► The Odysseus, an hour out of transition, dropped in a shallow dive through the outer gravity well of the target system. Eric was standing on the observation deck, forward of the ship. The Odysseus had several decks that were open to visible light from the outside, all heavily armored, of course, though the decks were triple sealed with blast doors in case of hull breach.

The view, at the moment, was pretty spectacular. The Odysseus, while under warp drive, gathered high-energy particles in the dip of space-time that the ship “fell” into while under drive. The artificial gravity well captured stray particles, dropping them into a sharp orbit that spun them around in front of the ship as it moved.

Normally these particles were invisible to the naked eye, plus the gravity gradient was more than steep enough to capture visible light. However, while the ship was under power, the combination of the gravity warp and the occasional glimmer of escaping light as particles slammed into one another in the makeshift accelerator made for a truly impressive view.

The computer could reverse the warping, clean up the resulting picture, and present a true space picture of the system beyond, but right now Eric just wanted to enjoy the view.

“Hey boss. Nice digs.”

Eric glanced over to Steph, who was dropping into a seat at a nearby table, and nodded absently. “Yeah. I think I miss the zero-grav lounge on the Odyssey though.”

Steph shrugged. “That was a pretty sweet view, I’ll admit. I rather like being able to drink my coffee from a real cup while I enjoy this one though.”

Eric tipped his head, acceding the point as Steph lifted his mug. Eric walked back and took a seat across from Steph, who slid a second mug across the table. “So what do you want?”

“Boss, I’m hurt,” Steph replied with a dramatic look, “but now that you mention it . . .”

“Just get on with it.”

“I’ve already put the request through. It’s in the chain, but I figured I’d run it past you personally,” Steph said. “Lieutenant Chans wants to qualify on a shuttle. She’s got hours on the stick, just needs a final tagalong before she can do her solo.”

Eric raised an eyebrow. “You want to do that out here?”

“Sure. Once scans clear the system, we can do a drop and cut through it. Meet up with you on the other side.”

Eric thought about for a moment. “Alright, you’re cleared.”

“Thanks,” Steph said.

“But not until we clear the system.” Eric held up his hand. “The shuttle isn’t exactly armed.”

“Well, I could take her out in your Angel, boss.” Steph grinned, then held up his hands when Eric shot him a dark look. “Or not.”