James S.A. Corey - Cibola Burn

About the Author

James S. A. Corey is the pen name of fantasy author Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, George R. R. Martins assistant. They both live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Find out more about this series at www.the-expanse.com.

Find out more about James S. A. Corey and other Orbit authors by registering for the free monthly newsletter at www.orbitbooks.net.

BY JAMES S. A. COREY

The Expanse

Leviathan Wakes

Calibans War

Abaddons Gate

Cibola Burn

The Expanse short fiction

The Butcher of Anderson Station

Gods of Risk

The Churn

COPYRIGHT

Published by Orbit

978-0-3565-0418-6

All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Copyright 2014 by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

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To Jay Lake and Elmore Leonard.

Gentlemen, it has been a pleasure.

A thousand worlds , Bobbie thought as the tube doors closed. And not just a thousand worlds. A thousand systems . Suns. Gas giants. Asteroid belts. Everything that humanity had spread to, a thousand times over. The screen above the seats across from her showed a newsfeed, but the speakers were broken, the mans voice too fuzzed to make out the words. The graphic that zoomed in and out beside him was enough for her to follow. New data had come in from the probes that had gone through the gates. Here was another image of an unfamiliar sun, circles to mark the orbits of new planets. All of them empty. Whatever had built the protomolecule and fired it toward Earth back in the depths of time wasnt answering calls anymore. The bridge builder had opened the way, and no great gods had come streaming through.

It was astounding, Bobbie thought, how quickly humanity could go from What unimaginable intelligence fashioned these soul-wrenching wonders? to Well, since theyre not here, can I have their stuff?

Scuse me, a mans phlegmy voice said. You wouldnt have a little spare change for a veteran, would you?

She looked away from the screens. The man was thin, gray-faced. His body had the hallmarks of a childhood in low g: long body, large head. He licked his lips and leaned forward.

Veteran, are you? she said. Whered you serve?

Ganymede, the man said, nodding and looking off with an attempt at nobility. I was there when it all came down. When I got back here, government dropped me on my ass. Im just trying to save up enough to book passage to Ceres. Ive got family there.

Bobbie felt a bubble of rage in her breast, but she tried to keep her voice and expression calm. You try veterans outreach? Maybe they could help you.

I just need something to eat, he said, his voice turning nasty. Bobbie looked up and down the car. Usually there would be a few people in the cars at this time. The neighborhoods under the Aurorae Sinus were all connected by evacuated tube. Part of the great Martian terraforming project that had begun before Bobbie was born and would go on long after she was dead. Just now, there was no one. She considered what she would look like to the beggar. She was a big woman, tall as well as broad, but she was sitting down, and the sweater shed chosen was a little baggy. He might have been under the misapprehension that her bulk was fat. It wasnt.

What company did you serve with? she asked. He blinked. She knew she was supposed to be a little scared of him, and he was uneasy because she wasnt.

Company?

What company did you serve with?

He licked his lips again. I dont want to

Because its a funny thing, she said. I could have sworn I knew pretty much everyone who was on Ganymede when the fighting started. You know, you go through something like that, and you remember. Because you see a lot of your friends die. What was your rank? I was gunnery sergeant.

The gray face had gone closed and white. The mans mouth pinched. He pushed his hands deeper into his pockets and mumbled something.

And now? Bobbie went on, I work thirty hours a week with veterans outreach. And Im just fucking sure we could give a fine upstanding veteran like you a break.

He turned, and her hand went out to his elbow faster than he could pull away. His face twisted with fear and pain. She drew him close. When she spoke, her voice was careful. Each word clear and sharp.

Find. Another. Story.

Yes, maam, the beggar said. I will. Ill do that.

The car shifted, decelerating into the first Breach Candy station. She let him go and stood up. His eyes went a little wider when she did. Her genetic line went back to Samoa, and she sometimes had that effect on people who werent expecting her. Sometimes she felt a little bad about it. Not now.

Her brother lived in a nice middle-class hole in Breach Candy, not far from the lower university. Shed lived with him for a time after she got back home to Mars, and she was still putting the pieces of her life back together. It was a longer process than shed expected. And part of the aftermath was that she felt like she owed her brother something. Family dinner nights was part of that.

The halls of Breach Candy were sparse. The advertisements on the walls flickered as she came near, face recognition tracking her and offering up the products and services they thought she might want. Dating services, gym memberships, take-out shwarma, the new Mbeki Soon film, psychological counseling. Bobbie tried not to take it personally. Still, she wished there were more people around, a few more faces to add variety to the mix. To let her tell herself the ads were probably meant for someone walking nearby. Not for her.