Hard Vacuum 1 Read Online Free PDF Page A

the wall nearby," Manik said.
    Kyra glanced around and spotted it. The recharger was a metre-wide box with a metal door on the front, sealed shut. She walked to it and pulled the door open.
    BLAM

Chapter 7
    DOUBLE PLAY
     
    K yra struggled back to consciousness. Her ears rang with all seven bells of hell, and she felt like someone was stabbing through her right eyeball. She opened her eyes and saw only darkness. For an instant, she worried that she'd gone blind, but then she spotted a dim beam of light on her shoulder.
    Her ReadyNet blinked at her. Her suit was out of power. Whatever just happened had drained the last dribble. Kyra struggled, finding her hands and moving them to push against whatever was holding her down. With a grunt, she shoved a large, flat piece of ceiling off her and clambered out from under it.
    The security room had been destroyed. The walls were gone. Only jutting shards remained at the top and bottom. Fragments of furniture and wall lay strewn around. The front of her suit was blackened. The recharger had exploded, destroying the security office and nearly killing her in the process. Kyra could see the park through one wall behind her and the outer hull of the station on the other side.
    She pulled off her helmet and probed her head with her fingers. Her mind ached, but there didn't seem to be any broken bones. She looked at the helmet in her hands. A long gash ran up the front of it, leading to a crack at the top. Kyra applied a little pressure, and the helmet broke in two.
    She tried to jog from the room, but her left leg wouldn't bend. She looked down and saw a piece of shrapnel stuck in the knee joint. Kyra pressed a button at her collar, and the back and leg seals broke open. Pulling out of the suit, she stepped backwards, leaving it standing on its own. She still had her close-fitting jumpsuit on, but felt naked without her combat suit on top.
    Kyra rounded the suit, crouching down and looking at the leg.
    "Over here!"
    She whirled in surprise at the shout. Her ears were still ringing, but through it she could hear boots running. She twisted, searching for somewhere to hide, but couldn't find anything.
    Snatching the picture of her daughters from the pocket of her suit, she darted to the chunk of ceiling and pulled it up. She squeezed back under it and lay down, lowering it onto herself. The ceiling felt a lot heavier without her suit on. She struggled to catch her breath.
    Kyra heard the running feet skid to a stop nearby. Someone panted for breath. "Where is she?"
    "How did she survive the bomb?" another man asked.
    "Do I look like I fucking know? Grab that thing and take it back to the control room. The rest of you spread out and search for her."
    The feet shuffled for a moment, and then Kyra heard them moving away.
    She waited a long few minutes before she pushed her way out again. Her suit was gone. Out in the darkness of the station, she could see flashlights arcing around, searching.
    Kyra padded out to the park, creeping to the nearest tree and hiding beside it. The men were all searching the rooms on the far side of the wing. She kept to the trees and bushes all the way to where the park ended at the station hub. Across a wide gap, the control room door was open. Inside, Kyra could see two men arguing. Her suit was standing upright just inside the door.
    Kyra gave her suit a little, reluctant wave and turned towards Bravo Wing. She padded into the wing, glancing around. It was as quiet as the vacuum outside the station. Everyone seemed to be searching for her in Alpha Wing.
    The merc's ship was ahead, its airlock open. Kyra padded forward, alert for any kind of a trap. Nothing happened.
    She stepped into the dazzling brightness of the ship and moved into a small loading bay surrounded by crates. A set of steps led up. Kyra jogged up them and deeper into the ship.
    The bright corridors of the ship made Kyra feel exposed after the dark of the station. She found a model number on a nearby