Free Pirate Ambush by Max Chase Page B

stunt, but –’ The general’s mouth twitched into what could have been a smile. ‘I can’t fault your skill as a pilot, Peri – nor yours as a gunner, Diesel.’
    The general’s mouth tightened. Peri wondered what he was going to say next. ‘You are young and I’m worried that you both take too many risks,’ he continued, shaking his head. ‘I need some time to decide if you’re truly ready to become Star Fighters.’
    General Pegg turned and marched from the landing bay, leaving Peri and Diesel staring at each other.
    ‘He can’t stop us becoming Star Fighters now , can he?’ Diesel gasped.
    ‘He can do what he wants,’ Peri replied and headed for a service hatch at the edge of the landing bay.
    Diesel followed him. ‘Where are you going?’
    ‘Keep your voice down,’ Peri hissed. ‘I’m going to the Phoenix .’
    He climbed into one of the service tunnels that ran through the IF base-ship. ‘I want to check on Selene and Otto,’ he said, ‘but I need to sneak on board. We don’t want anyone asking too many questions. If Pegg finds out about Selene and Otto, he won’t just fail us, he’ll vaporise us!’
    ‘I can understand why Otto’s hiding,’ Diesel said. ‘Who wants a smelly Meigwor bounty hunter around? But Selene’s dad works for the IF, so why does she need to hide?’
    ‘There has to be a reason she stowed away on the Phoenix in the first place. She’ll tell us when she’s ready.’ Peri pushed past a stack of crates, then held up a hand to stop Diesel. ‘There’s a camera at the corner,’ he said. ‘We need to stick close against this wall. It’s in the camera’s blind spot. I’ve memorised a sensor-free route from the blueprints. We’ll still need to be really careful though.’
    Peri and Diesel shuffled along, then slipped through a door into a main corridor. At the end of the corridor was an entrance portal that lead to the launch bay. After activating the doors they hid at the sides and peered round as the doors slid open. They were in luck! There were no security guards.
     

     
    Diesel moved towards the doorway. Peri grabbed his arm to hold him back. ‘Wait,’ he hissed and pointed to the four cameras aimed at the Phoenix . He pulled a small gadget from his pocket. It was round with a red button. ‘This will knock out any camera within range. We’ll have ten seconds to get on board. Ready?’
    Diesel nodded. Peri pressed the button and whispered, ‘Now.’
    They sprinted to the Phoenix and up the ramp.
    ‘Where are Selene and that big ugly dumboid?’ Diesel panted as they raced into the ship’s mauve-lit corridor.
    ‘I don’t know.’ Peri wheezed as he spoke. ‘They must be hiding somewhere on board. We’ll ask the Phoenix where.’
    As he went to touch a com-pad, it lit up and a message flashed across the screen: Follow the lights . . .
    At their feet, a series of lights pulsed along the length of the corridor to a portal, lit with a silvery glow.
    It opened and, stepping through, they found themselves in a tiny storage room filled with stacks of zero-gravity toilet rolls. ‘Selene? Otto?’ Diesel shouted. ‘It’s us!’
    Peri heard Selene tut. ‘I know! It was me who led you here.’
    Then the image of the storage cupboard in front of them blinked to reveal a large workshop filled with monitors of every size and shape.
    ‘Come in,’ Selene muttered. ‘You need to be on this side of the hologram. I rewired the security systems and this room is no longer on the blueprints.’
    There were sleeping bunks at opposite ends of the workshop and bits of electronics equipment scattered everywhere in between. Selene was fiddling with a spiral-shaped device on a workbench. It had a trigger in the middle and a funnel at the other end.
     

     
    Peri peered at her device. ‘What’s that you’re working on?’
    ‘Don’t bother asking her to show you!’ Otto shouted. The bumps on his long Meigwor neck bulged with annoyance. ‘Inferior device! Doesn’t