Liberty Security Force Headquarters
Planet Manhattan,
New York System, Liberty Space.
<Begin recording>
*A digitally altered voice* Talk?
(Yes.)
Talk? That's it? That's all you want me to do?
(Yes, that's all.)
Well, ok...I...I really don't know what you guys want. I don't know anything! I don't! Th-they're dangerous men..they can get inside your head, man. The crazy **** those guys represent...god, it'll keep you up all night. And not just the needles. They don't even need to touch you.
(We understand you have some unusual claims to make. Can you talk to us about Cryer Pharmaceuticals?)
Ok, ok. I'll t-tell you what you want to know. Yes, know. A-as far as I know...b-but who knows, right? I mean, besides the spiders. Cryer!...they got a good reason why that Sig-17 station is so far off the trade lanes. (Whispers) They don't want you looking around, you know? There's things going on over there.
(Things?)
Yeah, things. Bad, dark things. Crimes against humanity, man!
(Sir, under Liberty law, Cryer Pharmaceuticals is required to request cons-)
No, no. I don't give a damn about the consent forms. You'll do anything to get outta Sugarland. Some of the fellas there've been around too long, get what I mean? Ever see those sticks they're caught with? They're not very nice sticks. Specially when you're so prett-
(Sir, you're just jumping around. Perhaps we can discuss this chronologically. You mentioned Sugarland?)
Yeah, spent a season or two in there. The cops'll lock you up for littering. Look, I'm all for private enterprise, apple pie paste and the Liberty way, but some things....just gotta leave them to the gov, you know?
(What did you do?)
Ah...well I flew the...ah....special goods to Rochester...Junker life ain't pretty but its' great. Grew up that way, taught the kids around there to fly...I remember teachin' uh, Aria, a few afterburner tricks...nice girl, maybe two years younger than me. Think her momma got killed in some goods run... The boys and I rewired her crate one time, got a good laugh outta hacking the atmospheric pressure gauges and hearing her scream for once! Hahahaha! Just gotta make sure Dock 1's all the way shut n' repressurized for reals, though. I remember a few idiots too eager to get decent gravity steppin' outta their boats without checking with Control. Ha ha ha! Sure weren't pretty after that!
(Please stay on the subject, sir.)
Right, right. Sugarland.
The cops left us alone most of the time but they'd make raids for PR once in a while, ya know? Yeah. Stopped me at a checkpoint near Los Angeles in some rich kid's ship. We had to get our good ship parts somewhere! Most folks take our junker name pretty literally in business. You wouldn't believe the yuppie crap we sift through. Course, it had to have cardamine aboard, too! Next thing you know, it's Sugarland in orbit over Poseidon's testicle. Well, way too many months in that hellhole later, some guard I'd never seen before made a bunch of us sign somethin' and shoved us into a Cryer boat with blacked-out windows. Took us a good two weeks to get wherever we were goin...a-a-and we thought we were lucky. Them datapads can say whatever they want. Boooy were we wrong!
(Atka station?)
Didn't know at first. They wouldn't tell us. Hell, we couldn't even talk to each other. But I got that hint seein' the debris outside against the suns...looked just like the pictures of Freeport 7 in the news years ago...remember that?
(Can you describe what happened at Atka Station, please?)
God, I don't even remember half of it. I-I don't even want to. *trembles* They're listening in on us right now, you know. Your head, skin, eyes...the walls. Every, every needle was different. But they all did bad things. As you sat in the chair, they did bad things. Especially the spiders.
(Spiders?)
Yeah man.
(Please explain)
They're watching us right now, you know. The spiders know all. I hate 'em!
(Where are they?)
Man, the spiders and I, we're one and the same. I've got to do what it takes or they'll win!
Oh God. No, not again. GO AWAY!
(Sir?)
She's back, the girl!
(Aria is back?)
No! The girl! Sh-sh-she's always here, sh-she's always watching us....I think she's working for the spiders, man. And they're all working for Cryer!
(The girl?)
Crazy, man. She's just staring. She's all there. All but the eyes. Oh- oh God. She's got- no..no God. No. No. I want to get out of here now now now now now now now now nownownownownow!
(The sound of scuffling, a chair sliding and papers falling.)
(Shouts) I PROMISED! IT'S JUST NOT TIME YET!
(Sir, please sit- Sir, don't.....Get me security right now!)