The Aubyrn Inn was located at a crossroads. The old spacescraper anchored along a narrow stretch of the Riri Current during the early days of the float and found business too good to leave. With massive docking bays and lodging for thousands, the Inn provided an array of goods not available under more formal jurisdictions. Many of its offerings were rumored to have been grandfathered in before the Current Accords, but nobody asked questions. The Inn had been repaired so many times as to be a new entity from when it was first forged in the shipyards of earth’s moon. Like any spacescraper, it had the ability to fire up its troller engines and move through slow space, but with the bottleneck of current traffic next door it had no reason to move. Despite its age and technological fortitude, the Aubyrn Inn wasn’t held together by bolts or welds, it was made of money and muscle.
Noah Payne held his finger into the dim light above his booth and signaled the server for another drink. Someone new to the Aubyrn Inn might mistake it for featuring bottom shelf booze but Noah knew better. The entire spectrum of the galaxy passed through the airlocks of the antique spacescraper at one time or another. The rooms housed everything from serfs and nomads to royalty and business owners, often on the same night. He traded his empty glass for a fresh taste of bourbon.
“It’s not from earth, but it’s the next best thing.” said the waitress.
“Do I look like I can’t afford whiskey from earth?” asked Noah.
“Babe, all I know is that you’ve spent all your money on me the last month, so if I bring you the good stuff my late shift profits are gonna fall.” said the waitress.
“Ayla, that ain’t a bad strategy.” Noah sipped his drink and swished it around his mouth. “Free tonight?”
“For the same price as last night.” said Ayla. “I’ve got a thing for men with no evolutions.”
“Cheap booze it is.” said Noah. He watched the black haired tip of Ayla’s tail sway as she walked away. He still didn’t understand why humans evolved tails on her home planet of Hystu, but he knew why he had a taste for earth bourbon; it was home. Noah didn’t mind his traditional human form. It could be worse, he could have grown gills on Ito or sported one of those weird forehead sensor things from the people on Sumracc. To think people used to believe in aliens. People were the aliens, they just didn’t know it until the currents, until the first float, until babies were born on other planets. Noah thought of the kids he never had and thumbed the band on his ring finger. There was good bourbon at the Aubyrn Inn, but there were better women. Ayla was the best. Or maybe she was the best he could afford. Either was fine with Noah.
Noah swept his hand across a screen and looked through local news channels, each one showing scenes from the civil war rocking the region. The planet Domm was home to millions and most were engulfed in trying to prove to the other side their grasp of history was right, that their plans for the future would be the path for the whole planet. Noah didn’t much care for wars, they were a distraction from more important things like exploring the currents, finding new routes through the rivers and oceans of the galaxy. Wars clogged the routes and held up trade, blockades around planets in slow space had a way of expanding into the currents. With the entire Riri Current wrapping its one-way flow through the Milky Way, a problem in one location would inevitably become a problem in others.
Striped red hair and pale blue skin sat down across from Noah. Yellow eyes glared through the newsfeed and Noah turned off the screen. “Watching my home destroy itself?”
“Just flippin’ through channels, Ryna.” said Noah.
“We need to talk.” said Maryna.
“You say that like a woman who needs to define a relationship.” said Noah.
“Don’t flatter yourself.” said Maryna.
Ayla returned to the table to take Maryna’s order. “What can I get you, darlin’?”
Maryna held up her thumb and pointer finger, “Vodka.”
“Anything else?” Ayla’s tail flicked behind her.
“No.” said Maryna.
Ayla smiled, “Always this cheery?”
Maryna held up her hand again and repeated, “Vodka. Just Vodka.” Ayla turned back to the bar. “We’ve been here for a month. I’m running out of money. And I know you are running out of money. Spending your days in the damned bar or in your bed. Is it the tail? Is that what keeps you from getting us work, keeps you from the currents?”
“I fucked up, Ryna, Marco is dead!” Noah slammed his fists on the table. “ I should have never sent him over that damn split.”
Ayla returned with the drinks, “Two vodka for you and another bourbon for you.”
“I didn’t order any bourbon.” said Maryna. “Put it on my tab. No more for him.”
“Thank ya, Ayla.” said Noah. “Keep ‘em comin.”
Noah slid his hands over to one of the vodka glasses and Maryna swatted it away. “You have your own.” She slid the two shots down her throat. “Marco is dead, you’re right. And Cait left because of it. We all have to run splits, it’s the job. But I’m not soft like some trad body earther too scared to float again. I need work, and you are the Lead. So lead.”
Noah rolled his head, “Look around! There’s all kinds of work here. You know you can ah… sell drinks, sell…”
“Do not finish that sentence.” said Maryna.
“Yeah, probably shouldn’t.” said Noah.
“Why do I float with you.” said Maryna.
“Well, I…” started Noah.
“That’s not a question.” said Maryna. “Find us work or your viamorr team shrinks to one. The lone ranger, the stoic lead, the lonely lover. The slow space floater.”
“I ain’t never floating in no slow space of any…” Noah put his hands to the table in the booth to catch his balance. “Damn. That’s good bourbon.”
“No, I felt it too.” said Maryna.
“A flood?” said Noah as he flipped up the news screen. The feed read static and lights flickered on and off in the bar. “That felt… big.”
“Gone now.” said Maryna.
“Everyone ok?” asked Ayla. Noah nodded, hands on the table for balance.
“Yeah, but what was that?” said Noah.
Maryna rushed to the far side of the bar and jumped on a table to peer out a small window. She ignored the cheers from the patrons. “Noah, you have to see this.”
Noah shuffled his bulk onto the table and grasped the windowsill for balance. The light glow of the currents torqued and turned, violent flows crashed out along the edges of an asteroid large enough to block the narrow route through the Pinch. “I can’t be that drunk. That roid is bigger than the Inn. The whole damn Pinch is blocked.”
“Get down!” said Ayla. “You’re gonna get kicked out.”
“Domm is on the other side.” said Maryna.
“To float that distance in slow space would be at least a year, yeah?” said Noah.
“At least. And with the war… the refugees. They need food.” said Maryna.
“They need a new route. And we could use a first float.” said Noah. He handed a wad of cash to Ayla, “Take the night off, I got a viamorr team to lead.”
Gabriel Costa watched the glimmering, shifting flows of the currents sweep by his view. The panoramic window of the spacescraper’s penthouse gave a forward view downcurrent and he imagined leaning and tilting, diving and darting through the smallest twists and waves of the current flows. The spacescraper was anything but agile. It lumbered through the current, support fins on each side made it less likely to roll or lose its line; safety first for a commercial ship on the float. It was fine to travel in the large ship, at least on the main route in the Riri Current, but Gabriel preferred less traveled routes. He enjoyed the errant hazard, an asteroid or comet, space debris or spydraulic. If a spacescraper was floating a line, it meant the route was so well known a novice pilot could float it. Gabriel didn’t see himself as a novice pilot, at least not based on his hours behind the viewshield of a bonnie and the things he could do with a crossbar in his hands. He wanted to feel the flows, roll through twisted spouts and dart behind asteroids in ships built for exploration and excitement. The perfect line wasn’t always the safest. Neither was day dreaming. Outside the cockpit of his bonnie, floating along slow and easy in a spacescraper, Gabriel had other roles, other jobs. Another life.
Gabriel’s father, Malik Azfal Costa, changed his tone. “Are you even listening to me?”
“Yes, Alab.” said Gabriel. “I understand.”
“Do you?” said Afzal. “Because our family name depends on you understanding this.”
“You mean your business.” said Gabriel.
“They’re the same thing.” said Azfal.
“And what if I don’t want to run the business?” asked Gabriel.
“You don’t want to grow food for millions of people?” asked Azfal. “Command respect in any system along the Riri Current? All you want is to float about in your little boat finding secret passageways. Just because you were born in the currents doesn’t mean you’re better than the rest of your family. And how much does this pay you, this passion of yours? Is it scalable? Can you market it?”
“It’s called a bonnie, Alab.” said Gabriel. “It can pay quite well, should I find a big enough sponsor.”
“A sponsor other than me. Because if I am spending money, our family’s money, I require return on my investment. Right now you are a loss.” said Afzal. “At some point you will have to make your own way, your own beautiful way. But I, Costa Feed, your family, are done being your bank. No more will I pay for you to throwaway your future on the hopes of finding a crew that will deal with your… eccentricities.”
“That’s the nicest way you’ve said that.” said Gabriel.
“Not my words. They are from your last two leads.” Azfal sighed. “Son, I just want you to have everything in life and I am giving it to you on a platter. Costa Feed practically runs itself! It’s a more honest than living than most, more honest than…”
“Being a viamorr?” asked Gabriel.
“No… Yes. Yes! You know how dangerous this whole business is.” said Azfal. “And to be dropped by a sponsor after one failure? One bad swim? You think the world of contracts and market positioning is bad, it’s better than dying in the currents, better than losing your mind in a split!”
“Maybe. But you must understand that when I am in slow space, or when I float the currents crawling in a spacescraper piloted by someone else, I am bored. To death.”
“Enough. I am not only your alab but I am also your malik. No more floating with viamorrs, not on the dime of Costa Feed, not from the accounts of your family name.” said Azfal.
“And who is giving that command, my alab or my malik?” asked Gabriel.
“Both.” said Azfal.
Gabriel stood shirtless on his hands in front of the mirror. If he couldn’t be in his bonnie, he trained to be in his bonnie. As he spent more time in someone else’s ship following the routes of some long dead viamorr’s first float, physical activity was his best way to stay sane. A drop of sweat dripped off his brow and landed on the cork pad below his inverted body. He took a deep inhale and held his breath to steady his shaking arms. He shifted his weight and flexed his arm out to hold himself up on his open palm. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and twisted his off hand to see the strength of his triceps.
“Beautiful.” Gabriel whispered to his reflection. He exhaled and inhaled, shifted his body weight from one hand to the other and looked back to the mirror. His skin was different in the currents and he preferred it. It took on a different hue from his normal fawn color. His eyes turned from brown to black, hair shimmered between black and translucent silver. Gabriel’s features were rare in his home world, but they had a name for his unique evolution; flow born.
“Not good.” said Gabriel. The spacescraper shuddered and Gabriel’s pose crumbled. He rolled off his pad and came to a stop with his face squished against the mirror. As fast as it began, the surge from the currents was over. Anticipating a knock on the door, he pulled on his robe and retied his hair behind his head.
“My prince!” an aide burst open his door.
“I’m fine, Juari, thank you.” said Gabriel. “Do we know what that was?”
“It was a wave through the currents, my Lord.” said Juari.
“This I could tell. But to shake a ship this size, on a route this slow...” said Gabriel.
“My Lord, look.” Juari pointed to the broad window in the side of the spacescraper. “The Pinch.”
Gabriel put his hands on the glass. “It was the Pinch. Now it’s a hazard.” The blocked current poured and wreathed back in on itself, the glistening particles of the flow danced dark along the edges of the obstruction. “Does the Malik know?”
“He must have felt it.” said Juari.
“If he hasn’t yet given the order, we need to pull out of the current, the route is blocked. Get us to slow space.” said Gabriel.
“My Lord.” said Juari.
“Juari, what is the closest spacescraper that’s anchored here?” asked Gabriel.
“There is only one. The Aubyrn Inn.” said Juari.
“The Aubyrn Inn.” repeated Gabriel. “The currents have led us here, Juari. But the beautiful one will show us the way out. And I will find it. Prep my bonnie. It’s time for your Lord to scout a first float.”
“My Lord, Malik Azfal has locked the hangar, he said you were done.” said Juari.
Gabriel turned back to Juari with all the force he could muster in his royal, flow born blood, “That was before the currents were clogged, before we got stuck on the wrong side of the Pinch. You serve me, not my alab, do you not?”
“Yes, my Lord.” said Juari.
“Get her ready, then.” said Gabriel. “But Juari. Tell no one, not even the Malik.”
Juari nodded and clasped his hands, “Of course.”
Noah and Maryna walked the shop floor adjacent to one of the docking bays in the Aubyrn Inn.
“A lot of traffic from the hazard?” asked Noah. It wasn’t often someone was taller than him, but the dark lanky frame of the attendant had Noah looking up.
“Yeah that’ll be why I can only spend a minute with you two.” he said. “Bay’s fillin’ up.”
“We won’t waste your time. How much?” asked Noah.
“A thousand.” said the attendant.
“For both, right?” confirmed Noah.
“Each one, ‘bout a thousand.” said the attendant.
“So I have to pay you a thousand dollars for you to unchain my bonnie after you moved it from the bay to the impound?” asked Noah.
“Oh I didn’t include back pay or the fine from you not paying your actual dock fees, so really we’re closer to about two thousand. Each.” said the attendant.
Noah clenched his fists, “Each. How about I give you one each from…”
Maryna stepped in, “What is your name, my friend?”
“Easy on the relationship status, we’ve only just met. Name’s Warui Wareru.” Warui held out his hand.
“Pleasure meeting you, please excuse him, he gets anxious when he’s not on the float.” said Maryna, leaning in. “Or on the drink.”
“She’s right, it’s all good.” said Noah. “But see, Warui, I’m still scratching my head on the price because you didn’t factor in any of your…”
“Mr. Noahhhh.” said Warui. “Let’s not finish what you’re about to say. This here Inn is a fine honorable establishment that meets all requirements of the Current Accords. So I will forgive your implication.”
“So will I.” said Maryna. “But if we said the price for both was five thousand then would that motivate you to unlock our bonnies?”
Warui jingled a set of keys, “Yeah that’ll be good. Give it here, I’ll get ya on the float right away.”
Noah looked to Maryna, “The price is one thing. Paying it is another.”
Warui held his hands in the air and turned to leave, “This is why I don’t give people more than one minute. Don’t come back until you have the money. Mzungu!” He turned and walked back toward the bay, leaving Noah and Maryna to add up their debts.
“You have a plan for the money?” Maryna asked Noah.
“Nah, thought we were floatin’ for free.” said Noah.
“Noah.” said Maryna.
“I’m thinking.” Noah thumbed his ring and traced his hands over the bow of his bonnie, walked around it and checked the fins and fittings. “At least they didn’t steal any parts.”
“That we know of.” said Maryna, leaning on her own bonnie. She peeled off the decal of a sponsor from the side of her cockpit.
“They don’t deserve to be here with all the rubble.” said Noah. He looked around at the awkward, damaged ships in the impound bay. Broken fins and crossbar parts were piled in one corner and bodywork from wrecked ships dumped in another. A massive torn space wing draped over the body of a ship. It was meant for floating the wide expanses of the currents in areas where the flow widened out beyond the main stem of the Riri Current. There were oceans beyond the rivers of the currents, uncharted seas in the immensity of the Milky Way. Noah had more local concerns. “We’re gonna have to ask him.”
“No. No no no.” said Maryna. “If we get banned from the Inn we will have to sleep in our bonnies every time we come through the pinch. We can’t ask him. You know what he said.”
“Yeah,” said Noah, “I know what he said. But we all say things. This is different. The Pinch is dammed up. It’s not just a first float opportunity, it’s also a problem. And if it doesn’t get solved, it will be his problem.”
“Who the fuck let you in my office?” William Bott finished his cocktail and crunched on the ice cubes.
“Billyyyyyy.” said Noah.
“Only my friends call me Billy. Do you remember what I said the last time you were standing right where you are now?” Billy popped open the tap on his cocktail keg and refilled his glass. “Sorry for cussin’ Ryna, I’ll just say it now so I’m forgiven, but for shit’s sake I should space the both of you and save my bank account the trouble.”
“How do you even know it’s about money?” asked Noah. “What if we just came to say hi?”
“You wouldn’t. Know how I know?” Billy stepped to Noah’s face, “Because I said if I ever saw you again I would break the fins off your bonnie and jettison your drunk ass into the Devil’s Fang where you can float around a micro singularity forever.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad. You know I was the scout on the first…” tried Noah.
“Payne. You’d be fuckin’ dead!” said Billy.
“Boys.” said Maryna. “Is it the special time of the month for you? Why so emotional? Just hug and pretend to be happy in public.”
“It’s my office!” yelled Billy, crunching on another piece of ice. “No hugging!”
“Ok, you’re right, you’re right.” said Noah.
“If I’m right then why am I still looking at your face?” said Billy. “I know it does something for the women but not for me. Just stresses me the hell out.”
“Are we done? Can we talk business?” asked Maryna.
“Ryna, talking with you two is fine, it’s great. It’s the business I don’t want to do. Do you know how much money I’ve wasted on your ridiculous first float attempts? I could have another docking bay!”
“Look, Billy, we have a problem.” said Noah.
Billy flipped up the tap on the keg. “No shit.”
“The Pinch is blocked. It’s dammed up. None of these big spacescrapers are getting through, let alone any bonnies. You need a new route around that hazard. And we need to get paid.”
“You need to get out of debt.” said Billy.
“What’s the difference?” asked Noah.
“The difference is you don’t understand fuckin’ math.” said Billy. “Sorry for cussin, Ryna.”
“I always forgive you, Billy.” said Maryna.
“Tell me why I even want to find a new route around the Pinch?” said Billy. “I can sit my fat ass right here for the next decade and literally any ship passing through this route on the Riri will have to stop here. They bring their money, their goods, I buy things, I sell them for more, I extort a few assholes and take pictures of them doin’ weird shit and I get even more money. Like a fat trout gobblin’ up all the goods in the river. That’s me, Noah, get it? I’m the fat trout. Look at my belly and beautiful spots. So why do I care about the pinch bein’ blocked? In case you’ve forgotten, the Aubyrn Inn ain’t goin’ anywhere.”
“Two reasons.” said Noah. “The first reason is that you won’t have a decade. You know Search and Rescue will have this scraper taken over by some official decree, then the big boy spacescrapers will come in, swingin’ their big dicks around, bigger dicks than you got Billy, and they will run a whole show of findin’ a new route, the sponsors will have their cameras all over this place, the news will be on the inner workings of the Aubyrn Inn. I can see it now, an expose on Billy the Pimp.”
“Now that’s a fuckin’ curse word.” interrupted Billy.
“Forgive him.” said Maryna.
“Pretty soon, your little don’t look here, don’t ask, don’t tell outfit is gonna have to follow every regulation in the Current Accords.” said Noah. “When was the last time you paid any taxes? I’m not real good at math but based on your business model, it won’t add up in your favor for long.”
“Don’t talk about taxes here, not in my office. My business model is about freedom, see? People can do what they want. So long as they pay for it. And they don’t pay taxes on it.” said Billy.
“You can say that and I might even agree with you, but the fact is that whatever that hazard in the pinch turns out to be, the authorities are gonna plant something big, fat and connected to you right on top of it.” said Noah.
“I had no part in… they wouldn’t dare.” said Billy.
“This is one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in the currents. You know it. They know it. Everybody knows it. It’s why you’re anchored here. The longer you can float under the radar, the better. Ten years, my ass. The Pinch is your problem now.” said Noah.
“Ok, what’s the second reason? You said you had two.” said Billy.
“The second isn’t about business.” said Maryna. “The second reason is because Domm is at war and the only way they are going to get food is through deliveries that go through the Pinch. Billy, the war is stupid, but it will be more than soldiers dying if we can’t find a route around that hazard. Now.”
“I’m sorry about all that. Awful.” Billy sipped his drink. “So how do you see all this goin’ down, square jaw? That handsome face isn’t as promotable as it used to be. And I know this is gonna hurt, but I gotta say it, Noah. Since you lost Marco nobody has been keen to back ya. Cait left! Do you even got the balls to float another split? Send another scout into one? Shit, I can help but I can’t sponsor ya. You’re bad for business.”
“We need money to float. We got our bonnies in impound and we’re gonna need troller fuel and…” said Noah.
“And we need a new mechanic.” said Maryna. “And a scout.”
“Yeah, a scout, no shit. It’s slim pickins ‘round here.” said Billy. A light on his desk beeped on and he turned it off. “Who all have you talked to?”
“You’re the first.” said Noah. “We don’t have time to launch a PR campaign and have meetings, explain the routes. All that bullshit.”
The light on Billy’s desk lit up and he turned it off again, “Before you got all cynical you used to be good at those meetings. Fooled me a few times and I ain’t one to be fooled, not in this line of work.” The light beeped on again and Billy flicked the on switch. “What? What the fuck? I’m in a meeting. What is it?”
“You have a visitor.” said the caller.
“Ok, humor me, who is so important that you think you can call me three times during a meeting and interrupt my cocktail hour.” said Billy.
The voice paused. “Prince Gabriel Costa, of Costa Feed. He’s Malik Azfal’s…”
“I know who the hell he is.” said Billy. “Send him in already.”
“Yes sir, I called three…” said the caller.
“Send him in!” said Billy, flicking off the comm switch.
“Who is that?” asked Noah.
Billy filled up his glass and belly laughed. “Noah, Ryna, I’ve heard a lot about your supposed luck, your absurd rescues in the currents. But this is something else. Costa Feed is not only the main supplier of foodstuffs to Domm, but it looks like they ended up on the wrong side of the hazard. On our side of the Pinch.”
“Domm needs the food, Billy. We have to help.” said Maryna.
“Yeah. Yeah, but you don’t even know the half of it.” said Billy.
“They’re rich? A sponsor?” said Noah.
“Yeah, they’ve some money. But that’s not the best part.” said Billy. “Gabriel, the prince, the heir to the throne of the great Costa Feed, the first born son of Malik Azfal, doesn’t wanna run the family business.”
“Why does this concern us? Business bullshit is for you.” said Noah.
“Because, dumbass, Gabriel Costa fancies himself a viamorr. A scout. His daddy sponsored a few outings that ended similar to the ones I sponsored for you. But whatever you tell him, maybe leave the part about Marco out, huh? I know I don’t know shit about flows or splits or roids but trust me about Gabriel. It might actually be good for business.”
Gabriel fastened his Costa Feed blue cloak below his right shoulder and the fine fabric rippled as he strode into William Bott’s office. A fat man sipping a colored cocktail lounged on the desk flanked by a stunning striped red head and a man who looked like he lost one too many bar fights. Gabriel recognized people who were not on the beautiful path, the sacred way to the Beautiful One, and the trio in front of him had gone off course long ago.
“Prince Gabriel Costa, welcome to the Aubyrn Inn. Name’s Billy Bott, how can I be of service to Malik Azfal Costa and Costa Feed?” said Billy.
“Mr. Bott,” said Gabriel, “if you will be serving anyone, it will be me. My alab is not here in this room so far as I can tell.” Billy set down his drink and stood up straight. Gabriel was pleased with his change of attitude.
“Stuck on the wrong side of the Pinch, huh? We can help with food, fuel, lodging, among other needs.” said Billy.
“You can discuss all of this with my alab.” said Gabriel. “Except the other needs. I suggest you leave those out. The Malik is on the Beautiful Path, it is wrong to cloud it.”
Billy cocked his head, “But you just said your fa…”
“I am not here for my alab. Or on behalf of Costa Feed.” said Gabriel. “I am here to find a new route around the hazard, a new first float around the Pinch.”
Billy looked to his companions and back to the heir to the Costa Feed empire. “Ah ok. Why do you need me? I’m sure Costa Feed has enough money to sponsor whomever the hell they want.”
“Of course Costa Feed does. But that requires the Costa Feed name. And my alab, the great Malik Costa, has no interest in sponsoring any viamorr activities for the time being.” said Gabriel.
“Uh huh.” said Billy. “Now I’m worried why you’re in my office. I can’t provide you any services? Why even come here, then?”
“I need you to keep any other viamorrs from attempting the first float until I do.” said Gabriel. “And…”
“And?” asked Billy.
“And I need you to keep my alab off my back while I do.” said Gabriel.
“So I’m supposed to stop any other viamorrs from exploring the most critical open route in the Riri Current right now and I am being asked to hide the whereabouts of Malik Costa’s son. From Malik Costa.” Billy chewed on his ice. “I don’t get it. What’s in it for me?”
“You can be the hero.” said Gabriel. “Once I complete the route and return to the Inn I will say that you sponsored me, that you put all your efforts into moving our food to the refugees of Domm, that without you, thousands would be stranded this side of the Pinch.”
“And what if you don’t make it? I sure as shit won’t be blamed for the death of a prince.” said Billy. “Ain’t no beautiful road possible after that.”
“Of course not.” said Gabriel. “But nothing will happen. It will be as if I wasn’t even here.”
“Your highness, or whatever you go by, you can’t so much as shake your… what I mean is, there are cameras everywhere here. Surely your slow ship would have been recorded in the docking bay.” said Billy.
“It would have. But Mr. Bott, you and I both know there are places to enter that bay that do not have cameras.” said Gabriel.
“Yeah but you would have had to…” said Billy
“Float my bonnie in slow space.” said Gabriel.
“Float your bonnie. Huh.” Billy turned to Noah and Maryna. “I’m in need of some good PR. And some new friends. I’ll do it.”
“Excellent. You will not be disappointed.” said Gabriel. “I will find the beautiful path.”
“But!” said Billy, adjusting his volume. “Excuse me, but.”
“But what, Mr. Bott?” asked Gabriel.
“You have to include these two in your crew.” Billy motioned to Noah and Maryna.
“I float solo.” said Gabriel.
“Not this time,” said Billy. “This time these two are helping.” The viamorrs stepped forward to introduce themselves.
“Noah Payne, Lead.” said Noah.
“Maryna Popova, Navi.” said Maryna.
“I recognize those names. Wasn’t your crew the ones who found that float around Devil’s Fang?” asked Gabriel. Billy rolled his eyes.
“That’s right.” said Noah.
“Just the two of us now.” smiled Maryna. “So, you’re a scout?”
“Do I look like a mech?” said Gabriel.
“You look young.” said Noah. “Floatin’ solo is a serious business for any age. How many first floats ya been on?”
“I look young, you look hungover, and she looks beautiful. What’s it got to do with the Pinch?” said Gabriel.
“It has to do with our lives.” said Noah. “I need to know you can scout, that you can float your bonnie into lines the rest of us can’t see. Money don’t mean shit out there.”
“Money doesn’t mean shit… unless your bonnie breaks or your troller fuel is empty or your personal safety suit malfunctions and need a rescue. If it makes you feel better, I’ll pay to have the fleet brought up to current regulations. When this works I want my success to be recognized by the record books.” said Gabriel.
“Our bonnies are good, kid, but they need to get out of impound first.” said Noah.
“Before the kid covers the bill for your bonnies, he wants to know that he will have the first float over any splits.” said Gabriel. He was beginning to regret stopping at the Inn. It would have been easier to attempt a solo float without what remained of an alleged viamorr crew slowing him down. Viamorrs either died young and fearless or lived long enough to see ghosts in every flow. This Noah Payne wasn’t young.
“I don’t know what the situation will be, how can I promise that?” said Noah.
“You can give me your word or you can go back to your bourbon.” said Gabriel.
“Absolutely not.” said Noah. “You, her, whoever the hell our mechanic is, you’re my responsibility. I’m not playin’ with promises. Shit’s different on the float. You should know that.”
“You’re scared.” said Gabriel. “The man who floated Devil’s Fang is scared. Mr. Bott you cannot hold me to th…”
Maryna glared at Noah and he crossed his arms. “Ok, your holy highness princeling or whatever the hell your daddyalaby calls you. Only because taking you means a higher chance we get food to Domm. But if you die on me, you can be sure I’ll bury your bonnie so deep in a singularity Costa Feed will be using your atoms for fertilizer.”
“Sounds beautiful. But who is our mechanic?” asked Gabriel.
“Billy?” asked Noah.
“Yeah, I know one crazy enough to join ya. And he definitely doesn’t want to be first over a split. Thing is… he’s gonna make you pay.” said Billy.
“Who is it?” asked Maryna.
Billy laughed, “When you get your bonnies out of the impound, you better tip Warui twice, because he’s the only damned mech this side of the Pinch that can float at a level anywhere near what you’re gonna need.”
“The guy from the docking bay?” said Noah. “Shit.”
Billy finished his drink, “Shit is right, Noah, I knew this was good for business. I get a good story for me if at all works out, and if it doesn’t, well, I don’t have to dump you in the Devil’s Fang. You’ll already be dead.”