A Passage of Stars Read Online Free PDF Page B

us?”
    “Don’t call me that. And what about bootleggers?”
    “Much you know about booters,” he retorted. “What do you know about this ship?”
    “What classification?”
    He checked, came up only with “no match.” The ship had no name or home port listing, just an ID number, and gave only a Station clearance and a captain’s name, Cha. “Never seen them before,” Finch said. “Never heard of them. I wasn’t on shift when they landed and Mom didn’t say anything to me, to watch them close or anything. Berth tax is paid up.”
    Lily whistled.
    “What?” Finch turned. “Hey!”
    Bach was moving, singing a brief answer.
    “Move aside a blink, Finch,” said Lily. “This is Bach.”
    Finch merely stared, mouth slightly open, at the approach of the robot. Bach settled in beside him and reached out to plug into the console.
    “Hey!” cried Finch, starting up.
    Lily put out a hand and pushed him back into his chair. “It’s safe.”
    A few more figures flashed on the screen, winked off, and Bach began to sing. Finch ran one hand through his dark hair, pulling it back behind his ears. When Bach finished, the screen reverting to what Finch had originally brought up, the young man turned his eyes up to look at Lily, his hand still in his hair as if caught there.
    “That doesn’t make sense,” said Lily.
    Bach sang a short phrase.
    “I’ll say.” Finch lowered his hand. “Lily! What is that thing?”
    “He’s a very old, very smart robot,” replied Lily, “and he just told me that that ship is, and I quote, ‘a Kapellan class oh-one-oh-oh-one-oh schooner, late Imperial ID vested class with special powers clearance,’ and ‘Cha’ is not a name but a title. Does that make any sense to you?”
    “None of this makes any sense to me.”
    “Damn. Damn. Damn.” Lily walked to the door and back. “It’s got to be.” She turned abruptly on Pinch, who slowly lowered his hand to the console. “When’s the soonest jump window out of system from Station?”
    “Absolutely none for six revs,” he said straightaway.
    “Then I’ve still got a chance.”
    “Although—” He tapped out a command and watched the reply flash onto a screen. “They could be hanging out at Tagalong. They’ve got a window at two point five revs.”
    “No one’s got that much energy to waste—” She stopped, remembering the aircar. “Maybe they do.” She whirled away again, pacing.
    “Likely chance, Lil.”
    She spun back, reached to grab his tunic, and pulled him to his feet. “If you call me that again I’ll smash your face in.”
    Finch grinned in his lazy, half-sensual way. “You have such a way with words, Saressa. I remember the first time you propositioned me—”
    “Heneage!” She let him go like he was fire and flushed as if the heat had caught her.
    He threw up his hands, palms up. “You win. What a horrible name. I’ll never forgive my mother for giving it to me.”
    “And anyway,” continued Lily with a smug grin, “my first proposition to you was to climb Apron Rock.”
    “Then it must have been the second one.”
    “Finch.” She laid her hands on his shoulders. “Master Heredes was kidnapped this afternoon.”
    He put his hands on hers. “I’d heard he had some trouble in town. I heard it was bounties.”
    “No.” She drew back from him, explained about the aircar and the aliens. When she finished he sat down and stared morosely at Bach for some time. Bach had resumed polishing, hovering about a meter above the floor. Part of his exterior now gleamed with a brilliant sheen, in stark contrast to those areas that still had a pall of dust on them.
    “What can I do?” asked Finch finally. “After all, I used to take classes from him, too.”
    Lily sat in the chair beside him. All her energy and purpose seemed suddenly dissipated. If Heredes was taken out of system, she would lose him completely. She sighed, resting her chin on one hand. The hard hat shadowed her eyes. “ No one is