After flying around aimlessly for a few hours over microTech in the lightweight Archimedes ship, Julia realized that the argument with her father was never going to end. Not in her favour anyway. She wanted to become a fighter pilot and her father wanted her to run the company he’d build with his sweat and tears throughout his life.
But that meant she was locked into a destiny she didn’t want and all her steps in life would be on a path ruled by other people. The choice was in her hands, here and now.
Banking left, Julia approached a remote outpost she’d spotted flying low over the area. Coming closer to the landing pad, she noticed a Banu ship parked outside. This was her moment, the decision that would alter the course of her life. She landed close, just behind a bunch of containers and ran as fast as she could from her ship to the Banu Defender to sneak aboard. She knew that the Archimedes without any Quantum Travel capabilities would be a terrible runaway ship, she’d surely get tracked and brought back aboard her father’s ship eventually.
Fortunately, this area on microTech was in a warmer biome so she didn’t freeze to death in a matter of seconds as she ran outside, but ironically that didn’t help much. By the time she was inside the alien ship her teeth were clattering and her exposed hands and face were blueish.
Where to hide on this alien ship? There were two pilot seats, one to the left, one to the right of the entry ramp, and by the looks of it there was only one occupant. She snuck in the right cabin and tried to warm her extremities, trying to think on the next steps. It must have been less than 20 minutes, but the longest ones she had to count in her entire life, till the owner showed up.
She couldn’t see him, but heard his footsteps. He powered on the Defender and took off with an amazing growling sound. The cockpit view of the secondary pilot where she was hiding showed they had exited the atmosphere with great speed leaving the white-blue planet behind.
All her life and dreams were going to fade away in a few seconds.
Breathe in. Spooling. Quantum Travel engaged. A new life.