The Good for Nothings by Danielle Banas

Author:Danielle Banas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

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It didn’t take much to make Wren’s day. All I had to do was offer to sit in the cockpit with her as she prepared to jump the Starchaser into the wormhole connecting the edge of Cadrolla’s Whirlpool Galaxy to the center of the Milky Way Galaxy and the Tunerth outpost. She was itching for a proper co-pilot, and I played my part well, fastening the thick straps of my harness over my shoulders before switching on the internal comm and requesting that everyone on the ship buckle up.

“Wormhole due to open in twenty seconds, according to this schedule.” Wren swiped her comm link, transferring the document to my own. I studied the timetable against the ancient analog clock that she had glued to the control panel in front of her seat. Another stolen item, no doubt.

“Engine valves open.” She tapped something on one of the many screens before her. “Igniting the thrusters.” She gripped her right hand around a wide lever parallel to her chair, her left hand edging the yaw mechanism two degrees portside.

“Go two more degrees,” I said, studying the blinking radar display in front of me.

Wren looked over. “You think?”

I gave her my best attempt at a lighthearted grin. “Why have a co-pilot if you aren’t going to listen to her?”

“Hmm … okay.” She made the adjustments with the yaw, the Starchaser turning just as the wormhole flickered to life on the radar. She tapped a series of multicolored pedals at her feet. The wormhole opened wide, a sea of light ready to swallow us whole.

Inertia slammed me against my harness as we zipped inside. The bridge of the wormhole lengthened, shortened, then spat us out, leaving me with a pounding headache. I moved to unlatch my harness after it was over, but Wren immediately shrieked and clenched her controls. Out of nowhere, the outermost edge of the Milky Way Galaxy’s asteroid belt appeared in our viewport. Cursing up a storm, Wren rolled us to our starboard side to avoid a collision.

“I swear the wormhole let me out in a different spot the last time I was here,” she grunted apologetically. The comm system exploded with a stream of irritated shouts from Anders, accompanied by a few nervous beeps from Elio. I tapped the control panel, silencing them both.

“Don’t be sorry,” I told her. “You’re good at this. Piloting.” And sure, I was trying to butter her up, but I did mean it. My pod ship was a breeze to fly compared to this beast.

Wren didn’t look over at me when she asked, “Good enough that your mother might want to hire a thief who can operate a charter ship?”

She was still angling for that? Stars above.

“I’m not sure you want that position, but yeah, I could put in a good word for you once all this is over.” Lies. Dirty, filthy lies. When this was over, I’d never see her again.

“Really? You’d do that for me?” In her excitement, she accidentally jerked the throttle, nearly knocking the ship into half a dozen asteroids.

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