"Shall I get you a cab to your ship?"
"No, it's just round the corner. I landed in the park."
"Really?" Ben hesitated. "Can I watch you take off?"
Alice shrugged. "It's a free planet." Despite her casual tone, she was enjoying herself. Bernie and Harriet had been angry when she'd bought Arnie, Birch had been terrified of her flying, and she had nobody else to show her pride and joy off to.
They set off together, with Ben asking endless questions about engine power, jump range and weapons, and Alice doing her best to answer.
— ♦ —
Harriet stepped out of the cab at the entrance to the park, and she smiled to herself as she saw Alice and some teenage boy chatting together near the ship. Actually, he seemed to be doing all the talking, while Alice seemed relieved to see her and Birch.
As they approached the pair, Harriet put her hand out. Wordlessly, Alice handed over the gun, and Harriet tucked it away … using an inside pocket, this time. "Who's your friend?" she asked.
"This is Ben. His store was just hit. Ben, this is my sister Harriet."
Ben nodded, then eyed Birch. "Good afternoon, sir."
"Was it the same people?" asked Harriet.
Alice shook her head. "Nope, this was a man and a woman. Black van, pretty decent music—"
"That's not how Rose described the music," said Harriet. "He said it was horrible."
"What would he know? He's ancient!" said Alice. "By the way, one of the other shops paid up as well, and the owner said they're coming back for more next week."
"I'll get a description from you once we get to Chirless. Anything else?"
"This van had a missing rear window, a couple of big holes in the back door … and a broken tail light."
Harriet looked at Birch. "We should get onto traffic, see if they were involved in an accident."
"No need," said Alice. "That damage was down to me. I shot them up when they fled."
"Alice!"
"What? They attacked me!" She neglected to mention it had been a china jug. "I was just defending life and property. You know, because we're Peace Force and we're supposed to do that."
"All right, this isn't the place. Let's get going."
Alice opened the fighter's hatch and hauled the ladder down. She motioned Harriet and Birch aboard, then turned to Ben.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye," he said bashfully.
"Actually, I was going to tell you to move back. Otherwise you'll be fried." With that, Alice swung onto the ladder and climbed rapidly until she reached the airlock. The others had already gone ahead to the flight deck, so she hauled the ladder up and closed the hatch, sealing it tight.
Then she ran lightly up the steps to the flight deck, where she took the pilot's chair and fired up the console. "Ready Arnie?"
"Indeed."
Alice looked through the canopy and saw Ben. He'd moved to a fair distance, and as he saw her looking, he gave her a wave. She ignored him, and turned back to the console. "Is everyone clear?"
"Yes."
Without hesitating, Alice fired up the thrusters, and after they settled down to an even bellow she increased thrust. Slowly, the ship rose into the air, and once they were clear of the surrounding buildings she glanced down at Ben, gave him a smile and pushed the throttles forward. The ship leapt forwards with a roar, and the park vanished behind them.
"He seems nice," said Harriet.
"Don't even," muttered Alice. She addressed the console. "Find the Chirless Peace Force station."
"Complying. Target located."
"We're not going to bomb it. I just want to land on it."
"Building located."
Green arrows appeared on the canopy, and Alice adjusted their course until they pointed dead ahead. In the distance, between the high-rise apartment blocks, she could see the squat, ugly shape of the Peace Force station. It was a mirror image of the Dismolle station, about three storeys high and built from thick concrete blocks. "We should probably get clearance," she said.
"Already done," said Arnie.
"Thanks." As they got closer she made out a faded yellow circle painted on the roof, indicating the landing pad. Green cross-hairs lined up on the centre, and Alice eased the stick over until they were directly ahead. Then, when they passed underneath, she cut the thrust and set them down with the tiniest of bumps.
"Nice flying, Arnie," said Harriet, from the rear seat.
"Thank you Harriet, but I was not flying."
"Alice!"
"What?" said Alice. "My ship, my rules. You don't like it, catch a cab."
"You don't even have a licence. You shouldn't be—"
"You forget, I grew up on ships," said Alice sharply. "I was eight when I landed my uncle's freighter for the first time."
"Was he even on board?"
"Yeah, but he was blind drunk and the docking computer went down." Alice undid her harness and got up. "Seriously, this thing is easy to fly. Even you could manage it."
"Ouch."
"I meant … you've never flown a ship before, and …" Alice gestured. "Oh, you know what I meant." She led the way to the airlock, and moments later they were standing on the wind-swept roof of the Peace Force building. It wasn't a promising sight: the place had been abandoned years earlier, and the parapet had collapsed in places, leaving big gaps and piles of rubble. There were broken bottles and tin cans too, and at first Alice thought people had been using the roof as a hangout. Then she glanced up at a nearby building, one of several overlooking the roof, and realised some of the residents had been throwing their empties off their balconies. She frowned at that. If anyone dented Arnie, she'd have words.
The elevator doors were half-open, and when Alice approached Harriet put a warning hand on her shoulder. Together they peered through the gap, and they realised they were looking three stories down to the top of the elevator car.
Alice tried pressing the button, but it was dead. "I guess we walk," she muttered.
They crossed to the access door leading to the stairwell,
