“Come on, Ace!” Dane pleaded with his ship, sweat beading across his brow. He knew this might be the last time he could find any luck. The computer stuttered a final warning, “fuel reserves depleted.” What could he do? There were only a couple choices he could imagine. Neither one was a sure thing. Turn around and hit the thrusters one more time and hope the impulse would eventually lead him back home, to the dread of an unfair indictment and a life sentence mining ore on the penal colony. At least he’d still be alive. Or take a chance on a risky technology, the experimental device, barely tried once, that could lead him to the other side of an unstable wormhole. He might not even live to regret it. He was used to making tough calls but this was this was a no-win situation. The computer blurted a garbled alert, “incoming detention vessel detected.” Dane clutched the throttle, squinting till his forehead dripped.

“Hope this damn thing was worth the trip!” The detention ship roared overhead, rattling the cockpit. “Not this time, piggies!” His eyes bulged, peering at the uneasy-looking device clamped onto his controls. He pressed his thumb down on the glowing red dial and twisted it hard right.” Just ahead he could see the amber shimmer of the wormhole appear. His whole body clenched as he hit the throttle; only his lips parted, “Come on, Ace!” Every light on the display panel flickered as the ship shuttered, flinging him forward into the gape of an unknown destination in an instant. Chance had been his ally before, but he was surely running out of luck. The lumbering detention ship vanished behind as he disappeared into the warm glow of uncertainty