Starship Repo
Page 31
When she finally made it to Bay Ninety-Four, she found herself surrounded by friends.
Loritt spread his three arms in greeting. Still waiting to adopt another arm from one of the Nelihexu rescue shelters on board the station. “Welcome, First.”
First took everyone in as she walked past them. Unreadable but loyal Fenax, floating in their tank. Hesitant Sheer, still realizing the strength everyone else recognized in her. Enigmatic Hashin, always on the outside and at once at the center of things. Stoic Jrill, recovering from her wounds without comment or complaint, her strength unquestioned.
And finally, Loritt, the patchwork man who brought so many discarded pieces together that didn’t fit anywhere else and made them into a whole.
“What the hell is this?” she said at last.
“Your coworkers are here to help me present you with your bonus.” Loritt swept a hand over the deck and to the berth beyond. It was almost empty.
Almost.
Instead of the familiar silhouette of the now lost Goes Where I’m Towed, only a small cocoon of plastiwrap floated in a far corner of the slip, the sort of thing new aircars were sheathed in prior to delivery from the manufacturer. Except this was too big to be any production aircar, by half.
Without her even realizing it, First’s nose was pressed against the chilled glass of the gallery window in anticipation.
“Hashin,” Loritt said. “Don’t keep the poor girl waiting.”
“Aye.” Hashin pressed a button on his handheld, and a small dockside service drone sprang to life and dragged the cocoon free.
First’s eyes threatened to bulge right out of her head as the plastiwrap peeled back and coughed up its secret.
“Is that…” First’s voice cut off as the daggerlike prow of the tiny vessel came into view. She’d seen it before. Except its livery hadn’t featured a bright chrome 1st quite so prominently along the side before.
“Your sling-racer?” Loritt finished for her. “Yes, it is. It took almost the entire time we’ve been gone for a team of seasoned professionals to fix the damage you inflicted the last time you piloted it, but yes. It’s yours. And now”—he held out the activation stud—“it’s yours forever. Paid off, free and clear. It just needs a new name for the officially sanctioned race record before I transfer ownership.”
First threw up a hand to brace herself against the gallery window frame. “You didn’t sell it back to the bank?”
“We bought it from the bank at auction,” Loritt said. “We all voted on it, First. This came out of everyone’s share from the Change Your Luck, out of acknowledgment to your contributions to our broken little family since you turned up. It was a unanimous vote. So, what’s her name?”
“Well,” First considered. “The spine of it looks like a knife, so … how about the Razorback?”
“You can’t take the Razorback,” Hashin said, staring at his handheld.
“Why not?”
“Someone already used that name.”
“Oh, okay. How about Stiletto?”
Hashin looked at Loritt and gave a thumbs-up.
“Looks like we’re good here,” Loritt said.
“Yes.” First stared through the glass with avarice at her new obsession. “Yes, we are.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Books, like children, are a labor of love. And as it takes a village to raise a child, so too does it take an army to really ruin a novel. Starship Repo started life as a perfect story, unmatched in the history of Western literature for its pacing, character development, world-building, plot, wit, social insights, and humor. Beta readers, grown men and women, openly wept upon completion out of both elation at having experienced it, and the crushing realization that it was over.
It was only through a deliberate effort to sabotage this one flawless thing during the editing process that what could have been a singular human achievement was hauled back down from the heavens. Anything that you didn’t like about this novel, dear reader, is entirely the fault of someone other than the author, who is just as much a victim here as you are.
Any joke that failed to land, any dangling plot thread, any inconsistency or even typo, was inserted in post-production by publishing industry profeessionals who succumbed to their jealousy and base impulse to destroy that which they envied.
And while many hands made light work of butchering this aborted cultural touchstone, from the cover design team, to the typesetter, to the copyeditors, even to my agent, immediate family, and wife, there is one man who deserves to be singled out for blame, and perhaps even criminal prosecution, for desecrating a work that otherwise would have cruised to this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature.
That’s right, I’m talking about my editor, Christopher Morgan. I trusted you, man. I already put a down payment on my flat in SoHo in anticipation of the Nobel money. Now what the hell am I supposed to do, keep writing?
TOR BOOKS BY PATRICK S. TOMLINSON
Gate Crashers
Starship Repo
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PATRICK S. TOMLINSON lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When not writing sci-fi and fantasy novels and short stories, Patrick is busy developing his other passion: stand-up comedy. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Acknowledgments
Tor Books by Patrick S. Tomlinson
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
STARSHIP REPO
Copyright © 2019 by Patrick S. Tomlinson
All rights reserved.
Cover art: right ship by tsuneomp / Shutterstock.com; left ship by Dotted Yeti / Shutterstock.com; planet by alexaldo / Shutterstock.com
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
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New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Tomlinson, Patrick S, author.
Title: Starship repo / Patrick S. Tomlinson.
Description: First edition. | New York: A Tom Doherty Associates Book, 2019. | “A Tor Book.”
Identifiers: LCCN 2018055234 | ISBN 9781250302717 (trade pbk.) | ISBN 9781250302700 (ebook)
Subjects: | GSAFD: Science fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3620.O5806 S73 2019 | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018055234
eISBN 9781250302700
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First Edition: May 2019