A Passage of Stars Read Online Free PDF

the doors opened into an underground tunnel.
    “Hoy,” she repeated, picking up her duffel bag. “What a ride that was.”
    Bach’s reply was very brief.
    Stairs led to Mineral Avenue; there they turned up Gourmet Street. Shielded boutiques lit in gaudy colors as the light faded. Beside her, Bach hugged the ground like an oversized soccer ball, but the dusk protected them from stares.
    At Handfast Boulevard they turned right toward the Harbormaster’s offices. It was closed, but not locked.
    “Please the Void let him be on duty,” breathed Lily as she and Bach coded in to enter. The door swept aside to admit them to the outer offices, plastic desks and dark terminals and the long “permits counter” lying in dim stillness under the glow of two auxiliary light tubes. A short hallway in back, barred by a waist-high gate, which Lily hopped and Bach floated over, led to three doors. Lily punched into the central door’s panel, heard a click, a beep, and finally a voice.
    “Who is it?”
    “Finch,” she said, “let me in.”
    “How’d you get here?” asked the voice, but the door slid open. Lily and Bach went through, and it huffed shut behind them. “And what by the Seven Hells is that?” finished the voice, thoroughly startled now.
    Lily had to pause while her eyes adjusted. The only light in the room came from ten lit screens on the curved console. A dark figure rose, hands moving on the console, and all the room lights flashed on. Lily covered her eyes with one palm, slowly lowered it.
    Heneage Finch Caenna stared first at her, then his eyes slid to gaze astonished at her spherical companion.
    “Never mind,” said Lily firmly, recollecting herself and starting forward, “I need your help.” She walked around the console to stand beside him, examining each screen in turn. Besides the console and its three chairs, the room was empty. Three walls had a blank, metallic cast; the fourth was sprayed with the telltale pinprick of lights that marked it as a wall screen. A low rumble of music came from one of the console’s speakers.
    “How did you get here?” He extended one hand to touch Lily’s coat. “There’s no Ransome cargo runs due for eight revs.”
    Lily leaned forward to peer intently at the screen marked “Departures.” “I drove.”
    He laughed. “No.”
    “I need a listing of ships that have just left or have just gotten clearance to leave.”
    Finch sat down. “You did. Lily! You could have killed yourself! You may not care, but some of us still cherish ideas about you—”
    “Finch,” she interrupted, almost harsh, “not now. I need those listings.”
    He looked again to the door, where Bach hovered patiently, lights blinking. An appendage snaked out from his interior and began to polish his surface. “Hoy,” said the young man. His eyes, deep-set and brown in an olive-toned face, shifted back to Lily. “Don’t tell me I can’t care,” he finished, “not after everything we’ve done together,” but he reached past her to bring up a series of numbers and a log on one of the screens. “Station window is not at optimum. There’s a code two storm. You’re not going to get any lifts for the next two revs.”
    “Come on , Finch. Just check.”
    “Okay. Okay. Move back,” She stepped back, trailing a mist of dust. “You’re as filthy as a tattoo. Maybe you should go take a shower while I check.” He brushed dirt off one sleeve of her tunic, let one hand settle there.
    She pulled away from him and set down her bag. “I’ll wait.”
    He made a face at her, but began typing. A few screens scrolled past, two tones sounded, and new numbers flashed on the screen. “By the Void. Unauthorized lift at dock seven, thirty-two minutes ago. That hasn’t happened for years.”
    “Good watch you keep.” She moved forward to inspect the figures on the screen.
    “Don’t be a push, Lil,” he said, angry now. “Why monitor that close when no one ever lifts without going through