Regan's Reach 4: Avarice Read Online Free PDF Page B

then they were there beside her,
taking her hands and turning with her toward the crowd. And suddenly everything
was different, with the people smiling and looking for her hand, all wanting to
talk, and greet her warmly. The gracious woman and man guided her from the room
into the corridor and toward the foyer and as they walked she found herself
flooded with a wonderful new sense of comfort and security that overwhelmed
her.
     
    And the thought came suddenly, and so
completely it permeated her being . . .
     
    It's going to be all right .
     
     
    * * * * *
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter Two
    Thirteen months later: The Orbital, Hillary Station, Year Eleven
     
     
    They jogged
together at a steady pace but with the sense that all five were preparing to
break for home. The runners, Regan, Leah, Marin, Ham and Jared drew stares and
greetings as they passed others also exercising in the rim tube.
    Both she and Leah knew winning was hopeless
but nevertheless they tried again, breaking away from the others one kilometer
from home, picking up the pace and trying to fill the track space so they
couldn't be passed. First Jared, then Ham flashed through and then Marin,
sprinting vainly after the first two. In only a few strides they were gone, the
gap opening quickly despite both women's best efforts to keep up.
    [Dang they're quick.] Leah began to slow
her stride and Regan matched her as they jogged on now at their own pace,
already knowing the result. Ham would pace Jared all the way, working him
harder and harder, turning him into a superb young athlete. Marin with his long
stride would do his manly best to keep up but really, there was no chance and
he knew it. And as always, she and Leah would pace themselves to the end, minds
shifting to the shower, and the pleasure.
    [That boy could run in the Olympics one day
if he wanted to I reckon.] Regan subbed.
    [Do you think that would interest him?]
Leah asked, laughing at the thought.
    Regan joined in the laughter. [No way, too
much regimented training for Jared's liking. No, his interests lie elsewhere.]
    [When is the big day for him?]
    [For his neural web you mean? Soon - he's
thirteen, Ham feels he's ready now and with the trip to Rigel coming up I want
him to be fully recovered, in fact it's decided; we won't leave until he is.]
    At just the mention of the star Rigel,
Regan drifted off in her thoughts and Leah could tell immediately her mind was
elsewhere. Long used to these somewhat rude abandonments she smiled and shook
her head, still in wonder that Regan could surf cyber space in an instant and
be reasonably present with her at the same time.  
     
    Meanwhile Regan had switched to autopilot,
one part of her mind jogging, the other accessing the data stream and searching
out vid feeds of the Rigel fleet. She could see them there floating together majestically
just off the earthward end of Hillary Station; three huge ships, the Behemoth,
the Ascendant and the passenger liner Fair Passage leased from Reubus. She
followed the many shuttles as they zipped back and forth between the fleet and
Hillary Station, ferrying colonists and crew backward and forward, as they took
the opportunity to explore the Orbital and all its delights. There were
eighteen hundred in total for this trip and they would be quickly followed by many
more, all willing and able applicants eager to grab this opportunity for a new
start, in an advanced society, with all the excitement that comes with it. They
were mostly young, and with more women than men this would be quite a trip she
knew. Fortunately, thanks to Aaron, it wouldn't be a long journey.
    Three steps would be required; three jumps
through the portals plus short warp jumps between each station. Three weeks in
total, and even with the high numbers aboard that would be very manageable.
    Ham's number one enforcer and her sometimes
bodyguard Brian Timu would be an interesting addition. Brian's crew of one hundred
ex SAS and Marines would make a