Transformation Space - Marianne de Pierres [79]
‘He knew the risks, Capo. We all do.’
It was the first time Jo-Jo had ever heard Catchut attempt to reassure Randall.
Losing your crew was a disturbing thing – even Jo-Jo, who’d spent most of his life working alone, scouting for minerals in the far reaches, understood that. And Rast Randall had lost all of them, apart from Catchut.
‘Let’s check the infirmary out first,’ said Randall. ‘See if there’s somethin’ that’ll help yer ankle.’
Catchut nodded his appreciation.
They put down close to the hangar on the wide courtyard and got out, pulling up their hoods against the heat. Randall led the way along the path into the chalet.
The doors were open, and sand piled into the hallway. Every room they walked through was coated in it, and Jo-Jo’s throat closed over as he began to wheeze.
‘Must’ve been one helluva dust storm,’ Randall observed. ‘Enviros are dead too.’
‘Not quite,’ said Jo-Jo. ‘If we can get the doors shut, they might kick in a bit stronger.’
‘What’s the point?’ Randall was already marching purposefully through the sandblasted corridors, her boots crunching loudly in the silence.
The infirmary was as basic as she’d said, but it did offer antibiotic sleeves. They propped Catchut against the central dispenser and hooked him up. Randall wiped sand off the readouts.
‘Gonna take a while. Rasterovich, you check through the chalet for food. Closer to dark, we’ll head down the beach and get the cell out of the other AiV.’
‘Sure,’ said Jo-Jo. He hated it when she ordered him around, but they did need to eat. His belly ached from hunger, and he could barely swallow for thirst. The boots he’d taken from the dead Latino back on Pell still chafed his skin, and the fellalo weighed heavily on his weak frame. ‘We could fish,’ he suggested.
‘Easy stuff first.’
Jo-Jo left them and wandered through the deserted rooms. The ones near the infirmary looked like they’d been mostly for entertaining: large spaces littered with overturned chairs and faded parchment-dry brocade wall friezes. Someone – the Saqr, he supposed – had been through and ravaged the rooms, leaving nothing usable or unbroken. Deeper inside he found a staircase that led to bedrooms, some of them furnished to sleep ten or more people. Clearly the Principe had liked to entertain in numbers.
Jo-Jo saw nothing they could use, only ruined furniture and fading paintings. The bathrooms, though, harboured more desalinated water tubes. He put his mouth to one and drank deeply. It poured down his sore swollen throat, causing more pain than relief. When it hit his gut, he doubled up in pain.
When the cramp passed, he trekked down the stairs again, following the corridor to the section behind the infirmary. There he found the kitchen and storerooms. He fingered a scattering of dark shrivelled objects stuck to the metallic work surfaces – food that had decayed and lost its moisture. Even if he could pry the food off, it’d be too tough to chew.
He entered the first storeroom. It was empty and coated with dust.
The second one, though, was lined with shelves stacked with crates. He pulled the nearest crate out and looked at the seal. A dull light blinked in one corner. Whatever was in it was still preserved. His spirits lifted a little. Something they could eat?
When he persuaded the lid to open, he was greeted with the smell of preserving liquids. He quickly resealed it and tried another. This one revealed rows of dehydrated dough balls stacked on top of each other. He dug his hand in and scooped out a round knob. It tasted crumbly and dry and wonderful.
He grabbed some more in the fold of his fellalo and hurried back to the infirmary. Randall was sipping a clear liquid from a tube. She toasted him with bleary eyes.
‘Sterilising spirits,’ she said. ‘Nothin’ better.’
Jo-Jo held out his robe. ‘Found some bread.’
Randall lowered the tube from her mouth, and
Catchut opened his eyes and straightened up.
The three of them sat around the infirmary eating the bread and sharing the raw alcohol.
Soon Jo-Jo felt a whole lot better than he had in a while.