The small craft propelled itself forward and went straight under the sand like I had hoped. But now, I was facing the ultimate dilemma. Pull up too fast and be spotted by the Emperor’s fleet or stay too long underground and eventually hit something and die. I reckoned though that the pirates would have considered this and made sure there was no debris in the way. I never thought I’d have to rely on the thoughtfulness of pirates but there you go. Another thing that I had to take into account was the thick, toxic atmosphere that should hamper visibility.
After what seemed like an age of inner thoughts but in reality, no more than twenty seconds I pulled the craft up and out of the sand. Not a moment too soon either as we would have hit ruins if I waited a few seconds longer.
I stayed close to the ground of the habitat to avoid detection. The rest of the habitat was more of the same. Sand and ruins of cities. I kept on expecting to see some plant life but to no avail.
We reached the edge of the habitat and I now flew out back out into space and round to its underbelly.
Mark's Writing Corner 