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Authors: George R. R. Martin
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solid. Melissa, her eyes on Brand, put an arm around her. The angel smiled and sighed and moved closer.
Brand shook his head.
And the angel suddenly looked up, childish pique washing across her face. “You fooled me,” she said to Brand. “She’s not a horse. She’s a person.” Then, brightly, she smiled again. “And she’s so
pretty
.”
There was a long, long silence.
* * *
The bridge panel slid shut behind him. Robi was waiting. “Well?” she asked.
Wordlessly Brand kicked himself across the room, strapped down, and looked up at the viewscreen. Out in the darkness, in the screen-dimmed gloom, Melissa had rejoined the other fast-friends. They spoke with staccato bursts of color. Brand watched briefly, then reached up to the console and hit a button.
The stars flared cold and bright, and the flanks of Hades shone.
Before Robi had a chance to speak the fast-friends had vanished, spinning space around them, moving faster than the
Chariot
ever would. Only Melissa lingered, and only for a second. Then emptiness, and the derelicts around them.
“Brand!”
He smiled at her, and shrugged. “I couldn’t do it. We would never have been able to let them outside the screens. They’d be animals, draft animals, prisoners.” He looked sheepish. “I guess they’re not. Not people either, though, not anymore. Well, we always wanted to meet an alien race. How could we guess that we’d create one?”
“Brand,” Robi said. “Our investment. We have to go through with it. Maybe we can use darks?”
He shook his head. “No. We couldn’t get them to understand what we wanted. No. Fast-friends or… nothing, I guess.”
He paused, and looked at her. She was staring up at the viewscreen, with an expression that shrieked disgust and exasperation. “I’ll make it up to you,” Brand said. He took her hand, gently. “We’ll trap. We’re well equipped.”
Robi looked over. “Where’s the angel?” she asked, and her voice sounded a shade less angry.
Brand sighed. “In my cabin,” he said. “I gave her a necklace to play with.”
Document information
Title Info
Genre
SF
Author
George R. R. Martin
Title
Starlady & Fast-Friend
Date
2008
Language
en
Publisher Info
Starlady & Fast-Friend
Copyright © 2008 by George R. R. Martin. All rights reserved.
“Starlady” Copyright © 1976 By George R. R Martin. All rights reserved.
“Fast-Friend” Copyright © 1976 By George R. R Martin. All rights reserved.
Dust Jacket Illustration Copyright © 2008 by Martina Pilcerova. All rights reserved.
Interior Design Copyright © 2008 by Desert Isle Design, LLC. All rights reserved.
First Edition
ISBN 978-1-59606-175-0
Subterranean Press
PO Box 190106
Burton, MI 48519
www.subterraneanpress.com
Document Info
Author
mtvietnam
Program used
FictionBook Editor 2.4, AlReader2, calibre (0.8.0)
Date
June 2011
Version
1.0
History
1.0 — Scan, OCR, proofreading — mtvietnam (2010)
Some typos were fixed:
multi-colored strobes were Hashing — flashing
[He] voice was even, quiet — Her
hand, and took it off the table[.] — added period
He laughed[.] “Probly, starlady, on Rhiannon — added period
Her tone was cutting[.] — added period
Hal did not smile, hack — Hal did not smile back
an’ wound[,] up raped and ripped — deleted comma
joysmoke and grabtabs and rippin — joy-smoke
Janey blinked[.] “
What?
” — added period
boy with pointy ears and big [ears] — eyes
“He won’t do it,” Janey said stubbornly[.] — added period
Mayliss followed her[.] — added period
Everybody left him; his ’sticks[?] his girls, everybody — replaced question mark with comma
They found me on the concourse — Concourse
“Later,” said Stumblecat[.] — added period
They’ll kill you[,] Starlady — added comma
And you’ve heard the wobbly spins[,] right? — added comma
“Hey, Starlady,” Hal said — added closing quote
“It’s only a dark. Come on. Let me trap it[,]” —
Brand shook his head.
And the angel suddenly looked up, childish pique washing across her face. “You fooled me,” she said to Brand. “She’s not a horse. She’s a person.” Then, brightly, she smiled again. “And she’s so
pretty
.”
There was a long, long silence.
* * *
The bridge panel slid shut behind him. Robi was waiting. “Well?” she asked.
Wordlessly Brand kicked himself across the room, strapped down, and looked up at the viewscreen. Out in the darkness, in the screen-dimmed gloom, Melissa had rejoined the other fast-friends. They spoke with staccato bursts of color. Brand watched briefly, then reached up to the console and hit a button.
The stars flared cold and bright, and the flanks of Hades shone.
Before Robi had a chance to speak the fast-friends had vanished, spinning space around them, moving faster than the
Chariot
ever would. Only Melissa lingered, and only for a second. Then emptiness, and the derelicts around them.
“Brand!”
He smiled at her, and shrugged. “I couldn’t do it. We would never have been able to let them outside the screens. They’d be animals, draft animals, prisoners.” He looked sheepish. “I guess they’re not. Not people either, though, not anymore. Well, we always wanted to meet an alien race. How could we guess that we’d create one?”
“Brand,” Robi said. “Our investment. We have to go through with it. Maybe we can use darks?”
He shook his head. “No. We couldn’t get them to understand what we wanted. No. Fast-friends or… nothing, I guess.”
He paused, and looked at her. She was staring up at the viewscreen, with an expression that shrieked disgust and exasperation. “I’ll make it up to you,” Brand said. He took her hand, gently. “We’ll trap. We’re well equipped.”
Robi looked over. “Where’s the angel?” she asked, and her voice sounded a shade less angry.
Brand sighed. “In my cabin,” he said. “I gave her a necklace to play with.”
Document information
Title Info
Genre
SF
Author
George R. R. Martin
Title
Starlady & Fast-Friend
Date
2008
Language
en
Publisher Info
Starlady & Fast-Friend
Copyright © 2008 by George R. R. Martin. All rights reserved.
“Starlady” Copyright © 1976 By George R. R Martin. All rights reserved.
“Fast-Friend” Copyright © 1976 By George R. R Martin. All rights reserved.
Dust Jacket Illustration Copyright © 2008 by Martina Pilcerova. All rights reserved.
Interior Design Copyright © 2008 by Desert Isle Design, LLC. All rights reserved.
First Edition
ISBN 978-1-59606-175-0
Subterranean Press
PO Box 190106
Burton, MI 48519
www.subterraneanpress.com
Document Info
Author
mtvietnam
Program used
FictionBook Editor 2.4, AlReader2, calibre (0.8.0)
Date
June 2011
Version
1.0
History
1.0 — Scan, OCR, proofreading — mtvietnam (2010)
Some typos were fixed:
multi-colored strobes were Hashing — flashing
[He] voice was even, quiet — Her
hand, and took it off the table[.] — added period
He laughed[.] “Probly, starlady, on Rhiannon — added period
Her tone was cutting[.] — added period
Hal did not smile, hack — Hal did not smile back
an’ wound[,] up raped and ripped — deleted comma
joysmoke and grabtabs and rippin — joy-smoke
Janey blinked[.] “
What?
” — added period
boy with pointy ears and big [ears] — eyes
“He won’t do it,” Janey said stubbornly[.] — added period
Mayliss followed her[.] — added period
Everybody left him; his ’sticks[?] his girls, everybody — replaced question mark with comma
They found me on the concourse — Concourse
“Later,” said Stumblecat[.] — added period
They’ll kill you[,] Starlady — added comma
And you’ve heard the wobbly spins[,] right? — added comma
“Hey, Starlady,” Hal said — added closing quote
“It’s only a dark. Come on. Let me trap it[,]” —
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