First Contact (Galactic Axia Adventure) Read Online Free Page A

reminds me of that Unseen One forsaken moon Ace forced me to ditch on just before we reached Shalimar , Delmar thought.   If I didn’t know better, I’d say this is the same place.
    The trooper behind him spoke into his ear. “The second green box just failed,” he said ominously. “Readings give us only about another forty-five seconds of full power.”
    “Thanks for the good news,” Delmar countered through the open faceplate of his pressure suit. He hated wearing the thing because it both itched and smelled, but the alternative was worse. He was thinking it couldn’t get much worse when a klaxon blared and the hull lost atmospheric integrity. The last of their oxygen blasted out cracks opening on the hull, and the faceplate of every suit snapped shut to protect the wearer.
    Delmar cut the throttle to conserve what little power he had at his disposal. Using momentum to roll the ship hard to the left, he barely cleared a rock outcropping that appeared to be grasping for the floundering craft. Directly ahead he spied a small clear area on a narrow ledge part way down in a dark canyon. He knew he didn’t have enough power to clear the apex of the rock face. This is gonna be bad!
    “Twenty seconds of power remaining,” the trooper behind him stated anxiously. Delmar only nodded. He tried desperately to maneuver the ship toward the ledge. A sudden shudder rippled through the ship when they brushed against the canyon wall. The sound of tearing metal screamed from the rear of the ship. Delmar reached to brush beads of sweat from his eyes and found the faceplate blocking his way. Mumbling under his breath, he blinked furiously and managed to clear his vision.
    The narrow ledge loomed in front of him, but it now looked even more dangerous than when he’d first seen it. “Five seconds of power left!” the trooper called. Delmar heard Leatha order the other crewmembers to brace for impact. This is gonna be bad , thought Delmar again while fighting to keep the ship on an even keel above the narrow shelf.        
    The controls began to shake and became unresponsive. Power levels fell off sharply and he felt the throttle shiver. Delmar thought about the rest of the crew that were depending on him for their lives. “Unseen One,” he prayed under his breath, “don’t let me kill all of these people. Not now. Not when we’re ready to graduate.”
      What would Ace or Ian do? Delmar thought again. Probably something unexpected or crazy. Maybe both.
    Mustering all of his courage in a last desperate effort, Delmar chopped the throttle completely and let the ship freefall vertically toward the ledge. At the last possible second, he shoved the throttle again to full and felt the last surge of power cushion their fall just as the skids slammed into the rugged and uneven rock. One of the landing skids tore away from the ship and Delmar watched it hurdle over the edge of the ledge into the abyss below. As the ship settled the last half-foot, they could all hear the shriek and groan of tortured metal. With a final crunch, the mainframe of the ship twisted at the bulkheads and stopped moving and lay at a dangerous angle on the rock ledge, never to fly again. No one dared to move. The slightest motion might send the disabled ship over the edge of the rock ledge into the bottomless pit yawning up at them.
    Perched as they were on the rocky cliff, the crew was in real danger of toppling into the cavernous darkness below. Although they had destroyed two enemy vessels, Delmar knew the Red-tails hunted in packs, so there would be others arriving soon. Staying put left them exposed to the marauding Red-tail ships sure to be hunting them. The chances of escape were equally dismal.
    This isn’t fair , Delmar thought. But who ever said space is fair? Space is indifferent, even to the best that human effort can provide . Only the Unseen One could help them now. Someone began to pray. Another began to cry. Everyone was thankful to be