21
Dulsar… Kiersten watched as Skyler handled the controls. They were flying in Dulsar’s atmosphere as Skyler got a feel for how Athena reacted. She had absorbed Kiersten’s instructions and followed them as Athena was taken from the hangar and launched. Flying on manual, with the computer offline, was the way to learn, Kiersten told her.
They climbed in altitude, then dropped back to hover over Dulsar’s lithosphere. Kiersten tested her daughter in every aspect of piloting a starship, and Skyler excelled. All except the landing. That, Kiersten decided, is where she’d need the practice.
“Yes, again tomorrow,” Kiersten answered.
“But I didn’t ask. Did you see the question in my mind?” Skyler wondered if perhaps her talent had transferred a little to Kiersten.
“No. Your heart.” Kiersten s
