Tales of Kid Crimson: Issue #2 - [Comm-Links](https://api.star-citizen.wiki/comm-links) - Tales of Kid Crimson: Issue #2 Tales of Kid Crimson: Issue #2 ============================== Undefined Undefined Tales of Kid Crimson [Previous](https://api.star-citizen.wiki/comm-links/12751) [Next](https://api.star-citizen.wiki/comm-links/12753) Content ------- English The cold sea of space. Some people love it. Thrive in it. It weirds me out. They think of it as freedom. To me it’s a prison, worse actually, it’s an executioner standing above you, just waiting for that crack in the hull to take you out. For some reason, I always get a little morbid when I’m about to land. The Covalex Shipping Hub was coming up. A voice crackled over my squawkbox. “Ready for ID check.” I sifted through my tags until I found a clean one and sent it. They chewed on it for a couple seconds. “Thanks Mrs. Bally-wa. Wing 2, Hangar Four, Bay 32.” The dispatcher clicked off. Several Shipping Consortiums had banded together to open a bunch of these Hubs as layover points to transfer cargo and for traders and haulers who didn’t want to deal with the hassle and physics of landing on a planet. In short, it’s where I make my bread and butter. “Hey Ethan.” Oh come on. I just got here. I slowly turned. Raj Benny. I don’t think he’s got a reason to be mad at me. “Hey Raj, here on a scope?” “Yeah, you know, seeing how things tumble.” As far as thugs go, Raj wasn’t too bad. He had a mean streak though. While that’s generally the case with Tevarin, I’ve seen that temper take him places that are unnecessary. Been the cause of some tension between us in the past but clearly not today. That being said, one of these days, we’re probably going to kill each other. But until then, no reason we can’t be civil. “Anything promising?” I asked as I turned back to the crowd. Raj shrugged and took a sip of HydroFroz. “Not really.” His pitch black eyes then locked on something and he gave a quick nod. It was an Advocacy Agent. Didn’t recognize her. She wasn’t trying to hide either. “Later.” Raj broke away and disappeared into the crowd. I did the same. The Door was a dive for haulers, shippers, traders to grab a drink and a bite, maybe an hour or two of sleep in the single-occupant file cabinet bunk-bays in the back. It was fun to watch. See when you get a bunch of drifters with cash in one place it’s like a magnet for opportunists, which unfortunately includes people like me. I got some RealWater and posted up in the corner to get a good view of the room. Three nursed glasses later and things weren’t looking too good. Then a glass shattered. A couple heads turned, mine included. A hauler lurched to his feet, wasted six ways sideways. Veins in his forehead pulsed like they were trying to break free. It was a game of Trigger gone foul. “I called you a cheat! You ask me to say it again, I’ll carve it in your face, see if you hear me then.” Security started circling. The other players stayed still, afraid the slightest move or reaction would incite him further. “Take it outside.” The bartender yelled. “Eat it, dreg. Unless you wanna dance too.” Security snatched the drunk by the arms and dragged him to the entrance. He kicked a couple tables along the way, spilling the drinks. He giggled, enjoying being a disturbance. This guy had promise. They poured him outside. He swung up to his feet and vented a steady stream of obscenities for about five minutes straight before he stumbled off. I followed him as if he wasn’t barely conscious, just in case any other vultures had caught the show. He eventually wandered his way back to the ship bays. He climbed into a beat-up MISC Fiera, slipping twice on the ladder. There was a detachable cargo hold underneath. Its engines slowly started to rev up. Repeating the ship’s reg number over and over, I jogged back to my bay and took off. I caught up to him just outside the launch-bay. The Fiera’s main thrusters finally kicked in and the ship slowly accelerated. I kept my distance, again more concerned with any potential competitors than this idiot noticing me. It took three hours to clear traffic. I don’t know where he was heading but it was obvious he wanted to keep a low profile. Fine by me. Made my job a hundred times easier. I let him drift for a little while longer. Made sure it was nice and quiet. Then made my move. I swooped in front of the Fiera’s cockpit, flicking the electroskin as I heated up my main guns. The paint on the body of my ship shifted to the blood splattered design by which I was known. I could see him in the cockpit, mouth dropped, in total shock. I hailed his comms. “Judging by the look on your face, I can tell you know who I am.” He was barely able to force out a nod. “Okay, here’s the rule. You run, you die. Can we agree on that point?” He nodded again. I quickly gave him a rundown of the rest of my rules. They all pretty much ended the same as the first rule. By the time I told him to release his cargo, he was completely docile. He disengaged the cargo and backed away. I maneuvered around and the cargo locked into place. “Now drift.” He blasted the hell out of there. I wasn’t going to do a full-check in case he went for cops but I had to at least peek. It took a little bit for my ship’s system to accept the cargo’s computing protocol and then I’d get access to visuals inside. “Come on, payday…” It popped up on my screen. I had to ramp up the gain to see. I finally saw what was inside… People. Starving. Withered. Some humans, a few Banu, Tevarin, and a couple I didn’t recognize. I saw red. He was a Sentient-Trafficker. Biggest scumsucking parasite bastards in the- I kicked the thrusters full and swung around. I could barely see the glow of his thrusters in the distance. He wasn’t getting away. Hell with that. He was getting closer. I’ll take my time with this one. Cut on him so slow and for so long he won’t remember a life without agony. First I’m gonna- Two missiles soared past me toward the trafficker. The first blasted his thruster, the other just behind the cockpit. The antimatter explosion flared up, incinerating the Fiera. My polarizing compensators kicked in. When they receded, the ship was gone. So was whoever did the shooting. There wasn’t a trace of them on the scanners. So there I was. Alone with a cargo full of slaves. My blood still boiling. Raj wasn’t the only one with a temper problem. . . . to be continued Das kalte Meer des Weltraums. Einige Leute lieben es. In ihm gedeihen. Es macht mich verrückt. Sie betrachten es als Freiheit. Für mich ist es ein Gefängnis, schlimmer noch, es ist ein Henker, der über dir steht und nur darauf wartet, dass der Spalt im Rumpf dich herausholt. Aus irgendeinem Grund werde ich immer ein wenig krankhaft, wenn ich landen will. Der Covalex Shipping Hub stand kurz bevor. Eine Stimme knisterte über meine Quarkbox. "Bereit für die Ausweiskontrolle." Ich habe meine Tags durchsucht, bis ich einen sauberen gefunden und verschickt habe. Sie haben es für ein paar Sekunden angekaut. "Danke, Mrs. Bally-wa. Flügel 2, Hangar Vier, Bucht 32." Der Dispatcher hat sich angeklickt. Mehrere Schifffahrtskonsortien hatten sich zusammengeschlossen, um einen Haufen dieser Hubs als Zwischenstopps für den Umschlag von Fracht und für Händler und Spediteure zu eröffnen, die sich nicht mit dem Aufwand und der Physik der Landung auf einem Planeten befassen wollten. Kurz gesagt, hier mache ich mein Brot und meine Butter. "Hey Ethan." Oh, komm schon. Ich bin gerade erst angekommen. Ich drehte mich langsam um. Raj Benny. Ich glaube nicht, dass er einen Grund hat, wütend auf mich zu sein. "Hey Raj, bist du in einem Bereich?" "Ja, weißt du, zu sehen, wie die Dinge sich entwickeln." Was Schläger angeht, war Raj nicht so schlimm. Er hatte jedoch eine gemeine Ader. Während das bei Tevarin im Allgemeinen der Fall ist, habe ich gesehen, dass das Temperament ihn an Orte führt, die unnötig sind. War in der Vergangenheit die Ursache für einige Spannungen zwischen uns, aber heute eindeutig nicht. Allerdings werden wir uns eines Tages wahrscheinlich gegenseitig umbringen. Aber bis dahin gibt es keinen Grund, warum wir nicht höflich sein können. "Irgendwas Versprechendes?" fragte ich, als ich mich wieder an die Menge wandte. Raj zuckte mit den Achseln und nahm einen Schluck HydroFroz. "Nicht wirklich." Seine pechschwarzen Augen waren dann an etwas gebunden und er nickte schnell. Es war ein Advocacy-Agent. Ich habe sie nicht erkannt. Sie versuchte auch nicht, sich zu verstecken. " Bis später." Raj brach aus und verschwand in der Menge. Ich habe das Gleiche getan. Die Tür war ein Tauchgang für Spediteure, Verlader, Händler, um einen Drink und einen Bissen zu ergattern, vielleicht ein oder zwei Stunden Schlaf in den Einpersonen-Aktenschrank-Etagenböden im Hintergrund. Es hat Spaß gemacht, zuzusehen. Sehen Sie, wenn Sie einen Haufen Drifters mit Bargeld an einem Ort bekommen, ist es wie ein Magnet für Opportunisten, was leider Leute wie mich einschließt. Ich nahm etwas RealWater und postete in der Ecke, um einen guten Blick auf den Raum zu bekommen. Drei Pflegegläser später und die Dinge sahen nicht gut aus. Dann zerbrach ein Glas. Ein paar Köpfe gedreht, inklusive meiner. Ein Schlepper taumelte auf die Füße, vergeudete sechs Wege zur Seite. Die Venen auf seiner Stirn pulsierten, als wollten sie sich befreien. Es war ein Spiel von Trigger gone foul. "Ich habe dich einen Betrüger genannt! Du bittest mich, es noch einmal zu sagen, ich werde es dir in dein Gesicht schneiden und sehen, ob du mich dann hörst." Die Sicherheit begann zu kreisen. Die anderen Spieler blieben still stehen, aus Angst, dass ihn die kleinste Bewegung oder Reaktion weiter anregen würde. "Bring es nach draußen." schrie der Barkeeper. " Iss es, Dreg. Es sei denn, du willst auch tanzen." Die Security schnappte sich den Betrunkenen an den Armen und schleppte ihn zum Eingang. Er trat ein paar Tische auf dem Weg und verschüttete die Getränke. Er kicherte und genoss es, eine Störung zu sein. Dieser Typ war vielversprechend. Sie schütteten ihn draußen aus. Er schwang sich auf die Füße und entlüftete einen stetigen Strom von Obszönitäten für etwa fünf Minuten am Stück, bevor er abstürzte. Ich folgte ihm, als wäre er kaum bei Bewusstsein, nur für den Fall, dass andere Geier die Show gesehen hatten. Schließlich wanderte er zurück zu den Schiffsbuchten. Er kletterte in einen ramponierten MISC Fiera und rutschte zweimal auf der Leiter. Darunter befand sich ein abnehmbarer Laderaum. Seine Motoren begannen langsam zu laufen. Als ich die Reg.-Nummer des Schiffes immer wieder wiederholte, joggte ich zurück zu meiner Bucht und startete. Ich habe ihn direkt vor der Startbahn eingeholt. Die Haupttriebwerke der Fiera traten schließlich ein und das Schiff beschleunigte langsam. Ich hielt Abstand, wieder mehr um potenzielle Konkurrenten besorgt als dieser Idiot, der mich bemerkte. Es dauerte drei Stunden, bis der Verkehr geräumt war. Ich weiß nicht, wohin er unterwegs war, aber es war offensichtlich, dass er sich zurückhalten wollte. Für mich in Ordnung. Das hat mir meine Arbeit hundertmal erleichtert. Ich ließ ihn noch eine Weile treiben. Ich stellte sicher, dass es schön und ruhig war. Dann machte ich meinen Zug. Ich stürzte mich vor das Cockpit der Fiera und schnippte die Elektrohaut, als ich meine Hauptpistolen aufheizte. Die Farbe auf dem Körper meines Schiffes verlagerte sich zu dem blutbefleckten Design, durch das ich bekannt wurde. Ich konnte ihn im Cockpit sehen, der Mund fiel, unter totalem Schock. Ich begrüßte seine Kommunikation. "Dem Blick in deinem Gesicht nach zu urteilen, kann ich dir sagen, wer ich bin." Er war kaum in der Lage, ein Nicken zu erzwingen. "Okay, hier ist die Regel. Du läufst weg, du stirbst. Können wir uns in diesem Punkt einigen?" Er nickte wieder. Ich gab ihm schnell einen Überblick über den Rest meiner Regeln. Sie alle endeten ziemlich genau so wie die erste Regel. Als ich ihm sagte, er solle seine Ladung freigeben, war er völlig zahm. Er löste die Ladung und wich zurück. Ich manövrierte herum und die Ladung rastete ein. " Jetzt treiben Sie." Er ist da verdammt nochmal rausgeflogen. Ich wollte keinen vollständigen Check machen, falls er sich Bullen sucht, aber ich musste zumindest nachschauen. Es dauerte ein wenig, bis das System meines Schiffes das Computerprotokoll der Ladung akzeptierte, und dann bekam ich Zugang zu den Bildern im Inneren. "Komm schon, Zahltag...." Es tauchte auf meinem Bildschirm auf. Ich musste die Verstärkung erhöhen, um zu sehen. Ich sah endlich, was drin war..... Menschen. Ich verhungere. Verwelkt. Einige Menschen, ein paar Banu, Tevarin und ein Paar, die ich nicht erkannte. Ich sah rot. Er war ein Sentient-Trafficker. Die größten abschaumigsten Parasitenschweine in der Welt. Ich trat die Triebwerke voll und schwang mich herum. Ich konnte kaum das Glühen seiner Triebwerke in der Ferne sehen. Er wollte nicht entkommen. Zum Teufel damit. Er kam näher. Ich werde mir damit Zeit lassen. Er wird sich so langsam und so lange nicht an ein Leben ohne Qualen erinnern. Zuerst werde ich-- Zwei Raketen flogen an mir vorbei in Richtung des Schleppers. Der erste sprengte sein Triebwerk, der andere direkt hinter dem Cockpit. Die Antimaterieexplosion flammte auf und verbrannte die Fiera. Meine polarisierenden Kompensatoren traten ein. Als sie sich zurückzogen, war das Schiff weg. Genau wie derjenige, der die Schießerei gemacht hat. Es gab keine Spur von ihnen auf den Scannern. Da war ich also. Allein mit einer Ladung voller Sklaven. Mein Blut kocht noch. Raj war nicht der Einzige mit einem Stimmungsproblem. . ... wird fortgesetzt The cold sea of space. Some people love it. Thrive in it. It weirds me out. They think of it as freedom. To me it’s a prison, worse actually, it’s an executioner standing above you, just waiting for that crack in the hull to take you out. For some reason, I always get a little morbid when I’m about to land. The Covalex Shipping Hub was coming up. A voice crackled over my squawkbox. “Ready for ID check.” I sifted through my tags until I found a clean one and sent it. They chewed on it for a couple seconds. “Thanks Mrs. Bally-wa. Wing 2, Hangar Four, Bay 32.” The dispatcher clicked off. Several Shipping Consortiums had banded together to open a bunch of these Hubs as layover points to transfer cargo and for traders and haulers who didn’t want to deal with the hassle and physics of landing on a planet. In short, it’s where I make my bread and butter. “Hey Ethan.” Oh come on. I just got here. I slowly turned. Raj Benny. I don’t think he’s got a reason to be mad at me. “Hey Raj, here on a scope?” “Yeah, you know, seeing how things tumble.” As far as thugs go, Raj wasn’t too bad. He had a mean streak though. While that’s generally the case with Tevarin, I’ve seen that temper take him places that are unnecessary. Been the cause of some tension between us in the past but clearly not today. That being said, one of these days, we’re probably going to kill each other. But until then, no reason we can’t be civil. “Anything promising?” I asked as I turned back to the crowd. Raj shrugged and took a sip of HydroFroz. “Not really.” His pitch black eyes then locked on something and he gave a quick nod. It was an Advocacy Agent. Didn’t recognize her. She wasn’t trying to hide either. “Later.” Raj broke away and disappeared into the crowd. I did the same. The Door was a dive for haulers, shippers, traders to grab a drink and a bite, maybe an hour or two of sleep in the single-occupant file cabinet bunk-bays in the back. It was fun to watch. See when you get a bunch of drifters with cash in one place it’s like a magnet for opportunists, which unfortunately includes people like me. I got some RealWater and posted up in the corner to get a good view of the room. Three nursed glasses later and things weren’t looking too good. Then a glass shattered. A couple heads turned, mine included. A hauler lurched to his feet, wasted six ways sideways. Veins in his forehead pulsed like they were trying to break free. It was a game of Trigger gone foul. “I called you a cheat! You ask me to say it again, I’ll carve it in your face, see if you hear me then.” Security started circling. The other players stayed still, afraid the slightest move or reaction would incite him further. “Take it outside.” The bartender yelled. “Eat it, dreg. Unless you wanna dance too.” Security snatched the drunk by the arms and dragged him to the entrance. He kicked a couple tables along the way, spilling the drinks. He giggled, enjoying being a disturbance. This guy had promise. They poured him outside. He swung up to his feet and vented a steady stream of obscenities for about five minutes straight before he stumbled off. I followed him as if he wasn’t barely conscious, just in case any other vultures had caught the show. He eventually wandered his way back to the ship bays. He climbed into a beat-up MISC Fiera, slipping twice on the ladder. There was a detachable cargo hold underneath. Its engines slowly started to rev up. Repeating the ship’s reg number over and over, I jogged back to my bay and took off. I caught up to him just outside the launch-bay. The Fiera’s main thrusters finally kicked in and the ship slowly accelerated. I kept my distance, again more concerned with any potential competitors than this idiot noticing me. It took three hours to clear traffic. I don’t know where he was heading but it was obvious he wanted to keep a low profile. Fine by me. Made my job a hundred times easier. I let him drift for a little while longer. Made sure it was nice and quiet. Then made my move. I swooped in front of the Fiera’s cockpit, flicking the electroskin as I heated up my main guns. The paint on the body of my ship shifted to the blood splattered design by which I was known. I could see him in the cockpit, mouth dropped, in total shock. I hailed his comms. “Judging by the look on your face, I can tell you know who I am.” He was barely able to force out a nod. “Okay, here’s the rule. You run, you die. Can we agree on that point?” He nodded again. I quickly gave him a rundown of the rest of my rules. They all pretty much ended the same as the first rule. By the time I told him to release his cargo, he was completely docile. He disengaged the cargo and backed away. I maneuvered around and the cargo locked into place. “Now drift.” He blasted the hell out of there. I wasn’t going to do a full-check in case he went for cops but I had to at least peek. It took a little bit for my ship’s system to accept the cargo’s computing protocol and then I’d get access to visuals inside. “Come on, payday…” It popped up on my screen. I had to ramp up the gain to see. I finally saw what was inside… People. Starving. Withered. Some humans, a few Banu, Tevarin, and a couple I didn’t recognize. I saw red. He was a Sentient-Trafficker. Biggest scumsucking parasite bastards in the- I kicked the thrusters full and swung around. I could barely see the glow of his thrusters in the distance. He wasn’t getting away. Hell with that. He was getting closer. I’ll take my time with this one. Cut on him so slow and for so long he won’t remember a life without agony. First I’m gonna- Two missiles soared past me toward the trafficker. The first blasted his thruster, the other just behind the cockpit. The antimatter explosion flared up, incinerating the Fiera. My polarizing compensators kicked in. When they receded, the ship was gone. So was whoever did the shooting. There wasn’t a trace of them on the scanners. So there I was. Alone with a cargo full of slaves. My blood still boiling. Raj wasn’t the only one with a temper problem. . . . to be continued Links ----- No links available. Images ------ 1 image/jpeg [ ![](https://robertsspaceindustries.com/media/zcrgqkm79nm2fr/source/MysterySerial_FI_3Crop.jpg) ](https://robertsspaceindustries.com/media/zcrgqkm79nm2fr/source/MysterySerial_FI_3Crop.jpg) MysterySerial_FI_3Crop.jpg [Details](https://api.star-citizen.wiki/comm-links/images/113) Last Modified 12 years ago Size 1.19 MB [Source](https://robertsspaceindustries.com/media/zcrgqkm79nm2fr/source/MysterySerial_FI_3Crop.jpg) [Info](https://api.star-citizen.wiki/comm-links/images/113) Metadata -------- CIG ID 12752 Channel Undefined Category Undefined Series Tales of Kid Crimson Comments 47 Published 13 years ago (2012-10-29T00:00:00+00:00) [RSI Article](https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/serialized-fiction/12752-Tales-Of-Kid-Crimson-Issue-2) [API](https://api.star-citizen.wiki/api/comm-links/12752)