The Rookie Talia -

“You’ve got the miracle,” Talia whispered.

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. the rookie talia

“ Odyssey , this is Fleet Auxiliary Skipper . I’m coming in,” she said, her voice steadier than she felt. “You’ve got the miracle,” Talia whispered

Talia’s heart hammered against her ribs as she strapped into the Skipper . The ship groaned, as if sensing its own inadequacy. She punched the throttle, and the familiar, terrifying lurch threw her back. The stars stretched into needles of light. The gyros whined in protest, but Talia ignored them

She killed the nav computer. Its frantic beeping was a lie here. She closed her eyes for half a second, feeling the subtle hum of the star’s gravity waves through the hull. Most pilots saw chaos. Talia saw patterns.

“Exactly,” Voss said, not looking up from his console. “In a gravity well that chaotic, your precious instruments are useless. Instinct is all that’s left. Move, Rookie.”

They didn’t promote her that week. But they did stop laughing. And when the next distress call came—a freighter stuck in a methane storm over Saturn—Admiral Voss didn’t point his finger.