The Last Rats, A Bastion Saturn Short Prequel Page 3

  "Rod? As in, like, a car?"

  "2056 Corvette Z10. Last of the gas burners. Course I had to swap out the engine for a—

  "Does it run?"

  "Oh. No, I've got it dismantled at the moment. It's got a bad—

  She waved her hand dismissively. "Then can we call a ride?" She held up the com.

  He smiled and touched the machine's DNA analyzer. "So do you need to stop for something? Clothes or whatever?"

  "I gotta a bag of personals packed to the weight limit. It's already standing by at the shuttle base. My ship apartment is supposedly stocked with clothes my size. Sure you don't need anything?"

  "Well, 'til just now, I figured my going to Saturn was a one in a million shot. Like you said, they pre-stock the apartments. I filled out all the particulars when I put down the deposit. Anyway, they're going to put us to sleep for a long time. Just need your birthday suit for that." He looked up and down the empty street for their ride. "You have a job lined up out there?"

  "Pharmaceutical co-op. They're looking for people."

  "Yeah? People who can fix stuff?"

  She laughed. "Everyone out there's looking for people can fix stuff, Spruck Jones." She flashed him a winning smile. "Lot's of rich folks wouldn't know the front end of a screwdriver. Lucky they brought bots with them's all I can say."

  He chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I guess I've heard that." Then he spotted the ride.

  Dear reader,

  If you want to continue following the adventures of Spruck Jones and Natalie Beal, along with a host of other characters trying to survive in the vast reaches of space, check out Bastion Saturn. More details can be found on my website — www.cchaseharwood.com