Diane Burton: #WeWriWa THE PILOT Last Warning #sfr

Each weekend, the Weekend Writing Warriors share an 8 - 10 sentence snippet. Be sure to visit the other authors. You can find them here.

Thanks to everyone who visited last week. I'm sharing snippets from The Pilot: An Outer Rim Novel. It's the 1st book in a series featuring strong women on the frontier of space. Celara's ship was hailed by one claiming to be Coalition Security.

Please excuse the creative punctuation, necessary to keep this within the guidelines. It's also edited a little from the original.

“What is your cargo and destination?” the pirate demanded, “Respond or prepare to be boarded.”

“Over my dead body you’ll board my ship,” With the sublight engines almost back online, in another min or two they could blow this pop stand.

“It is not customary for the Coalition to disguise its Security vessels by removing identification markers,” Arjay said thoughtfully, “Even so, they always use an official communications channel, which this ship is not, consequently I am ninety-six point three percent certain that is not Coalition Security—it could be a trap.”

“Cargo transport, this is your last warning—respond or be boarded for inspection.”

The pirate vessel, which had been stationary, began moving closer.

“I lost my last load to you pirates, I am not losing another.”

She shoved juice into the primary energizing coils, but when her transport, d’Enfaden’s Thermopylae, responded with lethargy, she glared at Arjay, “I thought you fixed the accelerator.”

“I beg your pardon,” He always got huffy when he perceived insult, “Without a fully-equipped facility, complete repair is not possible.”

She smacked the control panel, “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon.”

“She responds to a gentle touch,” Arjay admonished, “Just like the majority of your gender,” he touched two pads on the instrument panel, “You may try again. Gently.”

There's no place like home and he stole hers.

Life on the frontier of space is hard enough so when pirates stole Celara d'Enfaden's cargo, she vowed not to be tricked again. Determined to make an example out of indie pilots who disobey orders, Coalition Administrator Trevarr Jovano impounds Celara’s starship and cargo. If he backs down, he’ll lose respect. If she can’t deliver her cargo, she’ll default on her loan and lose her only home—her ship. More important than her ship, though, is her brother. To rescue him from a galactic gangster, she’ll even work with Jovano who is bent on avenging his wife’s murder.