Free Crystal Venom by Steve Wheeler Page A

said, ‘Where are those ACEs of ours, Marko?’
     
    ‘Last seen with Glint furiously pedalling that push bike you gave him for his birthday down the main road with an MP in hot pursuit an hour or so back. Didn’t know that such a contraption could go so bloody fast. They were clocked doing sixty-five kilometres per hour in a twenty-five kilometres per hour zone. Have not heard from them, so I presume it’s been sorted. You know, Harry, I should really have given Glint sweat glands. That frill we installed on him as a heat exchanger is just too fierce-looking when he’s hot.’
     
    ‘Coffee’s up, guys,’ their comms announced.
     
    Harry answered. ‘Ta, Veg; nice to have you back! Interesting critters? On our way. Spread the word, twelve-hour movement order.’
     
    After they had finished their break Marko went back to the quarters he shared with Jan and packed up their meagre belongings. He activated both packs but left them where they were for the time being. Jan had left a message for him an hour earlier telling him she was saying their goodbyes around the base. He wandered across to the accounts section of the Sergeants’ Mess, squared away their bill and, for the first time, had to pay for Glint’s consumption as well. He decided that he would have to have a word with the ACE about doing some chores to pay his way.
     
    The rest of the day was spent with Harry sorting the stock materials from the metal production mill for use on board Basalt. Harry then put a call through to Major Longbow. ‘Marko and I have squared away the metal requirements and also the fabrication consumables, new tools, cutters and abrasives for everyone. We are up tonnage wise. What do you want to do? Have Patrick bring Basalt down, two trips with the Albatross lander or make up a container and have the Base punch it into orbit?’
     
    They waited a minute or so before the major replied. ‘Basalt is on the way down. Will land in a couple of hours.’
     
    ~ * ~
     
    Marko was leaning against the chain-link fence separating the Administration area from the airfield as Jan, with Glint following on his bike, joined him.
     
    Jan gave Marko a hug and leant into him, letting him shelter her from the stiff sea breeze. ‘What’s happening, lover?’
     
    ‘Look at the entrance to the third hangar from the left at that beautiful, vintage design aircraft. It’s called a Pitts Special biplane. Totally aerobatic. They started it up, ran it for about ten minutes and I had hoped to see it flying, but they shut it down again. Nice design; no doubt they probably built it here. Plenty of facilities available as long as one is prepared to pay.’
     
    Jan looked across at Marko, smiled, and rubbed the top of his smooth head. ‘Still basically a kid. Nice, shiny, dangerous-as-hell toys attract you, don’t they, Marko?’
     
    He grinned, pushing himself against her beautiful curves.
     
    ‘Yeah, I am. But you’re not that shiny! Hey, guy in what looks like a real leather flying suit has just climbed into the cockpit. Great! Going for a start-up.’
     
    As they watched, the aircraft taxied over to one of the runways and minutes later was airborne, howling over their heads and out across the bay. They walked down to the shore and watched the little electric-blue-coloured aircraft giving a good aerobatic display. Glint laid his bicycle down, pointing at the waving tendrils some hundreds of metres out in the bay.
     
    ‘I hope the pilot knows that adult whorl crustaceans are in the bay and that the mating season is fast approaching.’
     
    ‘Why, Glint? Oh, I see, data coming from you ... wow, they can throw adolescents that high! Yeah, I hope he knows. But the whorls should be much further north? That’s what I read in the local environmental hazards brief last week. What would have attracted them here?’
     
    Glint flashed another information packet across on their crew comms directly into Marko’s eyes.
     
    ‘Ah,’ Marko nodded,