Operation Park Closer

҂ ҂ standalone 12-page short story |  authorized epub copy ҂ ҂

Blurb: A driving student at an interplanetary academy for transport is on a mission to befriend the nice guy on campus. 

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Opening page:

Tellurides always jerk their noses up on the descent. I adjust the fins to settle this one into its aerogel parking spot, marked on my screen as a faint outline in the shape of the transport ship. I feel the gravitational shift through my seat as its rear settles first, the nose dropping to complete the landing.

The final drop wasn't too bad. I'll get decent marks on this test.

"Pretty good, big ship," I acknowledge the mute artificial sentience with a pat of my hand on the driving panel.

Outside the Telluride, I look up to the viewing ridge. Cadet Xyli might be watching. He hadn't signed onto the test roster for this rotation, meaning he would not be with the ships, and I saw him on The Ridge before my turn. In that lucky moment, we stood near each other, overlooking at the same time the expanse of the parking bay as ships moved through other cadets' tests.