The Girls From Alcyone: Merchantman Read Online Free PDF

beside her, verifying the information. The Merchantman was already 1,500 kilometers out, every second increasing that distance as she accelerated away, blasting toward the Warp Relay and escape.
    Andrzej reached for the com. "I'll signal the other transports—get them to ward her off."
    Sigrid moved to the helm and initiated the startup sequence for the engines, clearing their moorings. The chief stopped her, his hand on her shoulder. He checked the monitor and shook his head. "She's too far out. We'll never catch her. Even if we could, we have nothing to stop her with. We have no weapons."
    "Sorry, Chief. That's where you're wrong."
    * * *
    "Has anyone ever told you you may be clinically insane?" the chief asked, helping Sigrid fasten the faceplate to her pressure suit.
    Sigrid considered the question and was surprised at the answer. "I suppose I'd be lying if I said the subject never came up."
    Sigrid zipped up the pressure suit. This was only her second time in space. She was grateful to have a suit that fit her this time, unlike the bulky, clumsy thing she'd worn during the action with the Agatsuma . Made to measure, her new suit permitted much greater mobility and featured harnesses and clips to accommodate her weapons and equipment.
    Every light in the suit blinked green. She had pressure; she had air. She also had a plan.
    "Help me with this."
    Together, they slid the freshly stolen joy-rocket on a skid toward the cargo airlock. This one seemed a particular nasty piece of engineering. The hybrid rocket motor had clearly been salvaged from a thruster pylon from a much larger vessel. Two meters wide and five long, it took up much of the space in the hold. A simple acceleration couch had been laser welded onto its fairing; her only controls were a throttle lever and a kill switch. Pitch and attack angles were handled by four maneuvering jets taken from an old EVA unit. Once launched, she knew it would have one basic maneuver—straight ahead.
    "You don't have to do this," the chief said as Sigrid climbed into the chair.
    "This is my fault, Chief. I've endangered the crew. I've put us all at risk."
    "You're being a fool!"
    "And you're wasting time," Sigrid argued back, angry at herself, at Corbin Price—at anyone she could think of.
    "You don't even know if this contraption will work. Is it even fueled?"
    Sigrid's sensors could scan on a number of levels. Chemical composition was one of them. The rocket motor was fueled and ready; although she didn't want to think too long as to its construction or its integrity. It could very easily explode when she ignited the mixture—her along with it.
    "Only one way to find out. Now, unless you want to come with me, I suggest you go back to the bridge."
    The chief frowned in a pronounced fashion, as if struggling but unable to come up with a decent retort. "Bring them back alive, Ms. Novak."
    Sigrid felt the Ōmi Maru's engine's cut out as the freighter rotated 180º. Interfacing directly with the ship's computer, Sigrid began the depressurizing sequence. Lights flashed green in her HUD; Sigrid opened the outer door to the cargo hold.
    The Merchantman was there, visible now, but so was the Warp Relay behind her. There might still be time. With the doors cleared, she switched off the ship’s artificial gravity, allowing the missile on which she sat to float free.
    "Here goes nothing."
    Sigrid ignited the fuel and squealed despite herself. The joy-rocket shot out of the hold, streaking toward her target, the Merchantman, accelerating to a nerve-rattling eight-point-two-six Gs. She looked at the throttle control in her hand; it was only at halfway.
    Sigrid slowly pressed her thumb down, increasing the flow of the oxidizer. The leap in acceleration ripped the wind from her chest. Twelve-point-eight-six Gs, still accelerating. She squeezed her abdominal muscles tight, kept her breathing short. The acceleration registered, pressing her deeper into the couch, threatening to push her out