Braxton brushed aside the tomato leaves and peered out of the large bridge window. The clutter of orbital traffic lay behind them and only the distant constellations were in front of them. He gave it another ten minutes or so, admiring the stars that had never lost their fascination to him, and then nodded.<br/><br/><strong>“I think that’s it, Keri. Nothing on the com, nothing on the screen. I think we are all alone now. Put her on autopilot!”</strong><br/><br/>He took the microphone from his shoulder, held it in front of his mouth and pressed the ‘broadcast’ button.<br/><br/><strong>“This is the captain! We left athmo five minutes ago and have now attained escape velocity. It’s just us and the stars from here on out. Finish what you are doing, take a moment to straighten up and then head to the galley. Sue has prepared a sit-down meal for us and I think it’s almost ready.” </strong><br/>