136. Tension

Inside the cockpit of the Looking Glass, Stroth breathed deeply, trying to calm her nerves as the creaking of massive metal cables surrounded the ship like the sound of a growling beast. As the Accelerator’s trolley drew the ship backwards into its dock, Stroth’s existential dread regarding her mission was replaced by a very concrete fear of the machine which now cradled her. A gargantuan space slingshot. Sometimes elegance was simply no substitute for brute force.

As the trolley clunked into place, the launch cables finally as taut as possible, Stroth flicked on the ship’s inertial compensator. This wouldn’t be like FTL travel; the g-force could crush her if she wasn’t prepared. She heard the Station Master’s voice reassuring her that everything was in the green, and that Tren Krellos would be right behind her. A second voice, El-Deen’s, wished her luck. She pressed a small button to signal readiness.

There was just a moment’s pause.

With a deafening sound like the crack of lightning against the hull of the ship, the cables whipped the Looking Glass forward at unimaginable speeds. Even with the inertial compensator active, Stroth felt like her stomach was being yanked backwards against her spine, a gasp of shock and amazement catching in her throat as her skull was pinned to the headrest of the pilot’s seat. Outside, pinpricks of starlight became strobing lines as reality moved at speeds beyond perception.

Her allies looked on from the Watchtower as the tiny starship disappeared into the black.