Chaos Space - Marianne de Pierres [77]
‘Who are we going to see down there, anyway? The garbage chief?’
Mau glowered at him. He pointed to a spot on the screen. ‘Here.’
The Savvy catapulted toward that very spot, a gap into a narrow channel kept clear by an elaborate cable-net system that reminded Jo-Jo of the shark nets on the beaches of Cerulea. It twisted inelegantly through the chick band of floating rubbish, leaving Jo-Jo with fleeting impressions of damaged solar arrays, discarded twirling metal stairways from space habitats, and endless torn sheets of reflectives drifting like glitter motes in water.
The view became brighter and brighter until the screen dimmed to compensate. Jo-Jo felt the Savvy straining against the acute angle of its dive and he found himself taking shallow breaths.
Bethany seemed to be doing the same, punctuating hers with little grunts each time she exhaled.
Apart from the thin sheen of perspiration on his cheeks and forehead Mau seemed unperturbed.
Only when they broke free from the ring of rubbish did Jo-Jo begin to breathe normally. He closed his eyes then, waiting impatiently for the Savvy’s chorus of docking noises.
When it finally happened he was deep in reverie.
‘Mr Rasterovich?’
Jo-Jo opened his eyes. Len the kid H-M was at his elbow. ‘Yeah.’
‘Captain Loker says for you to leave through the cargo hatch. Someone will be waiting for you.’
That was it? No fond farewell?
Jo-Jo nodded. The sentiment was the same from his side.
He held out his hand to the kid. ‘Find yourself a decent Captain.’
Len blushed and hurried away.
The three disembarked into a huge hangar that looked like a group of superseded docking modules that didn’t quite fit together. Everything overlapped and some things seemed to be duplicated. Jo-Jo could hear air blowing in from above but couldn’t see the vents in the dimly lit ceiling.
‘Ahem.’ A smartly attired Lamin stepped from the shadows to address them. Its tri-part nose quivered while it documented their scents and it pushed back a section of stiff black immaculately sectioned hair with fingernails that appeared to join straight to its wrist. Ridiculously cruel high heels attempted to flatter its stumpy shapeless legs.
Lamins usually worked as highly paid PAs for OLOSS politicians. This thought-caster was a long way out of the loop. ‘Step this way.’ It gestured towards a booth with plax walls.
As if to reinforce its demand two black-uniformed soldiers stepped forward. Each carried a lightweight firearm and wore a complicated blade kit around their waists.
Mau shepherded Beth inside the booth and Jo-Jo followed them. He stopped to watch through the plax as a small tug hooked onto the Savvy and towed it deeper into the hangar.
‘What a beauty!’ exclaimed Bethany. She was standing next to him but looking in the opposite direction at a large flat-winged ship floating against its dock.
Jo-Jo’s heart skipped: a biozoon like Salacious. ‘How much do you think?’ he murmured.
Bethany gave him a fierce stare. ‘You don’t buy that kind of creature. If you are lucky, it might pick you as a pilot. It’s not a hybrid that’s been hobbled.’
Jo-Jo looked back to the glistening scaled animal. You mean it has an Innate?’
‘Yes, I would imagine so,’ said Bethany. ‘How lucky they are.’
The Lamin cleared its throat to gain their attention. ‘Edo is a closed port. While Mistress Bethany and Petalu Mau are welcomed home, we are not yet satisfied with the reasons for your presence, Mr Rasterovich.’
Home? Jo-Jo stared at Beth.
‘Lamin, he is here at my invitation,’ said Bethany.
Part of the creature’s nose twitched towards her. ‘I am sorry, Mistress, but it is required that he be questioned.’
She sighed and shrugged.
The Lamin continued. ‘What is the nature of your visit? Please be precise and accurate or you will be considered an intruder and isolated.’
Jo-Jo hesitated but the soldiers were inside the office as well now, gripping their weapons a little tighter. He could see little