Chasing the Stars Read Online Free Page B

cells I was looking for. Two levels directly above. I had no time to climb. I’d have to jump, using my suit’s limited propulsion system to move me up.
    Crouch down.
    Eight.
    Jump! I leaped, reaching out with both hands above my head. Grabbing the underside of the metalwork, I swung myself round, crouched and jumped again, but this time I aimed not at the next horizontal gantry above me but the net next to the core cells I needed to sabotage.
    Seven.
    A frantic grab with both hands at the metal net. My left hand slipped, but my right hand managed to find purchase. My momentum swung me round and my back banged into the burning hot wall. I clung on for dear life – literally.
    Six.
    Dangling like a fish on a line, I tried to regain my equilibrium. I kicked out and swung back around to face the array of energy cells, by which time my right arm and shoulder were screaming in protest at having to take my full weight. Time was ticking by.
    Five.
    Looking straight up, I reached out with my left arm and grabbed hold of one of the energy cells directly above me. My visor readings told me I had hold of one of the right kind.
    Four
.
    Pull! Now that my feet were supported by the metal net, I could lean back slightly and lend my whole body weight to the task. I tried to pull the appropriate energy cell out of its housing. The thing wasn’t budging. I wasn’t going to make it.
    Three.
    It was moving! I held on tighter and yanked. Then grabbed hold of the one next to it and yanked that out too, allowing them to free fall around me.
    Two.
    I pulled the anti-energy unit off my belt and rammed it into the core, replacing the cells I’d just removed.
    One.
    A rush.
    The dragging sensation was back.
    An absence of light.
    I couldn’t see a thing.
    ‘Vee, are you OK?’ Aidan’s voice came from directly in front of me.
    Pushing up my visor, I blinked rapidly, my eyes readjusting to the normal light on the bridge of our ship, which was considerably more subdued than in the engine core of the Mazon ship. I took a deep breath, quickly followed by another. The cooler air on my face and in my lungs was most welcome. Now I just needed to stop feeling nauseated.
    ‘Did it work?’ asked my brother.
    ‘We’ll soon find out. Send me to the second ship. Same deal.’
    ‘You should wait at least seven minutes to fully decontaminate,’ Aidan said. ‘If you go back now, you’ll have even less time to sabotage the Mazon ship.’
    ‘I can’t wait. No time. I’ll be fine. You’ll keep me safe. Send me to the second ship.’
    Aidan opened his mouth to keep arguing but the expression on my face obviously made him think better of it. I knew I was being terse with him, but if I didn’t do this now, if I stopped to think about it for even a second, I’d bottle out. I pushed my visor back down, sealing it in place.
    ‘Good luck, sis.’
    A moment later and I was back in the engine core of the second ship – except Aidan hadn’t managed to get me into the middle of the relay core as before. Instead my feet were on the very edge of the gantry on the lowest level and I was tipping backwards. My arms spun like fan blades as I tried to regain my balance.
    Ten.
    I was slipping.
    Oh my God! I was going to fall.
    Nine.
    I lurched forward, and fell to my knees.
    Eight.
    I looked up. I needed to be on the topmost level, three storeys higher. It would take at least six seconds just to climb up that far, even using my suit’s propulsion system, leaving me no time to sabotage the ship.
    Seven.
    What were my choices? No way could I make it to the right cells of the energy array in time to do any good.
    Maybe if I . . .
    Six.
    Vee, don’t second guess yourself. Do something.
Fast.
    A rapid recce: the cells which provided energy for the navigation and targeting systems and the cargo bays were the only ones within striking distance.
    Five.
    I raced along the gantry to the navigation system relay cells.
    Four.
    Any sabotage here would be fixed in less than