Lyra Ventor
Character
The Starling rested in the shadow of a jagged ridgeline several kilometers from the designated extraction point, her engines idling low enough to blend with the ambient winds sweeping across the valley. It wasn't much of a landing zone. Just a stretch of broken stone and scrubland that happened to offer enough room for a light freighter to set down without advertising its presence to half the planet.
Lyra Ventor sat in the pilot's seat with one boot propped against the console, her eyes drifting between the sensors and the chrono. She wasn't late. Neither was her passenger. Extractions simply had a habit of making every minute feel twice as long as it actually was. The cockpit remained quiet except for the steady hum of the Starling's systems and the occasional chirp from the astromech as it continued sweeping the surrounding terrain.
She had already planned three departure routes. One took them straight into orbit if nobody noticed them. Another hugged the mountains to break line of sight before climbing. The third...well, the third was for when everything inevitably went sideways. Lyra sincerely hoped she wouldn't need that one, but experience had taught her that hope wasn't much of a flight plan.
"Wherever you are," she murmured, glancing once more toward the rocky approach leading to the ship, "I'd appreciate it if you came over that hill alone."
Her hand settled comfortably on the throttle, not tense, just ready. The boarding ramp remained lowered, the engines warm, and the Starling poised to leave the instant her passenger stepped aboard. All that remained was waiting to see what, or who, emerged from the wilderness.
Kaelen Voss
Lyra Ventor sat in the pilot's seat with one boot propped against the console, her eyes drifting between the sensors and the chrono. She wasn't late. Neither was her passenger. Extractions simply had a habit of making every minute feel twice as long as it actually was. The cockpit remained quiet except for the steady hum of the Starling's systems and the occasional chirp from the astromech as it continued sweeping the surrounding terrain.
She had already planned three departure routes. One took them straight into orbit if nobody noticed them. Another hugged the mountains to break line of sight before climbing. The third...well, the third was for when everything inevitably went sideways. Lyra sincerely hoped she wouldn't need that one, but experience had taught her that hope wasn't much of a flight plan.
"Wherever you are," she murmured, glancing once more toward the rocky approach leading to the ship, "I'd appreciate it if you came over that hill alone."
Her hand settled comfortably on the throttle, not tense, just ready. The boarding ramp remained lowered, the engines warm, and the Starling poised to leave the instant her passenger stepped aboard. All that remained was waiting to see what, or who, emerged from the wilderness.
Kaelen Voss