Justice Read Free Page B

leaves
stretched out and the foliage was so thick it would be impossible
for a person to walk through it without taking hours to hack away
at the branches and vines.
    “ How did the original plant life come to be here?” Nova
asked.
    “ Exact source is unknown,” Crusader responded. “Most likely
source is debris from passing crafts.”
    Nova nodded
and continued to stare down at the planet. Coming from the desert
planet of Tabryn she was amazed by the rampant plant life of
Drigoon.
    “ Are you planning to sign up for security wearing your
pyjamas?” Cal enquired from a few feet back.
    Nova’s eyes
narrowed as she turned to look at the hovering robot. She said
nothing as she deliberately put her bowl down on the control unit
and stomped to her sleeping quarters.
    By the time
Nova pulled on her long black trousers, simple singlet, and thick
boots, Crusader had flown through the double doors and into the
dome’s landing bay. She grabbed up her signature trench-coat and
pulled her arms through the sleeves. She reached the outer door
just as a sharp knock came from the other side. She glanced at the
video display and saw two large men standing outside her ship.
    “ Drigoon security,” the bigger man barked through the
intercom.
    Nova rolled
her eyes at their posturing and took the time to shove a large gun
into the holster at her waist.
    “ Open her up,” she called out. Crusader obeyed.
    The silver
door slid open with a hiss. Nova stood in front and above the two
men with her hands on her hips. They looked up at her with sour
expressions.
    “ Planet’s closed to tourists,” the first man said.
    “ I should think so,” Nova said, jumping down from Crusader to
the metal floor below. The two men had to step backwards to avoid
her leap. She took her time to take in the air-tight landing bay
and the other ships.
    “ Look, you and your trash heap of a ship are going to have to
turn around and go back to whatever backwater planet you came
from.”
    The big man
crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at Nova. He had a
square jaw with black stubble shading his chin that matched his
short black hair and dark eyes. The second man stood a head shorter
and took his cues from his bigger companion.
    “ Nova. I’m here for security,” she said, rolling her eyes at
the men and holding out her arm for scanning.
    The larger man
scowled at her and pulled a scanner from his belt. He held the
device over Nova’s arm and it beeped once. The man lifted the
device up to stare at the display and his scowl deepened.
    “ I don’t know why the President has called in you bloody lot.
More likely to cause problems than stop them.”
    “ Either way I’m here. And you are?” Nova asked, her own tone
becoming terse.
    “ Head of security. Bruce,” the man said through clenched
teeth.
    “ Excellent. Now if you could tell me which way to go, I’ll be
on my way,” she said, utterly tired of the two men.
    “ Down the corridor you’ll find the sign-in desk. One hint of
trouble and you’ll be off this planet before you can blink,” Bruce
said.
    Nova brought
her hand up and saluted Bruce as she walked away.
    The landing
bay already had a number of ships; most of them the high-end type.
Nova took her time walking towards the corridor, admiring the ships
as she went. Sure, Crusader was good but imagine having a ship that
could leap twice the distance in warp? Or contained a space vacuum
so it that it was bigger on the inside than the outside?
    She left the
landing bay down a metal corridor. It could hold three people
walking side by side and the ceiling was out of Nova’s reach. The
simple silver walls lacked decoration except for the occasional
numbered door.
    She ignored
the side passages for now and came to a stop at a chest high
counter behind which stood two young women. Their eyes glistened
with inserted silver flakes (all the rage in some galaxies) and
their wide smiles seemed almost pinned on.
    “ Hello there, how may