Of Cages and Misery

[Cat]

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Welcome to Boulogne Terminal D6, Neural Net v.4.86
Sending a private message to: Aurora Moreau

Hello, Kiara. It's Kyle Cross, that Sirian you met some time ago.
You asked me to contact you, but I couldn't make it sooner due to circumstances.
I'm now on some base called Boulogne, sending a transmission from a public terminal on Deck 6.
I'm kind of stuck here without a ship, and I could use some help. You know that place?

...

Hello, Mister Cross. I'm sorry, but I can't help you.
I would have to ask my husband, who is currently indisposed.
I would rather not meet you on my own, I hope you understand. Good luck.

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Your husband never intended to follow through with that plan of going to Tau-29.
When I was leaving the ship, he knocked me out, and the next thing I remember is waking up in a prison cell here.
Now I got freed for some reason, and I really have nobody else to go to, as my ship is still on Monte Carlo.
Please, Kiara, I need your help now.

...

Do you really think more jealous lies are going to do you any good?
Stop bothering my husband and me. I am not Kiara and I will not help you.
...

Communication link terminated

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Kyle cursed when he saw the reply, but he couldn't do anything. Apparently he was going to have to find some other way to get through to Kiara... or get off the station. There wasn't any time to waste, because he didn't have any money and barely any Cardamine. He shook his head for a moment, as if hoping to clear his mind of these pressing matters and to make way for ideas on how he could do that. At least he now knew whom to ask around for... Remy and Aurora Moreau. And now that he didn't have to talk to Kiara, he could actually use his fake identity of "Brian Scott" again, if only to make sure that Remy wouldn't hear of it.

It turned out that tracking down anyone named Moreau wasn't too hard. Kyle just had to show up by some bar (the bouncer didn't let him in due to his looks and smell), wait for whatever person who'd be willing to talk to a hobo, then learn that the Moreaus were basically running Boulogne. Some more asking also proved the rumour that Kyle had heard in the cell: Remy Moreau had been missing for a while. Combined with Kiara's mention of her husband being indisposed, Kyle's release from the cell earlier today made at least some sense now.

A couple more hours of asking around the station got Kyle the location of the room where Remy and his wife were apparently living. Certain that he wouldn't meet the 'husband' this time, the man decided to pay Kiara a visit. He was running out of options anyway: he hadn't eaten that whole day, and there was only so much Cardamine left. Like it or not, Kiara Garlow was Kyle's last hope.