April by Mackey Chandler Read Free Book Online Page B

a sort of gushy persona with shy people and she decided to try that with this fellow.
    "Hi! I'm April Lewis," she offered her hand. "I'm the Director's daughter and usually know new people, but I haven't met you. Are you finding your way around OK?" He took her hand carefully and gave it an unusually restrained one-pump, but still a grip instead of a spacer style touch. He had on very sheer gloves she hadn't noticed, but that wasn't unusual for an Earthie, quite a few of them were paranoid about disease.
    "Hello, April. I'm Art," not offering his full name. "I'm not really lost or anything, I'm an intern with Mitsubishi, here for a short visit. Eventually I'm going to be an aeronautical architect, so I am studying how M3 was made, especially what was changed from the original design because it didn't work, so the same mistakes aren't repeated."
    "Very interesting. I'm surprised my dad didn't bring you home to supper. He usually drags anyone from the company home at least once."
    "Well, I'm only here for a week. Maintenance and Housing got me a room and arranged a bunch of walk arounds. I may even get a treat and go outside tomorrow, before I have to catch the shuttle back." That was something rarely offered without need.
    "I think you're being modest," she teased, "you must have some pull to get decent accommodations. They usually just stick short timers in the barracks with the construction workers, instead of giving them a private room."
    "I suppose they are treating me really well, but it still doesn't have a port. It's one reason I came here, because it said on the map this was here," he said, nodding at the glass.
    "View-port," she corrected him. "A port opens." This didn't. It seemed odd, she thought, needing to point out proper terminology to an aeronautical architect student. "Looking out is not as relaxing as some people expect with the rotation," she explained, waving her hand at the black depths with a few bright stars whirling by. There was too much reflection off the glass to see very well anyway, with the corridor lights up full.
    "When it comes around I see a shuttle," he said pointing out the port, "but it looks to be a United States of North America shuttle. I don't see the FedEx shuttle I'm supposed to go on tomorrow."
    "It should be at the North hub. It'll be loading freight where the station doesn't turn, so you can't see it from here. The North hub is sort of industrial and unattractive. They don't like for tourists and VIPs to see the drab side of M3, so most passenger shuttles dock on the South. If you came in the South you should double check. Most freight haulers only have two seats to sell, so they don't redock for passengers."
    "Yes, they told me that. I see this one is scheduled to leave before mine. If I come here will I be able to see it fire its engines to fall away?"
    "Depends on the pilot. Some of them will burn their main engines right from their parking orbit and some of them move off real cautious with the attitude jets a kilometer or so, before they light 'em up. You could still see pretty well if you have a pair of binoculars."
    He nodded his understanding, but changed the subject. "This communications room was originally on the hub. Can you tell me why it ended up here?"
    "Sure, it's not really a mistake like you were talking about," April explained. "It had to be on the hub at first, because it was one of the first things needed before there were any spun sections. At first it was all construction traffic it was dealing with and guys had to be able to go in and out easily with a bulky hard suit on. My grandpa did some of the earliest work and told me a little about it. But after most of the construction was done and we got these corporate rentals, it had to be moved here, because the businessmen expect to walk down the corridor and have com and conference rooms and a place to eat close by.
    If there is a big construction project going on they still set up a radio shack in zero G and tie