The Outer Worlds: Book One of the Epherian Chronicles Read Online Free

examined
the scanner for a moment. ‘Three or four minutes; we don’t have
time to make it out, even if Sara finds a suitable reattachment
point.’
    ‘ Ethan, where is the escape pod launching bay?’ asked
Michael.
    ‘ Captain, if the entire population evacuated there won’t be any
escape pods left,’ said Ethan.
    ‘ Just tell me where they are,’ said Michael firmly.
    The handheld
scanner showed the entire station level by level. Ethan quickly
completed a scan for the escape pod launching bay. ‘We have to
return to the storage hold. The escape pod launching bay is on the
opposite side.’
    ‘ Follow me!’ said Michael as he ran back toward the command
room.
    ‘ This is a bad idea, Cap,’ said Ajax as they
followed.
    ‘ Have that electromagnetic pulse gun ready. The battle droids
think we are on the run; they won’t expect us to
attack.’
    A moment later
they dashed into the command room. Michael opened fire; charged
particle beams blasted over the consoles. Five battle droids
whirled around to face them. Two of them fell as the beams cut
directly through them. Ajax fired the electromagnetic pulse gun,
and two more droids powered down instantly, but the remaining
battle droid managed to dodge the onslaught. The Bluey’s rocket
launcher began unleashing, and its charged particle rifle fired
rapidly.
    ‘ Take cover!’ yelled Michael.
    Michael dived
behind a console and Ajax was thrown to the ground by the backlash
of a rocket exploding beside him.
    Ethan returned
fire, but the beams from his plasma rifle were hitting an invisible
magnetic shield. Ivan ran forward with his plasma rifle blazing,
but the shield was too strong and the plasma beams dissipated. The
battle droid turned to face Ivan and opened fire. Ivan, realising
the danger, leapt for cover behind a console. His left arm tore
away from his body at the shoulder leaving exposed grey synthetic
muscle and loose wiring.
    ‘ Captain, I am hit; my arm is missing,’ he said in
monotone.
    ‘ I’ll order you a new one when we get out of this place,’
yelled Michael.
    Ajax and
Michael were taking cover behind the main control console. Ethan
was hiding behind the holographic table. The battle droid was
waiting beside the door that led to the service corridor. The room
was clouded with smoke from the exploding rockets.
    ‘ The Bluey is protected by a magnetic shield,’ whispered
Michael.
    ‘ That shield only works against particle, plasma and
electromagnetic weapons,’ said Ajax.
    ‘ Did you bring any projectile weapons?’
    ‘ Just this,’ he replied, drawing a large combat
knife.
    ‘ You’ve got to be joking,’ said Michael, shaking his
head.
    Ajax smiled
dryly. ‘Don’t worry, Cap. This one was sharpened by nano-bots. Make
a distraction …now!’
    Michael leapt
up, yelled at the top of his lungs, and sprinted across the room as
he simultaneously fired his rifle. The charged particle beams
struck the magnetic shield as the battle droid turned to face him.
In the same moment Ajax jumped up and threw the knife with all his
might. The blade passed directly through the magnetic shield,
striking the droid’s blue glowing sensor. Sparks blasted out in
every direction. The Bluey instantly lurched forward and collapsed
as it powered down.
    ‘ Come on. Let’s go! The air is starting to thin,’ shouted
Michael.
    The team ran
into the service corridor and made their way as quickly as possible
to the storage hold. They arrived at the security door at the far
end within a minute, but the door was locked.
    ‘ It’s the computer trying to stop us escaping!’ shouted
Ajax.
    ‘ Do you have those magno-explosives?’ asked Michael.
    ‘ Right here, Captain,’ replied Ethan.
    ‘ Blast the lock off!’
    ‘ Just give me a second.’ Ethan placed two small metal boxes on
the side where the lock was mounted. The explosives were the size
of matchboxes; they magnetically attached to the door. ‘Step
back.’
    They moved
back. Ethan then switched the