Marauder by Gary Gibson Read Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Gary Gibson
you—’
‘I meant with Thijs,’ hissed Gabrielle. ‘You could have told him no, that he had to leave . . . but instead you did nothing.’
Gabrielle watched the old woman’s face as comprehension finally dawned there. ‘How was I to know that he would—?’
‘How could you
not
know?’ Gabrielle cried. ‘I remember the look on your face then! You
knew
. . . you knew why he was there. And yet you still let him in. You
never once tried to protect me from him,
not once.
’
Cassanas swallowed a great gulp of air, in the manner of someone drowning, before she replied. ‘I took care of you as if you were my own daughter,’ she gasped, her voice growing
husky. ‘I fed you from my own breast when you were a baby. I—’
‘Get out.’
‘I taught you how to read and—’
‘I said
get out!
’
Gabrielle screamed these last words at the top of her lungs. She kept shrieking them until Cassanas backed away – running out through the door, with the same two words still pouring out of
Gabrielle’s throat like the shriek of a wounded animal.
FIVE
Megan
2751 (twelve years before)
The first time Megan had ever heard of the Wanderer was on the command deck of the
Beauregard
– a Kjæregrønnested-registered exploration vessel in
orbit above that same world – where she sat ensconced within the folded-up steel petals of the ship’s astrogation chair.
she observed.
Although Valentin – the merchant officer in charge of supervising the final maintenance checks before the
Beauregard
was handed over to the Accord – was hidden from her
actual view, she could see and hear him perfectly well via her ship-linked senses.
Thus she saw Valentin reach out to a console, information rippling under his touch. One or two other members of the skeleton crew assigned to this final check-over were moving here and there
around the command deck, in order to supervise last-minute drive and systems diagnostics.
Looks like a standard supply shipment
, he replied, his voice sounding flat and echoless as it was fed directly into her auditory nerves.
Seems a little weird that they’d be
sending it up now, though.
I’ll check the authorization.
He paused, the data before him flickering into a new configuration.
Well, whatever it is, it’s highest priority. Orders direct from
Ladested: don’t look, don’t touch.
Megan tried to puzzle it out. Why would they be
loading
supplies? The
Beauregard
had only just arrived back in-system, and it wasn’t going anywhere for a good long while
– at least not until the special delegation of technical staff on its way from the Accord had finished taking it apart and putting it together again according to their own stringent
specifications.
Already did
, Valentin replied.
But I’m pretty damn sure nobody’s going to tell us anything. It’s got a security rating like you wouldn’t believe
.
Screw it
, she thought; it wasn’t her concern any more. she asked Valentin.
Maybe in another hour or so
, he replied.
There’s a bar in the port district of Ladested, place called the Mog & Bone. We’re thinking of holding a wake. Fancy joining
us?
Megan grinned.
Hey, wait a minute.
She saw Valentin step towards another console, frowning at what he saw.
There’s a message for you
.
Take a look
.
The message materialized before her.
It can’t be the Accord delegation already
, said Valentin.
We’re not scheduled to hand the ship over to them for at least another forty-eight hours.
‘I meant with Thijs,’ hissed Gabrielle. ‘You could have told him no, that he had to leave . . . but instead you did nothing.’
Gabrielle watched the old woman’s face as comprehension finally dawned there. ‘How was I to know that he would—?’
‘How could you
not
know?’ Gabrielle cried. ‘I remember the look on your face then! You
knew
. . . you knew why he was there. And yet you still let him in. You
never once tried to protect me from him,
not once.
’
Cassanas swallowed a great gulp of air, in the manner of someone drowning, before she replied. ‘I took care of you as if you were my own daughter,’ she gasped, her voice growing
husky. ‘I fed you from my own breast when you were a baby. I—’
‘Get out.’
‘I taught you how to read and—’
‘I said
get out!
’
Gabrielle screamed these last words at the top of her lungs. She kept shrieking them until Cassanas backed away – running out through the door, with the same two words still pouring out of
Gabrielle’s throat like the shriek of a wounded animal.
FIVE
Megan
2751 (twelve years before)
The first time Megan had ever heard of the Wanderer was on the command deck of the
Beauregard
– a Kjæregrønnested-registered exploration vessel in
orbit above that same world – where she sat ensconced within the folded-up steel petals of the ship’s astrogation chair.
Although Valentin – the merchant officer in charge of supervising the final maintenance checks before the
Beauregard
was handed over to the Accord – was hidden from her
actual view, she could see and hear him perfectly well via her ship-linked senses.
Thus she saw Valentin reach out to a console, information rippling under his touch. One or two other members of the skeleton crew assigned to this final check-over were moving here and there
around the command deck, in order to supervise last-minute drive and systems diagnostics.
Looks like a standard supply shipment
, he replied, his voice sounding flat and echoless as it was fed directly into her auditory nerves.
Seems a little weird that they’d be
sending it up now, though.
I’ll check the authorization.
He paused, the data before him flickering into a new configuration.
Well, whatever it is, it’s highest priority. Orders direct from
Ladested: don’t look, don’t touch.
Megan tried to puzzle it out. Why would they be
loading
supplies? The
Beauregard
had only just arrived back in-system, and it wasn’t going anywhere for a good long while
– at least not until the special delegation of technical staff on its way from the Accord had finished taking it apart and putting it together again according to their own stringent
specifications.
Already did
, Valentin replied.
But I’m pretty damn sure nobody’s going to tell us anything. It’s got a security rating like you wouldn’t believe
.
Screw it
, she thought; it wasn’t her concern any more.
Maybe in another hour or so
, he replied.
There’s a bar in the port district of Ladested, place called the Mog & Bone. We’re thinking of holding a wake. Fancy joining
us?
Megan grinned.
Hey, wait a minute.
She saw Valentin step towards another console, frowning at what he saw.
There’s a message for you
.
Take a look
.
The message materialized before her.
It can’t be the Accord delegation already
, said Valentin.
We’re not scheduled to hand the ship over to them for at least another forty-eight hours.
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