Chapter 18

The next morning, the recovery panel displayed three new assignments. Raelin’s balance, reduced to -1011 after yesterday’s sorting, glowed above FASTENER GRADING for +3 points, SERVICE-LANE CLEANING for +4, and DRAIN CLEARING for +5. He guessed fastener grading might let him sit again, so he selected it. One lighter assignment today, another tomorrow if the panel offered one. After that, his knee and ribs would have to be ready for whatever five-point work appeared.

Beside Raelin, Mara selected MESS HALL SANITATION. Harl read his own three options twice before pressing DRAIN CLEARING. “Going on nine years, and this is how they reward loyalty,” he muttered. When Raelin told him what he had chosen, Harl snorted. “Beginner’s luck. Fastener grading’s practically a holiday. They give you a stool and everything.”

Raelin sorted corroded fasteners for reuse, melting, or disposal. The choices were no harder than yesterday’s filters, and soon he was working by rhythm instead of thought. Questions about Skyline came from both sides of the bench. His first answer was short, his second shorter. The questions quickly stopped after that. By early afternoon, the last fastener struck its chute and the three-note fanfare began. Raelin pushed away from the table without waiting for it to finish.

Raelin hurried away from the Compound. His right knee still ached, but yesterday’s sharp jolt had faded enough for him to walk without limping. He cut through the Grime Pit and reached home without stopping.

Raelin lifted the curtain. “Ki, I finished as early as I…” He was halfway inside before he noticed he was speaking to an empty room.

Kiri’s metal cup stood in the middle of the table, pinning a scrap of paper. Since your OmniLink won’t take messages, I’m trying an older technology called paper. I’m at Lily’s. Nothing is on fire. Come by when the Oracle is done with you. Kiri. Raelin folded the note into his pocket and headed for the Technical Quarter.

Raelin forced himself into a jog for the last stretch to Lily’s shop. By the time he pushed through the canvas, he was breathing hard and limping again. Kiri and Lily turned from the workbench. “Two hundred and two days,” he said before either could greet him. “If I take the five-point assignments every morning, that’s all it takes. If I finish early, like today, I can find other work in the afternoons. Repairs, hauling, anything. I can ask them to pay you directly until my OmniLink comes back. I can…”

“Rae. Slow down,” Kiri said.

“I can make it work.”

“Sit, loot boy.” Lily pulled a stool from beneath the bench and turned it toward him. “Breathe first. Kiri might even get in a few words before you regale us with the rest of your brilliant plan.”

Raelin lowered himself onto it. “What’s going on?”

Kiri’s attempt at a serious expression lasted less than a second. “Lily offered to take me on as her apprentice!”

Raelin gripped the edge of the stool. He looked from Kiri’s grin to Lily. “A real Guild apprenticeship?”

“Guild registered, Ledger recognized, and thoroughly infested with rules,” Lily said. “My standing qualifies me to take on an apprentice. I’ve simply had the good sense not to advertise it.”

Kiri folded her arms and fixed Lily with an exaggerated scowl. “Apparently she’s been considering me for a while. She just neglected to mention that part until today.”

Lily met the scowl with a raised eyebrow. “While you two were hauling power cores out of a prewar factory, apprentice wages would have been an insult. I thought I could wait.” Her gaze dropped to the gray OmniLink beneath Raelin’s skin. “Apparently not.”

Raelin’s unbandaged hand slid over the gray rectangle, hiding it beneath his palm. He looked down between his boots.

Lily stepped closer and rested a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Raelin. If I’d known the factory was gone and that climbing was your only plan, I would have offered then. I wish you’d told me.”

Raelin lifted his hand from the OmniLink and covered hers. “It’s not your fault. You asked. I just…” He took a breath, held it, then let it go.

Lily waited.

“I didn’t want you to know how bad it was,” Raelin said at last. “I kept thinking I could solve it on my own. Somehow.”

“Next time, come to us before you’re down to somehow,” Lily said.

Raelin nodded. Kiri raised one hand. “Actually, this conversation was supposed to be about my life-changing announcement.”

Raelin let go of Lily’s hand and turned to Kiri. “Congratulations, Apprentice Kestrel.” He gave her a solemn nod. “You were saying?”

Kiri pressed her raised hand to her chest. “Your approval is a tremendous relief. I already said yes.”

Raelin smiled. “All right, Ki. Tell me everything.”

Kiri lowered her hand. “I came here this morning to explain what happened. After I finished, Lily asked if I wanted to stop hovering around her bench and start getting paid for it.”

Lily smirked. “That is exactly how I phrased it.”

Raelin glanced toward the workbench. “What does paid hovering involve?”

“So far? Mostly negotiating.” Kiri tipped her chin toward Lily. “We’ve spent the rest of the morning arguing over how much of what I already know counts. Her opening position is that none of it does until she’s seen it for herself.”

“What you know is why I offered,” Lily said. “But instinct isn’t Guild training. You’ve never logged a repair or prepared for an inspection. A serious mistake could cost me my license, and I won’t stake it on skills I haven’t tested.”

The argument continued. Kiri won the right to demonstrate what she already knew instead of learning it twice, but Lily yielded nothing on Guild procedure or live systems. When Kiri argued that she could decide for herself when she needed a break, Lily cut her off with a flat no.

Raelin waited for a gap in their discussion. “And what does it pay?”

“The surgery is still out of reach,” Kiri said, “but I’ll earn enough for food and medicine while you clear your debt.”

“Regular pay,” Lily added. “The points go straight to her Ledger.”

Raelin sat back and breathed out slowly. “Thank you, Lily.”

Lily shook her head. “This isn’t charity. Kiri has earned the offer. Now she has to do the work.”

“Speaking of work no one does for charity,” Lily said. “Do you remember Jax?”

“The robot hunter?” Raelin asked.

“The one with the Series Nine,” Kiri said.

“Both accurate.” Lily leaned against the workbench. “I maintain his arm’s power system. Last time he was here, he told me about two scavengers he’d met at the clinic.”

“And you knew he meant us?” Kiri asked.

“One kept him talking with questions about his arm. The other offered an unflattering assessment of his career prospects.” Lily looked between them. “It wasn’t that difficult.”

“Why are you telling us about him?” Raelin asked.

“Because he used to be Pointless,” Lily said. “And from what he says, his crew could use a scavenger who knows old machines.”

“What happened to the last one?” Raelin asked.

“Jax didn’t say,” Lily replied. “By your own assessment, hunters don’t tend to have long, healthy careers.”

Raelin stared at her. “People die doing that work. How can you even suggest it?”

Lily held his gaze. “So do people who scavenge at the bottom of Nexus or try to climb to the top alone.”

Raelin looked down at his bandaged hand. “That doesn’t make hunting any less suicidal.”

“No,” Lily said. “It doesn’t.”

“Then it isn’t an option,” Raelin said. “Ki has work of her own now. She can cover what she needs while I clear what I owe.”

“Rae.” Kiri’s grin had faded. “Whatever comes next, we decide together. Both of us. Remember?”

“I remember.” Raelin met her eyes. “Then help me find something that won’t get me killed. I’ll take one more day to heal, then choose the heavier five-point assignments until my debt is gone. If I finish early, I’ll take on whatever other work I can find.”

“You may find some work,” Lily said. “Getting paid is the problem. As far as the Oracle is concerned, that gray OmniLink means you’re not part of society anymore.”

“I know,” Raelin said. “Clearing the debt won’t solve the rest of it, but it’s one problem I know how to fix. Until then, they can pay Ki, or pay me in food and supplies. It doesn’t have to go through my OmniLink.”

“The two of you were already taking whatever work came your way,” Lily said. “I don’t see that working any better now, even with Kiri earning apprentice wages.”

Raelin’s jaw tightened. “I’ll figure something out.”

Kiri checked her OmniLink. “As much as I’m enjoying watching you two bicker like an old married couple, Rae still has a curfew to make.”

Raelin opened his mouth to object, then noticed the time on Kiri’s OmniLink. He stood and hugged her. “I’m proud of you, Ki.”

Kiri held him for a moment before letting go. “I know. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Raelin turned to Lily. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. I know you’re trying to help.”

Lily stepped closer and took his hand, her thumb brushing across his knuckles. “We can bicker like a married couple another day.”

Raelin’s face warmed as he squeezed her hand. “Another day.” He let go, and Kiri’s giggle followed him out into the street.