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Pike was a refugee from Hurston—stranded in the Pyro system, where I picked him up. We hit it off immediately. Like me, he despised Hurston Dynamics, saw value in shipwrecks, and enjoyed drinking Rust. It was only later that I learned he was a renegade employee of Hurston Security. And it was precisely this past that now caught up with him.

He needed help deleting his data from the Hurston Security database. No easy task. I knew that all too well – I had also had to go to great lengths to remove my own entries.

Pike wanted to meet us at Everus Harbor. “Come inconspicuously,” he had written. Security was already hot on the heels of a former colleague, also on the run. Not a good situation. How close were they to Pike? Were we walking straight into a trap?

Dressed like a dockworker, I walked through the station’s gallery: orange overalls, helmet, ear protection. The noodle bar was in front of me when a Hurston Security guard approached me. Heavy armor, impenetrable visor—but I could feel his gaze on me. A cold shiver ran down my spine. Stay calm, I told myself, keeping my eyes fixed on the noodle bar.

The guard passed me. Then I heard a soft voice behind me.

“Psst. Zero. Hey.”

I froze, turning slowly. The guard looked directly at me and took off his helmet.

It was Pike. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Alaska appeared. I hadn’t seen either of them since the investigation at the Onyx facility. We sat down and they told me how they had been doing. And they told me about a very strange experience with Brubacker at a Banu Wikelo station. There, Brubacker met Smith and an agent from the Advocacy. Smith was the mysterious guy from Brubacker’s past.

After talking to Smith, Brubacker was taciturn, behaved harshly, and didn’t allow any questions. Alaska, Pike, and Brubacker had parted ways during an argument and hadn’t seen each other since. Did the meeting with Smith have anything to do with Brubacker not publishing the results of the investigation at the Onyx facilities?

“That’s not like Bru. The independence of his editorial team was sacred to him. Either they’re putting him under massive pressure—or…” I paused. “He’s on the other side.”

Alaska and Pike looked at me in horror.

“Bru was put into cryosleep 700 years ago and awakened a few years ago. This Smith guy has something to do with it. Bru said that a secret organization is behind it.”

“You don’t do something like that to a normal guy,” said Pike, standing up and pacing back and forth.

“That’s right. I don’t know the background. But maybe Bru was made aware of who he is and where he belongs. He also closed his editorial office. Something has fundamentally changed in him.”

The bewilderment hung over us like a column of smoke. After a few seconds, I spoke again.

“But we’re not here because of Bru’s past, but because of Pike’s.”

“Yes, exactly,” Pike began to explain. “I wanted to meet my former colleague Marrick, who also took off. He wasn’t at the meeting place, just a message: ‘They’re on my tail. I have to go underground with the Peoples.’ No idea what he means by Peoples.”

“Probably the Peoples Alliance in the Nyx system,” said Alaska.

“In any case, he left me a data stick with access codes and the location of a terminal in Lorville. With that, we can delete our entries in the database.”

“If we have access codes, it could be easier than we thought,” I remarked.

“I still have access to the Hurston Security warehouse. We can act like a Trojan horse.”

Shortly thereafter, we were standing in a hangar in Lorville, all wearing Hurston Security armor. It was a strange and alienating feeling.

“How should I behave if we encounter a guard?” Alaska asked.

“Just nod, don’t talk,” Pike replied.

We marched through Lorville without any problems—in staggered formation. One in front, two behind. People avoided us, no one bothered us. Our heavy metallic footsteps had an effect. Finally, we reached the terminal in the Workers’ District. Flanked by Alaska and Pike, I got to work.

I entered the access data and immediately gained access to the databases. It was too easy. An uneasy feeling crept over me. Where did Pike’s buddy get the access data? Were they his? If he was a renegade, why wasn’t access blocked? Was this a trap?

“I need to go to the other terminal back there for a moment. Stay here,” I said and ran down the hallway.

A yellowish light was diffusely reflected by the smoke clouds from the industrial plants. My footsteps echoed dully as I ran past a guard. I nodded to her, and she nodded back. When I reached the terminal, I took a deep breath. I looked for the terminal’s system number and went back to the terminal where Pike and Alaska were standing. There, I activated a program that stored my activities with the other terminal’s system number in the access log. I hoped that the false trail would buy us some time.

Then I searched for entries on Pike and his former colleague. I found what I was looking for in the personnel database and the investigation files. After deleting everything, I noticed a list of names in the investigation files. I had a feeling about it and saved it on my mobiglass.

It was done—Pike’s past had been erased. We disappeared as quietly as we had arrived. It was an operation to my liking. The best way to win a fight is without fighting.

Somewhere in deep space, we drank a Rust on board the White Rabbit and looked at the list of names from the investigation file.

“These are people who have fallen out of favor with Hurston Dynamics,” I analyzed with a queasy feeling. I, too, had once been on a Hurston Security wanted list.

“It doesn’t take much, just one wrong word,” Pike noted.

“They’re being searched for by any means necessary. Video surveillance, facial recognition, even biosignature scanners are being used. These people are trying to leave Lorville. According to the file, they are connected to an unknown group that wants to smuggle them out.”

“Give me the list,” Pike asked. “Maybe I can help.”

We put the Rust cans to our lips and took a big gulp. Alaska absentmindedly twirled a chess piece between his fingers. He couldn’t get the Brubacker thing out of his head.

“The data on me and Marrick is really gone?” Pike asked.

“Yes,” I said. “Do you want to follow him to Nyx?”

“I don’t know my way around there. You used to live there. Would you come with me?”

“I’ll go to Nyx,” I replied. “Freedom there is hanging in the balance. The UEE is grabbing whatever it can get its hands on. But first, I have to sell some valuable goods in Pyro.”

Alaska glanced at me.

“No drugs,” I laughed. “Diamond Laminate.”

I leaned back and looked at the names. Each one a shadow trying to escape Hurston. And yet I had a feeling that this list would not let us go so easily.

But first, I had to go back to Pyro.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)