Imminent Danger: And How to Fly Straight Into It by Michelle Proulx Read Free Book Online Page B

loud clanking noise outside the airlock followed by the sound of metal grinding on metal. “What was that? ” she said.
    “I do not know,” Miguri admitted, “but it does not sound good.”
    The ship darted forward. Eris lost her balance and fell, sprawling beside Miguri on the metal floor. “Ow! Who gave him a driver’s license?”
    As the ship continued accelerating, Eris struggled back to her feet. “I’m going to find out what’s happening,” she told Miguri. “Wait here. No point in both of us getting shot.”
    Miguri nodded.
    Hanging onto the wall, she clawed her way to the doorway through which the raider had disappeared. She staggered through the opening and out into a long, narrow, cluttered corridor. Metal boxes were stacked up on either side, held in place by sturdy-looking straps. Eris could see flickering lights spilling out of an open doorway at the far end of the hallway. The cockpit?
    The ship was flying more smoothly now, allowing Eris to keep her footing as she ran down the corridor. Bursting into the cockpit, she found the raider sitting in a high-backed chair. His hands were flying across the ship’s control console, turning dials, punching buttons, and flipping switches.
    Eris peered at the main display, which looked like a radar imaging system. At least a dozen small blue dots were quickly approaching a large red dot in the center of the screen. If we’re the big red dot, we’re in serious trouble.
    She tore her gaze from the screen to the cockpit’s 180-degree window as the raider turned the ship back toward the Ssrisk cruiser. Several small Ssrisk ships were speeding toward them, shooting out bursts of plasma. Somewhat similar to their mother ship, the fighters had rounded forms though with symmetrical protrusions on each side.
    The raider’s ship suddenly lurched, shook violently, and lurched again. Eris grasped the back of the copilot’s seat to keep her balance. “Did we get hit?” she asked the raider. He ignored her.
    Eris watched as the black-clad pilot returned fire at the Ssrisk. Blasts of plasma shot out from somewhere under the cockpit and seared through space toward the fighters. When two of the small Ssrisk ships exploded, Eris resisted the urge to whoop victoriously. We don’t even know why this guy kidnapped us or what he’s going to do with us once we’ve escaped the Ssrisk. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind. The important thing was to survive the next five minutes.
    “Vastiskira Ssrisk,” the raider chuckled through his opaque visor as another of his shots hit its target. The Ssrisk fighter erupted in a ball of fire that was quickly sucked away into the vacuum of space. “Yukri va rentuk!”
    Eris had no clue what he was saying, but was surprised he could be laughing when his own ship seemed to be on the verge of exploding. “You’ve got the strangest sense of humor,” she muttered. Then, to her dismay, the ship lurched again.
    “Harati kavarti kivora gra,” the raider said to her. His hands continued their dance across the control board. When Eris didn’t move, he made a sit-down motion with his hand. Eris hastily threw herself into the copilot’s chair.
    Another one, two, and then three Ssrisk fighters exploded. But Eris saw that more fighters were pelting toward them, each firing blasts of plasma. There were so many, and they looked so small, that she began to wonder if there were even Ssrisk aboard the fighters. Is there such a thing as remote-control spaceships?
    The raider’s ship started to shudder. “Maka kirova!” the raider growled, obviously displeased with the turn of events.
    Is he that bad a pilot? Or is something wrong with his ship?
    Miguri suddenly tumbled into the cockpit. After quickly scanning the scene, he shouted at the raider, “Ali kibella di gostras valto macta?”
    The raider turned his helmeted face toward the Claktill and cocked his head as if he found Miguri’s words surprising. Then he pulled the lamri from