Escape

Article by R. K. Wigal

Seb Strellus was next in line to leave orbit. The controls in his hands felt strangely new to him, even though he'd held them countless times. He felt every inch of the pilot's seat under his thin, five foot nine inch frame, as if this were his first time aboard. He could hear the slightest creak and groan in his sleek little craft. Indeed, he could almost hear the hammering of his heart above the drone of the idling engines. He leaned forward. Peering to the right and aft, he grimaced at the sight of the starfighter escort that would ostensibly fly cover for him. He leaned back again, tense, and closed his eyes. He'd made courier runs off planet dozens of times. He'd been to Belau Colony, to Lycon VII, to the score or more worlds and outposts that CorpExPed had sent him. But today's trip would be different. Today, he would ignore the flight plan Pleia Flight Control had carefully laid out for him. Today, he would escape to the rumored outpost... or today, he would die in the spatial void knowing it didn't exist.

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