Read Online Transformation Space by Marianne de Pierres - Free Book Online

think of a much worse place to die than in that goo. Even the vac’d be better. You did all right in there, Rasterovich.’
     She tapped her temple.
    Jo-Jo shrugged, not wanting her to make something out of it. ‘More to do with how the Entity fucked my head over back when
     I discovered it than anything else. Made it easier for me than for you to think.’
    They sat in silence for a while, drinking.
    ‘You think she’s still alive?’ Randall asked him.
    ‘Mira?’
    ‘No, the fuckin’ Extro queen.’
    She was baiting him, but he laughed. It felt good to be alive. ‘Yeah. I do. Might just be wishful,’ he said truthfully, ‘but
     she’s a survivor.’
    ‘Like us?’
    ‘No. She’s smarter than that.’
    They both laughed this time.
    Then Randall’s expression sobered. ‘I shouldn’t have left her alone on Rho Junction,’ she said. ‘Thought she’d be OK. We were
     so damn close to the ship. Didn’t expect anything to happen. Bethany was with her too. Beth’s got smarts.’
    ‘No. You shouldn’t have,’ said Jo-Jo. ‘And I won’t fuckin’ forget it till we find her alive.’ It was the first time the mercenary
     had admitted guilt at Mira Fedor’s kidnapping.
    Randall stared at him. ‘Figured as much. I don’t give a fuck about your forgiveness, though.’
    Jo-Jo didn’t like the direction of the conversation, so he hauled himself to his feet, then bent down and rubbed his shins.
     ‘Gonna find somewhere to sleep. I’ll finish looking around in the daylight.’
    Randall nodded. ‘Thinkin’ the same way. Don’t change the shade settings on the windows, and stay away from them once it’s
     light. Might be that the Extros in that big ol’ flying drum were happy to get rid of us, but the Saqr might fancy a bit of
     fresh brain juice.’
    ‘Hear you,’ said Jo-Jo. ‘Where da ya think we’ll find a flyer?’
    ‘There’re buildings all over the mountain. If we go out at night, we should be able to cover most of them. Could be, we get
     lucky and find one that hasn’t been damaged.’
    ‘Or?’
    ‘Could be, we spend the rest of our days eating pasta, right here. Until it runs out.’
    ‘I think we’re gonna get lucky,’ said Jo-Jo with a certainty he didn’t feel.
    ‘Sure,’ said Randall. ‘And OLOSS is gonna fly right in here and take Araldis back. Mira Fedor will be with them. She and I’ll
     fly off into the black together and get rich.’
    Jo-Jo gave her his best scowl. He didn’t like that scenario much better than the first.

M IRA
    ‘Your placenta is breaking down. We must take the baby from you soon, or it will starve.’
    Mira felt vulnerable lying on her back, covered by a translucent membrane and under the scrutiny of an array of sensors. The
     clinician – Dolin, he introduced himself as – was like all the others who had come to examine the odd Latino woman carrying
     a child of indeterminate biology: curious but nursing a hint of faint repulsion beneath his spill-resistant research whites.
    Rene Mianos had been true to her word, arranging for Mira’s transfer to the Mount Clement facility as soon as the biozoon
     docked. It had come at a price, though. Thales Berniere had been escorted off the ship, straight to the Sophos, by red-robed
     police. The Consilience soldier, Fariss O’Dea, on the other hand, had easily disarmed her would-be captors and simply disappeared.
    Mira wondered if Fariss and Thales had worked out a plan for this eventuality, or whether the soldier had simply decided to
     cut her losses and leave. Either way, Mira went to Mount Clement alone.
    As she and Thales had been escorted away from the egress scale – Mira on a hospital float and Thales in restraints – she had
     seen a fine-looking, slim woman standing in the background of the down-lift area. She’dwanted to tell Thales his wife was there, but the Scolar authorities had allowed them no time to speak or say goodbye.
    ‘Will my baby survive?’ she asked Dolin.
    ‘We’re unsure,