Read Online The Green Knight (Space Lore Book 1) by Chris Dietzel - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Chris Dietzel
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so he continued walking with them toward Vere’s ship.
Morgan had arrived to the planet in her own ship. When she got to the space dock where she had left it, she diverted from the others without saying goodbye or anything else. Vere guessed they would see a small W-model Llyushin, the most common type of star fighter in the CasterLan Kingdom, fly out of the Folliet-Bright airspace alongside them on their way to the nearest portal.
They continued through a series of dimly lit tunnels and ramps. Where there was light enough to see, they passed by every possible type of trash. When the roar of starships wasn’t deafening, they heard the growls and moans of aliens hiding in the shadows.
Eventually they came to a vast open chamber with a starship in the middle. Looking up, Baldwin saw only open air, leading out to space and to the greater galaxy.
The ship in front of them looked like two distorted, oblong discs that had been smashed together to form one vessel.
“Pretty,” Baldwin said, trying to be polite to the people who were taking him across the galaxy, but sounding somewhat ill instead.
“Nice,” Vere said. “A guy with a bloody nose and black eye is worried about how my ship looks.”
“Where did you get this thing?” he asked, still wondering if it really had been two separate ships at one point. He had seen plenty of fighters, frigates, cruisers, and destroyers from just about every different kingdom. The ship in front of him looked nothing like anything he had seen before.
“It’s a long story,” Fastolf said with the same grin he had given when lying about not having stolen the alien’s money, and Baldwin wondered if this ship had been part of some heist. Was the king’s daughter, the heir to the CasterLan Kingdom, so disconnected from her royal heritage that she was stealing ships with the people she drank with?
“What do you call it?”
“The Griffin Fire.”
On the way to the ship, Vere told Baldwin to follow Fastolf. “He’ll show you where the medical supplies are. We have bio-medic suits in the back. You’ll be back to normal in a few minutes.”
Fastolf’s face wasn’t as bad as Baldwin’s but it was still bleeding. She watched as the two men walked up the incline of the ramp and into the recesses of the Griffin Fire. A’la Dure, Traskk, and Occulus remained by her side. Atop the ship, an android walked back and forth from one open panel to another.
“How’s it going, Pistol?”
Only when formally addressed did the android stop working and turn his attention to the people down below. He looked just like a human man, only without hair—not even eyebrows—and his skin was partly translucent. Vere had never been sure if Pistol’s skin was supposed to appear realistic or if it was intended to look the way it did, a cross between human flesh and dyed metal.
“Hello, Vere,” the android said, his lips barely moving. “Do you need the ship?”
“Yes. How long?”
“Five minutes,” Pistol said, not asking permission or explaining what would take that long.
A’la Dure nudged Vere’s arm and pointed at a part of the ship, causing Vere to ask, “Pistol, are the tinder walls working?”
When the android switched from looking at Vere to A’la Dure and then back to Vere, only his eyes moved.
“They are.”
“We’re leaving as soon as you’re done,” Vere said.
Without acknowledging her, Pistol turned and moved back to one of the open panels. It was possible for android software to mimic real emotions but Vere preferred hers to be monotone, emotionless, and apathetic. Even so, she couldn’t help but suspect some part of Pistol’s programming took it personally when everyone else went to Eastcheap all day while he had to stay behind and watch over the ship. It wasn’t in her control anyway; his entire system would shut off as soon as he set foot inside the bar due to the Treagon barrier. She still thought, though, that he was curious about what happened
Morgan had arrived to the planet in her own ship. When she got to the space dock where she had left it, she diverted from the others without saying goodbye or anything else. Vere guessed they would see a small W-model Llyushin, the most common type of star fighter in the CasterLan Kingdom, fly out of the Folliet-Bright airspace alongside them on their way to the nearest portal.
They continued through a series of dimly lit tunnels and ramps. Where there was light enough to see, they passed by every possible type of trash. When the roar of starships wasn’t deafening, they heard the growls and moans of aliens hiding in the shadows.
Eventually they came to a vast open chamber with a starship in the middle. Looking up, Baldwin saw only open air, leading out to space and to the greater galaxy.
The ship in front of them looked like two distorted, oblong discs that had been smashed together to form one vessel.
“Pretty,” Baldwin said, trying to be polite to the people who were taking him across the galaxy, but sounding somewhat ill instead.
“Nice,” Vere said. “A guy with a bloody nose and black eye is worried about how my ship looks.”
“Where did you get this thing?” he asked, still wondering if it really had been two separate ships at one point. He had seen plenty of fighters, frigates, cruisers, and destroyers from just about every different kingdom. The ship in front of him looked nothing like anything he had seen before.
“It’s a long story,” Fastolf said with the same grin he had given when lying about not having stolen the alien’s money, and Baldwin wondered if this ship had been part of some heist. Was the king’s daughter, the heir to the CasterLan Kingdom, so disconnected from her royal heritage that she was stealing ships with the people she drank with?
“What do you call it?”
“The Griffin Fire.”
On the way to the ship, Vere told Baldwin to follow Fastolf. “He’ll show you where the medical supplies are. We have bio-medic suits in the back. You’ll be back to normal in a few minutes.”
Fastolf’s face wasn’t as bad as Baldwin’s but it was still bleeding. She watched as the two men walked up the incline of the ramp and into the recesses of the Griffin Fire. A’la Dure, Traskk, and Occulus remained by her side. Atop the ship, an android walked back and forth from one open panel to another.
“How’s it going, Pistol?”
Only when formally addressed did the android stop working and turn his attention to the people down below. He looked just like a human man, only without hair—not even eyebrows—and his skin was partly translucent. Vere had never been sure if Pistol’s skin was supposed to appear realistic or if it was intended to look the way it did, a cross between human flesh and dyed metal.
“Hello, Vere,” the android said, his lips barely moving. “Do you need the ship?”
“Yes. How long?”
“Five minutes,” Pistol said, not asking permission or explaining what would take that long.
A’la Dure nudged Vere’s arm and pointed at a part of the ship, causing Vere to ask, “Pistol, are the tinder walls working?”
When the android switched from looking at Vere to A’la Dure and then back to Vere, only his eyes moved.
“They are.”
“We’re leaving as soon as you’re done,” Vere said.
Without acknowledging her, Pistol turned and moved back to one of the open panels. It was possible for android software to mimic real emotions but Vere preferred hers to be monotone, emotionless, and apathetic. Even so, she couldn’t help but suspect some part of Pistol’s programming took it personally when everyone else went to Eastcheap all day while he had to stay behind and watch over the ship. It wasn’t in her control anyway; his entire system would shut off as soon as he set foot inside the bar due to the Treagon barrier. She still thought, though, that he was curious about what happened
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