<<BEGIN RECORDING>>
VOICE 1: Uhhh… Where am I?
VOICE 2: Bring the lights back up slowly, Esgil.
VOICE 1: Who are you guys?
VOICE 3: I'm popping the restraints.
VOICE 2: Wait a minute-
VOICE 3: He checks out. No indication of biotech implants or abnormal physiology. He's no vatsatz.
VOICE 1: Vat what?
VOICE 3: Vatsatz. Either a BioDerm or an Imperial bioengineered spy. We're not sure which.
VOICE 2: My money's on the Hordes.
VOICE 1: Who are you guys?
VOICE 2: Friends. Trust us.
VOICE 1: Right. You just said you didn't want to let me out of that chair. Why should I trust you?
VOICE 3: Because we're Starwolf too.
VOICE 1: I never heard of you. Where are you from? What system? What pack?
VOICE 3: We can't tell you.
VOICE 2: You wouldn't believe us anyway.
VOICE 3: We are Starwolf, though. Distant kin.
VOICE 2 (mutters): You can say that again.
VOICE 1: I don't buy it. If you're Starwolf, why this symbol? It's not the face of the Great Wolf.
VOICE 2: Listen, the Great Wolf has many faces, OK? This is one of them. Now let's get to your story.
VOICE 3: We want you to tell us about Ymir.
VOICE 1: Why do you want to know about Ymir?
VOICE 2: We're trying to find out as much as we can. Do you mind?
VOICE 1: I still don't know who in Dark you are. Without something more, you aren't getting scat.
VOICE 2: By the Starred Hunter! I can't believe you're dragging things on like this! We told you we're Starwolf! We showed you our tats when we picked you up! We knew the hand codes!
VOICE 1: Sorry, but that's where you screwed up.
VOICE 2: What?
VOICE 1: Yeah, those codes are only used for ceremonial hunting purposes these days. (laugh) Dark, it's like using Latin or English instead of Neolac. You don't have a clue about basic Starwolf combat code.
VOICE 3: We pulled you out of that ship before it was too late.
VOICE 1: Thanks, but maybe you didn't do me that much of a favor.
VOICE 2: What, you'd rather be dead of radiation poisoning? Excuse us for misunderstanding kin ties!
VOICE 3: Shut up, Wrett. I'm going to tell him.
VOICE 2: You can't, Esgil! That's crazy! Tell him and you compromise three hundred years of effort and endanger us all.
VOICE 3: He's kin. That's why we're here, remember? Besides, I'm the ranking officer here.
VOICE 1: What in Dark are you talking about?
VOICE 3: It's easier for me to show you. Come on.
VOICE 2: This is a mistake, Esgil.
VOICE 3: It's my call, Wrett. We need to talk to a survivor. An eyewitness.
VOICE 2: …
VOICE 2: Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you.
VOICE 3: Come on. Liamm, isn't it? This way.
VOICE 1: I've never seen this ship design before.
VOICE 2: What a klickin' surprise.
VOICE 3: (sigh) Hunter's bones, Wrett. Could you be any more of an ass? This is our bridge.
VOICE 1: Interesting design. Looks about as Starwolf as a sandraker's temple.
VOICE 2: Told you he wouldn't believe.
VOICE 3: We haven't told him yet, damn it.
VOICE 1: Told me what?
VOICE 3: We told you we were distant kinfolk, yes?
VOICE 1: And you've gotten a lot wrong for me to believe you, remember?
VOICE 3: This is our home system. One of them, anyway.
VOICE 1: Huh. Never heard of it. B-class binary like that? Doesn't seem like there's much in the way of a life zone, even if you found terrestrial planets there.
VOICE 2: There is no life zone there.
VOICE 3: Here's the population numbers.
VOICE 1: (laugh) You have to be kidding!
VOICE 2: What?
VOICE 1: There isn't a planet in the wilderzone with that kind of population. Where the Dark is this place?
VOICE 3: Here.
VOICE 1: …
VOICE 2: Damn. If that doesn't look like one of Alice's monkey frogs, I'll eat my armor.
VOICE 1 (whispers) That's impossible.
VOICE 3: Very possible. With the right mapping.
VOICE 1: You-you're telling the truth about this?
VOICE 3: You bet.
VOICE 2: You want me to get you a drink… cousin?
VOICE 1: Yeah. A stiff one.
VOICE 3: You OK?
VOICE 1: You mind if I sit down?
VOICE 3: Be my guest. Over here, if you don't mind.
VOICE 2: Here's your drink. Now will you tell us about Ymir?
VOICE 1: Don't you know what happened?
VOICE 3: Just the general details.
VOICE 1: Ah, damn. It wasn't supposed to happen… the way it did.
VOICE 2: Come on, man, pull it together! I thought you nearsiders had stones.
VOICE 3: Ease off, Wrett. He's been through a lot, for Hunter's sake!
VOICE 2: Shh…! VOICE 1: …been mustering for two months. Strikepacks with warriors from over forty systems streamed to Ymir. I'd never seen so many Wolves at once. No one had. Dark, there was even a girl who came from Narhaven out on the Fringe. Can you believe that?
VOICE 2: Narhaven? Where the hell is that? VOICE 3: Near Scipio. Now quiet.
VOICE 1: We had an army that was the greatest single fighting muster the wilderzone had ever seen.
And we had Ursula DiVaragas heading it. By the Great Wolf, how could we lose? There was no way the Blood Eagle could win. No way!
VOICE 2: They smacked you, didn't they?
VOICE 3: Wrett, will you shut the Dark up?
VOICE 2: They were there, weren't they? I heard the Blood Eagle were there.
VOICE 3: Transmitted reports were garbled. We didn't confirm-
VOICE 1: No.
VOICE 3: Excuse me?
VOICE 1: The B-E didn't 'smack' us. We had some Blood Eagle prisoners on Ymir, but that was it.
You want to hear this or not?
VOICE 2: Yeah. Sorry.
VOICE 3: Let's pause this recording for now. Take a break and go below. I think I want a drink in
hand myself for this story.
VOICE 1: Whatever. Hey, are you really from
<<END RECORDING>>[1]
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