Gris returns to the hangar... hmm, that's almost as common a phrase as "Gris is thoroughly miserable." Anyway, the hangar is all a-bustle with different work crews moving stuff and hitting stuff with hammers, and Heller's in the middle of it directing the chaos, wearing his little red racing cap. The day's work centers on Tug One's "space time-converter" or something, and as always someone remarks how dangerous the will-be was engines are and, how insane Heller is for wanting to use them, and how the whole damned spaceship is just looking for an excuse to explode.
For a whole hour Gris does nothing but watch, having found "a pile of old Apparatus debris" to sit on, and glumly concludes that Heller is just stalling indefinitely, content with his digs aboard the luxury tugboat and a guard detail dedicated to ensuring he gets laid each and every evening. Gris witnesses two near-riots when some Fleet spacers show up and clash with the Apparatus guards, but of course Heller's charisma and wonderfulness is enough to defuse the situation before things get serious.
Then the Fleet guys haul "the box" aboard. I've spent five minutes or so looking over the first two pages of the chapter and can't figure out which box is being referred to here. It just suddenly appears after the Fleet guys get off their lorry. Wherever it came from, they manhandle it aboard Tug One, and Gris' becomes "very interested" in their cargo. Once aboard he finds that the floor plates for one of the passages have been removed, and there are six heavy boxes labeled A through F resting below the deck. How mysterious! And possibly ominous!
But as Gris wonders what could be inside those tantalizing Boxes of Mystery, none other than Heller shows up. And ignores the boxes completely. Instead he says, to the man who just returned from a three-week disappearance, "Soltan, I've got the feeling you've been avoiding me lately." Yes, Heller is concerned about his friendship with his good buddy Soltan Gris, who stammers that he looked into those missing documents Heller was wanting and gives him some incriminating evidence regarding the Apparatus and Earth. Heller pockets it without showing much interest, then concludes that Gris has been working too hard - "All drive and no drink makes disasters," after all.
I think there's something wrong with that aphorism.
And then Heller remembers that Gris owes him a dinner. Do you remember that Gris owes him a dinner? It's because of Gris' promotion I don't know how many chapters ago. Heller orders Gris to show up an hour after sundown and then they'll hit a nice nightclub, and Gris can only protest that he doesn't have any good uniforms to wear - but Heller assures him he can use Tug One's facilities and that he'll have some nice clothes ready for his good buddy. "It's a date! I'm glad we can become friends again! See you at sunset!"
After Heller leaves, Gris, who is of course completely broke save for a wad of counterfeit bills that would get him executed if he tried to use them, attempts to break into Tug One and steal something for a pawn shop, but of course the door is keyed to Krak and Heller's voices only.
So yeah, our story of RIVETING, SUPERBLY PLOTTED INTRIGUE, the main plot of which has not advanced in the past two to three Parts, has now decided to become a light comedy. Let's see what hilarity ensues as Gris gets dragged off to a dinner he can't pay for!
Back to Part Seven, Chapter Eight
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