Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 234
was nearly over the horizon, following her orbit; she instantly
reversed thrust. A bright star appeared in the skies over
Ventus.
The Voice had been sailing a very quiet sky. There was
no radio traffic from the surface of Ventus, except for localized
tight beams between the vagabond moons and the Diadem
Swans. The Swans themselves were invisible, wrapped in
radar-proof cloaks. They knew the Voice was there, but the
starship had been discreet after dropping Calandria and Axel
off.
They were about to become very interested in the Desert
Voice.
She broke orbit entirely and dropped to hover directly
over the Boros estate at an altitude of two hundred kilometers.
The fire from her exhaust pierced the ionosphere and created
an auroral spike visible over the horizon. To the survivors
huddled in the ruins of the Boros estate, the vagabond moon
that eclipsed the sky glowed faintly for a moment.
"She’s here," said Calandria.
The Voice assessed the situation. The aerostat between
her and her mistress was a big one: two kilometers in
diameter, comprised of a thin carbon-filament skeleton covered
with quasi-biological skin. It was surrounded by a haze of
ionized air, which it created and directed around itself to
control its movement. It was completely empty except for a
ring of storage tanks and gantries in its belly, which was of
insignificant mass compared to the lift the sun-warmed air
inside it gave.
It stood five hundred meters above Calandria’s position.
The Voice could see it straining to maintain its place: lightning
shot from its waist, and a vast electrical potential roved its skin,
pulling the air about. It was creating its own weather, and it