Read Unchained for Free Online

nodded and fingered the controls
lightly.
    Grey leaned back in his chair, evaluating
her. “You want to fly?” He saw her eyes light up and abruptly flame
out.
    “ I’ve only flown in the
SymPod,” she warned.
    His eyebrows arched. “You’ve never been
off-planet before?”
    “ Never. Is that a
problem?”
    Grey tried not to
frown. Only if you want a seasoned
crewmember . “No. No problem. Take over for
a while. It’s a short flight to Calíbre .”
    They switched pilot and gunner seats and
strapped down. Grey asked, “Does everything look familiar?”
    She was slow to reply, totally engrossed in
the panel of controls before her. “Close enough. Our SymPod was
behind a few upgrades.”
    Grey nodded. “Why don’t you try some basic
maneuvers?” At least he’d find out what she could do.
    She glanced at him sidelong with the most
enigmatic smile he had ever seen, and he immediately regretted his
suggestion. She pulled the ship off autopilot, weaving and spinning
through space with abandon.
    While Grey was contemplating the fact that
he had just unleashed a holy terror, behind him Barrios roared with
laughter. “Did Cidra mention she practically lived in that
SymPod?”
    “ Now you tell me,” Grey
murmured, watching her flying skills with interest. She was a
little wild but not bad. Maybe she could be useful on crew after
all. Average would best describe the current level of piloting
skills on Calíbre .
She was definitely better than average.
    Grey watched, mesmerized by Cidra’s genuine
delight as she commanded the ship through a smooth series of loops
and dives. Suddenly she turned serious, bringing the ship squarely
out of a barrel roll, her eyes wide, focusing straight ahead.
Before he could question her, she plowed the ship into a power
dive.
    “ Cidra, what the–” was all
Grey could get out before a green laser blast shot across the
bow.
    “ They’re shooting at us!”
Cidra gritted her teeth while pulling another evasive maneuver.
“Who are they? How many?”
    Grey scanned the displays. “One, a Victor
Class III. Try to bring us around behind them and give me a target
I can see.”
    Cidra didn’t want to come around behind
them. She wanted to panic. Her heart pounded in her chest. Some
things the SymPod couldn’t simulate. Impending death was one of
them.
    Beside her, Grey snapped, “Cidra, we don’t
have time to swap stations. Move it!”
    Immediately, she launched the little ship
into a series of evasive maneuvers and then switched to an Avion
defensive pattern along with anything else she could think of,
pushing Grey’s little K12 to the limit. The Victor stuck with her,
but its reactions grew sloppier as the maneuvers became more
complex.
    Concentrating fiercely, she forced a mental
review from her armament training while diving and spinning her
small jet between laser blasts. Victor Class III. Heavily armored
six-man fighter. Good shields, four guns, superb speed. Against
their K12 jet, sporting two guns, minimal shields, and excellent
agility.
    Final analysis: no match for any length of
time.
    As she was trying to recall the Victor’s
weak points, a blast rocked their small ship. Warning lights
flashed. Grey glanced at her sharply. She knew without asking that
they would not survive another hit.
    Under Grey’s command, the K12’s guns
swiveled toward the attacker and spit fire. With the enemy little
more than a blip on his display screen, Grey knew he was wasting a
great deal of ammunition into deep space. He needed them in front
of him for any real chance of a kill.
    “ Hey Captain, need a hand?”
Decker’s voice boomed over the cabin’s comm. Grey caught a glimpse
of a familiar silver and red ship racing toward them. Calíbre .
    “ It’s about time you showed
up,” Grey barked. “Fire on that thing. Now!”
    “ They’re too tight on you.
I don’t think it’s safe until we get closer,” Decker responded, a
worried edge to his voice.
    “ If you wait any