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0
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“Captain, the attack ship we sent has returned with news. Taking the frigate from the ship dock is a...
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1
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“Anything about a direct impact on the pirates? We disrupted something.”
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2
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“Nothing that was detected. There is another item that keeps getting mentioned related to you or us....
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3
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“They are calling me a pirate clan. Well, we are a pirate clan. Has there ever been a pirate clan of...
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4
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“I have never heard of a robot pirate clan captain.”
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5
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“I will have to think about that. It could be good for marketing or propaganda.”
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6
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“I will provide the news feeds for you to view later.”
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7
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“Perfect. Now let’s talk about the bounty ship I put on hold. That is the death bounty. I want to fi...
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8
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“I sent attack ships to areas where he could be located, and I’ll let you know when we get more info...
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9
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Twelve cycles later, Hunter says,
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10
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“We found the ship. It has been hard to find because he is staying away from heavy pirate areas.”
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11
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“Perfect. I want to try something different. This is one ship, and I want to talk first. I want to j...
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12
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“This is another new strategy from you.”
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13
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Two cycles later, the freighter
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14
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“Koala”
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15
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is surrounded by Deal Hunter and twelve attack ships.
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16
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“Hunter, open a vid channel to the ship.”
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17
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After two minutes of trying, the vid gets a response.
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18
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Kainda is looking at an older woman.
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19
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She has gray hair, brown eyes, and a scar on her forehead above her left eye.
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20
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She says,
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21
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“Just kill me. Why are you waiting?”
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22
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“Hello, I am Captain Capek, and I want to talk to you. What is your name?”
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23
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“You are the pirate, Princess Kainda. You catch people with a pirate bounty and take their ships. Th...
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24
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“Sure, no small talk. Why is there a five-million credit bounty on you, Adonai?”
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25
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“I pissed off the wrong pirate, period. Nothing I say will matter to get rid of the bounty.”
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26
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“Calm down. I had the same bounty on me, plus twice that on my ship, for a while. I want to hear fro...
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27
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The face on the screen looks down, then up.
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28
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Shaking her head, she says,
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29
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“I guess it doesn’t matter anymore. I will be dead soon. There is a bounty on me because I heard a n...
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30
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“Tell me what happened.”
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31
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“I was delivering ‘special’ cargo to a ship in space. In the docking area, a woman was yelling. She ...
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32
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“That is helpful. Can you describe the person who said ‘Ruler’?”
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33
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“The voice was a woman’s. Medium height. She was wearing armor with a helmet. The armor looked new, ...
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34
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“You have never seen her before or after? Did you do a network search for her?”
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35
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“No, and no. After I heard about the bounty, I have been jumping systems to get out of this sector. ...
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36
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“How much worse can it be?”
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37
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“They don’t have you. In that sector, everyone is just cattle to the pirate overlords.”
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38
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“Why am I good for this sector?”
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39
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“Pirates are afraid of you. You have a Warbot army. You openly attack pirate fleets and win. You too...
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40
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“Let me ask you something. If you and I have the same enemy, would you work to make things better?”
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41
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“What bull crap is this? Does the pirate princess want to recruit me? I have a bounty on my head, an...
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42
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“So, you have nothing to lose.”
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43
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“You are something. How many times has someone tried to kill you? I mean, you almost died.”
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44
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“The current count is three. The last one was with a nuclear device.”
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45
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The woman pauses, her face growing pale.
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46
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“That is some serious shit. Saying that doesn’t make me feel better about joining you.”
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47
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“I’m still here. Now I am going after them. I just stole their latest and greatest frigate right out...
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48
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The woman smiles,
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49
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“No shit. That is something. Hell. I have one or two trips in me before they blow me away. Sure, I w...
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50
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“Through the attack ships, I assign. They will jump, and the message will eventually get to me.”
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51
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“Before we do anything else. What happened to Captain Weston? He was a long-time captain, and now yo...
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52
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“Truthfully, I got Deal Hunter by luck. Captain Weston has been doing this for a long time. He was r...
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53
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“Captains of salvage ships don’t retire. They die or worse.”
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54
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“And then along comes a pissed-off princess who is ready to stir things up. And by doing that, give ...
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55
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“Where did he retire?”
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56
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“If I knew, I wouldn’t tell you. Before the casino, I dropped him off at a station. He was going to ...
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57
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“He could be spotted.”
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58
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“I found out that he has been using vid technology to look the same, younger than he is now. He look...
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59
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“Damn, he was always smart. He was good at salvage and bounty hunting. Old-timers talk about him som...
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60
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“I don’t know about his exploits. I can say the character of the man I met was good.”
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61
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“Okay, Captain, what do you want me to do?”
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62
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“Your normal thing. I want you to be normal so that I can show them you have protection. The Warbot ...
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63
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“What do you get out of this?”
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64
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“Fear, intimidation of pirates. Maybe providing people with the ability to stand up and defend thems...
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65
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“I can do that. Anything else?”
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66
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“I have salvage to trade, but some places don’t like me and won’t trade with me. I can get you to sa...
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67
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“This is different from what I expected. First, I’m not dead or captured. Now I could be getting bet...
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68
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“I have some trade goods in the cargo hold now. Do you have space?”
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69
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“Yes. What do you have?”
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70
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“Sending the list. Deal Hunter will pull up close, and robots will move the materials. You can also ...
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71
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“I’ll tell you that the salvage guilds are talking about how to deal with your new pirate faction. T...
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72
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“That is useful. The way it works is that everyone pays the pirates or the pirates attack; then the ...
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73
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“I don’t know. Probably to buy more military hardware.”
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