Safe Passage (Black Flag Book 1) by Rachel Ford

Author:Rachel Ford [Ford, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-05-02T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Five

The docking ports on Kraken’s Drop were built off the islands dotting the planet. Some were natural, but most were artificially constructed. We touched down on a massive floating base. There were a smattering of buildings on the platform, but it was largely divided into ports for space craft. At the edges, there were a few water vessels docked as well.

“Fishing ships,” Maggie said, catching the direction of my eyes. “The pleasure boats usually hang out on the natural islands. You need a lot of credits to get a yachting license on Kraken’s. And if you’ve got that kind of money, you can usually afford to dock there.”

“Doesn’t matter where you go,” I laughed. “It’s always the same.”

“Yup.”

We’d agreed to spend two days on planet, giving everyone a chance to stretch their legs, and Drake an opportunity to finish his repairs. “Unmitigated, straight up bullshit,” is what he called it. “You know the last time I’ve been here?”

“You’ve got leave too,” Maggie sighed. “Just make sure you assign shifts before you go.”

“Still bullshit. It means extra work for me, and less shore leave.”

“That’s what you get for being indispensable,” she told him with a grin. “But how does time and a half sound?”

That gave him pause. “Double sounds better.”

“Fine. But no more bellyaching.”

“You got yourself a deal, Captain,” he smirked.

Right now, the first party of leave goers was on their way down. That included me, the doctor, Maggie, Frank and Ginny, whose concussion was not going to stop her from having a good time. “Make sure it’s not too good a time,” Fredricks had warned her dryly. “You mix alcohol with what you’re on, and you don’t have to worry about long term damage. Because you don’t have long term.”

We were in a kind of elevator – a glass tube that met us at the surface. Once we’d stepped inside, the doors had sealed and we’d begun our descent. It was a slow journey down. “These chambers are pressured,” Maggie said, “but some species require longer to adjust as we get deeper. So it’s a slow ride.”

I didn’t mind for two reasons. The first was, it was a beautiful journey. We were suspended in a glass tube in the waters of an endless ocean. Creatures and ships passed by in an array of colors and shapes and sizes. Fishlike forms and mammalian figures flitted past. Now and again, a deep-sea aquatic bird would dart down in pursuit of something.

The other reason was that, as soon as we’d stepped off the ship, Maggie’s posture and attitude had relaxed. We were standing together near the rear of the carriage, and she slipped an arm around my back and waist. It was done softly, as if she didn’t want to draw attention to us. But it sent jolts of electricity through my body all the same, and I leaned into her embrace, in the same inconspicuous way.

We watched the light from the surface grow dimmer and further away together. We watched the depths expand and deepen.

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