganz unten vergraben war. Er \u00f6ffnete den Rei\u00dfverschluss und entdeckte eine einfache Feldsanit\u00e4ter-Ausr\u00fcstung und schloss schnell ein tragbares Biometer an, das leise einen dezenten Herzschlag anzeigte.\n\nKel trat zur\u00fcck, w\u00e4hrend Yao sich an die Arbeit machte. Der Banu wusch das Blut von seinen H\u00e4nden ab.\n\nYao schloss sie an den Sauerstoff an und f\u00fchrte eine Reihe von schnellen Injektionen durch. Trins Vitalwerte flatterten, w\u00e4hrend er einige makellose chirurgische Ger\u00e4te bereitlegte.\n\nKel n\u00e4herte sich vorsichtig und fummelte an der Captain-Levo-Figur herum, die er an einem Stand auf dem Gro\u00dfen Basar gekauft hatte.\n\nYao bewegte sich pr\u00e4zise und gekonnt. Kel war beeindruckt; er schien kaum noch derselbe Mensch zu sein, der beim Flicken von Laserwunden eingeschlafen war. Er zog vorsichtig drei der Kugeln heraus, die noch in ihr steckten, und machte sich dann daran, die inneren Sch\u00e4den zu reparieren.\n\nKel blieb, bis ihm klar wurde, dass er nichts dazu beitrug. Er lie\u00df sich in den Nebenraum treiben und begann, Informationen \u00fcber die Figur des Captain Levo nachzuschlagen, alles, um sich von der Tatsache abzulenken, dass Trins Leben auf dem Spiel stand. Mehr noch, er machte sich Sorgen um Mags und ihr mutiges Opfer, um ihn zu retten.\n\nStunden vergingen. Kel hatte alles gelesen, was er in die Finger bekommen konnte und war schon ein paar Episoden in der ersten Staffel von Voyage Beyond, der Serie, die den Charakter zum ersten Mal eingef\u00fchrt hatte. Er musste zwei Staffeln davon durchstehen, bevor Captain Levo seine eigene Serie bekommen w\u00fcrde.\n\nSchlie\u00dflich schlurfte Yao in den Raum und sackte auf der Bank neben Kel zusammen. Er schleppte eine Dose Bier herbei, knallte sie auf und nahm einen langen Schluck.\n\n\"Ist sie repariert?\" Kel brachte endlich den Mut auf, zu fragen.\n\nYao nahm einen weiteren Schluck und lehnte sich vor.\n\n\"Ja, alles gut\", antwortete er.\n\nKel nickte und t\u00e4tschelte Yao auf die Stirn, ein menschliches Zeichen der Zuneigung, das er vor ein paar Monaten gelernt hatte.\n\n\"Danke, Kumpel.\" Yao trank den Drink aus. \"Ich werde sie im Auge behalten, aber ihre Vitalwerte sind gut und sie spricht gut auf die Medikamente an. Sie wird wahrscheinlich bald wieder aufstehen.\"\n\n\"Das ist sch\u00f6n zu h\u00f6ren\", sagte eine andere Stimme aus der seitlichen Luftschleuse. Kel und Yao sahen hin\u00fcber.\n\nArno und Osane, Attent\u00e4ter des Four Points Verbrechersyndikats, traten vor. Ihre Waffen waren auf die beiden gerichtet. Kel nahm wieder die H\u00e4nde hoch.\n\nDas wurde langsam zur Gewohnheit.\n\nExecutive Devin schritt vorsichtig durch den Tatort. Er konnte Spuren von Ozon in der Luft von der EMP-Granate riechen. Nach dem, was er sich zusammenreimen konnte, waren es irgendwo zwischen drei und f\u00fcnf K\u00e4mpfer, aber das war alles, was er bekommen konnte. Vage Beschreibungen. Niemand war bereit, etwas Substantielles anzubieten.\n\nAll dieses Chaos, weil irgendein Deal schief ging. Sechs Tote. Acht Verwundete.\n\nWeil irgendein Deal schief ging. Er sch\u00fcttelte den Kopf und sah sich die Szene noch einmal an. Das war die Art von Aggro-Nonsens, die ihn vor all den Jahren aus dem 'zivilisierten' Raum vertrieben hatte.\n\nEiner seiner \u00f6rtlichen Verwalter (die Volksallianz benutzte nicht gerne den Begriff 'Polizei') namens Riegert trat in die Bar und winkte. Devin winkte ihn herein. Der junge Verwalter ging leise die Treppe hinunter, navigierte vorsichtig um die Leichen und Blutlachen herum und n\u00e4herte sich Devin.\n\n\"Executive\", sagte er mit einem ehrerbietigen Nicken. Er f\u00fchlte sich eindeutig unwohl in der N\u00e4he der Leichen. Devin w\u00fcnschte sich, er k\u00f6nnte sich an die Zeit erinnern, als sie ihn noch gest\u00f6rt h\u00e4tten.\n\n\"Was gibt es, Riegert?\"\n\n\"Wir haben Berichte \u00fcber Sch\u00fcsse auf einer der Landeplattformen.\"\n\nDevin murmelte vor sich hin.\n\n\"Irgendwelche Zeugen?\", fragte er schlie\u00dflich.\n\n\"Nein, Sir.\"\n\n\"Nat\u00fcrlich nicht\", sagte er mit einem weiteren Kopfsch\u00fctteln.\n\n\"Ist das alles?\"\n\nRiegert z\u00f6gerte.\n\n\"Was.\"\n\n\"Einige der Wartungstechniker untersuchten einen verstopften L\u00fcftungsschacht in Unterabteilung zwei\", schob Riegert unbehaglich nach. \"Sie fanden Phillip Desmond darin. Tot.\"\n\nDevin zog einen der nahe gelegenen Barhocker hervor und setzte sich. Er nippte an einem verlassenen Getr\u00e4nk an der Bar, w\u00e4hrend er nachdachte. Phil war ein langj\u00e4hriger Einheimischer. Er trank nicht einmal, also kann er auf keinen Fall hier gewesen sein, als der Kampf ausbrach. Das ger\u00e4t au\u00dfer Kontrolle.\n\nEr stie\u00df sich vom Hocker ab und ging in Richtung Ausgang. Riegert folgte ihm.\n\n\"Ich m\u00f6chte, dass Sie die Residenzen abriegeln. Fordern Sie Freiwillige an, um den Frieden zu festigen.\"\n\n\"Ja, Sir.\" Riegert beeilte sich, mitzuhalten, ohne in Blut getreten zu sein.\n\nDevin kam langsam zum Stehen, als ihn eine Erkenntnis traf.\n\n\"Alle Hangars werden durch das Notfallsystem geleitet, richtig?\"\n\n\"Ich glaube schon.\"\n\n\"Schalten Sie die Backup-Generatoren offline. Nur f\u00fcr den Fall.\" Devin begann wieder zu laufen.\n\n\"Okay.\"\n\nSie traten aus dem Cafe Musain und gingen zum Gel\u00e4nder mit Blick auf den Gro\u00dfen Basar, der schon fast wieder sein \u00fcbliches Treiben aufgenommen hatte. Der leitende Devin scannte die Gesichter.\n\n\"Trommeln Sie alle Administratoren zusammen, die wir noch haben. Wer immer das getan hat, ist immer noch hier. Da sie unserer Abriegelung nicht entkommen k\u00f6nnen, will ich in die Tunnel gehen, um sicherzugehen, dass sie keine anderen Auswege haben.\"\n\n\"Verstanden.\"\n\n\"Und holt die Waffen raus\", f\u00fcgte Executive Devin leise hinzu. \"Ich habe das Gef\u00fchl, dass wir sie brauchen werden.\"\n\nDie Souther Titans hatten eine gro\u00dfe Landebucht \u00fcbernommen und sie mit einer Handvoll kleinerer J\u00e4ger, Speedrunners und Cargo-Boostern vollgepackt. Wie sich herausstellte, war der Hinterhalt der Harlekins nur ein kleiner Teil von ihnen. Mags z\u00e4hlte etwa zehn weitere.\n\nSie alle lungerten au\u00dferhalb ihrer Schiffe herum, als Blind Jack mit ihrer Beute zur\u00fcckkehrte. Er hatte bereits Mags' MobiGlas und Waffe an sich genommen. Ozzy hatte auf dem ganzen R\u00fcckweg kein Wort zu Mags gesagt, er trug nur die Schlie\u00dfkassette mit der unbezahlbaren Beute an Eriesium. Sie konnte erkennen, dass er den Titanen auch nicht ganz traute.\n\nDrinnen angekommen, wandte sich Blind Jack wieder an Mags.\n\n\"Also, wie sieht's aus, kleine Lady?\", sagte er mit seinem typischen Grinsen. \"Das ist jetzt Ihre Show.\"\n\n\"Mit meinem Mobi w\u00e4re es einfacher\", sagte sie rundheraus und hielt ihm die Hand hin.\n\n\"Nee, ich glaube, das behalte ich.\"\n\nMags warf einen Blick zu Ozzy und dann wieder zu Jack. Ein paar der anderen Titanen standen auf, als sie begann, den Landeplatz zu \u00fcberqueren. Auf der anderen Seite befand sich ein altes B\u00fcro, das urspr\u00fcnglich f\u00fcr den Flugbetrieb dieses speziellen Landeplatzes genutzt wurde. Das Innere war komplett entkernt worden, Dr\u00e4hte baumelten aus offenen Paneelen wie verrostete Eingeweide.\n\nIn den fr\u00fchen Tagen von Levski hatte jeder der Landepl\u00e4tze ein eigenes Flugkontrollsystem, wahrscheinlich um einen stetigen Strom von Frachtschiffen zu gew\u00e4hrleisten, die die Mineralien, die die Station aus dem Asteroiden gewann, abtransportierten. Als die Volksallianz die Station \u00fcbernahm, konsolidierten sie alle separaten Flugsteuerungen in einem einzigen Terminal.\n\nMags stapfte durch den verstreuten M\u00fcll, kaputte Maschinen und verbrauchte Flaschen in Richtung des klaffenden Lochs, in dem einst das Kontrollzentrum stand. Ein paar Titanen postierten sich am Fenster, um ein Auge auf sie zu werfen. Sie beobachteten sie mit der Art von Blicken, mit denen sie in der Vergangenheit zu k\u00e4mpfen gehabt hatte. Sie taktierte ein paar behelfsm\u00e4\u00dfige Waffen, falls die Dinge sich nach S\u00fcden drehten, und w\u00fchlte sich dann durch die Dr\u00e4hte in der Wand.\n\nDas war ein alter Trick, den sie fr\u00fcher angewandt hatte, als sie von hier aus noch Betr\u00fcgereien durchf\u00fchrte. In ihren fr\u00fchen Tagen hier wurde die People's Alliance gerade der Tatsache gewahr, dass jeder Kriminelle mit einem halben Gehirn ihre Gastfreundschaft ausnutzen und Levski als perfektes Versteck benutzen konnte. Wenn sie Wind davon bekamen, dass jemand nichts Gutes im Schilde f\u00fchrte, versuchten sie mit dem gleichen Trick, das kriminelle Element zu identifizieren, um es zu \"verbannen\".\n\nFrank hatte einen Weg gefunden, die Abriegelung zu umgehen. Obwohl sie alle Steuerungen von den verschiedenen Landepl\u00e4tzen in ein einziges, zentrales Terminal umgeleitet hatten, wussten sie nicht, dass ein Teil dieser Dr\u00e4hte mit Backup-Generatoren verbunden war, die im Falle eines katastrophalen Stromausfalls automatisch ge\u00f6ffnet oder geschlossen wurden. Man musste sie nur anzapfen, dann konnte man die Abriegelung umgehen.\n\nSie suchte in einem der alten Verstecke nach dem Handheld-Terminal, das sie zur Steuerung benutzt hatten. Zu ihrer \u00dcberraschung war es noch da und hatte sogar noch frische Batterien. Es muss einige Einheimische geben, die immer noch den gleichen Trick anwenden. Sie legte das Terminal beiseite und begann, die Handvoll Dr\u00e4hte nach denjenigen zu durchsuchen, die zur Flugkontrolle f\u00fchrten.\n\nOzzy betrat den Raum. Er warf einen Blick auf die Titanen, die Wache hielten, dann stellte er die Eriesium-Lockbox neben Mags ab und setzte sich auf sie.\n\n\"Was zum Teufel denken Sie, was Sie da tun?\"\n\n\"Deine neuen Freunde hier rausholen\", antwortete sie, ohne sich umzudrehen. \"Ist es nicht das, was Sie wollen?\"\n\n\"Sie sollten nicht hier sein.\"\n\n\"Er wollte uns beide umbringen\", schnauzte sie zur\u00fcck. \"Au\u00dferdem, warum zum Teufel k\u00fcmmert dich das?\"\n\n\"Ich habe dir einen Gefallen getan\", sagte Ozzy nach einer langen Pause.\n\n\"Sie war deine Schwester\", sagte sie, als sie ihn wieder ansah.\n\nOzzy war ein paar Augenblicke lang still, als ob er versuchte, die Worte zu formen. Mags wandte sich wieder dem zu, was sie gerade tat.\n\n\"Als ich unten auf dem QuarterDeck war ...\", er driftete gedankenverloren ab, dann versuchte er die Richtung zu wechseln. \"Wir beide, Trin und ich, kamen in Jugendstrafanstalten im ganzen Verse. Die Schlimmsten der Schlimmen. Wir landeten in einem, fingen an, es abzustauben und sie karren uns in ein anderes. Ich war also mein ganzes Leben lang in Gef\u00e4ngnissen. Aber nach einem Monat auf dem QuarterDeck, einem. . . habe ich das gemacht.\"\n\nEr zeigte Mags seine Unterarme. Zwei lange, gezackte Narben waren zwischen dem Durcheinander von T\u00e4towierungen versteckt.\n\n\"Die Dinge, die ich tun musste, um da unten zu \u00fcberleben . . . Ich kann sie nie vergessen.\" Ozzy stand auf und schritt um das Schlie\u00dffach herum. \"Sie hat mich dorthin gebracht. Sie hat mich an diese Agenten verf\u00fcttert und hatte nicht einmal die Eier, es zuzugeben. Sehen Sie, Trin ist eine \u00dcberlebensk\u00fcnstlerin, das war sie schon immer, aber sie hat diesen Schei\u00df nicht auf andere Leute ausgeweitet. Sie w\u00fcrde tun, was sie tun muss, um ihren Weg zu machen. Andere Menschen sind n\u00fctzlich, wenn sie n\u00fctzlich sind. Wegwerfbar, wenn sie es nicht sind. Ich wei\u00df, dass Sie diese Wendung bei ihr gesehen haben.\"\n\nMags war still. Das hatte sie. Das erste Mal war, als sie Trin davon \u00fcberzeugte, dass die Harlequin ohne den vorherigen Captain besser dran war. Das zweite Mal war, als Trin kurz davor war, sie aus der Luftschleuse zu werfen.\n\n\"Sie h\u00e4tte sich irgendwann gegen dich gewendet, Mags. Und wenn Sie glauben, dass sie Ihnen auch nur einen einzigen Kredit von diesem Eriesium \u00fcberlassen h\u00e4tte ... Sie sind noch verr\u00fcckter als sie.\"\n\nMags \u00fcberlegte eine Sekunde und wandte sich dann wieder der Verkabelung zu. In der n\u00e4chsten Ansammlung fand sie die richtigen. Sie trennte die Hangar-Steuerungsdr\u00e4hte vom Rest und steckte die Anschlusspunkte in das Handterminal.\n\n\"Gut\", sagte sie, w\u00e4hrend sie das Terminal einschaltete. Es durchlief seine Bootup-Sequenz, w\u00e4hrend es mit dem Datenfluss des Hangars verhandelte. \"Sch\u00e4tze, das spielt jetzt keine Rolle mehr.\"\n\n\"Ja?\"\n\n\"Weil wir gleich frei sein werden\", sagte sie und f\u00fchrte den Befehl zum \u00d6ffnen des Hangars aus.\n\nEs passierte nichts.\n\n\"Tja, Schei\u00dfe.\"\n\nKleckse von Ger\u00e4uschen durchdrangen die Dunkelheit. Sonst schien es nichts zu geben. Kein Gef\u00fchl. Die Ger\u00e4usche begannen sich langsam zu kristallisieren und bald konnte Trin einzelne Worte heraush\u00f6ren. Ihre Augen f\u00fchlten sich immer noch schwer an, als w\u00fcrde sie langsam aus einem tiefen Schlaf erwachen, aber ihr K\u00f6rper war noch nicht bereit, aufzustehen.\n\nSchlie\u00dflich \u00f6ffnete sie ihre Augen. Das Licht flutete herein und \u00fcberw\u00e4ltigte zun\u00e4chst ihre Sinne, w\u00e4hrend sie darum k\u00e4mpfte, sich zu konzentrieren. In diesem Moment schlug auch der Schmerz zu. Ein stechender Schmerz in ihrer Brust.\n\nSchmerzen \u00fcberall sonst. Ihre Gliedma\u00dfen waren gr\u00f6\u00dftenteils nicht ansprechbar.\n\nEine Gestalt trat ins Blickfeld. Es war Arno, der Syndikatsschl\u00e4ger aus dem Caf\u00e9 Musain.\n\n\"Hey, Sonnenschein\", sagte er mit einem Grinsen.\n\nTrin sah sich um. Sie sa\u00df auf der Harlequin. Kel und Yao sa\u00dfen in der N\u00e4he. Osane, der andere Schlagmann, bewachte sie. Kel winkte.\n\n\"Was zum Teufel ist hier los?\" Trin versuchte, sich aufzusetzen.\n\n\"Das w\u00fcrde ich nicht tun\", versuchte Yao, sich vorw\u00e4rts zu bewegen, aber Osane hielt ihn mit ihrer Pistole an Ort und Stelle.\n\nDer Schmerz explodierte in Trins K\u00f6rper, aber sie hatte nicht vor, vor diesen Four Point Arschl\u00f6chern zu zucken, also nahm sie es einfach hin. Ihre Kehle war auch verdammt trocken. Der Rest kam zur\u00fcck, als sie nach einer nahegelegenen Dose Bier griff: Ozzy, Blind Jack and the Titans, das Eriesium ...\n\nTrin sah schlie\u00dflich an sich herunter. F\u00fcnf Sch\u00fcsse, gereinigt und gen\u00e4ht, punktierten ihre Brust. Ihre Kleidung war mit Blut getr\u00e4nkt.\n\n\"Verdammt, Doc\", sagte sie und stocherte in den Wunden herum. Sie f\u00fchlte sich bemerkenswert gut. \"Sch\u00e4tze, Sie sind doch nicht so nutzlos. Ich sp\u00fcre kaum etwas.\"\n\n\"Das sind nur die Drogen\", antwortete Yao. \"Wenn sie nachlassen, wird es eine Qual sein.\"\n\n\"Wie auch immer\", Trin trank das Bier aus und sah Arno an. \"Du wei\u00dft, dass wir das Eriesium nicht haben, oder?\"\n\n\"Wissen wir\", Arno schritt umher und inspizierte die verblasste und fleckige Vert\u00e4felung an den W\u00e4nden. \"Wir wollen wissen, wo sie sie hingebracht hat.\"\n\n\"Wer?\"\n\n\"Captain Mags ist mit ihnen gegangen\", mischte sich Kel ein, w\u00e4hrend er nerv\u00f6s hin und her wippte. \"Sie besch\u00fctzt uns.\"\n\nTrin nickte und schwang ihre Beine vom Tisch, wobei einige verbrauchte blutige Verb\u00e4nde auf den Boden fielen. Sie testete ihre F\u00fc\u00dfe aus. Sie f\u00fchlten sich wie Gelee an. Als sie sich stabil genug f\u00fchlte, schlurfte sie hin\u00fcber zu ihrer Koje und begann, sich aufzur\u00fcsten.\n\n\"Was glaubst Du, wo Du hingehst?\" Arno st\u00fctzte seine Hand auf seine Waffe.\n\n\"Um sie alle zu t\u00f6ten.\" Trin \u00fcberpr\u00fcfte den Patronenz\u00e4hler auf ihrer Schrotflinte. \"Du kannst gerne helfen.\"\n\n\"Ich sage dir, es h\u00e4tte funktionieren m\u00fcssen\", sagte Mags, als sie vor Blind Jack zur\u00fcckwich.\n\n\"Wenn du uns nicht hier rausbringen kannst, dann haben wir nicht viel Verwendung f\u00fcr dich\", sagte er, w\u00e4hrend er mit ihr Schritt hielt.\n\n\"Gib mir eine Sekunde\", Mags zermarterte sich das Hirn und versuchte, an die anderen M\u00f6glichkeiten zu denken, mit denen sich ihre Crew hier herausschleichen konnte. Das Problem war, dass alle anderen Tricks viel mehr technisches Knowhow erforderten, als sie hatte. Aus den Augenwinkeln sah sie, wie Blind Jack seine Pistole zog. \"Okay.\"\n\n\"Okay, was?\", erwiderte Jack und z\u00f6gerte mit der Pistole.\n\n\"Ich glaube, ich habe etwas\", sagte sie, immer noch in Gedanken vertieft. In Wahrheit hatte sie nichts, aber jede Sekunde, die sie noch lebte, war eine weitere Gelegenheit, um zu versuchen, aus der Sache herauszukommen, also musste sie Zeit schinden.\n\n\"Ich werde mehr als das brauchen\", sagte Blind Jack mit einem Kichern. \"Und w\u00e4hlen Sie Ihre Worte sorgf\u00e4ltig.\"\n\n\"Haben Sie irgendwelche Schiffe, die nicht gelandet sind?\"\n\nBlind Jack blickte Ozzy nachdenklich an.\n\n\"Klar, wir haben ein paar.\"\n\n\"In den Tunneln gibt es alte Lagersch\u00e4chte. Sie wurden benutzt, um das gef\u00f6rderte Erz von den Nutzfahrzeugen abzuladen. Sie liegen an einer v\u00f6llig anderen Leitung als die Hangarsch\u00e4chte. Wenn wir da runterkommen, ist es einfach, die Dr\u00e4hte auszul\u00f6sen und die T\u00fcren zu \u00f6ffnen. Wir brauchen nur Anz\u00fcge und dann k\u00f6nnen Sie rausschweben, sich abholen lassen und weiterfahren. Der Rest von Ihnen kann gehen, wenn die Abriegelung aufh\u00f6rt.\"\n\nWieder hat sie sich das alles ausgedacht. Es klang aber logisch. Es gab einen Haufen gro\u00dfer versiegelter T\u00fcren unten in den alten Tunneln. Sie dachte dabei an eine ganz bestimmte. Sie war noch nie hindurchgegangen, aber es w\u00fcrde die L\u00fcge sicherlich verkaufen. Es gab nur eine Sache, die sie tun musste.\n\n\"Wir m\u00fcssen uns aber trennen. Es wird offensichtlich sein, wenn wir uns in einer gro\u00dfen Gruppe bewegen.\" Mags ging zur\u00fcck zu dem Handheld-Terminal, mit dem sie versucht hatte, die T\u00fcr zu hacken. Sie \u00e4nderte die Verbindungsdr\u00e4hte von Daten zu lokalem Kommunikationsnetzwerk. \"Lassen Sie mich noch einmal \u00fcberpr\u00fcfen, ob der Bereich noch mit Strom versorgt wird.\"\n\nAuf dem Bildschirm des Terminals rief sie das lokale Netzwerk auf und fand den Namen, den sie brauchte, um ihren Plan zu vollenden, und tippte eine hastige Nachricht ein.\n\nSie hoffte, dass dies funktionierte ...\n\nDann dr\u00fcckte sie auf \"Senden\".\n\nTrin wusste, dass Blind Jack immer Optionen haben wollte, wenn es um Fluchtwege ging. Das war einer der Grunds\u00e4tze, die er seiner 'Familie' eintrichterte. Der Plan war, zuerst die anderen Landepl\u00e4tze abzusuchen und dann zur\u00fcck in den Grand Bazaar zu gehen. Sie st\u00fcrzte sich in die Menge, begierig darauf, den besagten wandelnden Toten zu finden.\n\nSowohl Arno als auch Osane bewegten sich leise. So leise, dass sie gelegentlich verga\u00df, dass sie da waren. Wer auch immer diese beiden waren, sie hatten ein ernsthaftes Training. Das wusste sie von ihrem Gerangel in Musain. Sie konnte kein Risiko eingehen, wenn die Zeit kam, sie zu t\u00f6ten. Leider wusste sie, dass die Titanen in gro\u00dfer Zahl angereist waren, also brauchte sie die beiden f\u00fcr den Moment.\n\nTrin bahnte sich einen Weg durch die Menge und studierte dabei die Gesichter. \u00dcberall hatten sich Gruppen von schmutzigen Piloten, genervt vom Startstopp, in den Hallen versammelt, um sich kollektiv zu beschweren. Vor ihr hakte sich jemand in einen Gang ein.\n\nIrgendetwas an ihm stach Trin ins Auge.\n\nSie eilte nach vorne und sp\u00e4hte um die Ecke, um einen besseren Blick zu bekommen.\n\nEr trug einen klapprigen alten Patchwork-Fluganzug und fummelte immer noch an seinem Helm herum. Er blickte sich um, bevor er den Helm aufsetzte, aber das war alles, was Trin brauchte.\n\nEr hatte Souther Titan Tattoos.\n\nSie warf einen Blick zur\u00fcck zu Arno, der ein Auge auf ihn geworfen hatte.\n\n\"Wir sind im Gesch\u00e4ft.\"\n\nMags versuchte, ihren Weg hinunter zu den Lagert\u00fcren so weit wie m\u00f6glich zu ziehen, ohne dass es so aussah, als w\u00fcrde sie es versuchen. W\u00e4hrend die meisten Titanen sich getrennt hatten, um weniger auff\u00e4llig zu wirken, blieb Mags mit Blind Jack, Ozzy und einem weiteren Titanen stecken. Sie kamen an \u00dcberresten von Bergbauarbeiten vorbei, von denen einige noch auf die urspr\u00fcnglichen Besitzer der Basis zur\u00fcckgingen. Nach drei\u00dfig Minuten Abstieg durch die gewundenen Tunnel konnte sie erkennen, dass Blind Jack ungeduldig wurde, also steuerte sie auf das Rendezvous zu.\n\nDer Korridor bog ab und \u00f6ffnete sich dann in einen gro\u00dfen Raum. Zwei massive Doppelt\u00fcren nahmen eine der W\u00e4nde ein. Sie waren zum Gl\u00fcck noch geschlossen. Leere Kisten waren im ganzen Raum gestapelt. Steine und Kieselsteine von abgebauten Mineralien lagen auf dem Boden verstreut. Es gab einen erh\u00f6hten, versiegelten Laufsteg, der den Raum umgab. Dieses letzte Merkmal war der Grund, warum Mags diesen Raum w\u00e4hlte.\n\nDie meisten der anderen Titanen waren bereits angekommen, vermutlich hatten sie einen direkteren Weg genommen. Mags warf einen Blick auf den Laufsteg, als sie sich auf den Weg zu dem Bedienfeld neben der T\u00fcr machte. Sie \u00f6ffnete das Panel und fand das Terminal herausgerissen. Sie trat zur\u00fcck, als ob sie den Schaden begutachten w\u00fcrde. In Wirklichkeit hatte sie keine Ahnung, wie man eine T\u00fcr kurzschlie\u00dft, schon gar nicht diese.\n\nZum Gl\u00fcck brauchte sie nicht lange zu warten.\n\n\"Alles klar, Leute!\" dr\u00f6hnte eine Stimme vom Laufsteg. \"Lasst uns die H\u00e4nde sehen.\"\n\nDie Souther Titans drehten sich alle um und sahen Executive Devin und eine kleine Armee von PA-Administratoren, die vom Laufsteg aus mit Waffen zielten.\n\nMags versuchte, genauso \u00fcberrascht auszusehen wie alle anderen. Innerlich war sie jedoch froh, dass ihre Botschaft ankam. Sie war sich nicht ganz sicher, wie sie sich wieder aus Devins Gewahrsam herauswinden wollte, aber eins nach dem anderen. Vor allem, da keiner der Titanen Anstalten machte, seine Waffen fallen zu lassen.\n\nBlind Jack Sticha trat in die Mitte des Raumes und lie\u00df seinen Blick \u00fcber die Gesichter der Administratoren schweifen.\n\n\"Ich muss ehrlich sein\", er zog langsam seine Pistole und hielt sie auf den Boden gerichtet. \"Ich sehe keinen M\u00f6rder unter Ihnen. Aber wir ...\", er wies auf seine Crew, die sich langsam aufrappelte. \"T\u00f6ten ist unser Metier.\"\n\nDas ist nicht gut, dachte sie bei sich.\n\nEine angespannte Pause hing in der Luft. Die Visiere der Waffen suchten nach Zielen. Jede Bewegung f\u00fchlte sich an, als w\u00fcrde sie den Ausl\u00f6ser f\u00fcr alles darstellen.\n\nSie bemerkte einen der TItans, der sich langsam auf Ozzy zubewegte. Bekleidet mit einem schlecht sitzenden, geflickten Raumanzug, hatte ihr Gang etwas Seltsames an sich. Als sie an Mags vorbeigingen, bemerkte sie frisches Blut am Kragen des Anzugs und, was noch wichtiger war, sie erkannte das Gesicht darin.\n\n\"Trin?!\", rief sie, ohne zu \u00fcberlegen.\n\nTrin riss ihre Schrotflinte hoch und richtete sie auf Ozzy. Mags' Schrei gab ihm genug Warnung, um die Eriesium-Lockbox hochzurei\u00dfen, gerade als die Schrotflinte losging. Der Schuss erwischte die Lockbox b\u00fcndig und brachte Ozzy aus dem Gleichgewicht.\n\nDas war der Moment, in dem alles zum Teufel ging.\n\nBallistisches und Laserfeuer brach aus allen Richtungen aus. Die Titanen fl\u00fcchteten in Deckung, als sie auf die People's Alliance losgingen.\n\nMags tauchte hinter die n\u00e4chstgelegene Kiste. Sie konnte sehen, dass die Lockbox mit dem Eriesium zwischen Ozzy und Trin gelandet war, der ihn mit Schrotflintensch\u00fcssen niederstreckte.\n\nDie Titanen und die People's Alliance hatten gleichm\u00e4\u00dfig viele Opfer zu beklagen. Sch\u00fcsse sprengten die Deckung auseinander.\n\nMags versuchte, sich rechtzeitig auf das Eriesium zu st\u00fcrzen. In dem Moment, als sie sich in Bewegung setzte, wurden beide Gruppen von Schnellfeuer-Energiewaffen beschossen, die sowohl die Titanen als auch die PA-Kr\u00e4fte niedermachten. Mags huschte zur\u00fcck hinter die Deckung und sah sich die Quelle der Sch\u00fcsse an.\n\nArno und Osane waren ins Get\u00fcmmel gesprungen. Sie waren mit Tarnwesten, K\u00f6rperpanzerung und Granaten ausger\u00fcstet und feuerten mit etwas, das wie ein Milspec-Sturmgewehr aussah, chirurgisch auf ihre Ziele. Osane stie\u00df schnell durch die Titanen vor und feuerte Sch\u00fcsse aus ihrem Sturmgewehr ab, bis es keine Ladung mehr hatte. Ohne einen Schritt auszulassen, warf sie das Gewehr weg und zog ein Messer. Der Titan, dem sie sich n\u00e4herte, gab einen verzweifelten Schusswechsel ab. Sie wich den Sch\u00fcssen aus, als sie sich n\u00e4herte, und st\u00fcrzte schlie\u00dflich an ihm vorbei, wobei sie ihm die Kehle aufschlitzte.\n\nOsane schl\u00fcpfte hinter eine Deckung in geringer Entfernung vom Eriesium.\n\n\"Nur zu, ich halte Ihnen den R\u00fccken frei.\" rief Trin.\n\nMags konnte es nicht glauben. Sie hatte sich mit den Four Points zusammengetan?\n\nOsane sprintete auf das Eriesium zu, w\u00e4hrend Trin ihre Schrotflinte in Richtung Ozzy hob. In letzter Sekunde drehte sie den Lauf auf Osane und feuerte. Die Explosion der Schrotflinte traf sie direkt in der K\u00f6rpermitte. Blut explodierte aus ihrem R\u00fccken und ihr K\u00f6rper schlug schwer auf dem Boden auf.\n\nTrin grinste und setzte eine weitere Ladung in die Kammer.\n\nBlind Jack st\u00fcrmte auf Executive Devins Position zu, zwei Granaten kochend in seinen H\u00e4nden. Jack gackerte, w\u00e4hrend er schnaufte, um in Wurfweite zu kommen. Er schleuderte eine Granate.\n\nDevin erwischte ihn an der Schulter, bevor er die andere werfen konnte. Die Granate landete mit einem Knall neben Jacks F\u00fc\u00dfen. Einer der PA-Administratoren tauchte ab, um Devin abzuschirmen, genau als die erste Granate hochging.\n\nDie zweite Detonation markierte das Ende von Blind Jack Sticha.\n\n\"Osane?\" rief Arno von seiner Schussposition aus. \"Osane! Sprich mit mir!\"\n\nEr muss nicht gesehen haben, was passiert ist, dachte Mags und blickte zur\u00fcck auf die Lockbox. Sie sa\u00df einfach da, mitten in einem Kriegsgebiet, und sie hatte keine Waffe. Sie konnte Ozzy kaum sehen, aber es sah aus, als w\u00e4re ihm die Munition ausgegangen.\n\nTrin sp\u00fcrte das auch und begann, auf seine Position vorzur\u00fccken. Die meisten anderen Feuergefechte hatten nachgelassen. Das St\u00f6hnen der Verwundeten begann den Raum zu f\u00fcllen.\n\nMags nutzte ihre Chance. Sie st\u00fcrmte aus ihrem Versteck und schob sich zu dem Schlie\u00dffach neben Osanes Leiche. Trin bemerkte es zu sp\u00e4t. Sie richtete ihre Schrotflinte auf Mags. Es dauerte einen Moment, bis Trin sie erkannte, aber das \u00e4nderte nichts. Sie hatte den gleichen Blick in ihren Augen, den sie hatte, als sie Mags fast aus der Luftschleuse geworfen hatte. Sie hob die Schrotflinte.\n\nOzzy griff Trin genau in dem Moment an, als die Schrotflinte losging. Die Explosion ging weit. Mags konnte sp\u00fcren, wie das Knistern der Energie ihren Kopf versengte, als es vorbeiging.\n\nTrin und Ozzy w\u00e4lzten sich auf dem Boden. Er k\u00e4mpfte, um ihr die Schrotflinte zu entrei\u00dfen. Sie ging zum Angriff \u00fcber. Sie schlug ihm einmal in die Niere. Zweimal. Dreimal. Rollte sich auf ihn und rammte ihre Stirn in seine Nase. Sie brach mit einem feuchten Knacken. Sein Griff um die Schrotflinte wurde schw\u00e4cher und sie nutzte den Vorteil voll aus, riss ihm die Waffe aus dem Griff und stand auf.\n\n\"Du konntest mich nicht einmal t\u00f6ten, stimmt's?\", sagte sie, w\u00e4hrend sie um ihn herum schritt und eine weitere Ladung abfeuerte. \"Was zum Teufel ist mit dir passiert? Wir waren doch mal ein Team. Erinnerst Du Dich? Was ist mit dem Kerl passiert? Der Kerl, der knallhart war. Der mich dazu gedr\u00e4ngt hat, h\u00e4rter zu werden? Nee, mein Bruder ist auf dem QuarterDeck gestorben.\"\n\nSie spuckte etwas Blut aus und schnappte sich die Schrotflinte, um ihn hinzurichten.\n\n\"Warte!\" Mags schrie.\n\nTrin blieb stehen und schaute hin\u00fcber. Mags stand da und hielt das Schlie\u00dffach heraus.\n\n\"Sie wollen das Eriesium? Nimm es.\"\n\nMags warf das Schlie\u00dffach zu Trins F\u00fc\u00dfen.\n\n\"Was?\"\n\n\"Sie haben mich geh\u00f6rt.\" Mags trat einen Schritt zur\u00fcck.\n\n\"Was ist das?\" fragte Trin, w\u00e4hrend sie sich misstrauisch umsah. \"Du w\u00fcrdest es einfach hergeben ...\"\n\n\"Sicher\", sagte Mags mit einem Achselzucken. \"Zwischen dir, den verdammten Four Points, den Titanen und den Bullen. Ich glaube sowieso nicht, dass ich mit dem Ding hier rausgehen werde.\"\n\nTrin studierte Mags eine Sekunde lang und suchte ihr Gesicht nach Zeichen der T\u00e4uschung ab. Sie drehte die Schrotflinte von Ozzy zu Mags, w\u00e4hrend sie zum Schlie\u00dffach hin\u00fcberging.\n\n\"Also habe ich nachgedacht,\" Mags trat weiter zur\u00fcck, die H\u00e4nde immer noch erhoben. Trin griff nach unten, die Waffe immer noch auf Mags gerichtet, und klappte sie auf. \"Wie Sie schon sagten, ich kann damit leben, dass niemand es hat.\"\n\nTrin schaute in das Schlie\u00dffach. Eine von Osane's Granaten sa\u00df neben dem Klumpen Eriesium. Der Stift war herausgezogen und es heulte in hoher Tonlage. Trin schleuderte die Lockbox in letzter Sekunde weg. Die thermische Explosion verwandelte das Eriesium, die Lockbox und sogar einen Teil des Bodens in geschmolzene Schlacke.\n\nTrins Schock verwandelte sich schnell in wei\u00dfgl\u00fchende m\u00f6rderische Wut, als sie herumwirbelte, um sich Mags zu stellen. Sie hob die Schrotflinte, als eine Kugel seitlich in ihren Kopf einschlug. Ein feiner Nebel quoll auf der anderen Seite hervor. Trin stand eine Sekunde lang da, als w\u00e4re sie pl\u00f6tzlich ausgest\u00f6pselt worden. Dann sackte sie auf den Boden.\n\nExecutive Devin, verkohlt und schwelend von Blind Jacks Granatenangriff, senkte sein Gewehr.\n\nStille legte sich \u00fcber den Raum. Ein paar Titanen, die noch mobil waren, flohen in die Tunnel, w\u00e4hrend die verbliebenen Administratoren der People's Alliance anr\u00fcckten, um die Gefangenen zu sichern und die \u00dcberlebenden zu behandeln.\n\nMags ging hin\u00fcber und half Ozzy auf die Beine. Er umklammerte seine Nase, um zu versuchen, die Blutung zu stoppen.\n\n\"Sind Sie okay?\" fragte sie und zuckte angesichts des immer noch stetigen Blutflusses zusammen.\n\n\"Nein, aber das wird schon wieder.\"\n\nKeiner der Administratoren schien sich f\u00fcr sie zu interessieren, also machte sich Mags auf den Weg, den Raum zu verlassen. Dann sah sie sich mit Devin konfrontiert.\n\n\"Hey, danke f\u00fcr die Rettung\", bot sie an.\n\n\"Klar. Danke f\u00fcr den Tipp, Kristin\", antwortete er. \"Oh warte, es ist eigentlich Magdalene, richtig?\"\n\n\"\u00c4hm ... ja.\" Sie sah sich einen Moment lang um. \"Also ...\"\n\n\"Raus hier\", ging er an ihr vorbei, um sich wieder seinem Team anzuschlie\u00dfen.\n\n\"Tun Sie mir einen Gefallen und kommen Sie nicht zur\u00fcck?\"\n\n\"Geht klar.\"\n\nMags gab Ozzy ein Zeichen, ihr zu folgen, und die beiden gingen hinaus.\n\nArno eilte durch die Tunnel von Levski in Richtung des Landedecks, wo sein Schiff wartete.\n\nEr brach in dem Moment aus, als er das Eriesium hochgehen sah. Das ist nicht gut. Das war das Eigentum von Four Points und er wusste, dass sein Boss, geschweige denn die anderen Points, 'eine beschissene Wendung der Ereignisse' nicht als Entschuldigung f\u00fcr den Verlust eines Verm\u00f6gens akzeptieren w\u00fcrden, also musste er verschwinden. Jetzt.\n\nEr arbeitete eine Route aus, um zu einem seiner sicheren H\u00e4user zu gelangen, eine seiner pers\u00f6nlichen Ausfallsicherungen f\u00fcr den Fall, dass er jemals und wollte raus. Er hatte ein halbes Dutzend \u00e4hnlicher \u00fcber das 'Verse verteilt, jedes mit Credits, einem sauberen Schiff und einer neuen Identit\u00e4t ausgestattet.\n\nArno kletterte in sein Schiff, verstaute seine Ausr\u00fcstung und schl\u00fcpfte in den Pilotensitz, um seinen Start zu beginnen. Der Lockdown sollte jeden Moment enden und er wollte der Erste sein, der hier ausbricht.\n\nIn diesem Moment piepte sein Mobi mit einer eingehenden Nachricht.\n\nArno ignorierte es, aber vor seinem Schiff fiel ihm etwas ins Auge.\n\nEin Xi'an stand direkt vor der Luftschleuse zum Landeplatz. Es war derselbe wie im Cafe Musain ...\n\nEr konnte sehen, wie der Au\u00dferirdische einen Befehl in sein Mobi eintippte.\n\nArnos Schiff explodierte genau dort auf dem Pad.\n\nSoahm sah das Wrack einige Augenblicke lang brennen. Die automatischen Feuerl\u00f6schsysteme aktivierten sich, als die Feuerl\u00f6scher die Flammen bek\u00e4mpften.\n\nEr drehte sich um und trat zur\u00fcck in die Luftschleuse, bereits planend, was er in dem Bericht an seine Chefs sagen w\u00fcrde.\n\nZur\u00fcck an Bord der Harlequin, heizten ihre Triebwerke in der Sekunde auf, in der die Abriegelung aufgehoben wurde. Mags konnte es kaum erwarten, von diesem Felsen herunterzukommen.\n\nKel sa\u00df im hinteren Teil, ruhig, jetzt wo sie erkl\u00e4rte, dass Ozzy wieder auf ihrer Seite war, arbeitete sich durch irgendeine Spektral-Show und gab Yao st\u00e4ndig Updates. Sie hatte den Doc schon eine Weile nicht mehr gesehen, wie er einen Schlag einsteckte. Irgendetwas schien anders an ihm zu sein. Sie w\u00fcrde herausfinden, was.\n\nAls der Staub und die Felsen \u00fcber Levski der g\u00e4hnenden Schw\u00e4rze des Weltraums wichen, begannen all der Wahnsinn, der Stress und der Druck der letzten Tage zu verblassen und sie wurde mit einem einzigen Gedanken zur\u00fcckgelassen:\n\nHeilige Schei\u00dfe, das hat Spa\u00df gemacht.\n\nEs stimmte zwar, dass es ihnen finanziell kaum besser ging als zu Beginn, und auf lange Sicht w\u00fcnschte sie sich verzweifelt die Art von finanzieller Sicherheit, die bedeutete, dass sie sich nie um Geld sorgen musste, aber ehrlich gesagt, war ihr klar, dass sie es nicht eilig hatte. Sie hatte eine Crew von Leuten gefunden, denen sie endlich vertraute. Die ihr den R\u00fccken freihielten und sie den ihren. Sie waren jung und sie w\u00fcrden noch viele Gelegenheiten haben, den gro\u00dfen Coup zu landen.\n\nSie mussten sich nur weiter anstrengen, bis sie es taten.\n\nZum ersten Mal war sie tats\u00e4chlich damit einverstanden.\n\nDas Ende","zh_CN":"Writer\u2019s Note: Drifters: Part Four was published originally in Jump Point 5.4. Read Part One, Part Two, and Part Three\nThe gunshots were still echoing around the massive landing bay. That high-pitched whine rang in Mags\u2019 ears, but she was locked on Trin, watching as the blood seeped out of her body into the dirty grate. She felt Kel move beside her. He\u2019d put his hands up, as high as he could reach.\n\nMags looked up at Ozzy. He still had the pistol aimed. His face was twisted, filled with rage. Moments before he shot Trin, he\u2019d accused her of leaving him behind. Years ago, back when they both ran with the Souther Titans, a job went sideways and Ozzy got pinched. He lost five years of his life in the penal hellhole of Quarterdeck while she got away. Mags couldn\u2019t say it came as a complete surprise. Trin had threatened her more than once, most recently to shoot her and dump her out of an airlock. Hopefully in that order.\n\n\u201cWhat do you wanna do about them?\u201d asked the guy who looked like a spectrum show grandpa.\n\nOzzy finally broke away from Trin and looked at Mags and Kel. The rage faded as he holstered his pistol.\n\n\u201cLet \u2019em go, Jack.\u201d\n\nThe old man laughed one of those deep belly laughs.\n\n\u201cYou been outta the fold for too long, kiddo. Titans don\u2019t let witnesses walk.\u201d\n\n\u201cJack.\u201d Ozzy glared at him. \u201cLeave them alone.\u201d\n\nBlind Jack Sticha, she realized. Definitely not what she had imagined based on the rep. Maybe that was his trick. She saw him draw a pistol, out of sight from Ozzy.\n\n\u201cYou let people with grudges go, all you\u2019re doing is makin\u2019 headaches down the way,\u201d he said, like he was telling a kid about the facts of life. His thumb silently clicked off the safety.\n\nMags knew she didn\u2019t have long.\n\n\u201cI can get you out of here,\u201d she blurted out. Blind Jack hesitated. She kept going before he could reconsider. \u201cLevski\u2019s on lockdown. You got a way past that?\u201d\n\nBlind Jack didn\u2019t say anything. Ozzy gave her a quick shake of the head that said you don\u2019t want to do this.\n\n\u201cI know how to get you out.\u201d Mags continued. Her mind was racing. Back in the day when she ran with Frank McGarr, they had to slip past a lockdown or two. Hell knew if the same tricks would work on Delamar. Besides, if she could stick with the eriesium, maybe she\u2019d find a chance to steal it back. \u201cSeems to me like you\u2019d want to get a head start on those Four Point hitters roaming around here.\u201d\n\nShe could tell Blind Jack knew what she was talking about. Maybe he was the one who pointed the assassins their direction.\n\n\u201cYou let Kel walk,\u201d she said, taking a step towards Blind Jack and Ozzy, \u201cand I\u2019ll get you out of here.\u201d\n\nBlind Jack looked at Kel, who hadn\u2019t moved. His hands still reached for the sky.\n\n\u201cYour lucky day, Banu,\u201d he said and motioned to the other Titans. They lowered their weapons and started to leave. Ozzy gave Trin a last look then lifted the lockbox with the eriesium.\n\n\u201cAfter you,\u201d Blind Jack motioned for Mags to start walking. She looked back at Kel.\n\n\u201cCaptain Mags . . .\u201d he stammered as he lowered his hands.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll see you again.\u201d She squeezed his arm then backed away and joined the Titans in the airlock.\n\nShe gave him one last reassuring smile as the airlock sealed shut.\n\nKel stood there for a few moments, unsure what to do. He looked around. The mechanics who had been hanging out must have run when the shooting started. They\u2019d left their music playing. Strange Human whines droned on, providing a bizarre soundtrack to the scene.\n\nHe finally acted, going to Trin\u2019s body, but there was so much blood. He didn\u2019t even know where to start, so he just pressed on the wounds.\n\n\u201cHoly shit.\u201d\n\nKel jumped at the new voice. He looked over to the airlock to see Honan Yao clutching a bag of takeaway food. He might\u2019ve still been high \u2014 the black drug stains in his arm now ran all the way down through his hand \u2014 but he didn\u2019t act like it.\n\n\u201cShe is badly broken,\u201d Kel asked helplessly. \u201cWhat do I do?\u201d\n\nYao raced over to Trin and began examining her, checking her pulse, looking at her pupils.\n\n\u201cShe\u2019s alive, but barely.\u201d He said with a matter of factness that Kel had never heard from him. \u201cWe need to get her inside the ship. Now.\u201d\n\nKel grabbed Trin\u2019s legs and they quickly moved her into the Harlequin. Once inside, they cleaned off the table in the communal table and put her down. Yao took off for his bunk.\n\n\u201cPut pressure on the wounds,\u201d he yelled as he rooted around his sleeping berth, tossing bags, empty cans of beer and food wrappers onto the floor. He reappeared moments later carrying one of his duffel bags.\n\nHe tossed it down on the bench and rooted through clothing until he found a case buried all the way at the bottom. He unzipped it to reveal a basic field medic\u2019s kit, and quickly hooked up a handheld biometer which quietly beeped a subtle heartbeat.\n\nKel stepped back as Yao went to work. The Banu washed the blood off his hands.\n\nYao hooked her up to some oxygen and ran through a series of quick injections. Trin\u2019s vitals fluttered while he laid out some pristine surgical equipment.\n\nKel approached cautiously and fidgeted with the Captain Levo figure he\u2019d bought from a stall in the Grand Bazaar.\n\nYao moved precisely and expertly. Kel was impressed; he hardly seemed like the same Human who had fallen asleep while patching up laser wounds. He carefully extracted three of the rounds that were still inside her, then set about repairing the internal damage.\n\nKel stayed until he realized that he wasn\u2019t contributing anything to this. He drifted into the adjoining room and began looking up information about the Captain Levo character, anything to take his mind off the fact that Trin\u2019s life hung in the balance. More so, he was worried about Mags and her brave sacrifice to save him.\n\nHours passed. Kel had read everything he could get his hands on and was a few episodes into the first season of Voyage Beyond, the show that first introduced the character. He needed to get through two seasons of this before Captain Levo would get his own series.\n\nFinally, Yao shuffled into the room and slumped down on the bench next to Kel. He dragged a can of beer over, popped it open and took a long drink.\n\n\u201cIs she fixed?\u201d Kel finally mustered up the courage to ask.\n\nYao took another drink and leaned forward.\n\n\u201cYeah, all good,\u201d he replied.\n\nKel nodded and patted Yao on the forehead, a Human sign of affection he had learned a few months ago.\n\n\u201cThanks, buddy.\u201d Yao finished off the drink. \u201cI\u2019ll keep an eye on her, but vitals are strong and she\u2019s responding well to the meds. She\u2019ll probably be up soon.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s great to hear,\u201d another voice said from the side airlock. Kel and Yao looked over.\n\nArno and Osane, assassins of the Four Points criminal syndicate, stepped forward. Their weapons were aimed at the two of them. Kel put his hands up again.\n\nThis was getting to be a habit.\n\nExecutive Devin carefully stepped through the crime scene. He could smell traces of ozone in the air from the EMP grenade. From what he could piece together, there were anywhere from three to five combatants, but that was all he could get. Vague descriptions. No one willing to offer anything substantial.\n\nAll this chaos because some deal went wrong. Six dead. Eight wounded.\n\nBecause some deal went wrong. He shook his head and looked over the scene again. This was the kind of aggro nonsense that drove him out of \u2018civilized\u2019 space all those years ago.\n\nOne of his local administrators (the People\u2019s Alliance didn\u2019t like to use the term \u2018police\u2019) named Riegert stepped into the bar and waved. Devin beckoned him in. The young administrator quietly made his way down the stairs, carefully navigating around the bodies and pools of blood to approach Devin.\n\n\u201cExecutive,\u201d he said with a deferential nod. He was clearly uncomfortable around the corpses. Devin wished he could remember back when they would have bothered him.\n\n\u201cWhat is it, Riegert?\u201d\n\n\u201cGot reports of gunfire on one of the landing platforms.\u201d\n\nDevin muttered to himself.\n\n\u201cAny witnesses?\u201d he finally asked.\n\n\u201cNo, sir.\u201d\n\n\u201cCourse not,\u201d he said with another shake of the head.\n\n\u201cThat it?\u201d\n\nRiegert hesitated.\n\n\u201cWhat.\u201d\n\n\u201cSome of the maintenance engineers were looking into a clogged vent in subsection two,\u201d Riegert shifted uncomfortably. \u201cThey found Phillip Desmond inside. Dead.\u201d\n\nDevin pulled out one of the nearby barstools and sat down. He sipped from an abandoned drink at the bar while he thought. Phil was a longtime local. Didn\u2019t even drink, so there\u2019s no way he\u2019d have been in here when the fight broke out. This is getting out of hand.\n\nHe pushed off the stool and headed for the exit. Riegert followed.\n\n\u201cI want you to seal up the Residencies. Call for volunteers to reinforce the peace.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, sir.\u201d Riegert rushed to keep up without stepping in any blood.\n\nDevin slowed to a stop as a realization hit him.\n\n\u201cAll the hangars are routed through the emergency system, right?\u201d\n\n\u201cI think so.\u201d\n\n\u201cTake the backup generators offline. Just in case.\u201d Devin started walking again.\n\n\u201cOkay.\u201d\n\nThey stepped out of Cafe Musain and walked to the rail overlooking the Grand Bazaar which had almost resumed its usual hustle. Executive Devin scanned the faces.\n\n\u201cPull together whatever administrators we have left. Whoever\u2019s done this is still here. Since they can\u2019t slip our lockdown, I want to go into the tunnels to make sure they don\u2019t have any other ways out.\u201d\n\n\u201cGot it.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd break out the guns,\u201d Executive Devin added quietly. \u201cI have a feeling we\u2019ll need them.\u201d\n\nThe Souther Titans had taken over a large landing bay and packed it with a handful of smaller fighters, speedrunners and cargo boosters. Turns out the Harlequin ambush was just a small percentage of them. Mags counted about ten more.\n\nThey were all lounging outside of their ships when Blind Jack returned with their prize. He\u2019d already taken Mags\u2019 mobiGlas and gun. Ozzy hadn\u2019t said a word to Mags the whole walk back, just carried the lockbox with the priceless haul of eriesium. She could tell that he didn\u2019t entirely trust the Titans either.\n\nOnce inside, Blind Jack turned back to Mags.\n\n\u201cSo, how about it, little lady?\u201d he said with that trademark grin. \u201cIt\u2019s your show now.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019d be easier with my mobi,\u201d she said flatly and held out her hand.\n\n\u201cNah, I think I\u2019ll hold onto that.\u201d\n\nMags shot a glance to Ozzy then back at Jack. A couple of the other Titans got up as she started to cross the landing pad. On the far side, there was an old office originally used for this particular landing pad\u2019s flight operations. The inside had been completely stripped, wires dangled from open panels like rusted guts.\n\nBack in the early days of Levski, each of the landing pads had a dedicated flight control system, probably so they could keep a steady stream of cargo ships hauling away the minerals the station was extracting from the asteroid. When the People\u2019s Alliance took over, they consolidated all the separate flight control to a single terminal.\n\nMags trudged through the scattered trash, broken machines and spent bottles towards the gaping hole where the control center once stood. A couple Titans posted up at the window to keep an eye on her. They were watching her with the kind of look she\u2019d had to deal with in the past. She clocked a couple makeshift weapons if things turned south, then rooted through the wires in the wall.\n\nThis was an old trick they used to pull back when she was running scams out of here. In her early days here, the People\u2019s Alliance were just getting wise to the fact that any criminal with half a brain could take advantage of their hospitality and use Levski as a perfect hideout. When they\u2019d catch wind that someone was up to no good, they\u2019d do the same lockdown trick to try and identify the criminal element to \u2018exile\u2019 them.\n\nFrank had come up with a way to bypass the lockdown. Even though they had rerouted all the controls from the various landing bays into a single, central terminal, they didn\u2019t realize part of those wires were connected to backup generators with automatic overrides to open or close in the event of a catastrophic power failure. You just needed to tap into them, you could bypass the lockdown.\n\nShe checked one of the old hiding spots for the handheld terminal they\u2019d used to control. To her surprise, it was still there and even had fresh batteries. There must be some locals still using the same trick. She set the terminal aside and started sifting through the handfuls of wires for the ones that were going to flight control.\n\nOzzy walked into the room. He glanced at the Titans keeping guard, then put the eriesium lockbox down beside Mags and sat on it.\n\n\u201cWhat the hell do you think you\u2019re doing?\u201d\n\n\u201cGetting your new friends out of here,\u201d she replied without looking back. \u201cIsn\u2019t that what you want?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be here.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe was going to kill us both,\u201d she snapped back. \u201cBesides, why the hell do you care?\u201d\n\n\u201cI did you a favor,\u201d Ozzy said after a long pause.\n\n\u201cShe was your sister,\u201d she said as she looked back at him.\n\nOzzy was quiet for a few moments, like he was trying to form the words. Mags turned back to what she was doing.\n\n\u201cWhen I was down on QuarterDeck . . .\u201d he drifted off, lost in thought, then tried shifting direction. \u201cThe two of us, Trin and I, came up in juvie centers all over the \u2018verse. Worst of the worst. We\u2019d land in one, start dusting it up and they\u2019d cart us off to another. So I been in prisons my whole life. But after one month down on QuarterDeck, one. . . I did this.\u201d\n\nHe showed Mags his forearms. Two long jagged scars were hidden among the mess of tattoos.\n\n\u201cThe things I had to do to survive down there . . . I can\u2019t ever forget them.\u201d Ozzy stood and paced around the lockbox. \u201cShe put me there. She fed me to those agents and didn\u2019t even have the balls to own up to it. See, Trin\u2019s a survivor, always has been, but she didn\u2019t extend that shit to include other people. She\u2019d do what she has to do to make her way. Other people are useful when they\u2019re useful. Disposable when they\u2019re not. I know you\u2019ve seen that turn in her.\u201d\n\nMags was quiet. She had. The first time was when she convinced Trin that the Harlequin was better off without the previous captain. The second was when Trin was about to throw her out of the airlock.\n\n\u201cShe would\u2019ve turned on you eventually, Mags. And if you think she was going to let you have a single credit from this eriesium . . . you\u2019re crazier than she is.\u201d\n\nMags mulled it over for a second then turned back to the wiring. In the next cluster, she found the right ones. She separated the hangar control wires from the rest and plugged the connection points into the handheld terminal.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d she said as she powered up the terminal. It ran through its bootup sequence while negotiating with the hangar data flow. \u201cGuess it won\u2019t matter now.\u201d\n\n\u201cYeah?\u201d\n\n\u201cCause we\u2019re about to be free,\u201d she said and executed the command to open the hangar.\n\nNothing happened.\n\n\u201cWell, shit.\u201d\n\nBlobs of sounds pierced the darkness. There seemed to be nothing else. No feeling. The sound slowly began to crystallize and soon Trin could pick out single words. Her eyes still felt heavy, like she was slowly waking from a deep sleep, but her body wasn\u2019t ready to get up yet.\n\nFinally, she opened her eyes. The light flooded in, overwhelming her senses at first as she struggled to focus. That\u2019s when the pain hit too. Searing pain in her chest.\n\nAches everywhere else. Her limbs were mostly unresponsive.\n\nA form stepped into view. It was Arno, the syndicate hitter from Caf\u00e9 Musain.\n\n\u201cHey, sunshine,\u201d he said with a smirk.\n\nTrin looked around. She was on the Harlequin. Kel and Yao were seated nearby. Osane, the other hitter, was guarding them. Kel waved.\n\n\u201cThe hell\u2019s going on?\u201d Trin tried to sit up.\n\n\u201cI wouldn\u2019t do that,\u201d Yao tried to move forward, but Osane kept him in place with her pistol.\n\nPain exploded throughout Trin\u2019s body, but she wasn\u2019t about to wince in front of these Four Point assholes, so she just took it. Her throat was dry as hell too. The rest came flooding back as she grabbed a nearby can of beer: Ozzy, Blind Jack and the Titans, the eriesium . . .\n\nTrin finally looked down at herself. Five shots, cleaned and stitched up, dotted her chest. Her clothes were soaked in blood.\n\n\u201cDamn, doc,\u201d she said, poking at the wounds. She felt remarkably good. \u201cGuess you ain\u2019t so useless after all. I hardly feel a thing.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s just the drugs,\u201d Yao replied. \u201cWhen they wear off, it\u2019ll be agony.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhatever,\u201d Trin finished the beer and looked at Arno. \u201cYou know we haven\u2019t got the eriesium, right?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe know,\u201d Arno paced around, inspecting the faded and stained paneling on the walls. \u201cWe want to know where she took them.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho?\u201d\n\n\u201cCaptain Mags went with them,\u201d Kel chimed in as he nervously rocked back and forth. \u201cShe protect us.\u201d\n\nTrin nodded and swung her legs off the table, spilling some spent bloody bandages onto the floor. She tested out her feet. They felt like jelly. When she felt stable enough, she shuffled over to her bunk and started arming up.\n\n\u201cWhere do you think you\u2019re going?\u201d Arno rested his hand on his weapon.\n\n\u201cTo kill \u2018em all.\u201d Trin checked the round count on her shotgun. \u201cYou\u2019re welcome to help.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m telling you, it should\u2019ve worked,\u201d Mags said as she backed up from Blind Jack.\n\n\u201cIf you can\u2019t get us outta here, we ain\u2019t got much use for you then,\u201d he said as he kept pace with her.\n\n\u201cGive me a second,\u201d Mags wracked her brain, trying to think of the other ways her crew used to slink out of here. Trouble was, all the other tricks required much more technical knowhow than she had. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Blind Jack draw his pistol. \u201cOkay.\u201d\n\n\u201cOkay, what,\u201d Jack replied and hesitated with the gun.\n\n\u201cI think I got something,\u201d she said, still intently focused in thought. In truth, she didn\u2019t have anything, but every second she was alive was another opportunity to try and get out of this, so she had to stall.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m gonna need more than that,\u201d Blind Jack said with a chuckle. \u201cAnd choose your words careful.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou got any ships that didn\u2019t land?\u201d\n\nBlind Jack glanced at Ozzy as he thought.\n\n\u201cSure, we got a couple.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere are old storage bays in the tunnels. They were used to offload extracted ore from utility vehicles. They\u2019re on a completely separate line from the hangar bays. If we can get down there, it\u2019s easy to trip the wires and open the doors. We\u2019ll just need suits and then you can float out, get picked up and be on your way. The rest of you can leave when the lockdown lets up.\u201d\n\nAgain, she was making it all up. Sounded logical though. There were a bunch of large sealed doors down in the old tunnels. There was one in particular that she was thinking of. She\u2019d never been through it, but it would certainly sell the lie. There was just one thing she needed to do.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll need to separate though. It\u2019ll be obvious if we move in a big group.\u201d Mags went back to the handheld terminal she tried to hack the door with. She changed the connection wires from data to localized comm network. \u201cLet me double-check to make sure the area\u2019s still getting power.\u201d\n\nOn the terminal screen, she brought up the local network and found the name she needed to complete her plan and typed out a hasty message.\n\nShe hoped this worked . . .\n\nThen she hit send.\n\nTrin knew Blind Jack always wanted to have options when it came to escape routes. It was one of the tenets he drilled into his \u2018family.\u2019 Plan was to sweep the other landing pads first, then head back into the Grand Bazaar. She hit the crowd eager to find the walking dead in question.\n\nBoth Arno and Osane moved quiet. So quiet, she would occasionally forget they was there. Whoever these two were, they had serious training. She knew that from their tussle back in Musain. She couldn\u2019t take any chances when the time came to kill them. Unfortunately, she knew the Titans had traveled in force, so she needed them both for the moment.\n\nTrin cut her way through the crowd, studying the faces as she went. All of them, clusters of dirty pilots, annoyed by the launch freeze, had gathered in the halls to collectively complain to each other. Up ahead, someone hooked down a hallway.\n\nSomething about him caught Trin\u2019s eye.\n\nShe hustled forward and peeked around the corner to get a better look.\n\nHe was dressed in a ratty old patchwork flight suit and was still fidgeting with his helmet. He glanced around before pulling the helmet on, but that was all Trin needed.\n\nHe had Souther Titan tattoos.\n\nShe glanced back at Arno who was keeping an eye out.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re in business.\u201d\n\nMags tried to draw out their path down to the storage doors as much as possible without making it look like she was trying to. While most of the Titans had separated to look less conspicuous, Mags was stuck with Blind Jack, Ozzy and one other Titan. They passed remnants of mining endeavors, some of which dated back to the original owners of the base. After thirty minutes of descending through the winding tunnels, she could tell Blind Jack was getting impatient, so she headed for the rendezvous.\n\nThe hallway turned and then opened up into a large room. Two massive double doors occupied one of the walls. They were thankfully still closed. Empty crates were stacked throughout the room. Rocks and pebbles from extracted minerals littered the floor. There was an elevated sealed catwalk that ringed the space. This last feature was the reason why Mags choose this room.\n\nMost of the other Titans had already arrived, presumably having taken a more direct route. Mags glanced up at the catwalk as she made her way towards the control panel beside the door. She opened the panel to find the terminal ripped out. She stepped back like she was assessing the damage. In reality, she had no clue how to hotwire a door, much less this one.\n\nThankfully, she didn\u2019t have to wait long.\n\n\u201cAll right, everybody!\u201d a voice boomed from the catwalk. \u201cLet\u2019s see those hands.\u201d\n\nThe Souther Titans all turned to see Executive Devin and a small army of PA administrators aiming weapons from the catwalk.\n\nMags tried to look as surprised as everybody else. On the inside though, she was glad her message got through. She wasn\u2019t entirely sure how she was going to wiggle out of Devin\u2019s custody again, but one thing at a time. Especially since none of the Titans made a move to drop their weapons.\n\nBlind Jack Sticha stepped into the center of the room and looked over the faces of the administrators.\n\n\u201cGotta be honest,\u201d he slowly drew his pistol and kept it aimed at the ground. \u201cI don\u2019t see a killer among you. Now us . . .\u201d he motioned to his crew who started getting emboldened. \u201cKillin\u2019s our stock and trade.\u201d\n\nThis is not good, she thought to herself.\n\nA tense pause hung in the air. Weapon sights sought out targets. Every movement felt like it was going to be the one that kicked everything off.\n\nShe noticed one of the TItans slowly edge their way towards Ozzy. Dressed in an ill-fitted patchwork space suit, there was something weird about their walk. As they passed Mags, she noticed fresh blood on the collar of the suit and, more importantly, recognized the face inside.\n\n\u201cTrin?!\u201d she shouted without even thinking.\n\nTrin whipped up her shotgun and leveled it at Ozzy. Mags\u2019 shout gave him enough of a warning to yank up the eriesium lockbox right as the shotgun went off. The shot caught the lockbox flush and knocked Ozzy off balance.\n\nThat\u2019s when everything went to hell.\n\nBallistic and laser fire erupted from every direction. Titans scampered for cover as they opened up on the People\u2019s Alliance.\n\nMags dove behind the nearest crate. She could see the lockbox with the eriesium had landed between Ozzy and Trin, who was pinning him down with shotgun blasts.\n\nThe Titans and People\u2019s Alliance were each taking casualties at an even clip. Gunfire blasted apart cover.\n\nMags tried to time a dash to go for the eriesium. Right as she started to move, bolts from rapidfire energy weapons opened up on both groups, cutting down Titans and PA forces alike. Mags scurried back behind cover and looked at the source of the shots.\n\nArno and Osane had jumped into the fray. They were loaded with tac-vests, body armor and grenades, surgically firing at their targets with what looked like milspec assault rifles. Osane advanced quickly through the Titans, firing shots from her assault rifle until it ran out of charge. Without missing a step, she slung the rifle and drew a knife. The Titan she was approaching unleashed a desperate flurry of shots. She wove around the shots as she closed and finally dashed past him, slashing his throat in the process.\n\nOsane slid behind cover a short distance from the eriesium.\n\n\u201cGo for it, I got your back.\u201d Trin shouted.\n\nMags couldn\u2019t believe it. She\u2019d teamed up with the Four Points?\n\nOsane sprinted for the eriesium as Trin raised her shotgun towards Ozzy. At the last second, she turned the barrel on Osane and fired. The shotgun blast caught her flush in the midsection. Blood exploded out her back and her body slammed heavily into the ground.\n\nTrin grinned and racked another charge in the chamber.\n\nBlind Jack charged towards Executive Devin\u2019s positioned, two grenades cooking in his hands. Jack cackled as he puffed to get within throwing range. He flung one grenade.\n\nDevin tagged him in the shoulder before he could toss the other. The grenade landed with a thud by Jack\u2019s feet. One of the PA administrators dove to shield Devin right as the first grenade went off.\n\nThe second detonation marked the end of Blind Jack Sticha.\n\n\u201cOsane?\u201d Arno shouted from his firing position. \u201cOsane! Talk to me!\u201d\n\nHe must not have seen what happened, Mags thought and looked back at the lockbox. It was just sitting there, in the middle of a war zone, and she didn\u2019t have a gun. She could barely see Ozzy, but it looked like he had run out of ammo.\n\nTrin sensed it too and started to advance on his position. Most of the other gun battles had subsided. Moans of the wounded started to fill the space.\n\nMags took her chance. She raced out of hiding and slid to the lockbox near Osane\u2019s body. Trin realized too late. She turned her shotgun towards Mags. It took a moment for Trin to recognize her, but it didn\u2019t change anything. She had that same look in her eye she had when she almost threw Mags out of the airlock. She raised the shotgun.\n\nOzzy tackled Trin right as the shotgun went off. The blast went wide. Mags could feel the crackle of energy singe her head as it passed.\n\nTrin and Ozzy rolled on the ground. He fought to wrestle the shotgun from her. She went for the kill. She punched him in the kidney once. Twice. Three times. Rolled on top of him and rammed her forehead into his nose. It broke with a wet crack. His grip weakened on the shotgun and she took full advantage, ripping the weapon out of his grasp and rising.\n\n\u201cCouldn\u2019t even kill me, right, could you?\u201d she said as she paced around him and pumped another charge. \u201cWhat the hell happened to you? We used to be a team. You remember? What happened to that guy? That guy who was hard as nails. Who pushed me to get tougher? Nah, my brother died on QuarterDeck.\u201d\n\nShe spit out some blood and snapped up the shotgun to execute him.\n\n\u201cWait!\u201d Mags yelled.\n\nTrin stopped and looked over. Mags was standing, holding out the lockbox.\n\n\u201cYou want the eriesium? Take it.\u201d\n\nMags tossed the lockbox at Trin\u2019s feet.\n\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou heard me.\u201d Mags stepped back.\n\n\u201cWhat is this?\u201d Trin asked as she looked around suspiciously. \u201cYou\u2019d just give it over . . .\u201d\n\n\u201cSure,\u201d Mags said with a shrug. \u201cBetween you, the goddamn Four Points, the Titans and the cops. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll be walking out of here with it anyway.\u201d\n\nTrin studied Mags for a second, searching her face for signs of deception. She turned the shotgun from Ozzy to Mags as she walked over to the lockbox.\n\n\u201cSo I got to thinking,\u201d Mags stepped further back, hands still raised. Trin reached down, weapon still trained on Mags, and flipped it open. \u201cLike you said earlier, I can live with no one having it.\u201d\n\nTrin looked into the lockbox. One of Osane\u2019s grenades sat next to the lump of eriesium. The pin was out and it was whining to a high pitch. Trin flung the lockbox away at the last second. The thermal blast turned the eriesium, the lockbox and even part of the floor into molten slag.\n\nTrin\u2019s shock quickly turned into white hot homicidal rage as she whirled to face Mags. She raised the shotgun when a bullet punched through the side of her head. A fine mist puffed out the other side. Trin stood there for a second, like she had suddenly been unplugged. Then crumpled to the ground.\n\nExecutive Devin, charred and smoldering from Blind Jack\u2019s grenade attack, lowered his rifle.\n\nSilence settled over the room. A few Titans who were still mobile fled out into the tunnels while the remaining People\u2019s Alliance administrators moved in to secure the prisoners and treat the survivors.\n\nMags went over and helped Ozzy to his feet. He clutched his nose to try and stop the bleeding.\n\n\u201cYou okay?\u201d She asked, wincing at the still steady flow of blood.\n\n\u201cNo, but I\u2019ll be fine.\u201d\n\nNone of the administrators seemed that interested in them, so Mags started to ease her way out of the room. She then came face to face with Devin.\n\n\u201cHey, thanks for the save,\u201d she offered up.\n\n\u201cSure. Thanks for the tip-off, Kristin,\u201d he replied. \u201cOh wait, it\u2019s actually Magdalene, right?\u201d\n\n\u201cUm . . . yeah.\u201d She looked around for a moment. \u201cSo . . .\u201d\n\n\u201cGet out of here,\u201d he walked past her to rejoin his team.\n\n\u201cDo me a favor and don\u2019t come back?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou got it.\u201d\n\nMags motioned for Ozzy to follow and the two walked out.\n\nArno rushed through the tunnels of Levski towards the landing deck where his ship was waiting.\n\nHe broke out the second he saw the eriesium go up. This is not good. That was Four Points property and he knew his boss, much less the other Points, weren\u2019t going to accept \u2018a shitty turn of events\u2019 as an excuse for losing a fortune, so he had to disappear. Now.\n\nHe worked out a route to get to one of his safe houses, one of his personal failsafes in case he ever needed to get out. He had half a dozen similar ones spread around the \u2018verse, each stocked with credits, a clean ship and a new identity.\n\nArno climbed into his ship, stowed his gear and slipped into the pilot\u2019s seat to start his takeoff. The lockdown should end any time now and he wanted to be the first to bust out of here.\n\nThat\u2019s when his mobi pinged with an incoming comm.\n\nArno ignored it, but something caught his eye in front of his ship.\n\nA Xi\u2019an was standing just outside the airlock to the landing pad. It was the same one from Cafe Musain . . .\n\nHe could see the alien key a command into his mobi.\n\nArno\u2019s ship exploded right there on the pad.\n\nSoahm watched the wreckage burn for a few moments. Automatic Fire Suppression Systems activated as extinguishers targeted the flames.\n\nHe turned and stepped back into the airlock, already planning what he would say in the report to his bosses.\n\nBack aboard the Harlequin, their engines heated up the second the lockdown was lifted. Mags couldn\u2019t wait to get off this rock.\n\nKel was sitting in the back, calm now that she explained Ozzy was on their side again, working his way through some spectrum show and constantly giving updates to Yao. She hadn\u2019t seen the doc take a hit in a while. Something seemed different about him. She\u2019d figure out what.\n\nAs the dust and rocks above Levski gave way to the yawning blackness of space, all the madness, stress and pressure of the past few days started to fade and she was left with a single thought:\n\nHoly shit, that was fun.\n\nTrue, they were barely better financially than when they started this, and in the long term, she desperately wanted the kind of financial security that meant that she\u2019d never need to stress about money, but honestly, she realized she wasn\u2019t in a hurry. She\u2019d found a crew of people she finally trusted. Who had her back and she had theirs. They were young and they\u2019d have plenty of opportunities to hit that big score.\n\nThey just needed to keep hustling until they did.\n\nFor the first time, she was actually okay with that.\n\nThe End"},"links_count":3,"comment_count":13,"created_at":"2020-12-16T02:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"5 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-07 20:32:36","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":17922,"next_id":17924}}