“You. You’re going.”

She nudged the throttle. The Skipper slid sideways, not forward. The gyros whined in protest, but Talia ignored them. She rode the shockwaves like a surfer on a tsunami, using the star’s own fury to slingshot her closer. Every instinct screamed to pull away, but she leaned into the madness.

And Talia smiled, fired up her dented little ship, and danced among the stars one more time.

“Brace!” she yelled into the open comm.