[The Breach 01] • Starship Repo by Tomlinson Patrick S

[The Breach 01] • Starship Repo by Tomlinson Patrick S

Author:Tomlinson, Patrick S. [Tomlinson, Patrick S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Humour, Fantasy
ISBN: 9781250302700
Goodreads: 41556106
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 2019-05-21T00:00:00+00:00


CHAPTER 16

Bruised and running on an empty tank, First was two-thirds of the way to her old apartment when it finally dawned on her that she’d been relocated to new digs before their last job. Between the trip out to the Tekis Nebula, the week spent on the cruise, and the return trip, she hadn’t set foot on Junktion in almost three weeks and fell easily into old habits. She had to look up her new address on her handheld.

She hadn’t even seen it yet. Movers had come to relocate what little in the way of possessions and furniture she and Quarried had out of the old place while she was away. She punched the address into one of the station’s travel pods and sat down heavily as it climbed toward the interior. Artificial light broke through the pod’s bay windows as it reached the inner surface of the station’s drum. First was pleasantly surprised as the pod transitioned to tracks on the “ground” and headed for the same swanky high-rise district as Loritt’s penthouse.

It finally whirred to a stop in front of one of the towers—not Loritt’s building, but First could see it from there. So he meant to keep an eye on her. After the break-in, that was just fine with her.

To her genuine surprise, a doorman met her as she exited the pod. A humanoid with ashen skin and vestigial wings poking out the back of their jacket that made them look remarkably like a gargoyle.

“Ms. Lastname,” they said. “We’ve been expecting you. My name is Fucor. Have you any luggage?”

“Um, yes. A small roller in the back.”

“I’ll have it sent up to your apartment. Your cohabitant has already settled in. I’ll take your bag.”

Fucor reached for the beach bag with her hacking deck slung over First’s shoulder, but she tensed and pulled away. “Sorry, this one stays with me. No offense.”

“None taken.” Their wings fluttered. “We all have our little secrets, eh? Follow me; I’ll show you to your residence. Welcome to your new home. We’re glad to have you.”

First tagged along as they entered the building’s lobby, a soaring atrium six stories tall and clad in hammered copper. Exotic desert plants and shrubs occupied the spaces between the footpaths, while residents of several different flying species played some version of the popular sport of Gisk overhead. It was usually played in zero-g by members of all races, but the fliers apparently had their own version modified for gravity.

A Condrite dove headlong for the falling disk after a missed catch, snagged it with a foot, then effortlessly spun around his own center of gravity and shot the disk toward a teammate before spreading his wings to arrest his dive only a few meters from the floor.

“Wow,” First said as the flier swooped low over their heads before pumping his wings hard to rejoin the scrum.

“Yes, they’re quite aerobatic, aren’t they?” Fucor said of the players, entering a glass elevator. “They organize a pickup game almost every night.



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.