Those were at the helm, and most of the time the job was done on automatic. But crossing the nebula took finesse and reflexes that the computer couldn’t handle. It took a trained pilot able to react when the gravity wells tugged at the ship or a burst flared from a star. It was a treacherous passage, and not many pilots could handle it. Tirzah had flown it many times in a fighter, but this would be the first time she’d cross it in an old-school colony ship, a big, ungainly vessel. Most just went around it, but that added too much time to the trip.As she sat at the helm, she took the controls in her hands and did a few maneuvers, feinting and rolling. Ah yes. Claudia had certainly made some very effective changes. She’d have to give the woman some kind of promotion when they got out of here. Clau had finessed every bit of juice out of the engine, and it handled like a dream. The first part of the passage would take about seven hours, and then she could tuck into the asteroid belt and rest for a bit.
