Read Online Fall of the White Ship Avatar by Brian Daley - Free Book Online
Authors: Brian Daley
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photoflat blowup of a newsshot of Floyt and Fitzhugh, one of the few ever taken.
"That's them, that's them!" the supervisor babbled. He reached for his commo button, grateful to have something to do, staring in fascination at the enormous hand with its alpine knuckles.
But the walking catastrophe turned to go without any word. For trying to take Floyt and Fitzhugh while he, Standing Bear, was following up a lead on another case on the opposite side of Luna, the fool file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruis...y%20-%20Fall%20of%20the%20White%20Ship%20Avatar.htm (33 of 242)23-2-2006 17:03:12
[Fitzhugh 3]-FALL OF THE WHITE SHIP AVATAR
Plantos deserved what he'd gotten. Not that the two targets should've been any problem. But Plantos went into an unfamiliar place without correct preparation, backed by a few local sods, and so had gotten what he deserved. More, Plantos tried to cut Gentry Standing Bear out of the hunt, and so received nothing as bad as what Standing Bear would've done to him.
If Standing Bear's contacts at Langstretch were angry about the death of Plantos and the theft of the starship, they weren't likely to demonstrate it to Standing Bear. The losses meant nothing much to him, unless Langstretch irritated him with complaints, which would be unprecedented. His services—when he deigned to sell them to the detective agency—were too valuable; more important, his anger was to be avoided.
Which left only the need to contact Langstretch for a new means of transportation and new leads—for someone who would look after details, as Plantos had.
Because Gentry Standing Bear cared only for the hunt and the kill.
CHAPTER 4—WE DON'T KNOW, BUT WE BEEN TOLD
The weather wasn't always nice on Windfall, but the planet was axially, geologically, and orbitally stable, with a placid climatic sameness over most of its surface, and so Alacrity's statement wasn't too far off the mark. Its ecology had been in place, with little change, for a long time in a rather benign environment, and so lacked adaptability; humans did rather well there.
Windfall was settled and peaceful, a languid timocracy with polite but very strict law enforcement for anyone below the top echelons, to make sure things stayed orderly.
"Which means no guns," Alacrity said regretfully, locking away his own and Floyt's pistols, the pouches and cases on the Sam Browne knocking and creaking.
"I'm less worried about that than about how good a forger you are," Floyt said, adjusting his throat ruffles fussily. "Are you sure you know what you're doing? If we end up in jail, there's no one to extricate us this time."
Alacrity was wearing his trusty old ice-blue, silver-trimmed dress skinsuit. He'd altered the Lightning Whelk's ownership records so that she appeared to belong to him and that he and Floyt, in turn, were citizens of Sweet Baby's Arms, the Lunar documents supporting that.
The Third Breath saw contact among many disparate cultures, and documentation was often hit-or-miss; stealing or laying hands on a starship was difficult under most circumstances, but palming it off as one's file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruis...y%20-%20Fall%20of%20the%20White%20Ship%20Avatar.htm (34 of 242)23-2-2006 17:03:12
[Fitzhugh 3]-FALL OF THE WHITE SHIP AVATAR
own was less a problem if one knew the scams.
"We're fine for now. We probably won't be here more than a few hours," Alacrity answered. "The odds against this crate being on the Rat-'Stat by now are long, at least here. The bulletin would've had to be right on our tail, in a faster ship."
The Rat-'Stat was the list of wants, warrants, stolen ships, fugitives, and similar items of interest circulated among law enforcement organizations, Langstretch ops and stringers, bounty hunters, skip-tracers, informers, stoolies, and such. It was nothing if not cumbersome, and rather inefficient, given how out-of-touch many worlds were.
"But you're on the Rat-'Stat," Floyt pointed out, still
"That's them, that's them!" the supervisor babbled. He reached for his commo button, grateful to have something to do, staring in fascination at the enormous hand with its alpine knuckles.
But the walking catastrophe turned to go without any word. For trying to take Floyt and Fitzhugh while he, Standing Bear, was following up a lead on another case on the opposite side of Luna, the fool file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruis...y%20-%20Fall%20of%20the%20White%20Ship%20Avatar.htm (33 of 242)23-2-2006 17:03:12
[Fitzhugh 3]-FALL OF THE WHITE SHIP AVATAR
Plantos deserved what he'd gotten. Not that the two targets should've been any problem. But Plantos went into an unfamiliar place without correct preparation, backed by a few local sods, and so had gotten what he deserved. More, Plantos tried to cut Gentry Standing Bear out of the hunt, and so received nothing as bad as what Standing Bear would've done to him.
If Standing Bear's contacts at Langstretch were angry about the death of Plantos and the theft of the starship, they weren't likely to demonstrate it to Standing Bear. The losses meant nothing much to him, unless Langstretch irritated him with complaints, which would be unprecedented. His services—when he deigned to sell them to the detective agency—were too valuable; more important, his anger was to be avoided.
Which left only the need to contact Langstretch for a new means of transportation and new leads—for someone who would look after details, as Plantos had.
Because Gentry Standing Bear cared only for the hunt and the kill.
CHAPTER 4—WE DON'T KNOW, BUT WE BEEN TOLD
The weather wasn't always nice on Windfall, but the planet was axially, geologically, and orbitally stable, with a placid climatic sameness over most of its surface, and so Alacrity's statement wasn't too far off the mark. Its ecology had been in place, with little change, for a long time in a rather benign environment, and so lacked adaptability; humans did rather well there.
Windfall was settled and peaceful, a languid timocracy with polite but very strict law enforcement for anyone below the top echelons, to make sure things stayed orderly.
"Which means no guns," Alacrity said regretfully, locking away his own and Floyt's pistols, the pouches and cases on the Sam Browne knocking and creaking.
"I'm less worried about that than about how good a forger you are," Floyt said, adjusting his throat ruffles fussily. "Are you sure you know what you're doing? If we end up in jail, there's no one to extricate us this time."
Alacrity was wearing his trusty old ice-blue, silver-trimmed dress skinsuit. He'd altered the Lightning Whelk's ownership records so that she appeared to belong to him and that he and Floyt, in turn, were citizens of Sweet Baby's Arms, the Lunar documents supporting that.
The Third Breath saw contact among many disparate cultures, and documentation was often hit-or-miss; stealing or laying hands on a starship was difficult under most circumstances, but palming it off as one's file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruis...y%20-%20Fall%20of%20the%20White%20Ship%20Avatar.htm (34 of 242)23-2-2006 17:03:12
[Fitzhugh 3]-FALL OF THE WHITE SHIP AVATAR
own was less a problem if one knew the scams.
"We're fine for now. We probably won't be here more than a few hours," Alacrity answered. "The odds against this crate being on the Rat-'Stat by now are long, at least here. The bulletin would've had to be right on our tail, in a faster ship."
The Rat-'Stat was the list of wants, warrants, stolen ships, fugitives, and similar items of interest circulated among law enforcement organizations, Langstretch ops and stringers, bounty hunters, skip-tracers, informers, stoolies, and such. It was nothing if not cumbersome, and rather inefficient, given how out-of-touch many worlds were.
"But you're on the Rat-'Stat," Floyt pointed out, still
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