Sometimes we’d sneak up to the Overlook when it was shut. Security cams gave out ten cycles ago. Jorge figured out the combination by trading the watchman a bag of deep-fried digua, then lifting his greasy prints from the control panel after shift.

We’d sit and watch the planet, watch clouds leave shadows over land masses, shadows over ocean. We’d watch passing ships use the gravity field like a slingshot. Sometimes Jorge would sigh as they left the system. I was never sure if it was at the ships or the planet. We heard the government made good money on airspace fees—not that we ever saw any of it.

You know, in some systems, people like us are the ones living on the ground.

"Playing Trades by JL Peridot"

by Muscoca Media