I was nearly thrown from the cockpit chair as one of the plasma shots connected with my ship's shield. I realigned myself in the chair when the ship was hit again. “Shields are at 15%” the automated voice said in my ears. It was time to cut my losses. I entered the coordinates into the CPI and turned on the Infusion core. As the countdown began I hurriedly buckled myself into the chair. When the countdown hit zero the core lit up with a massive flash and the ship entered the grid. My ears popped and the nausea rammed into my stomach, the symptoms of entering the grid.

“Run damage diagnostic” I said to COM and the automated voice rewarded me with, “ Structural strength is at 50%, Life support is at 83%, Power system is at 30%, shields are at 10%, conclusion is that you got your ass whooped.” I grimmest, I should invest in a less snarky COM interface. “Hans, set course for home.” I said. “What displacement sir?” Hans asked. I pondered that for a moment, Julian would be pissed if he found out that I stole from the Amber chain again. The ship needs time for repairs. “Displacement 5” I said. “Are you sure sir? At displacement 5 you wont get home in time for dinner.” Hans said “Yes, send a message to notify Julian” I said. “Message sent” Hans said as the engine revved up. I sat back in the chair as the ship traveled along the grid.

It was early in the morning as I silently landed the ship on the tarmac. The sun hadn't even risen yet. Shutting the ship down I could see that my father was sitting on the porch. “Leftovers are in the fridge, I would stay away from the casserole. I swear that it could and will crawl away.” Mike said as I climbed the steps to the porch. “I will let you know that my husband’s cooking is amazing,” I said, opening the door to my house. Exhausted I stripped from my clothes down to my boxers and gently slipped into bed next to Julian. He stirred and shifted to look at me , “Your cold Timothy.” I smiled at my husband and gave him a kiss on the lips. He snuggled into my embrace and I slipped off to sleep.