Have you ever tried to land an aircar in the rain? It’s not easy to begin with, managing the updrafts and all, but the wind and the water just make it that much harder. I was doing a damned fine job of it though, carefully twitching the thrusters and the throttle to bring us down gently —

— when my passenger leaned over to snag his duffle bag, jostled my hand and sent us slamming into the landing pad with a teeth-clacking thump.

“Sorry,” he said, flashing me a smile. “Nice landing.”

Without comment, I popped the hatch, and then he was gone, zipping out into the gray dampness of the day. Nice landing, indeed. But he could afford to be condescending — he was one of the Corporation’s real pilots, the ones that piloted the commuter service to Luna and the ferries to Mars. I wasn’t much more than a taxi driver with a nice uniform.

I’d hit zero-g eventually, I swore I would.

The next time I landed, Zeke was waiting for me. “Boss wants to see you, Brenner.”

And the day had started so well.