Read The Outlaw (Phantom Server: Book #2) for Free Online Page B

my command, the drone moved another few hundred feet and hovered next to one of the hull structures, working as a relay. Even if the Outlaws located it, they'd have their work cut out climbing the mangled structure hoping to get to me. As it was, they'd be in for a surprise as I'd set the probe to self-destruct in case of enemy proximity.
    “Jyrd?”
    Through the crackle of interference, I finally heard heavy breathing and the alarmed beeping of his helmet's inner sensors. He must have been running, trying to escape some mobs.
    I listened in. Judging by the alarm processor's tone and frequent beeps, Jyrd lay in the sights of five aggressive machines.
    “Zander? You alive?” I heard a short burst of his integrated gun.
    “Apparently. Your men blew it.”
    “So what do you want?”
    “I need the codes to unblock my guns.”
    “You don't want much, do you?”
    “Not at all. Here's the deal. I've got an interesting quest here. I've been offered to pass information about Avatroid on to Eurasia command.”
    “And?” his voice quivered. He wasn't good at taking informational punches.
    “And I might consider leaving it on the back burner for a while. In exchange for unblocking my weapons, naturally.”
    More interference and heavy breathing mixed with the dull echoes of gunfire.
    “I don’t think so,” he finally said. “You're stuck on the station, anyway. How did you know about Avatroid?”
    I hung up. He wasn't going to give me the codes. At least I'd tried. Now I could dismiss the scenario of a few Outlaws who'd lifted my reactor and now lay in ambush nearby. As the result of the update they now had much more serious problems to deal with.
    I reloaded the gravitech — my individual gravity generator — and shrugged at my own thoughts, then added another survival kit to my inventory just in case. I climbed out and studied the view of the dock.
    Actually, whoever had stolen my reactor could have taken it anywhere. Hull structures towered everywhere. Still, my eye kept coming back to a tunnel I hadn't noticed before.
    I tried to work out why it had attracted my attention. I switched between scanning modes until I noticed a weak radiation trail. The radiation was higher in that direction.
    Oh well, this wasn't the worst option. Especially as the source of radiation proved to be tiny droplets of the reactor's cooling agent hovering in zero gravity.
     
    * * *
     
    It was a long hike. At first, the tunnel which was part of the docking system ran parallel to the hull. Only after more than half a mile did I encounter the first junction. The radiation trail went off to the right. I followed it, hoping to catch up with the thieves.
    No idea who they might be.
    I tried to walk softly, wary of disturbing the shaky floor. Vacuum and zero gravity reigned around me but at least my gravitech allowed me to walk properly past layers and layers of floating debris. The sheer amount of metal and plastic junk prevented me from seeing properly what lay ahead.
    At the first opportunity, I replicated the nanites. You never know when you might need an extra colony of them! If only I had stealth...
    I slowed down, my way blocked by a steel grating firmly lodged between the walls.
    How on earth had they managed to drag the reactor past it?
    The movement detector pinged anxiously. I glimpsed the outline of a scrambling serve high up under the tunnel's ceiling. My sensors barely registered its signature. I made out a smattering of crimson dots and realized that this grating had only just been installed, roughly welded into place moments ago.
    These NPCs had a cheek! First they steal my power unit and now they try to cover up their tracks!
    I carefully climbed over the deformed beams — it was better than attracting their attention. Subconsciously I braced myself, knowing I was asking for trouble, but what other options did I have? The station just didn't want to let me go, luring me deeper into its perilous depths.
    I pushed aside a slowly