Liberty Read Online Free PDF

faster and faster.
    Nobody fires at my ship.
    Nobody.

    “Bell, I thought you said no one was behind us!”
    “This isn’t a SUN issue ship! I don’t recognize the model, Captain, but preliminary observations indicate there’s no way we can beat ‘er in a firefight. I mean, look at ‘er. She’s énorme.”
    I grabbed the controls and engaged the thrusters. The Misfit screamed as we veered to the right of our hulking attacker. Suddenly, the communication monitor lights started blinking.
    “Sure, you shoot at me and then try to chat? Like skud!” I pounded on the monitor’s keypad and hung up on the caller.
    About two seconds later, the comm lights flickered again.
    “Per’aps it is better to find out who this person is. Maybe you can get them to stop shooting at us?”
    I rolled my eyes and hit ‘Accept’.
    A porcelain face materialized on the screen, framed by a halo of perfect blonde curls. The woman’s pouty, cherry lips shined and her bright blue eyes sparkled under perfectly angled eyebrows.
    I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t her.
    “Tabitha. How nice to see you,” she purred.
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You must have me confused with someone else. My name is Captain Trudy Loveless. My crew and I are on a mission to deliver cargo to Earth, and I’d really appreciate it if you’d get out of my way and stop firing on my ship.”
    The woman tilted her head and smiled slightly. It wasn’t a friendly smile, or even a courteous one.
    It was the smile of a lioness that has cornered her lunch.
    “Oh, Tabitha, you know you shouldn’t lie so much. I know all about you, and despite the tough-girl façade, you really do want to do the right thing. Lying goes against your better nature. Why not come clean? I know what you have, and I feel it’s only fair to tell you I will do whatever it takes to get it.”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about, or what you think I have. Also, I don’t believe I caught your name?” I asked.
    “What, you don’t recognize me? I’m Eira Ninge, President of Galileo Space Pioneering. Surely you’ve heard of GSP?”
    “Anyone who’s flown a ship knows GSP However, last I heard they were still interested in financing missions to the colonies and designing ships, not shooting cargo runners out of the sky.”
    “I told you, Tabitha, you have something I want. Now, you can come along quietly or put up a fight and endanger all you hold dear, but either way, you will give me that vial.”
    I swore under my breath. “We’re done talking.”
    I shut off the communication monitor and yelled into the ship’s intercom.
    “CiCi! Tell me I can out-maneuver her!”
    “You can’t.”
    “CiCi!”
    “Well, you can’t, especially because she’s parked herself right in front of the jump gate. But you could lose her in Dead Man’s Field.”
    “You’re sending me into the asteroid belt? I love you too.”
    “She’s a big ship. She’ll sustain more damage than we will. There’s an emergency gate, and if all else fails, we can hide somewhere. It’s your best bet short of the jump gate.”
    “Captain, ‘er starboard guns are active and ready to fire,” said Bell.
    “Rivera!” I yelled. “Get in here and get on those guns!”
    I looked at my first mate. “Liz, I don’t know if I can—”
    “ Please. You out-scored me on our final exam. And I rock. You can do whatever the flark you want.”
    I took a deep breath, and she gave me a quick nod as we swerved into the asteroid field. As I maneuvered the ship, my chair spun sideways and Rivera, who had come at last, lost his footing and fell straight into my lap.
    “Rivera, you lummox! Get off! What took you so long?” I yelled.
    “Sorry, Cap, can’t fire on a full bladder.”
    “You just went!”
    “Hey, small bladder!”
    He scrambled off me and fell into his seat to the right of Bell and me. We lurched hard to starboard to avoid a collision with a small asteroid, and he