spine. No, no, I would not give in, I could make it until tomorrow night–
And then the breeze picked up, strong enough to blow away the smell of re-entry boiled fish and carbon. It came from far out to sea, heavy with salt spray, just a little chill in the warm morning. Out of habit, I inhaled, brought the smell through my nose and right into my brain. It had been so long since I’d been on the open water that I’d forgotten just how clean the air was out here. Brushhead didn’t have real air pollution, but it was all such a riot of smells that it masked the tang of the deep, deep sea.
My new passengers didn’t pick up on this, of course. How could they? They’d spent years stuffed inside a floating tin can, breathing recycled farts in the musty seeder’s air; their noses were shot to hell. I wanted to tell these people to breathe deep, enjoy their new freedom, but all of the recruitment talk could wait.
“Well,” I said, “this isn’t what any of us were expecting, so let’s just get to shore and we’ll worry about the rest later. Is anyone injur–”
I got a tickle behind my eye. It wasn’t as bad as the Bloomie-Is-Nigh alert, but it was enough to make me nervous. Something was coming. I steered us so the shoreline was in view and saw sunlight glint on the water. I blinked in a zoom and saw four WalWa skiffs zipping toward us. “Oh, shit,” I said, cranking the throttle to maximum and bringing us around.
“What are you doing?” said Banks.
“Getting a move on,” I said, nodding at the skiffs.
“But we’re heading out to sea!”
“Look,” I said, dodging the can, “in twenty minutes, those boats will be within firing range. They’ll hose us down with riot foam, which will freeze us in place, and then you are beyond fucked. Me, they’ll just rough up, but you? You’ll never see daylight again.”
“And I appreciate that,” said Banks, “but wouldn’t we be safer on land?”
“Yes, which is why you’re going to do what I tell you to.” I grabbed his skinny shoulders, pulled him in front of me, then put his hands on the wheel and throttle. Then I started to get undressed.
He blinked and looked away. “OK, I might have hit my head during re-entry, so I may just be imagining this–”
I grabbed his face, and he jammed his eyes shut. “I need you to keep your shit together,” I said. “I also need you to open your eyes so I can send you instructions.”
“My pai isn’t working well,” he said.
“Is it working well enough for me to send you a picture?”
He nodded.
“Then open your fucking eyes, please.”
Banks did, and our pais did a handshake. I sent him a photo of the coastline, making sure to highlight the Emerald Masjid, then sent a shot of Jilly. “When I let go, start a count to twenty. Then point the boat toward that green tower in the first picture there. When you get to shore, that girl in the second picture will be waiting for you. Do not go with anyone but her, got it?”
He nodded.
“Good.” I patted his cheek. “See you around, Counselor,” I said, then jumped overboard.
Chapter 6
My balance was a little off, thanks to not making my Six O’Clock. It wasn’t my most graceful dive, but it got me clear of the launch. I worked my way to the surface, thankful it wasn’t mating season for the squid. I would have enough problems with the WalWa skiffs and didn’t need a batch of horny, tentacled beasties thrown into the mix.
Once I got topside, I was glad to see the launch zipping away. I swam toward the WalWa boats, blinking up a distress signal from my pai. I made sure to put it on all channels; some signal buoy would put it out on the Public, which might attract someone who was looking for action. It might also attract anyone allied with Sou’s Reach, but that was a chance I could take. This late in the day Saarien’s minions were probably unconscious or on their way to it.
The skiffs were half a klick away and gaining. I blinked up a zoom to
And then the breeze picked up, strong enough to blow away the smell of re-entry boiled fish and carbon. It came from far out to sea, heavy with salt spray, just a little chill in the warm morning. Out of habit, I inhaled, brought the smell through my nose and right into my brain. It had been so long since I’d been on the open water that I’d forgotten just how clean the air was out here. Brushhead didn’t have real air pollution, but it was all such a riot of smells that it masked the tang of the deep, deep sea.
My new passengers didn’t pick up on this, of course. How could they? They’d spent years stuffed inside a floating tin can, breathing recycled farts in the musty seeder’s air; their noses were shot to hell. I wanted to tell these people to breathe deep, enjoy their new freedom, but all of the recruitment talk could wait.
“Well,” I said, “this isn’t what any of us were expecting, so let’s just get to shore and we’ll worry about the rest later. Is anyone injur–”
I got a tickle behind my eye. It wasn’t as bad as the Bloomie-Is-Nigh alert, but it was enough to make me nervous. Something was coming. I steered us so the shoreline was in view and saw sunlight glint on the water. I blinked in a zoom and saw four WalWa skiffs zipping toward us. “Oh, shit,” I said, cranking the throttle to maximum and bringing us around.
“What are you doing?” said Banks.
“Getting a move on,” I said, nodding at the skiffs.
“But we’re heading out to sea!”
“Look,” I said, dodging the can, “in twenty minutes, those boats will be within firing range. They’ll hose us down with riot foam, which will freeze us in place, and then you are beyond fucked. Me, they’ll just rough up, but you? You’ll never see daylight again.”
“And I appreciate that,” said Banks, “but wouldn’t we be safer on land?”
“Yes, which is why you’re going to do what I tell you to.” I grabbed his skinny shoulders, pulled him in front of me, then put his hands on the wheel and throttle. Then I started to get undressed.
He blinked and looked away. “OK, I might have hit my head during re-entry, so I may just be imagining this–”
I grabbed his face, and he jammed his eyes shut. “I need you to keep your shit together,” I said. “I also need you to open your eyes so I can send you instructions.”
“My pai isn’t working well,” he said.
“Is it working well enough for me to send you a picture?”
He nodded.
“Then open your fucking eyes, please.”
Banks did, and our pais did a handshake. I sent him a photo of the coastline, making sure to highlight the Emerald Masjid, then sent a shot of Jilly. “When I let go, start a count to twenty. Then point the boat toward that green tower in the first picture there. When you get to shore, that girl in the second picture will be waiting for you. Do not go with anyone but her, got it?”
He nodded.
“Good.” I patted his cheek. “See you around, Counselor,” I said, then jumped overboard.
Chapter 6
My balance was a little off, thanks to not making my Six O’Clock. It wasn’t my most graceful dive, but it got me clear of the launch. I worked my way to the surface, thankful it wasn’t mating season for the squid. I would have enough problems with the WalWa skiffs and didn’t need a batch of horny, tentacled beasties thrown into the mix.
Once I got topside, I was glad to see the launch zipping away. I swam toward the WalWa boats, blinking up a distress signal from my pai. I made sure to put it on all channels; some signal buoy would put it out on the Public, which might attract someone who was looking for action. It might also attract anyone allied with Sou’s Reach, but that was a chance I could take. This late in the day Saarien’s minions were probably unconscious or on their way to it.
The skiffs were half a klick away and gaining. I blinked up a zoom to
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