Liberty Read Online Free PDF Page B

glared at us. “Be easier to walk if you two infants would fly straight.”
    “Shut up and take out whatever part of her you can!” I yelled.
    Rivera cracked his knuckles and stared down Eira’s massive ship. “Whatcha got for me, sugar lips?”
    As if Eira’s ship had heard him, a blast engulfed the Misfit in white light. She shivered, and then went utterly dark.
    “Rivera?”
    “I didn’t do it!”
    Shots were coming in from everywhere, and we had no firepower. We were frozen, with no means of defending ourselves. On top of it all, one very determined looking asteroid was headed our way.
    “Emergency shields at thirty percent ... fifteen percent ... five percent!” yelled Bell.
    “CiCi, did you fix that backup generator before we took off?” I cried.
    “It should kick in any second now,” said CiCi.
    I stared ahead, helplessly watching blast after blast damage bits of my ship. “Come on baby ... come on ....”
    I heard a low hum and felt a whirring beneath my hands as tiny white lights pierced the darkness. The backup generator engaged. I held back a sigh of relief and opted to chomp down on my lower lip instead. I could only see one course of action that would keep my crew— and my secrets—safe.
    “Bell, put everything we’ve got into those shields. Rivera, take out that asteroid before it hits us. Everyone else, into the escape pods. Where the flark is Salazar?”
    “Captain! An escape pod has jettisoned,” said Bell.
    Rivera shot me a knowing glance as we watched the pod fly toward Eira’s ship. “ Weasel! Oh, I called it. I totally called it! Which one did he take? Miriam! You owe me five bucks!”
    “You bet against Salazar?” I cried.
    “Uh ... I mean, well, I really don’t think this is the moment to discuss it, Cap,” stammered Rivera.
    I glared at him. “Get in that escape pod. And the next time I see you, I expect flowers and chocolate and a big brass flarking band.”
    “Aye, Cap.”
    Bell pulled up the screen. “Captain, ‘e appears to have taken one of the dual-riders.”
    “Skud,” I hissed under my breath.
    Just then, Hobson poked his head in the door.
    “Who’s a weasel? What on earth is going on? My lab went dark and I can’t get anything done if—”
    I looked up into his face and his sentence stopped cold. I didn’t have to say a word—he just knew. Like he always knew. I never had to explain anything to Hobs. I wanted more time to take in the ever-present glimmer in Hobs’s bright blue eyes, to memorize the wild path of his unruly blond curls. Instead, I stole a second to freeze him in my mind, until the taste of blood on my tongue reminded me to release my jaw-lock on my lower lip and get back to work. I wanted to carry that picture with me forever.
    “Take what supplies you need and get in an escape pod with CiCi, Hobs. Now.”
    Hobs’s big, bespectacled eyes scrutinized my face. “How will you find us?”
    “I dunno, but I will.” I reached for the intercom. “Rivera, you and Porch take the other dual rider after you make sure Bell gets in the last one.”
    “What?” cried Bell. “Captain, I—”
    “That’s an order,” I barked. “CiCi, put those parts down and run. Bell, come with me.”
    Another round of shots peppered the Misfit as we ran full speed to the emergency deck.
    “What’s your game plan, Captain?” asked Bell.
    “As each pod jettisons, we release cargo. Hopefully that rotten slag won’t know what’s worth shooting and what isn’t. It’s the crew’s best chance.”
    “You mean only chance,” said Bell. “What will you do?”
    “Aim for the emergency gate, head for Earth, and with any luck, survive.”
    “That’s always a good thing.”
    I extended my fist to Bell. She pushed hers into mine.
    “Live free or die, Captain.”
    I nodded. “Let’s do this.”

INFERNAL BOY 4
    “I SO DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!” I SCREAMED AT THE BROKEN yoke stick in my hands. I started rifling through the cockpit, searching for