Rivers of Orion by Dana Kelly (a court of thorns and roses ebook free .TXT) 📕

“Howdy son,” said one of the denshi-tengus, and he tipped his hat. “I see six when I was expectin’ half that. Ya’ll are welcome to come inside, but I’m not sure we got enough space in the sky van for six.”

They entered the apartment, and Orin closed the door. He studied the man and woman standing before him. “Damn, you guys are good,” he muttered. “I can’t even see the flash of silver in the back of your eyes.”

“I suppose a thankful response is in order,” said the female denshi-tengu in her natural voice. Clearing her throat, she spoke in Aurora’s voice. “So… Thanks?”

“Did Martin authorize three more?” asked Oliver’s doppelgänger.

“No,” said Mike, and he made introductions. “Orin joined April’s crew, so he won’t be traveling to Cavern Lake. We were hoping to camp out here for a few days, at least until we can figure out how to fix Nimbus.”

“Of course, you’re welcome to stay as long as you need to,” said Aurora’s double. “Please dry yourselves off before sitting on the furniture—especially the couch. There’s plenty of towels in the hall closet. I’ll get some coffee and cocoa started, and whoever wants to warm up in a bath is welcome to.”

Orin whistled quietly. “That’s uncanny.”

“Oh, come here,” said the denshi-tengu, and she drew Orin into a hug.

After a moment, Orin hugged her back.

◆◆◆

They all sat at the table late the following evening, where Aurora’s doppelgänger served a hearty dinner. Outside, the storm raged on, and they all talked for a while as they enjoyed their food. When they had finished, the denshi-tengus excused themselves to the bedroom.

“Mike, I’ve had all day to think about it and the way I see it, you only have three choices,” said Orin. “Either you let me take Nimbus to see Hector, you join us for the trip, or you head off to your family at Cavern Lake, living off the grid for who knows how long. But if that’s what you choose, it’s going to be very tricky for you to find a way to save Nimbus.”

“In time,” said Malmoradan. “Save Nimbus in time, you mean. Emergency power ain’t going to last forever.”

“I realize that.” said Mike, and he spent a moment considering his options. “Orin, I appreciate your offer, and it’s not that I don’t trust you with Nimbus. It’s just that I’d be worried sick for the entire time you were gone.”

“I have another option,” said Torsha. “Maybe you could hire Hector to make a house call.”

“That’s a great idea,” said Orin. “Mike, do you have a way to contact Hector?”

“Cajun gave me his number.”

Torsha brightened. “Awesome! Sounds like Mike and I are going to Cavern Lake. Wherever that is.”

“Not if you want to save Nimbus in time,” said Malmoradan. “If Hector runs his practice on a countdown planet, you’ll need to see him in person. You guy know what those are? Countdown planets?”

“Sure, I’ve heard of them,” said Mike. “They’re terraformed corporate outposts. Usually short term, so the people that live there are counting down the days until their world is uninhabitable again.”

“That’s right,” said Malmoradan. “I’m sure you know there’s plenty of planets out there that ain’t quite big enough to hold a permanent, breathable atmosphere. Some of ‘em you could terraform anyway, but even if it’d take millions of years for the air to bleed off, it will bleed off. For planets like that, federal terraforming ain’t allowed, but private terraforming is.”

“What about Mars?” asked Orin. “It’s small, and it’s got manufactured air. That’s a federally incorporated planet.”

“They terraformed Mars during the earliest days of Earth’s interplanetary expansion, so it’s one of the rare exceptions, but it’s a great example of what I’m getting at. Do you know how they keep the oxygen flowing on Mars?” asked Malmoradan.

“The planet’s core is made of ice,” said Torsha. “They melt it into steam and make air. Everyone knows that.”

Malmoradan cleared his throat. “The Martian core’s molten iron actually, but even if that was true, same problem—eventually, you run out of ice. No, what they do is run a flotilla of comet cutters. It takes a toll on the comets, but it keeps a steady supply of ice in the processors.”

“What happens when they run out of comets?” asked Torsha.

“Colonial’s rolling out a fleet of exosphere skimmers that are supposed to close that particular loop,” said Malmoradan. “They’re still working out a few things, but I’m sure they’ll figure it out before we run out of comets.”

Torsha shrugged. “I don’t see what all this has to do with countdown planets.”

“They hire comet cutters to supply them, I’d assume,” said Mike.

“Right again,” said Malmoradan. “After a corporation gets the go-ahead from Colonial, cutters drop ice all over the surface of the planet that’s marked for terraforming. Wherever those spacebergs land, that’s where they build their processing towers—right on top of ‘em. After the air’s thick enough, they convert the towers into living centers. The locals call ‘em ‘spikes,’ and they’re completely dependent on outside resupply. As soon as everything’s up and running, they set up operations, and that’s usually strip-mining. Sometimes it’s hazardous manufacturing. You can guess which one Taranis Arms is running.”

“Taranis Arms?” asked Orin. “I thought Cajun said it was owned by Arsenal Bay.”

“They own Arsenal Bay, which leads me to our next consideration,” said Malmoradan. “Since most countdown planets are rich in rare minerals or ores—or both—it means their prospecting profiles are closely guarded company secrets, which means Taranis ain’t in the business of making their outpost info public. And they definitely ain’t in the business of making it easy for their citizens to travel off-world. That means you’d have to send someone to pick up Hector, but even if you somehow managed to track down Arsenal Bay on a starmap, it’s a private holding. There’s no municipal nightmare gates close by. You’d need explicit authorization from Taranis to even use their nightmare gate.”

“Cajun gave me the exact location,” said Mike. “And an