From the edge of the desert, Nikki peered through the scope of her laser and watched the shuttle disappear on the horizon. The freeman had escaped. Again. She was beginning to get annoyed with him. With herself. It was like a weird game of playing hard to get, she mused.
She pinged Anna. "Time to get back to headquarters. See you there."
She stood up and folded her laser gun until it was the size of a lipstick tube, which she then slipped into her satchel. She stared above the horizon, where Saturn shone bright and majestic, a common scene now seeming so alien, arousing some foreign feeling in her, deja vu, no, more like longing, but for what? Perhaps it was best not to find out.
She turned and began the hike back across the forest.
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