Read Online Living in Freefall (Living on the Run Book 1) by Ben Patterson - Free Book Online Page A

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distant target, zoomed in, and pressed the trigger. One gun flashed. The far
off rock vaporized. He looked for another target but found none. “So how’d it
go with Captain and Mrs. Kori?”
    “Confusing,” Ericca said, turning toward the nearest
habitable planet. Although Freefall had passed Hawthorn hours earlier,
it didn’t take Viper but a few moments to close on the tiny world.
    “I’m about to make my circuits, Archer. Three times around,
so get ready to record.”
    “Roger, Captain Sis.” He ran his fingers over certain icons,
then asked her, “Not good, huh?”
    “Are you ready to start the camera?”
    “Not going to say, huh? I’ll take that as a sign things went
bad for us.”
    “Archer, please.”
    “Fine. Here we go then. Lights, camera . . .”
    “Action!” Ericca said as she pulled Viper into a
tight turn around the planet. Tight being relative. Sixty miles above the
planet’s surface, but at her current speed it would take everything she had to
keep it tight and right – just forty-five seconds to complete three full
orbits. Being the only pilot capable of such a feat was what defined her as the
very best. Other pilots might be able to stay with her in a straight run, but
the moment Ericca made Viper dance, she danced alone.
    Archer tapped his helmet and spoke into his headset. “I
think I detect a bit of metal down there, sis. Better go in for a closer
look-see. I’ll transfer the location to your screen.”
    “Roger, Archer.” Her console projected three semi-transparent
monitors. Focusing through them, she had an unobstructed view of the real world.
Focusing on the right screen showed her Archer’s face, and he could see her in
his. Her left screen displayed what was behind them. And the larger center
screen showed what lay farther ahead or tactical, depending on her need and
preference.
    “Going atmo. Archer, retract your guns, please.”
    “Check.” With a touch on the control screen holograph, both
gun turrets slid down into the winglets, then the winglets themselves pulled
tighter into the body of Viper .
    Ericca dropped her speed rapidly, rolled over, and headed
into the atmosphere. The nose and leading edge of the winglets grew hot from
air friction. The closer to the ground, the greater the air friction, the
higher the temp, the slower her speed.
    As she flew over, Archer snapped a few infra-raddion stills.
Then just as fast as they had come in, Ericca headed for the dark blue-black
once again. For her, watching the blue sky quickly give way to the starry void
took her breath away each and every time she saw it. All of space was their
playground, and the thrills came easy. But better yet, before them now lay Grenadier
Nebula.
    Ericca cleared the atmosphere, brought Viper about,
and headed for Grenadier. “Our fuel supply is good, Archer. I just want to top
off. We’ll fill the spare tank for Freefall as well.”
    “Roger, Ericca. To be safe, I’ll extend the wings to war-readiness.”
    “Roger, Archer.” She glanced at his grinning image on her
monitor. “Gotta have those guns, huh?”
    He sobered his face. “Um, yes. Always at the ready, Captain.”
The winglets extended back out and from them the gun turrets arose from their
compartments.
    To recharge the fuel cells, Ericca headed for the Nebula.
The leading edge of the winglets opened to scoop in Radical Ion plasma, a fuel
unique to Viper and Freefall . Race had managed to stabilize and
contain the volatile plasma and then she figured out a way to use it as a fuel
with better than great success.
    “So, sis, how’d it go?”
    “Did they speak to you beforehand, Archer?”
    “They did.”
    “You outed me, didn’t you?” she said carefully.
    Archer sighed.
    “Thanks,” she said in a voice dripping with sarcasm “You’re
a real pal.”
    “I told them you were bored, sis. I reminded them our two
years with them would be up soon, and that you were getting antsy.”
    “That wasn’t your place to say,