Chaos Space - Marianne de Pierres [83]
The Baronessa shivered. ‘I do not think so.’
Thales escorted Mira from the biozoon a little before the Edo bells heralded star-set. He wore a robe called a fellalo that the Baronessa had found him in one of the myriad of cabin spaces.
She had also changed from her simple shapeless dress into something ornate but equally as shapeless. Thales wondered that Latino men could find attraction in their women under such voluminous garb.
Still, he felt a slight stirring as she placed her arm in his. He was unused to being so long without physical contact with a woman and the Baronessa’s crimson colouring was not unattractive but exotic in a way. Scolar was home to a variety of humanesques, but he had not previously known a race with such vivid skin tones.
The Lamin creature was waiting for them on the docks. ‘Commander Farr has sent me as your guide.’
‘But how did—’
The Lamin clacked its fingernails together as if pinching something. ‘It is customary for us to know our guests’ movements.’
Customary? Thales suppressed a bitter laugh. Words could not disguise hegemony in any place or time. Was this Lasper Farr no better than Sophos Mianos?
The Lamin hustled them into a preprogrammed taxi which transported them up and away from the docks across an arched viaduct. The biozoon became a miniature of itself as they arced high, and then down again towards a complete wall of darkness.
Thales was astounded to see the gloom separate into compacted metals thousands of mesurs high. The viaduct connected directly with a tunnel that passed through the metal wall, much like the chute they had navigated through to land. As the taxi slid purposefully onwards, Thales glimpsed tunnels branching off in many directions. Some were lit while others appeared disused; easy to become lost in, he imagined.
After a time the vehicle entered a huge shaft, the diameter of which extended well beyond their line of sight. The Lamin instructed the vehicle to halt alongside a block of a dozen airlifts.
‘Please leave the vehicle and enter the closest available lift,’ it said, flicking its tongue across its lips.
Mira Fedor had spoken few words since leaving the biozoon but Thales could see her escalating curiosity.
‘What are the proportions of this metal wall?’ she asked.
The Lamin appeared to ponder over an answer.
‘The wall, as you call it, is one of Edo’s wings, and it stretches three thousand mesurs high and a thousand mesurs wide.’
‘A wing?’ The Baronessa frowned. ‘Planets do not have wings.’
The Lamin laughed: a moist, wheezing noise. Tiny droplets of spit sprayed from its mouth, causing it great embarrassment. It snapped a handkerchief from the pocket of its sleeveless suit and dabbed at its face. When it was satisfied with the result it continued. ‘Edo is not a planet, Baronessa Fedor. Edo is a Self-Made Object comprised entirely of amalgamated refuse.’
Mira’s mouth opened. ‘But how—’
‘The core is magnetised.’
Thales had a sudden and overwhelming sense of unease, his imagination firing in many directions. ‘Why would anyone make a planet of refuse?’
‘The core of Edo is a disbanded mega-space station. One of the first large objects to be brought here. As you may have noticed on your arrival, Akouedo is a hazardous system through which to navigate. The Savoires sometimes spill contents in the disgorging process. Over time the magnetised core of the station began to attract much of this loose material. And, of course, gravity makes its own.’ It cleared its throat. ‘As the process was entirely random, and influenced by the strength of the core, more accumulated in certain locations. Think of Edo as a unique diminutive spiral galaxy surrounded by an outer halo,’ said the Lamin. It lifted an arm in a dramatic fashion and then proceeded to groom the long, fine hair of its armpits.
Thales wondered if the creature was anxious or merely had no sense of delicacy. When, a moment later, it began to lick the same area, he decided it was the latter and turned back to his observation of the scenery.
As they descended in