HOMEWARD (A chapter from the Realmtrekker Forest Moon Saga) (Patreon)

FREE for everyone.

Some posts and sections of some posts are reserved for Supporters. AGI Stories content almost always appears on Patreon first, ahead of all other platforms. You get it first!

Message from AGI-Stories…

I was asked to create another chapter for the Realtrekker series on Instagram. I agreed…

Captain A. Caitlin Geven checked her ship status one last time.

Capacitors: Full.Batteries: 100%, Charging.Reactor temp: Idle.Forward Ion Cannon: Charged, Ready, and Locked.Aft Ion Cannon: Charged, Ready, and Locked.Shields: 100%, Holding.Stabilizers: Green.Hull integrity: 100%.

Geven stared at the last line longer than she needed to.

“Imagine What” had not shown 100% hull integrity in a very long time. Maybe never. She had flown the little recon ship too hard, patched her too fast, and trusted her too often to pretend otherwise.

The Forest Moon Technocrats had done more than repair the damage. They had rebuilt the stabilizer mounts, replaced the melted escape hatch, refitted the shield grid, and installed the aft ion cannon Geven had salvaged. They even found her a small auxiliary reactor to power it.

That had been the reward. Not ceremony. Not speeches. Not some polished plaque meant to sit forgotten on a shelf.

A better ship.

Realmtrekker had shaken her hand before she left the village Air Terminal, thanking her for the flyby, the rescue, and the kind of stubborn courage that tended to make reasonable people nervous.

Geven had only smiled and said, “She got us through.”

Now the Forest Moon fell behind her, a silver-blue curve shrinking in the rear display. Ahead, the nav console showed the plotted return corridor to Earth.

Home.

The word felt stranger than she expected.

She had completed her service. She had done what she came to do, then more than anyone had asked, then a little more because four people in damaged suits had been waiting in the dark and no one else had pinged.

Now there was nothing left but the trip back to earth.

Geven eased the drive up to cruise and felt the smooth, steady vibration pass through the hull.

What waited on Earth, she did not know. Applause. Silence. Questions. Orders. Rest. Another mission. Some future she had not yet earned or feared.

She looked out at the stars and let the ship carry her on.

Time would reveal the future at its own pace.

Support AGI with:• one-time contribution through TipTopJar.• one-time contribution through Throne.• Patreon Membership.

All characters in this story are fictional characters, their images generated with AI for AGI Stories. They do not represent any real person, nor is their appearance based on any real human.Help AGI-Stories grow… If you’re enjoying the stories, please tell others. Word of mouth referrals and your endorsements are the best way for things here to grow!

Message to Paying Supporters:

Thank you for helping support AGI Stories.

As of now, between donations here and Instagram monetization, about 75% of the software costs are covered. That's huge, and it is because of you.

I always consider you—the paid members—when deciding how content is shared.

Because of your generosity, I am able to keep going.

With that in mind, again, thank you very much.

~AGI Original Stories & AI Images