Steel World Read Online Free PDF Page A

am,” I said. “If they don’t want me, it’s their loss.”
    Ville frowned and nodded. I gave him my chip and he flipped it in his hand. I stepped to the door, and he called after me.
    “You walking again?” he asked.
    “Looks like it,” I said over my shoulder.
    “It’s gonna be dark soon. You don’t want to be out there then, kid.”
    “I’ve got nowhere better to go.”
    I pressed my hand against the door pad. It brought up my data faster this time. I guess it knew me by now.
    “Wait a sec,” Ville said. “I’ve got a suggestion for you.”
    I wasn’t in the mood for suggestions. This guy had been as snotty to me as all the rest of them. I was angry and defeated.
    The door bolt unlocked itself. I knew if I walked out, that would be it for today. I hesitated.
    Finally, I turned around.
    “What?” I asked him.
    “Go downstairs. Go try the shit outfits—the ones under the main floor. It’s worth a shot, anyway.”
    I blinked at him. I hadn’t known there were more legions with booths under the main floor.
    “How do I get down there?”
    He aimed a finger toward a dark archway. “Take the escalator over there. Here’s your disk.”
    He flipped the silver coin-like object in my direction. I caught it and looked at it. I wasn’t really in the mood for more rejections. Especially not from legions so lovingly referred to as “shit outfits”.
    “What’s wrong with the legions down there?” I asked.
    Ville chuckled. “The same things that are wrong with you. Nothing and everything.”
    I nodded. “All right, thanks,” I said.
    “You might want to hold your thanks even if they do take you. They work the contracts no one else wants.”
    I peered at him for a second. It wasn’t a stellar recommendation. But I really had nowhere else to go and no options. My parents’ couch was still open, but that would be humiliating at this point. Jobs? That was a laugh. Even if I landed one, at my age and skill level I wouldn’t make enough for rent and food. I’d bet everything on coming here and getting myself signed up for space. If I couldn’t even do that…
    “I’m going to try it,” I said, and I walked away from him.
    Behind me, the specialist went back to watching the tiny screen on his arm. I was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to do that while on duty, but his secret was safe with me.
    I approached the archway and noticed very few people were moving through it. Those that did weren’t the same as the rest of the crowd. They wore uniforms, but they were rumpled and imperfect. The men had stubble on their faces and the women had hair that looked like it had been in a windstorm. Everyone had a scowl on their face.
    Great , I thought as I rode the escalator downward. I get to serve with a unit of losers.
    I tried to perk myself up. I needed to at least look like a winner. If I could shine down here, I was sure to get my contract picked up.
    I looked around at the legion emblems. There were only six legions recruiting down here and I didn’t recognize any of them. With nothing else to go on, I looked for a short line. There was no line at all in front of a legion that went by the name of “Varus”. Their emblem was the head of a hungry-looking wolf. I like the symbol, so I walked up and slapped my disk on the counter.
    The man behind the counter was a muscular black guy. He looked me up and down. His manner wasn’t sneering, but definitely appraising. He nodded, as if he liked what he saw. He picked up my disk and lifted it up between us.
    “You know what this is?” he asked me.
    I checked his rank and nametag. I frowned for a second, because I hadn’t seen the emblem on his shoulder often. He held the rank of “veteran”, a rank that was only given for valor in combat. Veterans were higher on the chart than any specialist, one step below the officer ranks.
    “Yes, Veteran Harris,” I said.
    “What is it?”
    I opened my mouth, then closed it again. I took a deep breath. I knew I was