Free Milk Run (Smuggler's Tales From The Golden Age Of The Solar Clipper Book 1) by Nathan Lowell Page B

asked.
    “Follow the green arrows,” Kondur said. “Your visa is good. Nobody will bother you.”
    Natalya nodded. “Fair enough. See you next week.”
    Zoya followed Natalya out of the dive and into the broad passageway that felt blindingly bright in comparison. “Green arrows?” Zoya asked when the door closed behind them.
    Natalya pointed her chin at the decking. Somebody had painted green arrowheads every few meters along it. A few of them looked a little scuffed but the path pointed back the way they’d come in.
    “Follow the yellow brick road,” Zoya said.
    “What?”
    “Old saying. Let’s go find the chandlery.”
    The Main Street passageway had plenty of room for them to walk side-by-side and still allowed the other early morning travelers and revelers to walk—or stagger, as the case may be. The arrows took a turn back through the narrow passage to the atrium. The gardeners had gone, but the airy space had filled up with people sitting at small tables scattered around the area. Some chatted, some just sat quietly. A few left and more arrived. Almost all of them had drink containers or finger foods.
    “Now we know where to take our coffee in the morning,” Zoya said.
    “If we were going to be here in the morning,” Natalya said.
    Zoya nodded. “Why Bobo?”
    “What?”
    “Kondur. Inky. Bobo? Remember?” Zoya asked.
    Natalya shrugged. “Might be some kind of Toe-Hold slang. It was something my mother used to call my father when he did something stupid.”
    “That something he did often?”
    “Often enough. Probably why they split up.”
    “So why’d you take only five kay?”
    The path led them back into a dim passageway. Natalya didn’t answer until the passing foot traffic had cleared.
    “He doesn’t know what we need for supplies.” She grinned at Zoya.
    “What are you thinking?”
    “He said whatever we need,” Natalya said.
    “Nats. You’ve got that look.”
    “Let’s see what the chandlery can supply in the way of galley supplies, shall we?”
    “You wouldn’t.”
    Natalya tsked. “For two kilos of that coffee? I most certainly would.”
    “I don’t think that’s what he had in mind.”
    “It’s a test. I suspect there’s a credit limit on this account number. Food, fuel, water, volatiles. Coffee is food. He knows it. I bet he’s watching to see if we take any. That’s why he only offered five kay and why I accepted it.”
    Zoya sighed and shook her head. “You’re gonna get us killed.”
    Natalya laughed. “Maybe someday. Not today.” She quickened her pace. “Come on. Time flies and so should we.”

Chapter 8
Dark Knight Station: 2363, May 27
    The green arrowheads led them back to the docking section. “Now where?” Zoya asked, as they stood outside their docking tube. “Logically, the chandlery shouldn’t be far from the docks.”
    Natalya looked down the long gallery in each direction. “Logically, it’s not far from the large ship docks. Freighters, mining tenders, and bulk haulers would not be docking here.” She waved a hand at the small ship bay.
    “I’d buy that.”
    “Also logically, they’re not going to run down here with a fuel dolly or a water hauler to top our tanks. Come on. I bet we’re overthinking it.” She led the way onto the ship.
    Zoya laughed. “Of course.”
    Natalya dropped into the pilot couch and brought up the station network on her console. The menu listed chandlery services first. A few keystrokes and Kondur’s account number got them tied to tankage. Natalya ordered water, volatiles, and gasses be topped up.
    “That’s that, but what about food?” Zoya asked.
    “I wanna do that in person. We need to go there anyway to find Inky. I’m also going to run a spares inventory to get a shopping list.” She twisted her mouth into a wry smile. “We may not have the regulation quantity of all the spares we’re supposed to have.”
    “What regs?” Zoya asked.
    Natalya laughed. “Let’s just say, prudence might