Halo Jones part 2: aboard the Clara Pandy

[whitesycamore]

Unlike part 1, there's not much of a plot here, just a few pages that set the mood for the second (and my favourite) part of the book.



Following the grocery trip of part 1, Halo and Rodice decide to leave The Hoop and look for work elsewhere (Their room-mate Brinna was murdered, Ludy joined a cult, they've basically had enough of the place).











Halo gets the job due to her secret talent, and Rodice promises to follow her on the next ship out. The two resolve to meet up on the planet Charlemagne in a years time.





:'(


These next pages introduce us to the main characters on board the Clara Pandy:





Halo's cabin mate Toy is very important throughout the second and third books, and definitely one of the most fleshed out supporting characters.





Haha, no mix Ninegold isn't incredibly deep. He's pretty much the quintessential handsome, sophisticated, oblivious jerk, although he does at least try to be kind to Halo, after a fashion. (Toy and Halo aren't deliberately ignoring the stowaway btw - she just has a strange existential affliction that makes her almost impossible to notice).


And now the reason why the ability to speak Cetacean was so important for the job:








As Halo reaches the end of her letter, she mentions Brinna again and foreshadows some of the story to come. Brinna was Halo and Rodice's former room mate, and Toby the robot dog's previous owner. At this point in the story her death is still a sad mystery. As for Lux Roth Chop, he's the eccentric millionaire who purchased the Clara Pandy and saved it from being scrapped. He *is* onboard the ship, but he's not the mysterious passenger of cabin 215...





And with that, Halo's chances of impressing Mix Ninegold are dashed forever.

Comments

[korvarthefox.livejournal.com]

Man, I just found this in the library and read it through :) Wonderful stuff.

[whitesycamore]

Agreed! I love the Clara Pandy section in particular just because it's so much funnier and happier than the rest, which tends to wards the bleak.

I feel bad just thinking about Toy's entire story-arc though. And here I was criticising Mix Ninegold for being oblivious... :(

[benicio127]

Oh God, this art :/

The scene where she's trying to figure out how to pronounce his name is lulzy. I am such a horrible botcher of names that I can relate to this :)

[whitesycamore]

And that outfit... it puts the tackiness of Playboy bunnies into swift perspective.

Mix Ninegold reminds me of my dissertation supervisor, what with his gentle vaguely paternal condescension and all.