Pilot (5/?)
The police cars were right on their tail as Kara's ship charged through the gate. Despite the not-so-aerodynamic shape of her ship, Kara was dodging fire like she had been doing it for years (which, now that Dave thought about it, could very well be the case).
In between every gate was a stretch of space known as a Tunnel. Due to physics of which Dave had yet to grasp even the most basic fundamentals, the architects had managed to squeeze a swath of space travel onto a stout starlit path which looked a bit like the inside of a kaleidoscope. Within the confines of the Tunnel, a ship could complete a journey to the outer reaches of the solar system in a little under a few days.
Failure to remain inside the cosmic cylinder, however, resulted in one's ship being dropped at an unpredictable spot between the Sun and Pluto - which, needless to say, could range from unideal to downright deadly. This information was Space Travel 101 for most high school students, and Dave certainly wasn't recalling it now because of any significance it might have later on.
"Aren't they a little out of their jurisdiction?" Dave shouted, as the fear of being shot in the inky void of space briefly outweighed the fear of being shot within the walls of Kara's ship.
"Your first mistake was assuming these are ordinary cops," Kara called back through gritted teeth, practically fighting with her console to avoid what looked like a small army's worth of ammunition. "And your second was assuming the folks in charge care. And your third was opening your mouth again. Interrupt me while I'm saving our asses one more time and we'll both regret it."
"Saving our asses" was definitely what Dave thought was going on, and certainly not "kidnapping."
He could make out voices coming in through Kara's radio: "Stop where you are and you might get better than you deserve!"
"And what exactly would that look like?" Kara shot back, rushing to another part of the dashboard and yanking a lever to the side, causing the ship to list and avoid colliding with a particularly bold squad car.
"We might shave a couple hundred bucks off your debt!" the voice of the policeman returned, with a vicious snicker.
"I think I'll pass," Kara spat.
That was when Dave felt the ship shudder as if nauseated. "Shit!" Kara said. A direct hit to the engine.
The ship's nose tilted down. The cabin groaned, and Dave's world turned sideways. They were veering into the Tunnel's walls.
