Pirate Ambush Read Online Free PDF Page A

jostling for room behind the electrified barrier. Beyond the fence, jutting from the far side of the asteroid, was a settlement of squat, ramshackle buildings and the odd space rocket.
    A green-skinned horned Venusian in a blue sash appeared on the screen and hissed at them like a Martian lizard. Peri pressed the slight bulge under his chin and activated his SpeakEasy computer chip. The translation device crackled loudly before Peri found the right wavelength. ‘Language frequency 23.10.04,’ Peri told the others.
     

     
    Diesel adjusted his SpeakEasy implant as Selene and Otto strapped two battered SpeakEasy devices to their heads. Now they could all hear what the Venusian was saying: ‘Haven Security. All ships visiting Haven must be inspected by security teams. Please grant permission to board your vessel or exercise your right to be destroyed.’
    Peri hit the mute button. ‘Otto is our best chance of getting in. They won’t suspect him of being an IF agent.’
    Diesel nodded. Otto had been a bounty hunter on planet Meigwor. ‘He’ll probably blend right in on Haven.’
    ‘Yes!’ Otto boomed. ‘Follow my lead, space-monkeys! I know how to deal with the criminal world!’
    Peri reactivated the communications channel.
    Otto took a deep breath. ‘Listen –’
    ‘Stand by,’ the Haven security guard replied. ‘Beaming aboard.’
    With a blaze of fizzy orange light, the security officer appeared. He had a blaster in each hand. He looked around the Bridge.
    ‘Haven welcomes you,’ he said as he holstered his weapons.
    Otto licked his lipless mouth. ‘Keep your welcome! Just lead me to the trouble!’
    The security guard straightened his sash. ‘No weapons, or personal defence devices, are allowed on Haven. You must obey the rules. Haven was established to allow the exchange of goods and services away from prying eyes, not as a place for troublemaking. Honour among thieves is strictly enforced here. Understood?’
    Otto nodded and the guard carried on: ‘The atmosphere has been configured to be safe for all species. And we value privacy. We don’t want to know your names. No one will give you theirs or tell you where they’re from. So don’t even ask. Everyone enters Haven at his, her, or its, own risk. There are no peacekeepers, no police and no IF here. Do you agree to these terms?’
    ‘Of course!’ Otto boomed. ‘My crew and I are no strangers to places like these.’
    ‘Stand together for beaming.’ The security guard turned to Selene. ‘You must leave that device behind. It’s been identified as a weapon.’
    Selene looked at her electro-pulse gadget, which she was holding in her hands. ‘But –’
    Peri put a hand on Selene’s shoulder. ‘Don’t argue,’ he hissed. ‘It doesn’t work yet anyway.’
    Selene put her gadget down and stood with the rest of the crew. The guard pulled what looked like a remote control from his pocket and fired it at them.
     

     
    An orange teleportation beam fizzed around the crew. It tingled against Peri’s skin and the orange light covered his eyes. He felt like an astro-mint in a bottle of Saturn Soda. Then, nanoseconds later, the beam vanished and Peri found himself on a metal teleportation platform in the middle of Haven. He looked out across the vast interior of the asteroid. On the other side, he could see the Phoenix waiting for them behind the blue electro-fence.
    ‘Get a move on!’ said a guard in a green sash. ‘Other people need to use the teleportation platform!’
    As Peri and his crew hurried away from the platform, a thin man with more scars than money ran beside Otto. ‘Need a better crew, captain? They look on the small side.’
    ‘No, no!’ Otto pushed him away. ‘They’re useless, but they’re my crew and I’m keeping them!’
    ‘Useless?’ Diesel snarled. ‘How dare you –’
    ‘Keep quiet, space-monkey!’ said Otto as he led them into the heart of Haven.
    It was hard weaving through the streets. Everyone was