A friend in need...

[Frank McLynn]

Three hours later

Planet Durango.

That's what the poor girl said. It only took half an hour to convince her to run the diagnostics without the Colonel's go-ahead, but he managed it. Only owed a few drinks into the bargain, which, knowing Meg, wouldn't be a totally unpleasent experience.

But still, the two words didn't fill him with any comfort.

Planet Durango.

They rang in his head.

The tiny volcanic hellhole Fleet Admiral Hale had named his pride and joy dreadnaught after... It wasn't a name any Legionaire liked the sound of. The sulphurous gasses it spewed into the vacuum around it made navigation in the area difficult, and could clog up your engine if even the slightest particle got into your filtering system.

The planet's weak gravitational pull was enough to suck a sabre down into it, but not enough to hold any atmosphere. The vast volcanic plumes spiraled way above the moon's surface as a result.

Adrian Morton lowered himself into the flight seat of his sabre, and send the request codes to launch control. SAD were often seen leaving the base without any priororders being issued, so it was no surprise when the launch bay doors on America Base opened.

Here's to a spec-ops badge.

The sabre sped from the launch bay out into Vespucci space, and headed for the Magellan jumphole.

Not a lot of time Adrian, but play it cool... No need to land yourself in a firefight this time, just stay quiet. Play it safe.

He plotted a course to Colorado through Ontario, avoiding most of the Navy's patrol paths. Five hours had passed since the transmission was received, and he wouldn't arrive in the system for another two.

Seven hours is a lot of tme Adrian. Lot can happen in that time.

He pushed the thoughts out of his head and checked his nav-map again, wishing his sabre was just a little faster.

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<span style="font-family:Impact"><span style="color:#FF6600">ADRIAN<span style="color:#FF0000">_morton</span></span></span>