Hidden Enemies (Book 9 of The Empire of Bones Saga) by Terry Mixon

Author:Terry Mixon [Mixon, Terry]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Yowling Cat Press
Published: 2018-08-22T16:00:00+00:00

20

While Veronica might never have been aboard Archibald Station, she’d visited plenty of orbitals like it over the years. Coming as a civilian, she discovered, was significantly different than how it had been as part of Fleet.

The docking bays in the civilian section were significantly busier than the ones in the military areas she’d visited, the crowds more chaotic, and the people more varied. Especially in the clothing they wore. It seemed every color imaginable was represented in some form.

Including some in eye-searing florescent shades that almost hurt to look at.

There was also more shouting than she was used to. People unloading various cargo shuttles all seemingly had something to say to one another at the top of their lungs. It was kind of weird how many emotions could be carried from person to person at maximum volume.

Zia Anderson stepped out and put her hands on her hips as she looked over the bay. “It’s just like back home.”

Veronica turned her head slightly toward the other woman and raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised you had this much chaos at your previous job. If it was anything like mine, it was a lot more orderly.”

The taller woman laughed. “I had a life before that job, you know. My parents were merchant spacers. I’ve probably seen a dozen bays just like this before I became an adult. I never would’ve thought it would be so similar. Where we’re going to get housing while we’re here. Any ideas?”

Rather than answering the question, Veronica stepped over to a pair of men arguing over a crate. She wasn’t sure if they were disputing the ownership or just the disposition, but they were enthusiastic in their posturing.

“Hey, boys,” she said. “We’re new. Where can some of our crew hole up without spending all our cash? We’d rather be drinking.”

The man paused their heated discussion and one of them pointed down a nearby corridor. “Go straight down that. Past the third cross corridor you’ll find Statler’s. It’s not the bottom of the pile or the top, so it should suit you just fine.”

Without waiting for a response from her, they resumed their argument as if she’d never interrupted them.

Zia laughed as the two women stepped into the indicated corridor. “That went a little bit easier than I’d expected. Good thinking.”

“Why make it hard?” Veronica asked with a shrug. “Everybody in this bay has been the new guy at some point. Asking for directions isn’t going to raise any eyebrows.

“We should keep that in mind going forward. The more we behave like everyone else, the less we’ll stand out. The goal is to blend into the crowd so thoroughly that no one remembers us once we’ve left.”

It only took them a couple of minutes to find Statler’s. As the man had said, it wasn’t much to look at, but it wasn’t a dive, either.

Veronica took the lead as they stepped inside and headed toward a short, balding man sitting behind a relatively tall counter.

“One room or two?” he asked disinterestedly.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.