Cassandra's Tears: Issue #4 - [Comm-Links](https://api.star-citizen.wiki/comm-links) - Cassandra's Tears: Issue #4 Cassandra's Tears: Issue #4 =========================== Undefined Undefined Cassandra's Tears [Previous](https://api.star-citizen.wiki/comm-links/12765) [Next](https://api.star-citizen.wiki/comm-links/12767) Content ------- English Cal Mason gave a last look at the Gemini, still working its way free from Yar’s gravitational pull, at Penny and the rest of the wing fall into a landing formation. It’s worth it, Cal thought. By the time he convinced Admiral Showalter that there was more to the Vanduul raid than simple thievery, the Vanduul Clan would have disappeared back into their territory and Military Command would never authorize an operation in enemy space. So that would be that. “It’s worth it,” he repeated to himself and loaded the appropriate NavPlan file. The computer assumed control as Cal dove into the jump-point. Now all he had to do was wait while the computer weaved through interspace with programmed perfection and hope that the Vanduul weren’t sitting on the other side, guns ready to blast any brave idiots who tried to follow them… hmm… probably should have considered that before. Cal watched the countdown on his monitor. He slowly took hold of the flight controls. A finger hovered over the shield-booster just in case. He popped out the other side, ready for anything, then breathed a sigh of relief. All good. He could see the flagship rejoining the rest of its clan; a fleet of junker transports, freighters, small destroyers, and tankers, all of them probably the spoils from hundreds of fights over the decades on the drift. Cal shut down any extraneous systems to minimize his energy signature and cut his engines after pushing toward the fleet. He should be able to get pretty close unless they change their trajectory. In order to see him, they’d have to look out their window. According to their scanners, he was simply empty space. People relied too much on their scanners and the tech to watch their back. Cal couldn’t count the number of times he gotten out of a jam because people didn’t trust or even use their senses. Cal coasted over the fleet, ready for any indication that he’d been spotted. So far so good. He passed what looked like an old farm vessel, probably held the grow-farms for the entire Vanduul Clan. It was chugging along, leaking a trail of fumes in its wake. Command tried building databases of each Vanduul clan but they were always struggling for the raw data. For as long as humans have been fending off the Vanduul, Cal was always amazed about how little we knew about them. It didn’t help that the species itself was so fragmented. Even though each Vanduul Clan/Fleet had its own set of traditions, diplomatic affiliations, even religions, there were a few consistencies. Their fighters were eerily similar, same with their flagships. Many an analyst went nuts trying to figure that one out. It was almost as if their designs were imprinted in their DNA. Which had been suggested. All the same, not many people had been in Cal’s position and been this close to a Vanduul fleet. So he was making the most of it, snapping and tagging each of the ships as he passed them. Military Intelligence was going to have a field day with the data. Suddenly, the flagship’s massive thrusters flashed. They were changing course. It wasn’t until a stream of fighters began to launch out the front that Cal knew for sure: Someone looked out the window. Cal had thirty seconds or so before he got swarmed. He fired the engine and headed along the hull of the flagship. He couldn’t just bolt, even if he made it to the jump-point, he wasn’t any closer to figuring out what they were up to. Nope. He had to stick around. The Vanduul fighters screamed out of their launch bays led by Black Talon. They sliced back toward the foolish soon-to-be-dead human and found it full-burning toward the jump-point. The Vanduul pursued and, with their speed, easily overtook Cal’s ship. Black Talon unleashed the first spray of laser-fire. The rest of the Vanduul fighters followed suit. In a manner of seconds, Cal’s ship was blasted to pieces. Shame, Cal thought as he stood on the side of the Vanduul flagship, that was a good ship. He noticed something else too. There was another ship in the distance. Too far to identify but it definitely wasn’t another Vanduul ship. Cal walked along the hull of the ship toward one of the gaping holes caused by the battle with the Gemini and climbed inside. Cal carefully moved down through the ship guts into a hallway. The area had been sealed off after it lost hull integrity. Cal examined the doorlocks. It was in Vanduul, obviously. The character system was completely foreign to him. Then it unlocked. Cal hid before the door slid open. A Vanduul in an environment suit stepped through the doorway. Cal watched him from a crevice in the wall, his pistol ready. The Vanduul approached the hole in the hull and examined it. Must be a Tech assessing the damage. Cal glanced between the Vanduul and the open door. The Tech had its back to it. Cal slipped past and through the pressurized antechamber into the ship itself. Though it was nice to have gravity back, he still couldn’t take off his suit as the Vanduul didn’t breathe oxygen. In an effort to not think about how ridiculously suicidal sneaking around a Vanduul flagship was, Cal stayed focused on the identity of the new vessel. Fighters hadn’t been redirected or deployed on sight, so Cal assumed that the vessel was not a surprise to the Vanduul. In which case, they might be headed to the landing bay. Cal carefully moved through the winding sloped passageways, dodging the occasional Vanduul officer or soldier. Eventually, he saw a stream of pilots exit a door. Maybe one of them was Black Talon? Cal waited until they disappeared around a corner before checking the door they came through. It was the hangar. He moved past the stacks of Vanduul ships to see a heavily modified Constellation landing in the bay. A couple dozen Vanduul soldiers waited, weapons at the ready. Cal found a good spot to hide and watch. The Constellation set down on the tarmac. Its engines powered down but someone was manning the turret. The landing bay opened. Two humanoids came out. Both wore enclosed suits, clearly not Vanduul air-breathers. They were about human-sized. Cal had heard that some pirates had made deals with certain Vanduul clans but it was pretty rare. Most were carved up the second they came within sight of a Vanduul ship. The large pieces of tech taken from the settlement on Yar were brought out and loaded onto the Constellation. One of the two humanoids examined the tech while the other talked with the Vanduul. When satisfied they brought out a pair of crates. A plasma rifle hummed next to Cal’s ear. Crap. . . . TO BE CONTINUED Cal Mason gab einen letzten Blick auf die Zwillinge, die sich immer noch frei von Yars Anziehungskraft arbeiten, bei Penny und dem Rest des Flügels fallen in eine Landeformation. Das ist es wert, dachte Cal. Als er Admiral Showalter davon überzeugte, dass der Vanduul-Überfall mehr als nur Diebstahl war, wäre der Vanduul-Clan wieder in seinem Territorium verschwunden und das Militärkommando würde niemals eine Operation im feindlichen Raum genehmigen. Das war's dann also. "Es lohnt sich", wiederholte er vor sich hin und lud die entsprechende NavPlan-Datei. Der Computer übernahm die Kontrolle, als Cal in den Sprungpunkt sprang. Jetzt musste er nur noch warten, während der Computer mit programmierter Perfektion durch den Zwischenraum webte und hoffte, dass die Vanduul nicht auf der anderen Seite saßen, Waffen, die bereit waren, alle tapferen Idioten zu erschießen, die versuchten, ihnen zu folgen... hmm... hmm.... hätte das wahrscheinlich vorher bedenken sollen. Cal beobachtete den Countdown auf seinem Monitor. Er ergriff langsam die Flugkontrolle. Ein Finger schwebte über dem Schildverstärker, für alle Fälle. Er sprang auf der anderen Seite heraus, bereit für alles, und atmete dann erleichtert auf. Alles in Ordnung. Er konnte sehen, wie das Flaggschiff wieder in den Rest seines Clans eintrat; eine Flotte von Junkertransporten, Frachtschiffen, kleinen Zerstörern und Tankern, die alle wahrscheinlich die Beute aus Hunderten von Kämpfen über die Jahrzehnte hinweg auf der Strecke waren. Beruhigen Sie sich, alle Fremdsysteme abzuschalten, um seine Energiesignatur zu minimieren, und unterbrechen Sie seine Motoren, nachdem Sie auf die Flotte zugedrungen sind. Er sollte in der Lage sein, ziemlich nah heranzukommen, wenn sie nicht ihre Flugbahn ändern. Um ihn zu sehen, müssten sie aus dem Fenster schauen. Laut ihren Scannern war er einfach nur ein leerer Raum. Die Menschen verließen sich zu sehr auf ihre Scanner und die Technik, um sich den Rücken zu decken. Cal konnte nicht zählen, wie oft er aus einer Stauung herausgekommen war, weil die Leute ihren Sinnen nicht vertrauten oder gar nicht benutzten. Cal lief über die Flotte und war bereit für jeden Hinweis, dass er entdeckt wurde. So weit, so gut. Er passierte ein altes Bauernboot, das aussah wie ein altes, wahrscheinlich die Zuchtfarmen für den gesamten Vanduul Clan beherbergt. Es tuckerte weiter und leckte eine Spur von Dämpfen in seinem Gefolge. Das Kommando versuchte, Datenbanken für jeden Vanduul-Clan aufzubauen, aber sie kämpften immer um die Rohdaten. Seitdem die Menschen die Vanduul abgewehrt haben, war Cal immer erstaunt darüber, wie wenig wir über sie wussten. Es half nicht, dass die Art selbst so zersplittert war. Obwohl jeder Vanduul-Klan/Flotte seine eigenen Traditionen, diplomatischen Beziehungen und sogar Religionen hatte, gab es einige Konsistenzen. Ihre Kämpfer waren sich unheimlich ähnlich, ebenso wie ihre Flaggschiffe. So mancher Analytiker wurde verrückt, als er versuchte, das herauszufinden. Es war fast so, als ob ihre Designs in ihre DNA eingeprägt wären. Die vorgeschlagen worden war. Dennoch waren nicht viele Menschen in Cal's Position gewesen und waren so nah an einer Vanduul-Flotte. Also machte er das Beste daraus, schnappte und markierte jedes der Schiffe, als er sie passierte. Der militärische Geheimdienst sollte einen großen Tag mit den Daten verbringen. Plötzlich blinkten die massiven Triebwerke des Flaggschiffs. Sie änderten den Kurs. Erst als ein Strom von Kämpfern anfing, an der Front zu starten, wusste Cal genau, dass er es wusste: Jemand schaute aus dem Fenster. Cal hatte etwa dreißig Sekunden, bevor er geschwängert wurde. Er feuerte den Motor ab und ging am Rumpf des Flaggschiffs entlang. Er konnte nicht einfach abhauen, auch wenn er es bis zum Sprungpunkt schaffte, er war nicht näher dran, herauszufinden, was sie vorhatten. Nein. Er musste in der Nähe bleiben. Die Vanduul-Kämpfer schrien aus ihren Startbuchten, angeführt von Black Talon. Sie schnitt zurück zu dem dummen, bald toten Menschen und fand ihn voll brennend zum Sprungpunkt. Die Vanduul verfolgten und überholten mit ihrer Geschwindigkeit leicht das Schiff von Cal. Black Talon entfesselte den ersten Sprühstrahl eines Laserfeuers. Der Rest der Vanduul-Kämpfer folgte diesem Beispiel. In Sekundenschnelle wurde Kal's Schiff in Stücke gesprengt. Schade, dachte Cal, als er auf der Seite des Vanduul-Flaggschiffs stand, das war ein gutes Schiff. Er bemerkte auch noch etwas anderes. In der Ferne war noch ein weiteres Schiff. Zu weit, um sie zu identifizieren, aber es war definitiv kein weiteres Vanduul-Schiff. Cal ging am Rumpf des Schiffes entlang zu einem der klaffenden Löcher, die durch den Kampf mit den Zwillingen verursacht wurden, und kletterte hinein. Cal bewegte sich vorsichtig durch die Schiffsinnereien in einen Flur. Der Bereich war abgeriegelt worden, nachdem er die Integrität der Hülle verloren hatte. Cal untersuchte die Türschlösser. Es war offensichtlich in Vanduul. Das Charaktersystem war ihm völlig fremd. Dann wurde es freigeschaltet. Cal versteckte sich, bevor die Tür aufrutschte. Ein Vanduul in einem Umgebungsanzug trat durch die Türöffnung. Cal beobachtete ihn aus einer Spalte in der Wand, seine Pistole bereit. Die Vanduul näherte sich dem Loch im Rumpf und untersuchte es. Muss ein Techniker sein, der den Schaden bewertet. Cal blickte zwischen dem Vanduul und der offenen Tür. Die Tech stand hinter ihr. Cal schlüpfte vorbei und durch die unter Druck stehende Vorkammer in das Schiff selbst. Obwohl es schön war, die Schwerkraft zurück zu haben, konnte er seinen Anzug immer noch nicht ausziehen, da die Vanduul keinen Sauerstoff atmete. In dem Bestreben, nicht darüber nachzudenken, wie lächerlich selbstmörderisch es war, sich um ein Vanduul-Flaggschiff zu schleichen, blieb Cal auf die Identität des neuen Schiffes konzentriert. Kämpfer waren nicht umgeleitet oder auf Sicht eingesetzt worden, so dass Cal annahm, dass das Schiff keine Überraschung für die Vanduul war. In diesem Fall könnten sie zur Landebucht gebracht werden. Cal bewegte sich vorsichtig durch die gewundenen, schiefen Gänge und wich dem gelegentlichen Vanduul-Offizier oder -Soldaten aus. Schließlich sah er, wie ein Strom von Piloten aus einer Tür ausstieg. Vielleicht war einer von ihnen Black Talon? Cal wartete, bis sie um eine Ecke verschwanden, bevor er die Tür überprüfte, durch die sie kamen. Es war der Kleiderbügel. Er ging an den Stapeln der Vanduul-Schiffe vorbei, um eine stark modifizierte Constellation in der Bucht landen zu sehen. Ein paar Dutzend Vanduul-Soldaten warteten, Waffen bereit. Cal fand einen guten Platz zum Verstecken und Beobachten. Die Konstellation setzte sich auf den Asphalt. Seine Motoren wurden abgeschaltet, aber jemand bemannte den Turm. Die Landebucht wurde geöffnet. Zwei Humanoide kamen heraus. Beide trugen geschlossene Anzüge, eindeutig keine Vanduul-Luftatmer. Sie waren etwa menschengroß. Cal hatte gehört, dass einige Piraten Geschäfte mit bestimmten Vanduul-Clans gemacht hatten, aber es war ziemlich selten. Die meisten wurden in der Sekunde zerlegt, als sie in Sichtweite eines Vanduul-Schiffes kamen. Die großen technischen Teile aus der Siedlung auf Yar wurden herausgebracht und auf die Konstellation geladen. Eines der beiden Humanoide untersuchte die Technologie, während das andere mit dem Vanduul sprach. Als sie zufrieden waren, brachten sie ein Paar Kisten heraus. Ein Plasmagewehr brummte neben Cal's Ohr. Mist. . . . WIRD FORTGESETZT Cal Mason gave a last look at the Gemini, still working its way free from Yar’s gravitational pull, at Penny and the rest of the wing fall into a landing formation. It’s worth it, Cal thought. By the time he convinced Admiral Showalter that there was more to the Vanduul raid than simple thievery, the Vanduul Clan would have disappeared back into their territory and Military Command would never authorize an operation in enemy space. So that would be that. “It’s worth it,” he repeated to himself and loaded the appropriate NavPlan file. The computer assumed control as Cal dove into the jump-point. Now all he had to do was wait while the computer weaved through interspace with programmed perfection and hope that the Vanduul weren’t sitting on the other side, guns ready to blast any brave idiots who tried to follow them… hmm… probably should have considered that before. Cal watched the countdown on his monitor. He slowly took hold of the flight controls. A finger hovered over the shield-booster just in case. He popped out the other side, ready for anything, then breathed a sigh of relief. All good. He could see the flagship rejoining the rest of its clan; a fleet of junker transports, freighters, small destroyers, and tankers, all of them probably the spoils from hundreds of fights over the decades on the drift. Cal shut down any extraneous systems to minimize his energy signature and cut his engines after pushing toward the fleet. He should be able to get pretty close unless they change their trajectory. In order to see him, they’d have to look out their window. According to their scanners, he was simply empty space. People relied too much on their scanners and the tech to watch their back. Cal couldn’t count the number of times he gotten out of a jam because people didn’t trust or even use their senses. Cal coasted over the fleet, ready for any indication that he’d been spotted. So far so good. He passed what looked like an old farm vessel, probably held the grow-farms for the entire Vanduul Clan. It was chugging along, leaking a trail of fumes in its wake. Command tried building databases of each Vanduul clan but they were always struggling for the raw data. For as long as humans have been fending off the Vanduul, Cal was always amazed about how little we knew about them. It didn’t help that the species itself was so fragmented. Even though each Vanduul Clan/Fleet had its own set of traditions, diplomatic affiliations, even religions, there were a few consistencies. Their fighters were eerily similar, same with their flagships. Many an analyst went nuts trying to figure that one out. It was almost as if their designs were imprinted in their DNA. Which had been suggested. All the same, not many people had been in Cal’s position and been this close to a Vanduul fleet. So he was making the most of it, snapping and tagging each of the ships as he passed them. Military Intelligence was going to have a field day with the data. Suddenly, the flagship’s massive thrusters flashed. They were changing course. It wasn’t until a stream of fighters began to launch out the front that Cal knew for sure: Someone looked out the window. Cal had thirty seconds or so before he got swarmed. He fired the engine and headed along the hull of the flagship. He couldn’t just bolt, even if he made it to the jump-point, he wasn’t any closer to figuring out what they were up to. Nope. He had to stick around. The Vanduul fighters screamed out of their launch bays led by Black Talon. They sliced back toward the foolish soon-to-be-dead human and found it full-burning toward the jump-point. The Vanduul pursued and, with their speed, easily overtook Cal’s ship. Black Talon unleashed the first spray of laser-fire. The rest of the Vanduul fighters followed suit. In a manner of seconds, Cal’s ship was blasted to pieces. Shame, Cal thought as he stood on the side of the Vanduul flagship, that was a good ship. He noticed something else too. There was another ship in the distance. Too far to identify but it definitely wasn’t another Vanduul ship. Cal walked along the hull of the ship toward one of the gaping holes caused by the battle with the Gemini and climbed inside. Cal carefully moved down through the ship guts into a hallway. The area had been sealed off after it lost hull integrity. Cal examined the doorlocks. It was in Vanduul, obviously. The character system was completely foreign to him. Then it unlocked. Cal hid before the door slid open. A Vanduul in an environment suit stepped through the doorway. Cal watched him from a crevice in the wall, his pistol ready. The Vanduul approached the hole in the hull and examined it. Must be a Tech assessing the damage. Cal glanced between the Vanduul and the open door. The Tech had its back to it. Cal slipped past and through the pressurized antechamber into the ship itself. Though it was nice to have gravity back, he still couldn’t take off his suit as the Vanduul didn’t breathe oxygen. In an effort to not think about how ridiculously suicidal sneaking around a Vanduul flagship was, Cal stayed focused on the identity of the new vessel. Fighters hadn’t been redirected or deployed on sight, so Cal assumed that the vessel was not a surprise to the Vanduul. In which case, they might be headed to the landing bay. Cal carefully moved through the winding sloped passageways, dodging the occasional Vanduul officer or soldier. Eventually, he saw a stream of pilots exit a door. Maybe one of them was Black Talon? Cal waited until they disappeared around a corner before checking the door they came through. It was the hangar. He moved past the stacks of Vanduul ships to see a heavily modified Constellation landing in the bay. A couple dozen Vanduul soldiers waited, weapons at the ready. Cal found a good spot to hide and watch. The Constellation set down on the tarmac. Its engines powered down but someone was manning the turret. The landing bay opened. Two humanoids came out. Both wore enclosed suits, clearly not Vanduul air-breathers. They were about human-sized. Cal had heard that some pirates had made deals with certain Vanduul clans but it was pretty rare. Most were carved up the second they came within sight of a Vanduul ship. The large pieces of tech taken from the settlement on Yar were brought out and loaded onto the Constellation. One of the two humanoids examined the tech while the other talked with the Vanduul. When satisfied they brought out a pair of crates. A plasma rifle hummed next to Cal’s ear. Crap. . . . TO BE CONTINUED Links ----- No links available. Images ------ 1 image/jpeg [ ![](https://robertsspaceindustries.com/media/dzgf0umox510mr/source/CalMasonFI_Crop.jpg) ](https://robertsspaceindustries.com/media/dzgf0umox510mr/source/CalMasonFI_Crop.jpg) CalMasonFI_Crop.jpg [Details](https://api.star-citizen.wiki/comm-links/images/109) Last Modified 12 years ago Size 1.91 MB [Source](https://robertsspaceindustries.com/media/dzgf0umox510mr/source/CalMasonFI_Crop.jpg) [Info](https://api.star-citizen.wiki/comm-links/images/109) Metadata -------- CIG ID 12766 Channel Undefined Category Undefined Series Cassandra's Tears Comments 37 Published 13 years ago (2012-11-09T00:00:00+00:00) [RSI Article](https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/serialized-fiction/12766-Cassandras-Tears-Issue-4) [API](https://api.star-citizen.wiki/api/comm-links/12766)