The Razor's Edge by Seanan McGuire

Author:Seanan McGuire [Joshua Palmatier, Troy Carrol Bucher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zombies Need Brains, LLC
Published: 2018-04-30T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

He’d tried three airlocks, chasing them as the station rotated. It was as if he didn’t exist. His suit showed station comm circuits locked against him, and the last effort to close with the station had been met by a round of attitude jets, almost taunting him.

Working his suit kept him calm; he had to think hard about it, but it was a new suit and getting easier to use every minute.

Eventually, one of the ships disappeared beyond the bulk of the station; he could see portions of it as it docked, but wasn’t in comm circuit.

The other two ships now rode in orbit between him and the station. One was, he knew, the AnnaV. The other he didn’t know—

“Spacer Geral Jethri, this is AnnaV, offering to connect you with a recovery ship.”

Luchee’s voice was calm and quiet in his ear.

“Spacer? I’m a stationer. I can’t …”

“You are a distressed spacer, discovered free-floating in an orbit you are unable to recover from under your own power. I can certify that. We can do that for you, Geral Jethri.”

“But the station! I’m Service Squad, I’m supposed to…”

“They abandoned you, Geral Jethri. You’re locked out.”

He fought with himself. He had forty hours of air. Enough firepower, though, to …

Famy Binwa had trusted him. Famy had fooled him. Famy … had ejected without a suit …

Luchee took a breath.

“Either you’re a distressed spacer or you’re dead,” she said flatly.

“I don’t have anything …” He stuttered to a stop.

She didn’t argue that point. His air showed thirty-eight-point-seven hours now.

“Geral, I’m going off-duty. My shift is ending. Be smart. I can arrange for pick-up, while I’m Pilot In Charge. That’s all I can do. You need to make the choice.

“You need to save yourself.”

Geral stared beyond the lurking ships, beyond the station’s disorienting rotation against the background of a distant three-mooned planet.

There was silence for a while. When Luchee spoke again, it was like she’d woken him up from a drowse.

“Geral, we’re docking next. We can’t pick you up; if you’re on-board when we dock, Spadoni will arrest you. They’ll lock you up and take your blood and you won’t even get points for it! You’ll never be free!”

The station rotated under him.

“The other ship with us is not docking, Geral. Will you let them pick you up? She … they believe in the Envidaria. They live by it. They’re free! They want to talk to you, Geral. I trust them. Remember, we said we weren’t going to give blood to the Seniors. You promised me, Geral! We’ll be in radio shadow now, be smart!”

The station’s rotation was patient, unforgiving. AnnaV, in pursuit of a docking bay, slid into the bright side while he and his suit were in the darkness.

Geral was alone, as he often was. But …

He had a choice. He could be desperate for what wasn’t going to happen, like Famy Binwa, or he could be like Jethri and Arin had been and make something happen. He could let the Seniors own him or he could …

“This is Spacer Geral Jethri Quai-Hwang.

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