Cassandra's Tears: Issue #5 - [Comm-Links](https://api.star-citizen.wiki/comm-links) - Cassandra's Tears: Issue #5 Cassandra's Tears: Issue #5 =========================== Undefined Undefined Cassandra's Tears [Previous](https://api.star-citizen.wiki/comm-links/12785) [Next](https://api.star-citizen.wiki/comm-links/12787) Content ------- English UEES Gemini Centauri System Penny hadn’t moved in seventeen minutes. Admiral Showalter sent for her while she was heading for the after-action debriefing. That she was expecting. What she didn’t expect was the silence. Grandpa didn’t say a word when she came in. Didn’t say a word when she saluted. Seventeen long minutes, he just glared. She could hear the cooling ventilators kick on. She could hear the muffled voices of crew passing outside the door. All of it was deafening in this silence. Five more minutes passed… “Sir, I-” He silenced her with a quick motion of his hand. She stopped. Showalter lowered his hand and resumed his glare. Penny had been in this situation before. The silence was a new trick but she was okay taking some heat. What she couldn’t take was this gnawing fear churning in her heart, the fear that something bad had happened to Cal. Two systems away. In the landing bay of the Vanduul Clan flagship, a plasma rifle prodded Cal Mason out of his hiding spot toward the two humanoids and the Vanduul Commander. Sixteen more guns were trained on him. “What the hell is this?” One of the humanoids said through a heavily modulated speakerbox. “Hi.” Cal said. He kept his eyes locked on the Vanduul Commander. Apparently, the Vanduul liked directness, so he was going to give it a shot and not flinch. In his head though, he was scrambling for ideas. The Vanduul Commander drew his knife as he stepped up to Cal. He placed the keen edge against the oxygen tube as he leaned down and muttered something in his face. A mixture of growls and hisses, Vanduul always sounded like a dirty engine starting up to Cal. “He wants to know if you’re alone.” The first humanoid translated, “I would answer him.” “Yes, I’m alone.” The blade twisted against the oxygen tube. Another string of growls and hisses. “He thinks you’re either stupid or insane.” “Tell him I’ve been called both.” Cal shrugged. He was just going to wait it out, see if an opportunity presented itself. The Vanduul glanced back at the humanoid who translated. The Commander apparently didn’t find it funny. He snatched Cal by the throat and started to squeeze. The humanoid stepped forward, speaking in rapid Vanduul. The other Vanduul soldiers aimed their weapons. The Constellation’s turret scanned back and forth, the gunner’s obviously terrified of the rapidly disintegrating situation. Cal struggled to breath against the vice-like grip of the Vanduul Commander. All the shouting started to swirl together. Cal’s vision started to swim. A few more seconds, one last struggle, and he dipped into darkness…. …..running through the fields after school…. ….the moons of Davien II overhead….. …..his parents house in flames…. Cal came to. It took him a moment to realize the significance of that. He was positioned facing a wall. He wasn’t wearing his suit. His head was pounding. He couldn’t move his hands. Felt like they were cuffed. Cal took another second or two to collect himself before rolling over. He was in the Constellation. They were just lifting off the Vanduul flight bay. The humanoid who spoke Vanduul was standing about five feet away, still head-to-toe in their suit. “So…” the speakerbox squawked, “how about you tell me what you were doing sneaking around a Vanduul Clanship?” Cal struggled to sit up, testing the cuffs along the way. He glanced around the hold. A man climbed up from the cargo hold and whispered to the one in the suit, who nodded. Cal only managed to catch one word: Cassandra. “How about that answer?” it said. “Sure but let me turn it around. Make it more interesting.” Cal settled back, “You hired the Vanduul to hit that system.” The humanoid waited quietly. “What I’m trying to figure out is why you didn’t do it yourself? It has to be much easier for a ship this size to get in and out of a system.” The figure reached up and unfastened the breathing apparatus. “So why keep me alive?” Cal continued, “I mean, I assume you stopped that Vanduul from killing me.” The humanoid unbuckled the rest of the suit. The speakerbox buzzed as it disconnected. They reached up and pulled off their facemask… It was a woman. Human. Short, cropped hair so black it was blue. Skin as golden as a sunset. Sharp, intelligent green eyes. “You’re our hostage.” She dropped a devastating grin. “I hope you don’t mind.” For a second, Cal really didn’t. Back on the Gemini’s flight deck, a miracle was happening. Pilots, prep-crews and mechanics all stared in awe and disbelief. Everyone was focused on one thing: Admiral Showalter climbing into a fighter. Navigating into the pilot’s seat reminded him how many pounds he’d put on since the last time he wore a flight suit. He could see his XO Marden and the rest of the bridge-crew applauding as he blasted out of the launch bay. Showalter set a course for the jump-point. As much as he hated this, he wasn’t going to send someone else to prove or disprove his hunch. When he arrived, he didn’t see anything. Scans told him the same: the system was empty. Something clattered off his wing. Showalter looked up from his scanners. He was flying through some debris. It took him a second to recognize it. It was Cal’s ship. “Dammit, Cal.” Cal Mason finally went and got himself killed. . . . TO BE CONTINUED UEES Zwillinge Centauri System Penny hatte sich seit siebzehn Minuten nicht mehr bewegt. Admiral Showalter schickte nach ihr, während sie auf dem Weg zur Nachbesprechung nach der Aktion war. Das hat sie erwartet. Was sie nicht erwartete, war die Stille. Opa sagte kein Wort, als sie reinkam. Sie sagte kein Wort, als sie salutierte. Siebzehn lange Minuten, er starrte nur an. Sie konnte hören, wie die Kühlventilatoren auftraten. Sie konnte die gedämpften Stimmen der Besatzung hören, die vor der Tür vorbeikamen. Alles war ohrenbetäubend in dieser Stille. Fünf weitere Minuten vergingen..... "Sir, ich..." Er brachte sie mit einer schnellen Handbewegung zum Schweigen. Sie blieb stehen. Showalter senkte seine Hand und setzte seinen Blick fort. Penny war schon einmal in dieser Situation gewesen. Die Stille war ein neuer Trick, aber sie war in Ordnung, etwas Hitze zu vertragen. Was sie nicht ertragen konnte, war diese nagende Angst, die in ihrem Herzen wütete, die Angst, dass Cal etwas Schlimmes passiert war. Zwei Systeme entfernt. In der Landebucht des Vanduul-Clan-Flaggschiffs stieß ein Plasmagewehr Cal Mason aus seinem Versteck zu den beiden Humanoiden und dem Vanduul-Commander. Sechzehn weitere Waffen wurden auf ihn gerichtet. "Was zum Teufel ist das?" Eines der Humanoide sagte durch eine stark modulierte Lautsprecherbox. " Hi." Sagte Cal. Er hielt die Augen auf den Vanduul Commander gerichtet. Anscheinend mochte der Vanduul die Direktheit, also wollte er es versuchen und nicht zucken. In seinem Kopf jedoch kämpfte er nach Ideen. Der Vanduul-Kommandant zog sein Messer, als er zu Cal aufbrach. Er legte die scharfe Kante gegen den Sauerstoffschlauch, als er sich nach unten lehnte und ihm etwas ins Gesicht murmelte. Eine Mischung aus Knurren und Zischen, Vanduul klang immer wie ein schmutziger Motor, der nach Cal startete. "Er will wissen, ob du allein bist." Der erste Humanoide übersetzte: "Ich würde ihm antworten." "Ja, ich bin allein." Die Klinge verdrehte sich gegen den Sauerstoffschlauch. Eine weitere Reihe von Knurren und Zischen. "Er denkt, dass du entweder dumm oder verrückt bist." "Sag ihm, dass ich beides genannt wurde." Cal zuckte mit den Schultern. Er wollte nur abwarten, um zu sehen, ob sich eine Gelegenheit bietet. Der Vanduul blickte zurück auf den Humanoiden, der übersetzte. Der Kommandant fand es anscheinend nicht lustig. Er schnappte Cal an der Kehle und fing an zu drücken. Der Humanoide trat vor und sprach im schnellen Vanduul. Die anderen Vanduul-Soldaten richteten ihre Waffen. Der Turm der Konstellation wurde hin und her gescannt, der Schütze hat offensichtlich Angst vor der sich schnell auflösenden Situation. Cal kämpfte mit dem Atem gegen den vizeartigen Griff des Vanduul Commander. Das ganze Geschrei fing an, zusammen zu wirbeln. Cal's Vision begann zu schwimmen. Noch ein paar Sekunden, ein letzter Kampf, und er tauchte in die Dunkelheit ein........ .........nach der Schule durch die Felder laufen....... .....die Monde von Davien II. über uns........... ......das Haus seiner Eltern in Flammen....... Cal kam zu sich. Es dauerte einen Moment, bis er die Bedeutung dessen erkannt hatte. Er stand vor einer Wand. Er trug nicht seinen Anzug. Sein Kopf hämmerte. Er konnte seine Hände nicht bewegen. Es fühlte sich an, als wären sie gefesselt. Cal brauchte noch ein oder zwei Sekunden, um sich zu sammeln, bevor er sich umdrehte. Er war im Sternbild. Sie heben gerade von der Vanduul-Flugbucht ab. Der Mensch, der Vanduul sprach, stand etwa einen Meter entfernt, immer noch von Kopf bis Fuß in seinem Anzug. "Also..." kreischte der Lautsprecher, "wie wäre es, wenn du mir sagst, was du getan hast, als du dich um eine Vanduul Clanship geschlichen hast?" Cal hatte Mühe, sich aufzurichten und die Manschetten unterwegs zu testen. Er blickte um den Laderaum herum. Ein Mann stieg aus dem Laderaum auf und flüsterte zu dem im Anzug, der nickte. Cal hat es nur geschafft, ein Wort zu verstehen: Kassandra. "Was ist mit der Antwort?", stand da. "Sicher, aber lass es mich umdrehen. Mach es interessanter." Cal beruhigte sich: "Du hast die Vanduul angeheuert, um das System zu treffen." Der Humanoide wartete leise. "Was ich versuche herauszufinden, ist, warum du es nicht selbst getan hast? Es muss für ein Schiff dieser Größe viel einfacher sein, in ein System ein- und auszusteigen." Die Figur griff nach oben und löste das Atemschutzgerät. "Also warum mich am Leben lassen?" Cal fuhr fort: "Ich meine, ich nehme an, du hast Vanduul davon abgehalten, mich zu töten." Der Humanoide schnallte den Rest des Anzugs ab. Die Lautsprecherbox brummte, als sie abgeklemmt wurde. Sie griffen nach oben und zogen ihre Gesichtsmaske ab..... Es war eine Frau. Menschlich. Kurzes, kupiertes Haar, so schwarz, dass es blau war. Haut so golden wie ein Sonnenuntergang. Scharfe, intelligente, grüne Augen. "Du bist unsere Geisel." Sie ließ ein verheerendes Grinsen fallen. "Ich hoffe, es macht dir nichts aus." Für eine Sekunde tat Cal es wirklich nicht. Zurück auf dem Flugdeck der Gemini geschah ein Wunder. Piloten, Vorbereitungsteams und Mechaniker starrten alle in Ehrfurcht und Unglauben. Alle waren auf eine Sache konzentriert: Admiral Showalter kletterte in einen Kämpfer. Die Navigation auf dem Pilotenplatz erinnerte ihn daran, wie viel Pfund er seit dem letzten Tragen eines Fluganzuges zugenommen hatte. Er konnte sehen, wie sein XO Marden und der Rest der Brückencrew applaudierten, als er aus der Startrampe sprang. Der Showalter setzte einen Kurs auf den Sprungpunkt. So sehr er das auch hasste, er wollte nicht jemand anderen schicken, um seine Vermutung zu beweisen oder zu widerlegen. Als er ankam, sah er nichts. Die Scans sagten ihm dasselbe: Das System war leer. Etwas rasselte von seinem Flügel. Showalter sah von seinen Scannern auf. Er flog durch einige Trümmer. Es dauerte eine Sekunde, bis er es erkannte. Es war Cal's Schiff. " Verdammt, Cal." Cal Mason ging schließlich hin und ließ sich umbringen. . . . WIRD FORTGESETZT UEES Gemini Centauri System Penny hadn’t moved in seventeen minutes. Admiral Showalter sent for her while she was heading for the after-action debriefing. That she was expecting. What she didn’t expect was the silence. Grandpa didn’t say a word when she came in. Didn’t say a word when she saluted. Seventeen long minutes, he just glared. She could hear the cooling ventilators kick on. She could hear the muffled voices of crew passing outside the door. All of it was deafening in this silence. Five more minutes passed… “Sir, I-” He silenced her with a quick motion of his hand. She stopped. Showalter lowered his hand and resumed his glare. Penny had been in this situation before. The silence was a new trick but she was okay taking some heat. What she couldn’t take was this gnawing fear churning in her heart, the fear that something bad had happened to Cal. Two systems away. In the landing bay of the Vanduul Clan flagship, a plasma rifle prodded Cal Mason out of his hiding spot toward the two humanoids and the Vanduul Commander. Sixteen more guns were trained on him. “What the hell is this?” One of the humanoids said through a heavily modulated speakerbox. “Hi.” Cal said. He kept his eyes locked on the Vanduul Commander. Apparently, the Vanduul liked directness, so he was going to give it a shot and not flinch. In his head though, he was scrambling for ideas. The Vanduul Commander drew his knife as he stepped up to Cal. He placed the keen edge against the oxygen tube as he leaned down and muttered something in his face. A mixture of growls and hisses, Vanduul always sounded like a dirty engine starting up to Cal. “He wants to know if you’re alone.” The first humanoid translated, “I would answer him.” “Yes, I’m alone.” The blade twisted against the oxygen tube. Another string of growls and hisses. “He thinks you’re either stupid or insane.” “Tell him I’ve been called both.” Cal shrugged. He was just going to wait it out, see if an opportunity presented itself. The Vanduul glanced back at the humanoid who translated. The Commander apparently didn’t find it funny. He snatched Cal by the throat and started to squeeze. The humanoid stepped forward, speaking in rapid Vanduul. The other Vanduul soldiers aimed their weapons. The Constellation’s turret scanned back and forth, the gunner’s obviously terrified of the rapidly disintegrating situation. Cal struggled to breath against the vice-like grip of the Vanduul Commander. All the shouting started to swirl together. Cal’s vision started to swim. A few more seconds, one last struggle, and he dipped into darkness…. …..running through the fields after school…. ….the moons of Davien II overhead….. …..his parents house in flames…. Cal came to. It took him a moment to realize the significance of that. He was positioned facing a wall. He wasn’t wearing his suit. His head was pounding. He couldn’t move his hands. Felt like they were cuffed. Cal took another second or two to collect himself before rolling over. He was in the Constellation. They were just lifting off the Vanduul flight bay. The humanoid who spoke Vanduul was standing about five feet away, still head-to-toe in their suit. “So…” the speakerbox squawked, “how about you tell me what you were doing sneaking around a Vanduul Clanship?” Cal struggled to sit up, testing the cuffs along the way. He glanced around the hold. A man climbed up from the cargo hold and whispered to the one in the suit, who nodded. Cal only managed to catch one word: Cassandra. “How about that answer?” it said. “Sure but let me turn it around. Make it more interesting.” Cal settled back, “You hired the Vanduul to hit that system.” The humanoid waited quietly. “What I’m trying to figure out is why you didn’t do it yourself? It has to be much easier for a ship this size to get in and out of a system.” The figure reached up and unfastened the breathing apparatus. “So why keep me alive?” Cal continued, “I mean, I assume you stopped that Vanduul from killing me.” The humanoid unbuckled the rest of the suit. The speakerbox buzzed as it disconnected. They reached up and pulled off their facemask… It was a woman. Human. Short, cropped hair so black it was blue. Skin as golden as a sunset. Sharp, intelligent green eyes. “You’re our hostage.” She dropped a devastating grin. “I hope you don’t mind.” For a second, Cal really didn’t. Back on the Gemini’s flight deck, a miracle was happening. Pilots, prep-crews and mechanics all stared in awe and disbelief. Everyone was focused on one thing: Admiral Showalter climbing into a fighter. Navigating into the pilot’s seat reminded him how many pounds he’d put on since the last time he wore a flight suit. He could see his XO Marden and the rest of the bridge-crew applauding as he blasted out of the launch bay. Showalter set a course for the jump-point. As much as he hated this, he wasn’t going to send someone else to prove or disprove his hunch. When he arrived, he didn’t see anything. Scans told him the same: the system was empty. Something clattered off his wing. Showalter looked up from his scanners. He was flying through some debris. It took him a second to recognize it. It was Cal’s ship. “Dammit, Cal.” Cal Mason finally went and got himself killed. . . . 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 12786 Channel Undefined Category Undefined Series Cassandra's Tears Comments 38 Published 13 years ago (2012-11-16T00:00:00+00:00) [RSI Article](https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/serialized-fiction/12786-Cassandras-Tears-Issue-5) [API](https://api.star-citizen.wiki/api/comm-links/12786)