Smith interrupted her train of thought. "Did Alice tell how it went down? With her uncle I mean?"
"She said you shot him."
"Well, yes, but it was self defence."
"Oh, come on. Really?"
"He tried to draw a gun on me. I reacted."
"That's not how Alice saw it."
"Saw it?" Smith looked surprised. "She was on board when it happened?"
"Yeah."
"Poor kid. No wonder she went around telling everyone I murdered him." Smith shrugged. "Oh well, it's ancient history now."
"Not to her, it isn't." Harriet frowned. Now that she thought about it, would Alice really go along with the truce, or would she throw everything away to avenge her uncle?
"We're approaching Vasquez, sir. Orders?"
Smith tapped a display. "We'll land at this settlement. Check they've got fuel first, though. I don't want to be stranded."
"Yes sir."
Smith glanced at Harriet. "You really don't have to worry. As long as I get what I want, everything will be fine."
Chapter 20
After clearing away the empty tins, Teresa returned and strapped into the piloting chair. "Ready for landing?"
"Sure," said Alice. After the violence of their lift-off from Dismolle, how bad could the landing be?
Worse, as it turned out.
Teresa fired the forward thrusters, slowing the ship, and it was like they'd run into a brick wall. Alice gasped as the harness cut into her, until it felt like she was hanging from a ceiling in the straps. Her neck struggled with the g-force, despite the ship's dampers, and she gripped the armrest tightly to brace herself. She saw long streamers of flame whipping past the canopy, and there was a shrill whistle as the thin atmosphere tore at the fighter's outer skin.
The noise grew even louder as the atmosphere thickened, and the fighter shuddered and shook like a mad fairground ride. Something rattled loudly under the console, and Alice wondered what would happen if the canopy shattered under the pressure. Nothing good, that was for sure. It was the first time Alice had experienced re-entry in a tiny little ship, and the sights and sounds and sheer force of it all was overwhelming. She looked up, and through the twisting contrail of super-heated air, she could just make out the blue and green expanse of the planet.
The noise gradually abated, and as the hot, fiery atmosphere turned dark red before fading altogether, Teresa flipped the vessel back onto its belly, with the planet now out of sight underneath them. The engines throttled back, and they began the long glide to the landing pad.
Alice dashed sweat from her forehead. "That was pretty intense."
"You should try it on a world with a really dense atmosphere sometime."
"It gets worse than that?"
"Yeah, feels like the wings are coming right off." Teresa laughed at her expression. "Just wait until we head back to Dismolle. You'll see."
As the small craft dropped towards the surface, Alice could see an unbroken expanse of forest laid out below. Far away on the horizon, light glinted off the ocean, and she shielded her eyes from the glare. She leant closer to the canopy and peered forward, but the ship's bodywork was in the way and she couldn't see their destination.
The craft rocked as they passed through a wisp of cloud, and Alice rested her head against the canopy to avoid banging her skull. They veered right, onto a new heading, and a pair of towering mountains swam into view, their broken slopes littered with rock. The trees stopped halfway up, and the towering peaks were the only bit of the surface she could see which wasn't hidden beneath the canopy.
It grew darker as they descended, the gleam on the horizon fading to a dull glow. There was no sign of civilisation, no lights or structures that Alice could see, just the endless carpet of dark green foliage. "What do they do here?" she asked.
Teresa snorted. "Exchange stolen goods, mostly. There's a settlement near those mountains, but I'm not going anywhere near that."
"Why not? I can take care of myself."
"You're planning on walking into a den of crooks wearing that uniform? This Bernie of yours … she needs to fast-track your education or you won't live out the year."
Alice was silent.
"Anyway, the landing pads are ahead. They keep them at a safe distance from the settlement, in case the authorities send a patrol. Gives them time to hide everything … and everyone."
As they slid past the mountains Alice saw a fuzzy patch of light, barely visible under the thick trees. Her uncle had spoken of places just like it, but had always left her safely on board his ship whenever he had to 'conduct business', as he put it. He usually came back smelling of smoke and booze, and occasionally cheap perfume as well. Sometimes, when a deal went well, there was good food for days afterwards. The rest of the time they tightened their belts.
"Is your harness tight?" asked Teresa.
Alice gave it a tug to make sure. "Yeah."
"Okay. Stand by."
The landscape was almost black now, the sky a deep, dark blue. The first evening stars twinkled overhead, and Alice wondered if one of the flickering points of light was Dismolle. She was experiencing a strange feeling of loss she couldn't place, and it was a moment before she realised what it was: She'd spent most of her life in space, or moving from one institution to another, but now, finally, she had a home, and she was missing it. Her lips thinned at the thought. Home wasn't just a place, it meant Harriet as well. If Smith had harmed her …
"Setting down," said Teresa, and the craft slowed as the underside thrusters fired. She flared the fighter expertly, bringing the nose up until it was hanging in mid-air, then eased off the thrusters to set down with a gentle bump. Immediately, the engines cut out, whining down to silence.
"Nice landing," remarked Alice.
"Thanks." Teresa shut down the flight systems, then threw off her
