Ellie Quin Book 3: Beneath the Neon Sky Read Online Free PDF Page A

was a
full time
job, and even though the auto-helm was on the case most of the time, there needed to be someone on hand, in the cockpit, who could handle the vessel in case there was a problem.
    He wasn’t entirely sure they’d bought all that. But since it was
his
ship,
his
money they had spent converting her into a leisure barge and
his
loss if it all went belly up, he decided it didn’t really matter if they did or not. He wasn’t going to wear that damned uniform Jez had given him, and he doubly wasn’t going to go back into the…
Passenger Suite
….and strut around like a pompous idiot to impress their paying guests and indulge in polite chitter chatter with them.
    He’d feel like an utter moron.
    Aaron was nervous that this whole enterprise was going to be found out for what it was by those people back there; a quick and corny cash-in. That some bright spark was going to notice that they’d been accommodated in a rusty old freight container, and the ship was nothing more than an ageing tug, splashed with white paint.
    Still, so far so good. There had been no grumbles as yet, at least none that Ellie or Jez had reported. And, of course, he noted with a warm glow of satisfaction, the money was already tucked up safely in the bank; four and a half thousand creds of it already.
    He settled back in his padded seat and felt the heat of the morning sun as it emerged with a fan-like explosion of rays over the mostly flat and featureless horizon ahead.
    *
    They approached the arctic line towards evening on the second day. They watched the distant, thin ribbon of white ahead of them slowly thicken as the shuttle hurtled towards it. Jez stood behind the pilot’s seat and gazed, slack-jawed at the approaching spectacle.
    ‘Oh-my-crud, this is in-cred-ible! I can’t believe I’m seeing this with my own eyes!’
    ‘Yeah, it’s a breathtaking sight alright,’ said Aaron.
    ‘I mean, after days of seeing just so much orange mud…it’s, like, I dunno…startling,’ she continued. ‘It’s like the edge of the world, or something.’
    Ellie came forward. ‘Great isn’t it?’
    Jez, beaming, turned to her. ‘Fregg, you know what Ellie? I’m so totally glad we met.’ She grabbed her in a crushing headlock and planted a kiss on her forehead.
    Harvey cocked his head inquisitively, whilst Aaron rolled his eyes and sighed. ‘Sheeesh…let’s ease up on the girly excitement and try and keep things professional back there, okay?’
    Jez nodded, still smiling. ‘Don’t worry Aaron. They’ll think I’ve been living out here all my natural life. I’m pretty good at
bluffing it
.’
    She had suggested giving the passengers a little tour-guide routine; just some background spiel, a few facts, a few figures and an explanation of why it was all one day going to vanish - just enough that their customers felt like they were getting their money’s worth.
    ‘Okay so most of the detail is a load of crud I’ve looked up on the GEO channel, or made up, but fregg, they’re not going to know, are they?’ she said.
    ‘Just as long as it
sounds
correct,’ said Aaron, ‘and they don’t figure that we’re a bunch of rank amateurs having our first go at this.’
    Ellie placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. ‘Don’t worry, Jez’s good at razzing, they’ll believe every little word of nonsense she tells them back there.’
    ‘It’s all crap,’ Jez smiled and spun round on her heels. ‘But I’ll have them believing I’m an expert,’ she muttered with a flick of her jet black hair, and making her way down the cabin towards the aft bulkhead door.
    ‘Is she always so sure of herself?’ asked Aaron.
    Ellie watched her open the door and enter the passenger suite. ‘Always.’
    *
    ‘Ladies and gentlemen, we are rapidly approaching this world’s arctic shelf. If you care to look out of the viewing windows on either side…’
    Most of the passengers had been staring lackadaisically at the toob, watching some