Chasing the Stars Read Online Free PDF Page A

forty minutes. Thirty minutes, if I was unlucky.
    Three.
    Then I’d better make every moment count.
    ‘Aidan, I need a few more seconds.’ I spoke into the communications unit that was part of my helmet as I removed the closest cell and let it fall into the reactor.
    Two . . .
    ‘You don’t have a few more seconds . . .’
    ‘Hold on.’ I reached for the adjacent cell to the one I’d just destroyed and dished out the same treatment. I pulled the anti-energy pack off my belt, but my fingers – my whole body – were on fire and my focus slipped to the pain zigzagging inside me rather than the anti-energy pack. The display data inside my helmet was frantically flashing red. My suit was about to fail. The anti-energy pack fell from my fingers. I watched in dismay as it vanished into the energy reactor beneath me.
    Searing light.
    Unbearable heat.
    I couldn’t take much more. My protection suit wasn’t going to last much longer, but I had to keep trying. I was just reaching for the next energy cell and had half pulled it free when the lights went out.
    I was back on our ship, blinking as my eyes took longer than before to readjust. I fell to my knees, gasping against the intense pain ricocheting around my body. My stomach was heaving. I only just managed to unlock and pull off my helmet before vomiting with spectacular violence all over the floor. I vomited so hard and for so long that I’m sure there was a bit of cake from my first birthday party in amongst the smelly mess. The bridge’s cleaning robot immediately emerged from its charging unit by the door to vacuum up the stuff and sanitize the area.
    ‘Aidan! Why did you pull me out?’ I asked, when at last I managed to straighten up. ‘I didn’t have enough time—’
    ‘One more second and you would’ve been vaporized,’ Aidan told me. ‘You left it too long as it is. You have a number of second-degree burns and need to get to the medical bay.’
    ‘No. The medi bay will have to wait until we’ve rescued the people on the planet surface,’ I argued. ‘You didn’t put me down in the middle of the relay core like I asked. I had to improvise.’
    ‘And I had to save your life. By the way, you’re welcome,’ Aidan said with attitude.
    Justifiable attitude, I conceded.
    I took a deep breath. ‘Sorry, Aidan. I reckon we have maybe ten minutes max to evacuate all those people on the surface and it’s going to take at least three minutes just to get down there.’
    ‘You won’t be able to save them all.’ He was scrutinizing the planet surface scanner. ‘They’re too scattered and the damage to the landscape is too great. Plus a number of them are already dead.’
    ‘Put us down where we can rescue the greatest number,’ I ordered. ‘And let’s do this quick, fast and in a hurry before the Mazon have the chance to fix their ships. Every moment counts.’
    ‘For heaven’s sake, Vee, why’re you doing this?’ Aidan asked.
    I smiled, giving my brother an answer I knew would just aggravate him more. ‘My gut is telling me it’s the right thing to do.’
    Aidan groaned. ‘I swear one day your gut is going to be the death of me.’



6
    I’d prayed for a miracle. What we got was the Earth vessel which had landed outside our compound. It wasn’t quite what I’d expected or wanted, but hell, I’d take my miracles any way I could get them. The explorer-class ship was hovering about four metres off the ground to the east of our compound, blotting out the landscape.
    And I’ve never seen anything so welcome.
    Or so dreaded.
    The bomb drops and DE bursts seemed to have ceased, which struck me as odd, but I barely had time to think about it. Pulling my arm out of Mum’s grasp, we both sprinted for the ramp which led from the ground to the belly of the Earth ship.
    Mum and I weren’t the only ones with the same idea. All around us, people were racing for the ramp. On the ground, the wounded were shouting for help and those in a worse way