The Price of Sight

[jammi]

I'd jumped into Omega 49 a few minuets ago, and just hung there with my mind blessedly blank. I hung there, suspended in my harness for a little longer before a Zoner patrol buzzed me angrily for loitering around the jump hole. I flared the engine and drifted away slowly, vanishing into the ice cloud.

Slowly thoughts filtered into my head, like mist gathering at the bottom of a deep well. Mindelo. It was a new base in Omega 50. One year old and said to be deadly calm. In the middle of no-where. Perfect. I stretched my arm forward to engage the cruise engines, but it felt like lead weights were hanging around my wrists. Everything took so much effort lately. It would be so much easier to just give in... To drift away.

With a grunt I stabbed at the cruise toggle and was rewarded by a jolt from the engines as they charged up. Flapping at the NavCom, I plotted a course for the jump hole and then fell back into the chair. After a short while I jumped into the system.

Already things looked good. There were no people. Complete emptiness. I could see one station orbiting a planet, but I knew that was a Zoner place, not Mindelo. That was in an asteroid field to the right. Wheeling the ship around I engaged cruise again and flew away, towards the mined out rock that might be able to protect me.

I took one glance back before the asteroid field engulfed me, then I returned to gaze at that in front of me. But I could have sworn... There had been a flash from the now distant jump hole, and a tiny black speck had been ejected. I started the shiver uncontrollably once more. *We* needed to sleep again.

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