Starborne

Chapter 1

Colored lights flashed on the consol, letting me know that my ship was approaching the ground at dangerous speeds. I pulled up hard on the throttle, trying to gain some height as my small aircraft began to skim the tops of enormous, ancient trees. Righting myself after slamming through the branches of the tallest boughs, I managed a somewhat controlled landing on the floor of a rich jungle.

My cruiser came to a jumbled halt at the base of an enormous tree. The trunk's circumference rivaled that of a house, and roots snaking out of the ground loomed taller and thicker than any I'd ever seen before. 

I unclipped from my seat and flipped on the autopilot to assess damage to my ship. 

"ALYX, scan ship for damage, report initial findings," I grunted, pulling myself out of the cabin and testing my muscles for soreness. The impact hit me hard, so I was tense, but the landing could have been worse. Looking around at the dense trunks of surrounding trees, I gulped. It could have been much, much worse. 

"Damage to engine blocks 2 and 3. Limited thrusting power available, and firing capabilities offline," ALYX reported back to me with her dry, matter-of-fact tone. "Massive denting to the hull, the airlock has been breached, and we've lost radio contact with the base. Nice landing, Holly."

I huffed indignantly at the last comment, choosing to ignore the computer's sarcastic assessment of my piloting skills. "Is there any chance of a quick repair that will at least get us to the next rendezvous point?"

"Not unless you plan on dragging the ship yourself. The engine and hull damage is extensive enough that we won't be airborne again without some new parts."

I sighed, I was hoping for better news. "Thanks, ALYX. Calculate our position in reference to the destination, and get me some kind of map of the area."

The crash was a result of our last shoddy repair job. I should have known better than to trust a pair of Anabander scrappers with Terran cruiser maintenance, but a run-in with mercenaries a few planets back had put me in a tight position. My thrusters were damaged by some heavy fire, leaving me with no choice but to depend on the scrappers to get off Anaband. They promised me their work was reliable, but ten thousand credits and one hyperjump later, the maintenance hadn't held up.

My mission was to deliver a message to the Terran stronghold on Cynabar. I peered at the gloomy vines weaving around me, estimating that I was perhaps a few thousand miles from my destination. I'd been in worse scrapes than this before, but the detour was nevertheless inconvenient.

Wiping a bit of blood from my hairline, I took a few seconds to close my eyes and think. Weighing the options, my best bet was to get to some sort of settlement and hope they possessed the capabilities to repair my ship. Or, at least, were hospitable enough that I could wait around for any parts to be delivered. 

I cursed at my bad luck. The crash could set me back weeks, and my reputation was dependent on reliable turnaround. I was known as one of the best pilots in the Terran forces, but an influx of mercenary activity within the past few months strained everyone's capabilities. While my missions once depended on speed, getting to the destination was now considered a success. 

As a twenty-three year old human woman, I had the fortune of flying under the radar. The mercenaries offered a feeble bounty for my head, and I wasn't considered much of a threat. The Anabar attack was most likely due to misfortune rather than premeditation, so I wasn't worried about being followed to Cynabar. That being said, I needed to get off the ground and out of the jungle. It was never a good idea to hang around on an alien planet like a sitting duck, and wait to see who or what would show up. 

I knew a little bit about Cynabar, courtesies of my Terran education, and remembered that they were generally considered a peaceful people. Our military stronghold had increased human presence on the planet, and the Cynabarrians were becoming close allies in our efforts to curb mercenary activity in the area. I was fairly sure they had a central monarchic system of government, but mostly lived in separate communities with distinct regional tribes and leaders. The Terran base was in their capital city; for all I knew, I was on the other side of the planet.