Bolt Fishing - The Sooth, S1/E8

Juniper meets an important person who takes her on a truly terrible trip. 9 min. read

New to the story? Start at the beginning.

Previously: Juniper gets maybe shanghaied by a maybe government man.

This episode requires a paid subscription to read the whole thing.

---

Episode Title

Planet: Mariner

Juniper followed Freiling down the staircase and through a winding hallway and finally into a huge office where a woman in a modern-looking suit sat behind a small but tidy mountain-wood desk. The sea shimmered behind her through the window that stretched from the gleaming tiled floor to the vaulted ceiling.

The woman motioned Juniper to sit. She then rose from her own seat and paced in a circle all the way around both the desk and Juniper, inspecting the girl as she walked. Juniper stared at a dot on the desk where the lacquer had been gouged off. The smallness of the desk had given the woman the illusion of size. Stripped from this comparative, Juniper saw that she was actually small, shorter than Juniper with a lighter build.

“I am Prime Minister Danton,” said the woman as she completed her circuit. Instead of returning to her seat, she crowded between Juniper and the desk, her knees almost touching Juniper’s. “We need your help with something.”

Juniper glanced around the room. The Minister was too close to be talking to anyone else, but Juniper had no idea what the Minister could need her help with. Commander Freiling had disappeared. Danton smiled a sly grin, sylph-like and soulless.

“You saw what landed here, I’m told,” continued Minister Danton, “the offworld species.” Juniper flinched. She recovered almost immediately, but the Minister saw it. “I’m sorry about your sister.”

This was the same opener Madame Arsenault had greeted Juniper with. She squinted at the Minister.

The Prime Minister side-smiled again. “Suspicious, I see,” she said. “Good.”

“I would like to go home now,” said Juniper.