Read Online Lost Planet 01 - The Lost Planet by Rachel Searles - Free Book Online Page B

toward the ruined vehicle.
    â€œCareful!” said Chase. A small, dark object had appeared on their right. Parker swerved hard to the left, and a pair of boots flashed by the window.
    â€œSweet ladies of Taras,” Parker said. “I think that was a person!”
    â€œWhat?” As Parker swung the Starjumper around, Chase realized that he could see the outline of four limbs floating motionless. “Is he dead?”
    â€œI don’t know. Probably. Looks like he’s wearing a protective suit; I think you can survive for a couple of hours in one of those. The crash probably killed him already.” Parker stared out the window, shaking his head.
    Chase glanced at Parker. “You’re not going to leave him out here, are you?”
    â€œOh. Of course not.” Parker began typing at the console. “I’ll try to scoop him up in the cargo hold.” He moved the Starjumper alongside the still figure and pulled just past him. Twisting the steering yoke, he gently swung the vehicle a full 360 degrees. “I think I got him. Let me close the hold and put us in autocruise.”
    Chase followed him through the door in the back of the cabin, stepping over Mina into the bunkroom. The cargo-hold hatch had a red light beside it, and when it turned green, Parker pulled the cover open and started down a ladder. By the time Chase’s feet touched the floor in the bare, brightly lit room, Parker was already leaning over the suited figure splayed out in the corner.
    Parker fiddled with the man’s face mask until he finally found the clasps that made it spring loose. Gripping the sides of the helmet, he pulled it away to reveal a young man with dark hair and very high, sharp cheekbones. Before Chase could ask Parker if he was dead, the man groaned.
    â€œHe’s alive!” Chase tapped the man’s face a few times, but he didn’t open his eyes. “His skin’s really cold.”
    â€œI bet he was out there for a while,” said Parker. “But he’s Lyolian. What on Taras was he doing in a Khatra?”
    Chase stared at the man’s sharp features, trying to remember what he’d heard about Lyolia when they were watching the newsfeed. “What do you mean?”
    â€œThat Khatra’s a Fleet fighter,” said Parker. “Lyolians aren’t allowed in the—”
    A tremendous WHOOSH! interrupted him, and a shock wave rocked their cruiser, sending them both sprawling across the cargo-bay floor. Parker scrambled for the ladder and rushed to the operating console. “What was that?” Chase shouted, staggering behind him into the cabin.
    What they saw through the front windshield was so horrific, it took them both several seconds to comprehend.
    They had drifted around the moon far enough that the complete sphere of Trucon was visible. But the planet looked nothing like the peaceful, sandy orb they’d seen before. Now waves of red and orange and black spread out across the surface in great whorls.
    It looked like the entire planet was on fire.

 
    CHAPTER SEVEN
    Chase stared out the cruiser’s front window, mesmerized by the slow swirl of fire that blanketed Trucon’s surface, and struggled to put together what was happening. Not half an hour ago, the planet had looked fine. How could it have been consumed so quickly? A sickening realization came to him: This couldn’t possibly be a natural disaster. It must have been a deliberate attack. And behind that realization, a tiny question bubbled up: Was this somehow related to him?
    He finally managed to spit out two words. “What happened?”
    White with shock, Parker whispered a reply without turning away from the window. “We’re dead.”
    At first Chase didn’t know what Parker was talking about. Out here they were safe, separated from the inferno by many miles of space. Then he saw the wave of movement as thousands and thousands of vehicles, large and