Diane Burton: #WeWriWa THE PILOT Outrunning a Volpian Cruiser?

Saturday, July 6, 2019

#WeWriWa THE PILOT Outrunning a Volpian Cruiser?

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.

While the Volpian cruiser steadily advanced, the accelerator hiccupped before engaging.

“You have full power,” Arjay announced with satisfaction.

The pirate ship moved in closer, aligning its docking port with hers.

“Hang onto your hat,” Celara spiraled the agile Thermopylae under the belly of the cruiser, and her stomach took five secs to catch up.

His complexion, a shade darker than her fair one, turned a sickly shade of green, “You must give advanced notice before attempting to evade a ship intent on docking.”

With a laugh, she goosed the sublight accelerator past standard limit, “Who said anything about attempting to evade?”

“You do not seriously think you can outrun a Volpian cruiser? Rega d’Enfaden, that ship can achieve speed three times faster—”

The engine protested the abuse she inflicted but did not falter. The cruiser would certainly win a long-distance race with her small transport, but not a sprint. A little more time and she’d be home free.

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.