Stitching Snow Read Online Free Page B

sense. Anything I can do to help?” I checked the results, and my heart plummeted to the mines. The fi rst few lines on the diagnostic readout held nothing but headaches, and it only got worse. My instinct not to trust the computer had been dead-on. It was thrashed. Several 23

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    subroutines had been wiped out by the overloads, and most of the others were a corrupted mess.
    Then there was the physical damage. Most of it was super-fi cial, but some key components had blown out, including what I suspected was the scan-scrambler. Ticktock cross-referenced what we saw with the schematic and maintenance fi les, detailing the repairs necessary. All that was straightforward enough.
    Except the maintenance fi les assumed we had access to Garamite clean-tech. And the diagnostic wasn’t even done yet.
    Fixing everything would be more than a favor. More than twenty favors.
    “You can tell me if you have anything valuable on board that we can trade for parts.”
    “Some merinium.”
    I couldn’t help a laugh, but felt no humor. “That’s the one thing we don’t need in Forty-Two. We’ve got a mine full of it.
    Exactly what kind of treasure hunt are you on, Dane?” When no answer came, I stared, daring him to remain silent.
    His eyes had changed, darkening, like they hid as much as mine.
    “It’s a story I heard.” He spoke carefully, watched me as though my reaction would dictate each word that followed.
    “Something about a treasure big enough to change things.”
    “Change what kinds of things?”
    “Things on Windsong, maybe.”
    Memories shuddered through me at the mention of that planet—sunlight dancing on the mountains, rainbow orchids, birds singing every morning . . . shadows looming over me, pain and silence and must-keep-quiet—
    “The rule on Thanda is to do what keeps you fed and warm 24

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    and avoids interference from Windsong,” I said grufflly. “From what I hear, your lot on Garam is spans better than ours, so what do you have to complain about?”
    “We may not have to work in the mines, but we’re not free.
    Not really. We create, and King Matthias and Queen Olivia take, giving just enough back to keep us complacent and working.”
    “And you think this mysterious ‘treasure’ of yours is enough to change that?”
    He crossed his arms. “Wealth and power do go together, don’t you think?”
    “You’re a blazing fool. No one stands against Windsong.”
    “Some people do.”
    “What, the Exiles? And you see all the good it’s done them .
    Kicked out of their kingship on Windsong and relegated to the far side of the solar system for a few centuries, and now with their military battling in Windsong’s outlands. That war’s been going eight years, and no progress.”
    “The Exiles aren’t the only ones who’ve stood against the crown. We’ve had rebellions on Garam, even uprisings on Windsong itself.”
    I scoffed. “Not in ages.”
    “Then maybe it’s time for another.” He exhaled sharply, then winced. “Not that any of this will happen if I can’t get off the ground. What about the repairs? I’ll fi nd a way to get whatever parts we need—there has to be a way.” I looked at the readout again. Some things already in my lab might help, but trading for the rest would take more shares than I had at the moment, and blazes if I was going to go broke right before the snows for some strange boy.
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    My mind clicked through possibilities, trying to fi nd another option. Petey might spot a loan if I asked, but I couldn’t. He had family to support in the Bands. The easiest choice was to just tell Dane he was on his own and good luck to him. The next settlement was nearly fi fty links away, though, and they certainly didn’t have anyone who could handle tech like the shuttle’s.
    Especially the new code that’d have to be written.
    That’s not my problem.
    Mother wouldn’t have thought so. She would’ve