Page 27 (1/2)

"I want to see her"

"Denied"

Skyler opened his est," Russell said, "you stop there Assuain, or hitch a ride upstairs"

Skyler could feel the cold stare fro to her He sed his words

"Give theet dressed and leave, or throw theuards as he turned and left the rooaze on Samantha "You have an open invitation for a re is optional, of course"

He left the room before Samantha could respond

Nine and a half minutes later, the Melville lifted off

The short flight to the old airport, two kiloer than the trip back frouards had escorted theo door al toward the ar

A stiff drink didn’t sound like such a bad idea, but Skyler decided to unload the ship first It would give Sa else

Truth be told, he needed tius," he said to his pilot "I’ll do the postflight" He gave the craft a gentle pat

Angus shrugged and made his oay toward Woon’s tavern, head down and hands in his pockets

It took hours for Skyler to run through the postine even as they burped excess heat and spooled down He checked the flaps and hovering thrusters, and visually inspected each cerans of cracks or wear

He did a thorough job The work stood between him and a collapse into self-pity

Satisfied with the health of the ship, he turned his attention to the cargo bay Tania’s briefcase proved , of course He had expected as much when they were taken into quarantine Russell Blackfield would probably dely, the duffel bag full of other spoils reht still be enough inside to cover their spooling costs and drop rights

Before leaving the ship, he noticed soraph he’d found in Japan had been The i in front of the telescope He wondered if it now graced Russell Blackfield’s office wall

Platz paid for the mission to the telescope, a place he helped build Skyler couldn’t wrap his mind around that If a reason existed, it eluded hiht, then dismissed the idea The less he knew, the better Part of him hoped that Platz would pull the contract with Prumble after this debacle Life could return to a se, Skyler," soer captain a past "Kantro, my friend"

"Heard about Jake," the man said "He’ll be missed"

Skyler nodded He didn’t want to talk about it "I hope your day went better Good scavenging out there?"

Kantro shrugged "Aborted before we even stepped out A wholethe happened to us," Skylerhis arms "Newsubs, eh?"

The other captain waved it off "Maybe the bastards finally unionized," he said with a good-natured laugh "Seeya ’round,with the idea that the subhu That the behavior they’d witnessed in Hawaii ht be widespread, the new norm The idea chilled hi on his bunk When he closed his eyes thein his htcliff His i his eyes proved the only recourse

Sleep would have to wait

He pulled the blanket from his bed and wrapped it around his shoulders, picked up the first bottle he could find, and arden sh it and took stock of the plants sprouting there They’d have plenty of tomatoes, papaya, and bananas from the look of it Rae texture The others could eat it He dug out a small weed from beneath the lone starfruit tree and tossed it into the co to his destination: a sar

He spread the blanket out and sat The noise of activity along the main runway barely reached this spot He lay down, one arm behind his head, and watched the climbers inch their way toward the planets and stars that filled the clear sky above A crescent moon shimmered in the heat near the horizon

He drank for Jake, first

The quiet one, devoted to his role as sniper Everything he did seeet practice, exercise,of a mission, he’d parachuted from the Melville over Darwin’s eastern slum, the Maze, for no reason other than to see if he could find his way out "If I’ht, drinks are on me," he’d said He made it with an hour to spare, let Skadz pour hied about the accomplishment

Next, Skyler drank for Tania

He tried, hard, to i treated fairly by Blackfield He tried harder not to iine her alone, in her own decon rooht ht He drew another s from the bottle and let the warmth of the alcohol fill hi back, attehtcliff’s airspace again, and he couldn’t exactly get Tania approved for a lift ho in the squalor of Darwin, cut off fro space station, forever

At so next to hius," she said with a slur, "passed out in Woon’s kitchen" She erupted into a boo breaths "Facedown! Middle of the sodding floor!"

Skyler propped up on his elbows and shook the fog from his head "What time is it?"

"Fuck knows," Saulp

"Should we go get him?"

Samantha shook her head "Woon threw a coat over him Probably more comfortable than his cot"

They sat for a while without speaking Skyler turned his attention to the night sky again Far above, he could justlower, he scanned the checkerboard of lights,the few pockets in Darhere electricity still flowed

Lower still, he tracked along the fence line of the old airport Shacks and tents had been erected right to the edge, a stark contrast to the weed-infested expanse within

In the middle of the field of weeds, Skyler spotted an enor soun with his hand and pretended to fire at the rodent

Sarim fascination "Jake coulda made that shot," she said