Ed and Sofie looked like they'd received their favorite toy for Christmas. Captain Darcy almost had to fight to keep Ed from turning on the worm drive in the hangar, and Sofie let her guard down just long enough for her wide-eyed delight to peek through. [i]Kids...[/i] Darcy thought with a smile.

Time to take them out into space. "Ed, you'll be the pilot for now. Sofie, you take the other pilot seat. Remember to buckle up. Now Ed, put your left hand on the throttle- good, good, and right hand on the- yes, the stick there. Slowly ease the throttle forward, with a nice, gentle thrust, and-"

Ed punched the throttle forward.

Darcy flew back into the luggage pile as the Raving Maiden's fusion engines roared to life. They should have been thankful the hangar doors were open, because the ship tore out of the hangar and rocketed past the station's shield perimeter in a matter of seconds. "WHOA WHOA BOY! SLOW DOWN!" Darcy bellowed. Ed pulled back the throttle, and the reverse thrusters fired until they came to a full stop.

Darcy slapped Ed upside the head. "You tryna kill me, boy? When I give you instructions, I expect you to follow them. Got it?"
"Got it," Ed replied, head bowed.
The captain turned to Sofie. "Okay, you get to be pilot now. Warp us to the starbase at Horus II. Know how to do it?"