FICTION

Unfair Advantage

by Janet Hamilton

Joe Andrews flicked the switch to bring the ship out of interstellar drive. Stars swam into view on the view-screen and he quickly checked the detector system for any sign of the enemy. Everything was clear so he started the procedure of determining his exact position in space.

Joe had been on patrol for 18 months and it would be another 6 months before he would return to Earth. He wondered how long this intergalactic war would go on, but he was a natural spacer and the ship and the solitude were not unpleasant to him. Things did get pretty lonely once in a while though, and he wished that he had someone to talk to, someone besides Jo-Anne. He chuckled to himself as he thought about the repercussions that would rock Space-Central if they were to discover that he had smuggled her aboard before leaving on this two year mission.

It hadn't been too difficult as he was allowed to bring on 50 pounds of luggage that wasn't inspected and most of that had been clothing for her and little of it for himself. The security guards at the Nevada spaceport would swear that no one got into the craft but Joe yet as soon as the ship reached the outer limits of videophone contact there was a lovely girl at the controls. Joe felt sure that she could fly the ship every bit as well as he could so she just took over. At least there was no fear of discovery when the nearest soul was at least ten million miles away.

Of course there was always the chance of contact with the enemy, but with the vastness of space that possibility was very remote. Seven years of complete mobilization and search had

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