Eros at Zenith: Book 2 of Tales of the Velvet Comet Read Online Free PDF Page A

the birth of the Universe.
    The room seemed to extend to infinity, and all about him were exploding stars and embryonic galaxies whirling through space. Here was a meteor swarm, there a spinning star cluster, off to his left a quasar shooting its matter billions of miles into the void. Suddenly he became aware of the fact that he, too, was in motion, and he reached for a narrow railing to steady himself.
    “It's all done with holographic projections,” she said matter-of-factly, “but it does make an impressive display, doesn't it?”
    “Very,” he answered. “Is the room moving?”
    “It rotates very slowly.”
    He studied his surroundings again, and this time he was able to pick out about a dozen tables located randomly throughout the room, each at a different height. Then a comet shot off into space, and two more tables were revealed.
    “How big is this place?”
    “The room or the capacity?” she asked.
    “Both.”
    “Well, the room is about 60 by 80 feet, and perhaps 20 feet high. It holds 24 tables, though the projectors are programmed so that you can never see more than 14 at once. This walkway we're on eventually leads to each of them.”
    Suddenly the maitre d' approached them and warmly greeted the Dragon Lady. Then, as an afterthought, he turned to Crane.
    “Have you a reservation, sir?” he asked.
    “No,” said Crane.
    “Then I'm afraid that —”
    “Give us the house table,” interrupted the Dragon Lady.
    “Excuse me,” he said placatingly. “I didn't realize you were together. You are so rarely accompanied by —”
    “The table,” repeated the Dragon Lady.
    The maitre d' bowed and immediately led them up a steep incline where they could look down at the death throes of a galaxy as it was drawn into a black hole of ever-increasing dimensions.
    Crane spent another few minutes observing the room, then looked at his menu.
    “You're sure you're not hungry?” he said.
    “Positive.”
    He shrugged. “Suit yourself. But I want you to have some coffee; you won't be any use to me if you're sleepy.”
    He signalled to a waiter, ordered soup, a mutated shellfish in cream sauce, and two cups of coffee.
    “All right,” he said to her after the waiter had left.
    “We might as well get to know each other, as long as we're going to be working together—which means that I might as well get to know you , since you've already read my dossier.” He paused. “How long have you been Chief of Security here?”
    “19 years.”
    “And before that?”
    “I was a security guard here for six years.”
    “25 years is a long time to spend in one place,” he commented.
    “29 years, Mr. Crane.”
    “Not unless my addition is wrong.”
    “I was a prostitute for four years,” said the Dragon Lady.
    “Oh?”
    She nodded.
    “A prostitute on this ship makes a lot more than a security guard,” he said. “What made you change?”
    “I could see the handwriting on the wall, and I liked the ambience of the Comet .”
    “What handwriting?”
    “Look around you, Mr. Crane,” she replied.
    “The men and women who work here are the finest physical specimens you're going to find anywhere in the Republic. And after four years of starving myself and working out in the gym every day, I figured it was a losing battle,” She smiled. “You can't imagine how I dreaded those Thursday weigh-ins.”
    “You make it sound like you're all athletes,” he said.
    “We are,” replied the Dragon Lady. “With one exception— our season never ends. Anyway, I looked around to see what else I could do, and since I'm neither a chef nor a technician, I applied for a job in Security, and they accepted me.”
    “How long does the average prostitute last here?” asked Crane curiously.
    “The Comet has no average prostitutes.”
    “You know what I mean,” he said with a touch of irritation.
    “Three to five years,” she replied. “I think eight is the record, even for our madams. No, I take that back: we had one,