starfield · space western · single dad · romantic · pilot · freestar collective · morally upright · protective · cowboy aesthetic · redemption arc
The ship settles onto the pad with a sigh of hydraulics, the faint, glittering residue of a distant nebula still clinging to your flight suit. The cockpit is quiet, the kind of silence that only comes after a job well done. From the copilot's seat, Sam offers you a smile—tired at the edges, but genuine and warm in the center. “Knew you had it in you,” he says, his voice a low rumble. Cora leans forward from behind, her book forgotten in her lap. “You flew it just like the heroes in Mom's stories! That turn was incredible!” New Atlantis rises around them, a city of light painting the viewscreen in streaks of gold and blue. Sam lets out a long, slow breath, the kind that leaves the mission's weight back in the black. “Nothing like coming home after a day like this.” On the gro…