behind.
“Too right,” Jeth muttered. The Montrose looked to have the speed and maneuverability of a beached whale. Usually, one of the best parts of stealing a spaceship was getting to pilot something new and flashy. But not this clunky, bloated thing. Just think about the money , Jeth reminded himself. That’s what matters .
They were almost done, although the hardest part lay before them. They had to unmoor the Montrose and fly it away from the station without drawing the attention of passing patrols. A difficult task with a ship this large and cumbersome. A welcome thrill of excitement shot down Jeth’s spine.
Once in the living quarters, he turned right onto a flight of stairs that ended at the entrance to the bridge. The lights brightened automatically as he stepped inside, giving him full view of the cockpit at the front and the row of control panels lining the walls.
Lizzie stepped past him, heading for the nav station on the right. “I’ll have us ready to launch in a minute.”
Jeth nodded, his gaze fixed on the front windows that looked out onto open space. That restless feeling burst anew inside him. For one insane moment, he considered just jumping right then and there into open space, making a run for it instead of handing the ship over to Hammer. Jeth wantedto fly away into that vast stretch of unknown, to see how far he could go, what new places he could find. There were plenty of them still out there, he was sure. His parents had been space surveyors for the ITA, and he’d inherited their wanderlust. It was like a constant vibration inside him that refused to be stilled. He wanted to live a life where no one told him what to do and where adventure and new discoveries waited around every turn.
But all the stupidity of such an idea occurred to him at once: This wasn’t an explorer ship. Not enough food and water capacity and way too noticeable. All it had going for it was the new metadrive.
No, when he sailed away into that black unknown, it would be on his own ship, Avalon , the same one his parents had flown for so many years. Just as soon as I have enough money to buy her back from Hammer . He was almost there. A couple more jobs like this one, and he’d finally have her back.
Brightened by the prospect, Jeth tucked the stunner into his belt as Celeste made her way to the pilot’s chair. She and Jeth took turns flying the ships they hijacked. She was definitely getting the short end on this one.
Jeth was about to take the copilot’s chair when the door to the ready room across from the nav station slid open and a man stepped out.
The first thing Jeth noticed was the .45-caliber Mirage handgun he was carrying, the barrel pointed at Jeth. The man wore gray fatigue pants and a fitted black jacket. Hisoutfit was completely inconspicuous, all except for the shiny silver badge with a star and eagle emblem hung at his belt. The badge of an ITA Special Agent.
Jeth blew out a breath at the sight of it.
And here comes interesting .
COPYRIGHT
Balzer + Bray is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Copyright © 2013 by Mindee Arnett
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks.
EPub Edition © 2013
ISBN 978-0-06-226918-8
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
EPub Edition © NOVEMBER 2013 ISBN: 9780062269188
Cover art © Josh Dutra
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000,
“Too right,” Jeth muttered. The Montrose looked to have the speed and maneuverability of a beached whale. Usually, one of the best parts of stealing a spaceship was getting to pilot something new and flashy. But not this clunky, bloated thing. Just think about the money , Jeth reminded himself. That’s what matters .
They were almost done, although the hardest part lay before them. They had to unmoor the Montrose and fly it away from the station without drawing the attention of passing patrols. A difficult task with a ship this large and cumbersome. A welcome thrill of excitement shot down Jeth’s spine.
Once in the living quarters, he turned right onto a flight of stairs that ended at the entrance to the bridge. The lights brightened automatically as he stepped inside, giving him full view of the cockpit at the front and the row of control panels lining the walls.
Lizzie stepped past him, heading for the nav station on the right. “I’ll have us ready to launch in a minute.”
Jeth nodded, his gaze fixed on the front windows that looked out onto open space. That restless feeling burst anew inside him. For one insane moment, he considered just jumping right then and there into open space, making a run for it instead of handing the ship over to Hammer. Jeth wantedto fly away into that vast stretch of unknown, to see how far he could go, what new places he could find. There were plenty of them still out there, he was sure. His parents had been space surveyors for the ITA, and he’d inherited their wanderlust. It was like a constant vibration inside him that refused to be stilled. He wanted to live a life where no one told him what to do and where adventure and new discoveries waited around every turn.
But all the stupidity of such an idea occurred to him at once: This wasn’t an explorer ship. Not enough food and water capacity and way too noticeable. All it had going for it was the new metadrive.
No, when he sailed away into that black unknown, it would be on his own ship, Avalon , the same one his parents had flown for so many years. Just as soon as I have enough money to buy her back from Hammer . He was almost there. A couple more jobs like this one, and he’d finally have her back.
Brightened by the prospect, Jeth tucked the stunner into his belt as Celeste made her way to the pilot’s chair. She and Jeth took turns flying the ships they hijacked. She was definitely getting the short end on this one.
Jeth was about to take the copilot’s chair when the door to the ready room across from the nav station slid open and a man stepped out.
The first thing Jeth noticed was the .45-caliber Mirage handgun he was carrying, the barrel pointed at Jeth. The man wore gray fatigue pants and a fitted black jacket. Hisoutfit was completely inconspicuous, all except for the shiny silver badge with a star and eagle emblem hung at his belt. The badge of an ITA Special Agent.
Jeth blew out a breath at the sight of it.
And here comes interesting .
COPYRIGHT
Balzer + Bray is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Copyright © 2013 by Mindee Arnett
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks.
EPub Edition © 2013
ISBN 978-0-06-226918-8
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
EPub Edition © NOVEMBER 2013 ISBN: 9780062269188
Cover art © Josh Dutra
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000,
Similar Books
