Nanowrimo day one - Hal 5

Here's a fragment of today's nanowrimo, unedited, unproofed and raw. Enjoy!


The Tiger finally passed out of range, and with Traffic Control's grudging permission the Volante docked with the space station. Hal charged out as soon as the airlock opened. He didn't know where to go or what to do when he got there, but that wasn't the point. Speed was of the essence.
As he dashed from the ship he almost ran into a welcobot. It was waiting in the boarding tube, all friendly eyes and fake smile. "Why hello, fine sir!" it said, extending a white-gloved welcoming-hand. "Can I interest you in a rundown of our facilities?"
Hal put two hands on the welcobot's head and vaulted right over it. His feet pounded the boarding tube carpet as he ran full tilt for the exit, rocking the tunnel in his wake. The welcobot oohed and aahed as it tried to maintain its balance, then toppled over and landed flat on its back. It lay there with its little rubber wheels spinning in space, shaking hands with thin air.
"Left, Mr Spacejock!" called Clunk, while Sandy helped the welcobot to its feet. "It's the other way!"
Hal skidded to a halt, did a quick U-turn and ran in the opposite direction. The welcobot had darted up to the main tunnel and was now waiting for him, its smile a touch less friendly and its large shaking-hand at the ready. Hal feigned a pass to the left, then darted right at the last second. The welcobot lunged, Hal leapt and there was a rip of tortured fabric as the mechanical fingers tore the pocket out of his flightsuit. What exactly it was trying to grab and shake Hal didn't like to think.
He pieced his flightsuit together and met up with the others further along the main corridor. Clunk was studying the information package they'd been given at the hotel. He inspected every page carefully, turning each one as though they were made out of the finest parchment. Hal wanted to grab it and rip through the pages until he found what they were after, and he restrained himself with difficulty. "Well?" demanded Hal. "What's the plan?"
"Historical records are on level three, corridor eighteen. There's an elevator just round the corner."
"Let's go!"

Simon Haynes is the author of the Hal Spacejock and Hal Junior series (Amazon / Smashwords / other formats)