Read Online Drifter's Run by William C. Dietz - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: William C. Dietz
Tags: Science-Fiction
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Give her some sort of normal life where she could play with other children. Sell Junk and settle down. But that would mean becoming a ground pounder, giving up the one thing he did right, and abandoning all hope of finding the Star of Empire.
The thoughts weighed heavily as Cap climbed the muddy stairs and paused to clean his boots.
A section of metal grating had been installed in the middle of the top landing, along with a raised metal bar and a short section of hose. By alternately scraping his boots on the bar, and squirting them with the hose, Cap removed the worst of the mud.
A wooden mallet hung by a length of chain from the wall. Cap used it to hit the heavy wooden door three times.
He had no idea why Lois Joleen chose this particular kind of door knocker. It was just one of her many eccentricities, and compared to the rest, hardly worth mention.
There was a loud click as the door lock was released. Cap gave the door a gentle push and it swung open. There was no one there to greet him nor had he expected anyone. Joleen worked alone, or Cap assumed that she did, because in all the times that he'd come to visit he'd never seen anyone else.
Her office was full of junk, all kinds, without apparent rhyme or reason. A sort of trail led back toward Joleen's office. As Cap followed it he saw oxygen tanks, robo parts, a portable generator, coils of high-tension cable, boxes of dried fruit, hand tools, and much, much more. Did she sell it? Collect it? Cap had no idea.
Joleen's office was a semi-open area in the sea of junk. Light was provided by an expensive lamp with a built-in antigrav unit. By way of contrast her desk was made from planks of wood laid across a couple of sawhorses and held together with a few sloppily driven nails.
There was nothing sloppy about the computer that sat on it, however. It was a Nigunda 4001, with built-in com center and enough processing power to run the whole planet. Which, Cap reflected, she probably did, though indirectly.
Joleen looked up at Cap's approach. She had a long, narrow face. Her bushy black eyebrows, large nose, and hard, straight mouth gave her a hard, aggressive look.
"So, looking for some work, eh?"
Cap gave her a twisted smile. "Maybe. Or maybe I came to see you."
Joleen gave a snort of derision. "That'll be the day! Plop your butt down and have a drink. You still drink, don't you?" Her eyes had a hard, challenging look that Cap managed to avoid.
"Don't mind if I do." Cap sat down on a hard stool, accepted a half-empty bottle of Dista Mist, and poured the amber fluid into a dirty glass. The whiskey went down smooth as silk and made a warm pool in Cap's stomach. He poured another glass. "So how's business?"
Joleen shrugged and rested her chin on large, rough hands. "I can't complain. How'd the run into the belt go?"
Cap downed the second drink and noticed that the bottle had disappeared. "Fine. We ran into some trouble going in. Rock pirates. We got through though."
Joleen nodded. "I heard. It sounds like you've got a hot pilot."
Cap looked at her suspiciously but it did him little good. Joleen's face was a mask. How did she know about Lando? Did she have spies among the pirates? Among the miners on Keeber's Knob? With Joleen anything was possible.
"Yeah, he's good all right, better than we deserve. So what's up? You have anything for us?"
Joleen stood up. She was about six-two, long and skinny, dressed frontier style in pants and jerkin. Two steps carried her to a side table. It was piled high with printouts, fire extinguishers, and reels of brightly colored wire. Joleen rummaged around for a moment, located what she was looking for, and returned.
Cap accepted the printout, opened it up, and found himself looking at an orbital schematic for Pylax. Thanks to its rich mineral deposits Pylax had been settled before Dista and was more industrialized.
Cap searched the schematic for some sort of meaning and came up empty. "So?"
"So look again," Joleen said
The thoughts weighed heavily as Cap climbed the muddy stairs and paused to clean his boots.
A section of metal grating had been installed in the middle of the top landing, along with a raised metal bar and a short section of hose. By alternately scraping his boots on the bar, and squirting them with the hose, Cap removed the worst of the mud.
A wooden mallet hung by a length of chain from the wall. Cap used it to hit the heavy wooden door three times.
He had no idea why Lois Joleen chose this particular kind of door knocker. It was just one of her many eccentricities, and compared to the rest, hardly worth mention.
There was a loud click as the door lock was released. Cap gave the door a gentle push and it swung open. There was no one there to greet him nor had he expected anyone. Joleen worked alone, or Cap assumed that she did, because in all the times that he'd come to visit he'd never seen anyone else.
Her office was full of junk, all kinds, without apparent rhyme or reason. A sort of trail led back toward Joleen's office. As Cap followed it he saw oxygen tanks, robo parts, a portable generator, coils of high-tension cable, boxes of dried fruit, hand tools, and much, much more. Did she sell it? Collect it? Cap had no idea.
Joleen's office was a semi-open area in the sea of junk. Light was provided by an expensive lamp with a built-in antigrav unit. By way of contrast her desk was made from planks of wood laid across a couple of sawhorses and held together with a few sloppily driven nails.
There was nothing sloppy about the computer that sat on it, however. It was a Nigunda 4001, with built-in com center and enough processing power to run the whole planet. Which, Cap reflected, she probably did, though indirectly.
Joleen looked up at Cap's approach. She had a long, narrow face. Her bushy black eyebrows, large nose, and hard, straight mouth gave her a hard, aggressive look.
"So, looking for some work, eh?"
Cap gave her a twisted smile. "Maybe. Or maybe I came to see you."
Joleen gave a snort of derision. "That'll be the day! Plop your butt down and have a drink. You still drink, don't you?" Her eyes had a hard, challenging look that Cap managed to avoid.
"Don't mind if I do." Cap sat down on a hard stool, accepted a half-empty bottle of Dista Mist, and poured the amber fluid into a dirty glass. The whiskey went down smooth as silk and made a warm pool in Cap's stomach. He poured another glass. "So how's business?"
Joleen shrugged and rested her chin on large, rough hands. "I can't complain. How'd the run into the belt go?"
Cap downed the second drink and noticed that the bottle had disappeared. "Fine. We ran into some trouble going in. Rock pirates. We got through though."
Joleen nodded. "I heard. It sounds like you've got a hot pilot."
Cap looked at her suspiciously but it did him little good. Joleen's face was a mask. How did she know about Lando? Did she have spies among the pirates? Among the miners on Keeber's Knob? With Joleen anything was possible.
"Yeah, he's good all right, better than we deserve. So what's up? You have anything for us?"
Joleen stood up. She was about six-two, long and skinny, dressed frontier style in pants and jerkin. Two steps carried her to a side table. It was piled high with printouts, fire extinguishers, and reels of brightly colored wire. Joleen rummaged around for a moment, located what she was looking for, and returned.
Cap accepted the printout, opened it up, and found himself looking at an orbital schematic for Pylax. Thanks to its rich mineral deposits Pylax had been settled before Dista and was more industrialized.
Cap searched the schematic for some sort of meaning and came up empty. "So?"
"So look again," Joleen said
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