Chapter 1

The Falcon

A slender girl of seventeen staggered out of the control room and onto the hanger floor. She shakily slipped her pale hands into the leather gloves. Moving as gracefully as she could, she placed a sleek pilot’s helmet over her deep brunette hair and olive skin. The translucent visor clicked as it locked in place. She wore a leather suit that covered her from collar bone to wrist and ankle.

She looked up at the little space cruiser with a feeling of fear and exhilaration. She loved to fly, but she had never flown in space before. The ship was shaped like an arrowhead. It was shimmering gray in color with the word Falcon printed in thin slanted letters on both sides. Sam climbed the tall red ladder. She was followed closely by Jack.

“Are you ready for this?” He asked as Sam slid into the tiny cockpit.

The hanger bustled with men who were clearing the launch bay, and running last minute tests and diagnostics on the shuttle. Her throbbing brain was all she could think about. Her sweating hands slipped about as she tried to secure the belt straps around her waist and shoulders. She sat in the pilot’s seat, pale and unable to speak.

“Sam.” He said calmly. She looked up at him, her blue eyes fogged over with fear.

“You can do this.” He said sincerely.

“But can’t anyone else do this?” She said nervously. Her hands were white-knuckled as she gripped the controls.

“You’re the only one who’s small enough to fit in this cockpit, not to mention you helped design most of this ship, so you’re the one who knows the most about how to fly it. You’re the best pilot around. It all comes down to you. I know you can do it.” Jack said without as much as a smile to comfort her.

Sam looked at the giant hanger doors that slid open slowly and then screeched to a grinding halt. The blue sky above the evergreens was all she could see. Not a single cloud dared to flaw the perfect blue. Only the pale gray moon lingered in the distance.

“Don’t back down on me now.” His thick eyebrows met above his nose as he shook his head. “We’ve gone too far to go back.” He looked deeply at her; his smoldering gray eyes pierced her fear. “We’re counting on you.” Jack said as the cockpit sealed shut.

Jack climbed back down the ladder, leaving a panicked Sam who could barely see straight enough to finish strapping herself into the seat.

Sam flipped a bright red switch and the meters lit up, the engines flared with blue light, and the hanger filled with the sweet sound of the roaring Falcon. Jack sprinted back into the control room. He placed a communicator in his ear. He felt the cold microphone extension touch his cheekbone.

“It’s show time.” His deep voice cracked over the loudspeaker in the hanger, and in the tiny bud in Sam's ear.

“Do you think she can do it?” Jason, who stood closely behind Jack, asked.

Jack turned his head and gave Jason a wild look of fear and wonder. His eyes were wide and his eyebrows were low. Jason took three steps back and sat down in his little spinning chair.

“Liftoff in T-minus ten, and counting... Nine…” Sam heard Jack’s calm voice echo in the hanger.

Sam’s brain finally kicked in and she flipped a few switches. Before there was time to think, the small space cruiser was stopped at the end of the runway. She looked longingly at the sky. Her whole world paused as she flexed her fingers on the thrust lever.

“…One.” The word escaped his lips as he saw the little gray ship take off into the open sky.

Sam pushed forward slowly on the lever. She felt the rattle of the wind over the ship. Her muscles tensed. She gripped the controls even tighter. She pushed the thrust forward even farther and gained speed as the shuttle broke free of the atmosphere. In an instant the bright blue sky faded to the midnight black specked with little white stars.

“She’s through.” A corner of Jack’s mouth lifted as he watched the little radar screen.

A cheer erupted in the control room.

“How you doing up there?” He said flatly over the communicator.

“You tell me.” A small smile whipped across her face and was gone.

“You’re doing great. Lock in orbit. For a while, it’s about as easy as it gets, but then comes the hard part.” He adjusted the radar and the moving red dot disappeared.

“It’s like you always say, sir; the ‘hard part’ is what a man lives for,” Sam said soberly, “and it’s usually how he dies.”

Jack fumbled with the radar, a strange emotion swelling in his throat. He felt a sense of pride in knowing that Sam regarded him so highly, and a fear that he did not deserve that respect.

“I’m engaging the cloaking device, captain.” Sam gently pressed a few buttons with her index finger.

The small green dot on the radar screen in front of Jack disappeared.

“Just don’t go near any of the blockade ships yet,” He spoke up. “They show no mercy. They play dirty, and they fight even dirtier.”

“I know.” Sam’s voice steadied.

The gentle and reminiscent tone in her voice told Jack exactly what she was thinking.

Jack held his index finger to the communicator and pressed it closer to his face so that the others wouldn't hear. “Your brother was a great man,” Jack said clearly, “but I bet you already knew that.”

“Yes, sir.” Sam locked the ship into orbit.

“And now, we wait.” Jack leaned back in his chair placing his interlaced fingers behind his head and resting his crossed feet on his desk.

For a long while, the control room was silent. Sam sat staring into peaceful space, glancing now and then at the world below. Her mission was simple enough; sneak past security, mess with some data files, then float back down to Earth without a trace or sign of her presence onboard the Government tank.

Unfortunately, that is very much easier said than done. If she was caught, the Government wouldn’t just settle for her death alone. They would go after the base and the refugee camps surrounding it.

Sam’s mission was a long process that started long before she was born. The ship she was flying wasn’t just any ship. It was the only ship that had a successful cloaking device. It was the only ship that would do the job. The information that she held about the Government space tank had been smuggled out of the Government’s own archive. Truly, the hardest parts of her mission had already been done for her.

“Sam.” Jack said solidly.

“Yes, captain?” Sam obediently replied.

“Cut all transmissions. No radar and no communicators. You’ll be on your own. So many things can go wrong here. If you’re not out of the space-tank’s range within twenty-four hours, we’ll assume you were captured or killed.” Jack’s face changed dramatically. “There’s no way for us to come in after you, so don’t expect to be rescued. Actually, don’t get caught.”

“Yes, captain.” Sam switched the communicator off.

Jack turned off the radar. The little screen went blank and a hush fell over the room. No one moved. No one would dare to breathe until it was all over.