Aloft (Petronaut Tales) Read Online Free PDF Page B

she said weakly.
    The senior tech pressed her hand against Ensie’s shoulder and practically dragged her to the ground.  They sat cross-legged by the sheltering arc of the Flicker’s one good wing. 
    “How could you possibly know?”  Ensie said.
    “Please,” Iggy said, waving a hand impatiently.  “Oh, Ensie, Ensie, Chatty Ensie, I give this latest endeavor of yours every blessing I can think of.  I think you’re incredibly resourceful and incredibly enterprising to be keeping your eyes open for a tumble even in the middle of a busy hangar.”
    “Uh—”
    “And if talking shop gave you the excuse you needed to break the ice with this guy, I’m all for it.  There is one thing I need to know.  If this consultancy you’re telling me about on the up-and-up, or is it just your spare key to the back door?”
    Ensie scratched an itch on her knee, trying to follow.  “Senior tech, what do you mean?”
    “Does the Flicker actually need Upforth’s?  Or do you just need an excuse to see him?”  Iggy tilted her head and her long, crinkled brown hair brushed just above her elbows.  “Because if all you really want from this is to get bedded, don’t make me waste my time getting Tomas’ authorization, like a midling trying to pull one over on mom and dad.  Just take him home and bed him.”
    Ensie wanted to crawl inside her own boots and hide until it was over.  Iggy was speaking at a completely normal volume in her customary low, lazy voice.  The junior tech was sure that passing civilians were hearing every word. 
    “It’s a real partnership,” she maintained, fighting down a catch in her throat.  “I think Upforth’s really can help us make the Flicker better.”
    Iggy’s thin eyes looked oddly sad.  “Fair enough,” she said.  “You know that means that I’ll be expecting results each time you meet with him?”
    “Yes, of course.”
    “That means you’ll actually have to work, Ensie.  And with the Expo coming up fast, Tomas and I are going to expect you to stay on schedule.”
    “Absolutely.  Sure.  Wouldn’t expect anything else.”
    Iggy sighed.  “You’re a strange bird, Ensie,” the senior tech said, shaking her head.
    Ensie looked at the ground and smiled.  She rubbed her hands against her knees and glanced back to Iggy.  “And you’re a good boss, senior tech.”
    A mischievous look came over the older woman’s face.  “We’ll see if you still feel that way when I let the squad know you’re in heat,” she said, stretching up to her full height.
    Ensie laughed nervously, scrambling to her feet.  Iggy started to walk towards the nearest knot of Aerials.
    “Senior tech?  Senior tech, you aren’t serious—”
    “Get working on that second wing while I’m gone,” Iggy said casually over her shoulder.
    Spheres alive , Ensie thought miserably as she turned to the sheets of metal on the hangar floor.  I’m never going to live this down.
     

 
    Upforth’s machine shop was as romantic as a fishmonger’s stall. 
    Cooper looked around the dingy black room with despairing eyes.  He’d swept the iron shavings and sawdust up twice, and put the tools in their precise drawers in the tool chest with painstaking care.  He’d even taken a rag to the windows.  The glass panes were as thin as arrow slits, and even with two centimeters of grime scoured from their surfaces, they only let light pass through grudgingly and under duress.  It wasn’t as if there was much light to come through, anyway.  The late afternoon was overcast, unlike the sunshine that had beamed down on the Aerial hangar all day yesterday.  Strange , Cooper thought, hanging the dustpan back on its hook on the wall, how you can feel so good one day, and so anxious the next.
    He brushed his palms off and looked at the nearest counter.  Next to the carpenter’s vise was a sheaf of red-and-white tulips, bound together with a twist of white ribbon.   The blossoms had a wet, pearly sheen to