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I had some disturbing encounters in Stanton, on my way from Pyro to the Stanton system. And it was anything but a routine flight. My cargo hold was full of high-value goods that I could sell very profitably in Stanton. In addition to the legally expensive goods, I had a small selection of different drugs in the extra compartment of the Star Runner. No matter who I met along the way, I was always a worthwhile prey.

I had already overcome the greatest danger from pirates. Thanks to my stealth components, I was able to pass the jump point in Pyro unnoticed. In a few seconds, the wormhole in Stanton would spit me out. The main risk here was running into a security checkpoint.

The end of the tunnel with the white-blue glowing edge was already visible. As if through a periscope, a few asteroids and the pyro jumpgate were dimly visible. Then I passed the edge and materialized in the Stanton system.

The engines roared as I gave full thrust. Suddenly there was a stutter, a cough from the engines and then silence. The White Rabbit was drifting through space without propulsion. I had no idea what had happened. Was it a new type of weapon to disrupt ships? The radar showed no contacts. No threat was visible through the cockpit window either.

It acknowledged my constant pressing of the engine switch with a painful click. No reaction. The engine was dead. And now? Desperate, I dropped into the back of the pilot’s seat and expelled a large amount of air from my lungs. As I breathed in, an acrid, burnt smell hit my nose.

I suddenly jumped up. A small cloud of smoke was billowing out of the fuse box behind the pilot’s seat, reflecting the red light of the indicator lamp. The fuse had blown. Fortunately, I had a replacement with me and was able to repair the fault quickly. I then continued my flight to the planet Hurston.

When I arrived, a dense, brown cloud cover awaited me. Stanton’s star, which was just above the horizon, emitted a warm light into the cockpit. It had been a while since I had last set foot on this filthy planet. I hadn’t missed it. On my last visit, I had only landed briefly on the roof of a high-rise building in the capital Lorville.

The White Rabbit quickly plunged into the sea of clouds and the star’s light immediately dimmed. As soon as I broke through the lower cloud line, the lights of the outpost could be seen in the twilight.

After landing, I unloaded my legal cargo and went to the administration to process the sale. The administrator greeted me warmly.

“I’m glad you’re here and bringing important goods. Not at all a matter of course these days. Did you get through safely?”

“Yes, there were no problems, apart from a blown fuse. Why do you ask?”

“The headhunters are heading for Stanton to do their mischief.”

“Do you mean the headhunters from the Pyro system?”

“Yes, exactly. First the Xenothreat, then the Slicers and now the headhunters. It’s bad for business. Pyro doesn’t do us any good.”

“My cargo is made of Pyro. And somehow Stanton can manage that. The Nine Tails have been here for a long time. There’s no point in another faction.”

“Well. Looks like the security forces want to establish regular patrols. Still, the timing is really bad. An increasing number of battles, now of all times, during the rain crisis.”

“What rain crisis?”

“Yes, haven’t you read the New United? The regeneration technology is no longer working reliably. A lot of people have died, for good. It’s a tragedy.”

I remembered that Xine had told me about it. Still, the administrator’s reaction startled me. It was typical of someone from privileged society. He was bemoaning the failure of a technology that wasn’t available to everyone. Not everyone could afford or had access to an imprint. And the fact that he had no connection to ordinary people or the free peoples was also shown by his statements about the headhunters. It bothered him that they were bad for business. But he didn’t mention that they could be problematic for people, except for those who could afford an imprint.

It was a strangely oppressive feeling to be back in Stanton. All the structure and order that existed here had a chilling effect on me. Not that I preferred the garbage on the space stations in Pyro, but the imposed structure in Stanton made people unfree. It forced people into a predetermined grid. There was little room for real freedom. For freedom like the free peoples had.

I said goodbye to the administrator and made my way to Grim Hex, the pirate station in the asteroid belt of the moon Yela. The oasis in Stanton where you could be free from the constraints of the UEE and the megacorporations. I wanted to sell the drugs there.

When I reached the asteroid belt, the first thing I noticed was the many contacts on the radar around the station. Something was going on there. The White Rabbit glided quickly between the asteroids. The station was getting closer and closer. The first thing I saw was a Polaris, a military capital ship, right next to the station, then several fighters.

Without slowing down, I thundered towards the space station. Speed was the Star Runner’s strength. No matter what was going on around the station, I wanted to play to this strength. As I passed the asteroid, I was assigned a hangar. I carefully moved the steering wheel. The maneuvering jets fired in accordance with my inputs. The White Rabbit turned 180 degrees and flew backwards. Then the hangar doors came into my field of vision. A deafening noise suddenly roared through the spaceship. The main engines were fighting with all their might against the reverse flight. The Star Runner’s speed fell rapidly, reached zero and then rose again in forward flight. It shot through the open hangar door like an arrow and touched down in the hangar, screeching and spewing sparks. Exhausted, I fell back into the pilot’s seat and wiped the sweat from my brow.

After loading the drugs into the station’s cargo elevator, I rode the elevator to the lobby. The elevator door opened, I took three steps into the lobby, paused for a second and then took two steps backwards again. I stared in horror at the scene in front of me.

The floor in front of the terminals was littered with corpses. But they weren’t the usual alcoholic corpses in Grim Hex. The dead were all wearing armor and carrying weapons. They were well equipped. I cautiously took a few steps towards the bodies lying on the ground. My heart was beating so loudly that it could probably be heard halfway across the station.

Suddenly, loud footsteps thudded through the corridor and a guy came running around the corner, almost knocking me over. He was wearing a helmet with a red crest and a skull and crossbones on his face. Equipment I recognized from Pyro from the headhunters. As quickly as he had arrived, he disappeared into an elevator to the hangars.

With trembling hands, I rode down to the lower level. The elevator door opened with a screech. I was standing in front of the old38 bar. It was dead quiet. There were no bouncers to be seen and no customers. There were just bodies lying all over the floor. Hoping to meet someone from TYR, I went into the bar. But the bar was empty. Suddenly, a powerful explosion shook the station. A shiver ran down my spine. What should I do? Hide? Disappear?

Just a minute later, the engines roared at full power and catapulted the White Rabbit out of the hangar like a projectile. Grim Hex quickly became smaller behind me. When I was a safe distance away, I posted a message on the CommRelay to inform others of what I had observed on Grim Hex.

There was a massacre on Grim Hex. Bodies were lying all over the station. But they weren’t the usual alcoholic corpses. This time it was well-equipped people. It is unclear whether there is a connection with the headhunters who, according to the newspaper ‘New United’, are heading for Stanton. However, one person was seen in the station wearing armor typical of the headhunters. And this person was alive.

It only took a few minutes for the first answers to appear on Intercomm. I stared at the screen in disbelief. I hadn’t expected this reaction. Aggressive comments flickered in front of me, words that contained a lot of violence and threats of violence. It was unbelievable, a harsh wind blew against me just because I had reported on an event.

The commentators were not able or willing to accept a neutral observation as such. They put an interpretation into my words. They interpreted and evaluated only from their perspective and refused to accept a neutral point of view. They didn’t even want to accept neutrality.

Disappointed, I fell back into the backrest. The comments came mainly from people I knew from Grim Hex, people who called themselves Grim Necks. My attempts to make it clear that this was a non-judgmental observation were unsuccessful. They were not interested in neutral facts. In principle, they were no different from the UEE and the megacorporations. They were just pursuing their own agenda. The UEE was after power, the mega-corporations were after profit and these guys were after violence. They were not interested in the ordinary people who wanted to live in freedom.

I was reminded of the article I read in Flatcat magazine. In it, a philosopher criticized the structural ignorance of the megacorporations towards the defenseless population group called squatters. People who lived in abandoned compounds, like Weeping Cove on Hurston. The squatters were often victims of poverty, displacement or deliberate dropouts. On Grim Hex, too, the Squatters had once lived in freedom until the Nine Tails had taken over the station. And what did the Grim Necks do? Instead of standing up for these people, all they did was pick fights.

It was time to take a new path. But I didn’t want to remain silent.

NEVER SILENT

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)