Universal Shipping

An 'Aim to Engage' sci-fi story of exactly 500 words.

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Don't get me wrong. I had plenty of ambition when I graduated from Deimos Flight Academy with dual degrees in Aeronautical Engineering and Navigation. Then, the goal was clear, join the Brigade and help further humanity's knowledge of the Terran solar system our ancestors colonized. Maybe even find proof of alien lifeforms. But as it turns out, you can only 'boldly go' if you've already boldly gone to the right schools.

So you make do, as they say. Piloting a freighter for Virago might not have been the plan, but at least it pays the bills. Even if the company is a soul-sucking mega-corporation that likes to treat its employees no different than the commodities that it resells, packs, and delivers. Paid on the cheap and shipped for free anywhere in the known galaxy.

Which brings me here, millions of miles from home in the outer reaches of our system, gawking alongside the delivery guys at something we shouldn't be transporting.

Oh god, I should've never taken this job.

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Highest Rank: #2 in 'Aim to Engage'