The Ecolitan Operation by L. E. Modesitt Jr

Author:L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 1989-05-15T04:00:00+00:00

… XXIX …

“Name?”

“Laslo Boorck.”

“Imperial I.D. or passport?”

The hefty man handed across the Imperial I.D., looking down on the purser from near two hundred centimeters. In turn, the purser placed the flat card in the reader.

“Palmprint.”

“Yas…” The hand went on the scanner.

The scanner remained silent for a moment, then flickered once, then turned green.

Bleep.

“Welcome aboard, citizen Boorck.”

Citizen Boorck ambled a few steps, then waited.

“Next. Name?”

“Lestina Nazdru.” The woman, with her red-and-silver-streaked hair, was clearly a different type from the sedate and overweight agricultural specialist whom she accompanied. Her nails glittered, and her eyelids drooped under their own weight.

The purser did his best not to stare at the translucent blouse.

“I.D., please.”

“Of course, officer.”

She placed her hand on the screen with a practiced motion. The long nails glittered alternating red and silver.

Again the scanner hesitated, but finally flickered green.

Bleep.

“Welcome aboard…”

“Thank you.” Her voice was low, a shade too hard but pleasant, if vaguely professional.

The purser smiled faintly as the woman rejoined her husband, if their reservations could be believed. He’d seen all types, and a lot of the October-May marriages looked like the pair he had just passed on board the M. Monroe. Older and heavier man, wealthy, but with minimal taste, and an attractive wife not that much younger, but of even more questionable taste and background.

Remembering the hesitation of the scanner, he glanced at the short list on his screen to compare profiles, but neither the heavy man nor his companion matched the handful of names and profiles. The automatics were supposed to match names against prints. The list contained individuals for whom various law enforcement or military authorities had placed a detention order. He scanned the list again, then looked up.

“Next.”

Behind him, the October-May couple walked toward their silver status stateroom, holding hands casually.

“You like the ship?” asked the man.

“A touch beneath you, Laslo, but it will do.” She looked along the narrow corridor. “Shouldn’t we turn here somewhere, dear?”

“I believe so, honeydrop. I do believe so.”

The man stopped and fumbled with the silver-colored card.

“All passengers. All passengers. The Monroe will be leaving orbit station in five standard minutes, bound for Certis three. We will be leaving Accord orbit station in five minutes, bound for Certis three, with a final destination of Alphane four. If you are not bound for Certis three or Alphane four, please contact ship personnel immediately.”

The stateroom door opened, and the man withdrew the silver card, gesturing to the woman.

“After you, dear.”

“You can be so courtly when you have to, Laslo.”

He followed her inside. Two built-in and plush chairs flanked a table. Over the table was a screen. The view on the screen showed the mixed blue-green of planetary continents and water covered with swirls of clouds, as seen from orbit.

The woman closed the door and flopped into one of the chairs.

“Take a load off, Las.”

“In a minute…”

“They got any entertainment on the screen? Who wants to see a dumb planet every time you travel? Seen one, you’ve seen them all.”

“You’re so right, dear. But Accord has such marvelous agricultural techniques.

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.