Origins

They are a pair of rats among the Tunnel Rats, scraping a living in the tunnels and the Sewers beneath the city. This underground network brokers the hidden trade between the boroughs, and most in the business respect the work the Rats do; but every so often some gang tries to use the tunnels to settle a private vendetta, and then it falls to this pair to step in and remind their guests what becomes of those who run wild on the Rats’ turf. Krill makes no secret of his trade, and even speaks of it with something of a gentleman’s ease: duty calls, and by duty, he means crime.

“Alas, duty calls. And by duty: I mean crime.”

“唉，职责在召唤。所谓职责，我指的是犯罪。”TL

Mostly they deal in things: antiquities, information, and connections of every kind. When someone asks them to track a person down, Krill courteously reminds them that traditionally they deal with objects more than people.

Among their clients was a man like Mendoza; when Ivy rode him out of town on a rail, all Krill would say of it was that he was a good client. Paradox, for her part, once received blueprints they sent her, and mentioned in passing a mummified Ixian skull, which is probably in Prague by now.

“He was a good client”

“他是个不错的客户”

The trade has its pride, too. When Yamato told them they would work for her, Krill answered that their alliance was temporary: he and Maurice value their independence. Rat King once reached out to them, wanting them to accept him as their king; they did not take him up on it, and when Rat King later brought them down, he was still lamenting the chance they had passed up.

“Our alliance is temporary, I'm afraid…Maurice and I value our independence.”

“恐怕我们的联盟只是暂时的…我和莫瑞斯珍视我们的独立。”

“You should have accepted me as your king, boys”

“你们当初就该接受我做你们的王，小子们。”TL

This freedom, though, is not a comfortable one. The Doorman once put it to him to his face: why would a man with his intellect live in a sewer as a common criminal? Krill answered that he enjoys being self-employed; when the Doorman went on to mention that duvet covered in black mold, he said only that if life were perfect, it would be boring. Before Vindicta, he took another tone: no one chooses to live in the sewers if there is a better option available.

“I enjoy being self- employed”

“我喜欢自己当老板。”TL

Mo is not his servant. When Apollo asked whether the mole was his servant, Krill answered at once: of course not, they are equals; Mo simply isn’t interested in talking to Apollo.

Krill fancies himself a man of culture. He is writing a memoir, thirty-one chapters in so far, and holds that if he died before he got to tell the world of their adventures, it would be a far greater crime than any they have committed. Sizing up Venator’s crossbow, he asked whether it was from the mid-1200s, and earned the reply: “You have an eye for antiquities.” He also confessed to Kelvin that he had moved quite a few of the pieces the explorer brought back from Ixia, then added: certainly not the ones that are still in the MET. “Yet.”

“Not bad. Work is interesting and violent, I'm 31 chapters into my memoir, momo's trying his paws at pottery.”

“还不错。工作既有趣又充满挑战，我的回忆录已经写了31章，莫莫正在尝试做陶艺”

“My friend, if I died before I got to tell the world of our adventures it would be a far greater crime than any we've committed,”

“我的朋友，如果我在向全世界讲述我们的冒险经历之前就倒下了那将是比我们犯下的任何罪行都要严重得多”

“You have an eye for antiquities.”

“你对古物很有眼光。”TL

“I actually moved quite a few pieces from your ixian expedition.”

“实际上，我从你的伊克斯亚探险里搬了不少碎片”

Not everyone is buying it. Bringing them down, Apollo said that Krill pretends to be a man of culture but is just a crook. Krill gave as good as he got, mocking the young man’s arrogance and calling Blackmore Academy the breeding ground for Manhattan’s finest narcissists. For his own hustling Krill has a ready account: when Ivy asked why he helps horrible people, he said it was because horrible people tend to have the most money; pressed on whether money was all that mattered, he offered only this: parquet floors don’t just arrive in your hovel.

“Krill, you pretend to be a man of culture but you're just a crook.”

“克瑞尔，你假装自己是个有文化的人，其实你就是个骗子”

“Because horrible people tend to have the most money.”

“因为品行恶劣的人往往最有钱。、”

Old Friends and Foes

Maurice: The Half That Goes Unspoken

Mo does the digging, Krill says, and he does the talking; they tried it the other way, and it didn’t work. He will even correct himself mid-sentence: once we get our hands on ’em — and by we he means Maurice — they’re done for.

“Once we get our hands on 'em, and by we I mean Maurice, they're done for.”

“一旦我们抓住他们——我指的是莫瑞斯——他们就完蛋了”

Yet there is real feeling in this deference. In a tight spot he will ask, “You ok, Momo?”; he says it is a pleasure watching Maurice work; and he admits that holding on tight while Mo burrows always weirds him out.

“Maurice, it is a pleasure watching you work.”

“莫瑞斯，看你工作真是一种享受”

Some make a point of working at this seam. The Doorman has urged each of them, separately, to go his own way: to Mo he called Krill dead weight; to Krill he said that his blind loyalty had cost his brilliance opportunity after opportunity, and told him to cast Mo aside. Krill’s answer afterwards was a single line: don’t listen to him, Momo, I would never betray you. When Seven brought them down, he too told Mo that Krill was holding him back.

“Krill... your brilliance shines in the dark, but it would be radiant in the sun. Why do you lower yourself to Maurice's standards? Your blind loyalty to him has cost you opportunity after opportunity. Cast him aside. Accept who you are.”

“克里尔……你的才华在黑暗中闪耀，但在阳光下会更加耀眼。你何必迁就莫里斯的标准？你对他的盲目忠诚已让你错失一次又一次的机会。把他抛开，接受真正的自己吧。”TL

“Don't listen to him, Momo… I would never betray you.”

“别听他的，莫莫…我永远不会背叛你”

“I told you, Maurice: Krill is holding you back.”

“我早就跟你说过，莫瑞斯，克瑞尔拖了你的后腿”

Pocket: The Kid They Call Family

Pocket is family they have chosen. With the ritual ahead, Pocket said it wasn’t safe; Krill answered that he knew, and that was why they were facing it as a family. When Pocket told them he loved them, they answered that they loved him too.

On the battlefield the words differ: Krill once told him, “Sorry, kid”; when Pocket brought them down, what he said was, “I thought we were friends.”

“I thought we were friends.”

“我以为我们是朋友”

Wraith: A Friend at the Card Table

Wraith holds their markers. When she brought them in, she said that of all the people she could call markers on, she chose them; Krill joked that it was forced conscription, then said in all seriousness that friends come rarely in their line of work, and that it is an honor to be counted amongst hers. They have also mentioned that they owe Wraith money.

“Hey, of all the people I could call markers on I chose you, and that should count for something.”

“嘿，我本来可以把矛头指向所有人，但我偏偏选中了你，这应该算是一件好事吧”

“I'm serious. Friends come rarely in our line of work. And it's an honor to be counted amongst yours.”

“我是认真的。朋友很少出现在我们的工作岗位上。能被算作你们当中是一种荣幸”

Later, bringing them down, she said that when this is all over she will buy them a drink and say she’s sorry.

Vyper: The One Who Stabbed Mo

Vyper once wanted to make their duo a trio, pitching Krill as the brains, Mo as the muscle, and herself as… “The degenerate?” Krill cut in, and she owned it. She also said she was hardly the first person to stab Mo; and when she later asked Krill to help her move some stuff, he answered only that the last time they did business, it didn’t exactly work out well for them.

“Oh like I'm the first person that stabbed Mo.”

“哦，好像我是第一个捅莫的人似的。”TL

“Last time we did business it didn't exactly work out well for us.”

“上回咱们合作，我们可没落着什么好。”TL

Bringing them down, she said she loved them, just not enough to let them win.

“Love you guys, but not enough to let ya win.”

“爱你们，但还不足以让我放水”

Lash: The High Point of Any Day

Krill’s loathing for Lash is plain to see, and beating him is always the high point of any day. Yet he has to admit that the man’s stomp makes its case: fair? No. Effective? Without question.

“Beating Lash is always a high point of any day.”

“天底下最令人兴奋的事情莫过于打败劳什”

Infernus: Their Favorite Bartender

Infernus is their favorite bartender. Krill worries about the bar where he works, Jezebel's: he asked after Hank, and, having heard that the bar was going through a “transitional period,” told him that if there was anything they could do, he need only let them know.

“That was our favorite bartender…”

“那是我们最喜欢的调酒师…”

Seven: The Tenant Who Never Asked

Seven made his home in their old subway tunnels. Krill said they never gave him permission; that, he answered, is because he didn’t ask. Later the fugitive said he would need new tunnels; Krill first asked whether they were still looking for him, then said they could help, but the rate would be higher.

“We can help, but the rate will be higher”

“我们可以提供帮助，但费率会更高”

Silver, Paige and Celeste: Regret as the Blow Lands

To those he looks down on, Krill shows no mercy; with people he knows, he sometimes feels remorse. He told Paige that he likes her: not enough to not kill her, but enough to feel a little bad about it; and he lamented that they never started that book club. Celeste, for her part, told them that she still loves them, sorry. Of Silver, he said he wished they could have helped her.

“A shame we never started that book club, Paige.”

“可惜我们最终没能成立那个读书俱乐部，佩吉”

“I still love you guys, sorry.”

“我还是爱你们的，对不起”

“I didn't realize how desperate Silver had gotten… I wish we could have helped her.”

“我没意识到西尔芙已经走投无路了… 真希望我们当时能帮帮她”

Grey Talon and Vindicta: A Common Enemy

Grey Talon and Vindicta are both at war with the Friends of Humanity. Meeting Grey Talon, Krill thanked him solemnly as the man making life hell for the Friends of Humanity; to Vindicta he said that her war against the Friends of Humanity is a just one.

“You're the man making life hell for the friends of humanity, yes?”

“你就是那个让人类之友生活变得地狱的人，对吗？”

“Your war against The Friends of Humanity is a just one.”

“你对抗人类之友的战争是正义的”

Solomon: Across the Chessboard

When Solomon brought them down, he called it a shame, for he liked playing chess with one of them, and said he hated that the Patrons had pitted them against each other.

“I hate that the patrons have pitted us against each other”

“我讨厌守护神让我们彼此对立。”TL

Anecdotes

Boundaries. When Drifter asked how often they drag people down into the sewers and rip their arms off, Krill answered that it is a common threat, but not a common occurrence. When Drifter said that one of them holds down a victim while the other beats them to death, which seemed pretty damn predatory, Krill thought it over and could only say he supposed it did. Yet he also said, in no uncertain terms, that they would not let Drifter prey on the people of New York. Krill jokes at his own expense: they are not cat people — come to think of it, they are not even people.

“It is a common threat, but not a common occurrence.”

“这是常见的威胁，但不是常有的事。”TL

“We won't let you prey on the people of New York.”

“我们绝不会让你欺压纽约人民”

The Going Rate. When Holliday was new to New York, Krill offered of his own accord that if she ever found herself in need of information, they would be happy to avail themselves to her; when she asked how much they charge, he said she would find their rates reasonable.

The Soul Urn. When the Soul Urn falls, he reckons it could be worth a small fortune.

Shelly. They asked Bebop how Miss Shelly was doing; told that she was good, all things considered, they still apologized that they couldn’t do more for her. Bebop said that they had tried.

Friendship. When Kelvin praised their friendship as inspiring to behold, Krill answered with a smile that respect and certain death have a way of binding people together.

The Terms. The Doorman wanted to keep them on retainer, catering to the exotic requests of certain guests at the Baroness Hotel; the terms Krill negotiated were that the hat could stay, but no vest, and a single “Done” closed the deal. Murderous Doorman or no, the hotel’s mimosas are still the best on Manhattan.

“Would you two be interested in being kept on retainer? Some of our guests at the Baroness can have exotic requests that you both are more suited to catering to”

“你们两位是否有兴趣成为我们的常驻嘉宾？巴隆妮斯酒店的一些客人可能会有比较特殊的要求，而你们两位更适合满足这些要求”

Open Questions