Rebel (Rebel Stars Book 0) Read Online Free
missile just off our tail," Genner said. "All kinds of engine damage. Can't afford to run them more than a few minutes more."
"So shut them off." Rada gestured vaguely. "We can float here until rescue arrives, can't we?"
"The engines are leaking, Rada. If we stay, they'll cook us with radiation. If they don't explode first."
" Explode? " Yed said. "So what are we supposed to do?"
"I'm setting us back down on Nereid," Genner said. "Don't know if I can maneuver us to the pad. Could be a rough landing."
Rada stared at the icy blob approaching on the screen. "Is there anything we can do to help?"
"Hang on tight."
The moon grew on the screen. The Box Turtle's engines stuttered. Captain Parson inhaled sharply and popped open his eyes. He demanded an immediate status report. Calmly, Genner informed him that she'd sent a distress call, the pirates were dead, the Turtle was dangerously compromised, and they were headed down to the moon.
"Scan for the nearest safe spot to set down," Parson said. "Rada, Karry, as soon as we touch down, I want you to prep the carts. Stem and Yed, grab up everything we'll need for hostile environmental survival—air, food, water, supplies. Genner, how long until we make landfall?"
Genner tapped commands into her device. "I've got a stable platform of bare rock dead ahead. Three minutes."
"Everyone, get suited up. Move!"
The crew untangled themselves from their seats and rushed to acquire their suits. Rada helped Stem seal his, then turned to let him do the same.
"We're going to be just fine," he said. "Triton ain't far. Someone will come for us."
"I have no doubt," she said.
By the time they were back in their seats, the streaked and cratered surface of Nereid filled the screen. Genner counted down as the autopilot pulsed the ship's maneuvering thrusters. Steam gushed across the screens. The Turtle set down with a hollow thud.
Before it stopped rocking, Rada bolted from her chair and ran for the cargo hold. Gravity was nearly nonexistent and her strides were long and fluid. The ship's computer had readied the carts, but she and Karry ran a manual check and cleared unnecessary equipment from their holds. Stem and Yed rushed in bearing a wagon loaded with sealed containers. Rada helped stack them inside.
Parson arrived with Genner. He assigned Genner, Stem, and Karry to one cart, leaving himself, Rada, and Yed in the other.
"Roll out, Genner," he said. "We'll be right behind you."
Genner drove into the airlock. The door closed behind them.
While waiting for it to cycle, Parson passed Rada and Yed each a transparent pack of two green pills. "Don't wait."
Rada fed hers into the suit's hopper and took them with a swallow of water from her tube. "How much radiation did we take on?"
"Enough to want to take our pills."
The airlock panel went green; the doors parted. Rada rolled them inside. The lock was hardly any larger than the cart. She felt a moment of claustrophobia. The doors opened, disgorging them onto the still, icy surface of the moon. Stars enclosed the horizons. Her claustrophobia abruptly became agoraphobia.
Genner was on the move toward a shallow crater a few miles from the Turtle . There was no weather on Nereid, but the location would shelter them in the event the ship's engines melted down. Keeping both eyes on the ice, Rada let the autopilot carry the cart along.
In the middle seat, Yed twisted, trying futilely for a look behind them. "What happens if the ship goes up?"
"Then I cry myself to sleep," Parson said. "It can't fly out of here in the shape it's in. Either way, we're depending on a rescue team."
Yed went silent. Rada thanked the stars. Ahead, Genner's cart slowed as it ascended the long, shallow slope surrounding the crater. Once it reached the rim, it followed the crater's circumference to a ramp of ice and rock leading down to the interior, which was floored with a solid sheet of ice. Snowflakes glittered in the cart's wake, weak and blue in the dim light
"So shut them off." Rada gestured vaguely. "We can float here until rescue arrives, can't we?"
"The engines are leaking, Rada. If we stay, they'll cook us with radiation. If they don't explode first."
" Explode? " Yed said. "So what are we supposed to do?"
"I'm setting us back down on Nereid," Genner said. "Don't know if I can maneuver us to the pad. Could be a rough landing."
Rada stared at the icy blob approaching on the screen. "Is there anything we can do to help?"
"Hang on tight."
The moon grew on the screen. The Box Turtle's engines stuttered. Captain Parson inhaled sharply and popped open his eyes. He demanded an immediate status report. Calmly, Genner informed him that she'd sent a distress call, the pirates were dead, the Turtle was dangerously compromised, and they were headed down to the moon.
"Scan for the nearest safe spot to set down," Parson said. "Rada, Karry, as soon as we touch down, I want you to prep the carts. Stem and Yed, grab up everything we'll need for hostile environmental survival—air, food, water, supplies. Genner, how long until we make landfall?"
Genner tapped commands into her device. "I've got a stable platform of bare rock dead ahead. Three minutes."
"Everyone, get suited up. Move!"
The crew untangled themselves from their seats and rushed to acquire their suits. Rada helped Stem seal his, then turned to let him do the same.
"We're going to be just fine," he said. "Triton ain't far. Someone will come for us."
"I have no doubt," she said.
By the time they were back in their seats, the streaked and cratered surface of Nereid filled the screen. Genner counted down as the autopilot pulsed the ship's maneuvering thrusters. Steam gushed across the screens. The Turtle set down with a hollow thud.
Before it stopped rocking, Rada bolted from her chair and ran for the cargo hold. Gravity was nearly nonexistent and her strides were long and fluid. The ship's computer had readied the carts, but she and Karry ran a manual check and cleared unnecessary equipment from their holds. Stem and Yed rushed in bearing a wagon loaded with sealed containers. Rada helped stack them inside.
Parson arrived with Genner. He assigned Genner, Stem, and Karry to one cart, leaving himself, Rada, and Yed in the other.
"Roll out, Genner," he said. "We'll be right behind you."
Genner drove into the airlock. The door closed behind them.
While waiting for it to cycle, Parson passed Rada and Yed each a transparent pack of two green pills. "Don't wait."
Rada fed hers into the suit's hopper and took them with a swallow of water from her tube. "How much radiation did we take on?"
"Enough to want to take our pills."
The airlock panel went green; the doors parted. Rada rolled them inside. The lock was hardly any larger than the cart. She felt a moment of claustrophobia. The doors opened, disgorging them onto the still, icy surface of the moon. Stars enclosed the horizons. Her claustrophobia abruptly became agoraphobia.
Genner was on the move toward a shallow crater a few miles from the Turtle . There was no weather on Nereid, but the location would shelter them in the event the ship's engines melted down. Keeping both eyes on the ice, Rada let the autopilot carry the cart along.
In the middle seat, Yed twisted, trying futilely for a look behind them. "What happens if the ship goes up?"
"Then I cry myself to sleep," Parson said. "It can't fly out of here in the shape it's in. Either way, we're depending on a rescue team."
Yed went silent. Rada thanked the stars. Ahead, Genner's cart slowed as it ascended the long, shallow slope surrounding the crater. Once it reached the rim, it followed the crater's circumference to a ramp of ice and rock leading down to the interior, which was floored with a solid sheet of ice. Snowflakes glittered in the cart's wake, weak and blue in the dim light
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