Star Road by Matthew Costello, Rick Hautala Page A
Authors: Matthew Costello, Rick Hautala
Ads: Link
~
“Gage?” Ruth said.
Ivan turned. The Seeker raced to catch up with him, both with just an hour off the cramped SRV.
Ivan glanced at the troopers, marching back to their ship in stiff military order. All around him on the tarmac, ground crews and other way station personnel bustled about.
Half a dozen men tended to the SRV-66.
Ivan was headed straight for the way station bar. He considered pretending he hadn’t heard Ruth, but then he stopped and turned to face her.
As he waited for her to catch up with him, he took a deep breath of the planet’s moist, fresh air.
Dense ... delicious.
The Seeker— Ruth, he reminded himself—had pulled back her hood ... or it had fallen back—as she ran to catch up to him.
In the diffused sunlight of Epsilon Two, wreathed by a hazy glow because of the humid atmosphere, he found himself thinking that she wasn’t so bad to look at outside of the dimness of the passengers’ cabin.
Maybe she was even pretty.
Too bad she’s one of those religious fanatics.
“Sorry to bother you, Mr. Gage.”
“Drop the ‘mister.’ Just Gage,” he said, nodding.
“Is it really so dangerous? I mean, where we’re going that we need a Council troop ship?”
“World Council seems to think so.”
He could see by her expression that his answer didn’t help, and he decided to soften it.
“Look. Don’t worry. We have a military escort now. So we’re much safer. Besides, the Runners aren’t the savages the media make them out to be.”
“My ... brother says they’re nothing but a bunch of bloodthirsty pirates.”
He caught the way she hesitated before saying the word “brother.” That hinted at... something ... some disconnect.
Thinking: She has secrets, too.
“He ever meet one? A Runner, I mean. Face-to-face?”
Ivan smiled at the irony because here she was, talking to the Runners’ leader.
Former leader, that is.
“I... I assume he has,” Ruth said. “He left home years ago and has been on the Road for a long time.”
“Well, let me tell you one thing,” Ivan said, stepping closer to her. “In my opinion, they’re fighting for one thing and one thing only.”
“And that is ... ?”
“Freedom of the Roads. For everyone. I would think you, especially—”
He took a step back and regarded her with a long, sweeping glance from head to foot.
“—as a Seeker, would appreciate and support what they do.”
“But they’re cold-blooded killers, too,” she said. “I can’t support violence.”
“And what the World Council does is okay with you?”
Ivan sensed his control slipping.
Could make a mistake here.
Got to drop my support of the Runners. And fast.
He shot a glance over his shoulder and saw the neon lights of the restaurant and bar. Its name was far out.
But clichéd name or not, if he was lucky, they either had some very fresh beer or some very old whiskey.
“Now, if you don’t mind, Ruth.”
Enough Seeker philosophy for now...
“I want to grab myself a drink or two before we hit the Road again. And when I drink alone, I prefer to be by myself.’
With that, he turned and walked away.
But all the while, he was aware of her gaze fixed on his back until he opened the door and entered the bar.
~ * ~
12
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Ivan watched the female bartender pour the brown near-bourbon—no one could make a profit bringing real bourbon all the way out here—with the enthusiasm of a lifer working a prison cafeteria’s creamed corn station.
Definitely not enjoying her work.
He spent a few seconds looking at her face. How did they get her to come out here?
Hopeless life on Earth? Promises of bounties, bonuses?
Maybe she just didn’t care. A lot of people didn’t these days.
Her eyes looked at the glass as she put it down,
“Gage?” Ruth said.
Ivan turned. The Seeker raced to catch up with him, both with just an hour off the cramped SRV.
Ivan glanced at the troopers, marching back to their ship in stiff military order. All around him on the tarmac, ground crews and other way station personnel bustled about.
Half a dozen men tended to the SRV-66.
Ivan was headed straight for the way station bar. He considered pretending he hadn’t heard Ruth, but then he stopped and turned to face her.
As he waited for her to catch up with him, he took a deep breath of the planet’s moist, fresh air.
Dense ... delicious.
The Seeker— Ruth, he reminded himself—had pulled back her hood ... or it had fallen back—as she ran to catch up to him.
In the diffused sunlight of Epsilon Two, wreathed by a hazy glow because of the humid atmosphere, he found himself thinking that she wasn’t so bad to look at outside of the dimness of the passengers’ cabin.
Maybe she was even pretty.
Too bad she’s one of those religious fanatics.
“Sorry to bother you, Mr. Gage.”
“Drop the ‘mister.’ Just Gage,” he said, nodding.
“Is it really so dangerous? I mean, where we’re going that we need a Council troop ship?”
“World Council seems to think so.”
He could see by her expression that his answer didn’t help, and he decided to soften it.
“Look. Don’t worry. We have a military escort now. So we’re much safer. Besides, the Runners aren’t the savages the media make them out to be.”
“My ... brother says they’re nothing but a bunch of bloodthirsty pirates.”
He caught the way she hesitated before saying the word “brother.” That hinted at... something ... some disconnect.
Thinking: She has secrets, too.
“He ever meet one? A Runner, I mean. Face-to-face?”
Ivan smiled at the irony because here she was, talking to the Runners’ leader.
Former leader, that is.
“I... I assume he has,” Ruth said. “He left home years ago and has been on the Road for a long time.”
“Well, let me tell you one thing,” Ivan said, stepping closer to her. “In my opinion, they’re fighting for one thing and one thing only.”
“And that is ... ?”
“Freedom of the Roads. For everyone. I would think you, especially—”
He took a step back and regarded her with a long, sweeping glance from head to foot.
“—as a Seeker, would appreciate and support what they do.”
“But they’re cold-blooded killers, too,” she said. “I can’t support violence.”
“And what the World Council does is okay with you?”
Ivan sensed his control slipping.
Could make a mistake here.
Got to drop my support of the Runners. And fast.
He shot a glance over his shoulder and saw the neon lights of the restaurant and bar. Its name was far out.
But clichéd name or not, if he was lucky, they either had some very fresh beer or some very old whiskey.
“Now, if you don’t mind, Ruth.”
Enough Seeker philosophy for now...
“I want to grab myself a drink or two before we hit the Road again. And when I drink alone, I prefer to be by myself.’
With that, he turned and walked away.
But all the while, he was aware of her gaze fixed on his back until he opened the door and entered the bar.
~ * ~
12
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Ivan watched the female bartender pour the brown near-bourbon—no one could make a profit bringing real bourbon all the way out here—with the enthusiasm of a lifer working a prison cafeteria’s creamed corn station.
Definitely not enjoying her work.
He spent a few seconds looking at her face. How did they get her to come out here?
Hopeless life on Earth? Promises of bounties, bonuses?
Maybe she just didn’t care. A lot of people didn’t these days.
Her eyes looked at the glass as she put it down,
Similar Books
The Creation of Inequality: How Our Prehistoric Ancestors Set the Stage for Monarchy, Slavery, and Empire
Kent Flannery, Joyce Marcus
