Of Fire and Night - Kevin J. Anderson [105]
"Our fourth skymine just came online," Kellum said. "Without drogues nipping at our asses, the fast condensers and on-the-fly ekti reactors are just as efficient as these big rigs. We'll fill a cargo escort every two days."
"More fuel than we could ever need." She held on to her father's thick arm.
"Let's not go overboard. After all these years of austerity and rationing, we've got a lot of ground to make up."
After leaving Forrey's Folly, former Kellum employees had flown back to Osquivel. In the darkness high above the ecliptic, charged with enthusiasm, they retrieved all their equipment. With a safe gas giant available again, clan Kellum could create stardrive fuel as fast as they could sell it.
Yes, their fortunes had certainly turned, and Zhett tried to feel happy about it. "Are you going to miss the old shipyards, Dad? You put decades of work into them, your heart and soul--"
"By damn, of course not! They were an administrative pain, and profits were always dicey. Skymining makes me much happier. It's back to our traditional place."
She chuckled. "Remember when we were hiding in the rings, watching the Eddies and the drogues fight over Osquivel? You swore you would never go back to skymining again."
"Big mistake--saying never, I mean."
Golden sunlight brightened across the clouds. A spidery cargo escort lifted up and away, its metal legs holding ekti canisters. A flush of anger heated Zhett's skin as she remembered how Patrick Fitzpatrick had tricked her and stolen a similar cargo escort.
Her father didn't notice her mood shift. "At least three other families are bringing skymines here." He opened his arms to encompass the infinite skyscape. "But Golgen's a big place. Plenty to go around."
Kellum rested meaty elbows on the red rail. With a sideways glance, he scooped an arm around his daughter's shoulders. "After the mess at Rendezvous, the scattered clans are drawing together. Have I told you the plans for a new commercial hub at Yreka? All very hush-hush, not much more than a black-market network with the orphaned Hansa colonies--but it's a start. We'll be thumbing our noses at the Big Goose and trading only with the people we like. The Eddy bastards can eat nonrecyclable waste for all I care."
"Yes, Dad," Zhett said, deciding to think no more of Fitzpatrick. "That's exactly what the Eddy bastards can do."
61
JESS TAMBLYN
Leaving stormy Charybdis on their mission to Plumas, Jess and Cesca were finally alone. The enclosed water was warm, a buoyant embrace so the two could drift in each other's arms.
At first, Jess was lost in the wonder of the simple physical contact, the solid feel of another human body, the clasp of a hand, the touch of a shoulder--how he had missed it! But the joy was oh so much more intense because it was Cesca. Cesca.
Drifting together and more than merely alive, their bodies remembered each other. Skin renewed contact with skin. A tingle suffused Jess's bones, his muscles, his eyes. For years he had imagined a moment when the two of them could touch again. And now that the dreamed-of time was actually here, it was somehow more brilliant, more real, than any touch he had experienced in his life.
When they had finished making love after such a lonely age, Jess felt completely happy and content. For the first time, he truly knew how it felt to be one with someone. With Cesca. He let the sensation encircle him like her arms around his waist.
Always permeating his mind and hers, the elemental creatures drank in every detail of the experience. A voice rang in both of their heads. Now we understand. Always before, your words and desires had insufficient meaning to us. We are grateful for the enlightenment you shared.
Jess grinned. "It was our pleasure." He realized now that their every kiss, every mingled droplet of moisture, every shared sparkle of perspiration also joined them closer together, thanks to the water elementals. The wentals had bound them more tightly than he or Cesca could ever have done.
She was embarrassed. "We had an audience?"
"I prefer