"Starlight Courier"


In the year 2247, the galaxy was a web of trade routes, colonies, and forgotten worlds. Most people kept to their sectors, but Leonardo Duremdes was not most people. He piloted the Aurora Hawk, a sleek, scarred starship that carried no weapons—only hope.


“Another distress call, Captain?” asked Mira, his AI co-pilot, her voice warm but efficient.


Leonardo smiled, brushing a hand through his black hair. “Patch it through.”


A holographic screen flickered to life: a desperate family stranded on Epsilon Delta-9, their oxygen reserves critically low. No one else would come; the planet was in a lawless zone, crawling with raiders.


“Plot a course,” Leonardo said, his voice steady. “We don’t leave people behind.”


The Aurora Hawk leapt into hyperspace. Stars stretched like silver threads across the viewport, and for a moment, the galaxy looked peaceful. But Leonardo knew better. He had once been a soldier, fighting for an empire that forgot its own citizens. That was why he left—to help the forgotten.



---


They arrived at Epsilon Delta-9 just as the sun dipped below the planet’s crimson horizon. The settlement was in ruins: shattered domes, flickering power grids, and the ominous hum of incoming raider ships.


“Multiple hostiles detected,” Mira warned. “Should I prepare evasive maneuvers?”


Leonardo tightened his grip on the controls. “Not yet. We’ll do this the quiet way.”


The Aurora Hawk descended like a shadow, landing behind a jagged ridge. Leonardo donned his exo-suit, slung a pack of emergency supplies over his shoulder, and activated his stealth field. The barren wind howled against his helmet as he trekked toward the settlement.


Inside a collapsed habitat dome, he found them: a woman cradling her unconscious child and an older man gasping for air. Their oxygen indicators blinked red.


“You’re safe now,” Leonardo said, kneeling. His calm voice cut through their panic like a beacon. He opened his pack, attaching portable oxygen canisters to their suits. The boy coughed, then drew a steady breath. The woman’s eyes welled with tears.


“Who… who are you?” she whispered.


“Just someone who couldn’t look away,” Leonardo replied.



---


But then, the sky thundered. Raider ships swooped low, their searchlights cutting across the settlement. Mira’s voice came through Leonardo’s comms:


“Captain, they’ve spotted us. Three ships inbound.”


“Time to leave,” he muttered, hoisting the child into his arms. “Mira, warm up the engines.”


The family followed him as he raced across the rocky plains. Laser fire scorched the ground behind them, but Leonardo didn’t break stride. The Aurora Hawk loomed ahead, its ramp open like a welcoming hand.


They made it aboard just as the raiders descended. Leonardo slammed the hatch shut.


“Mira, take us up!”


The Aurora Hawk roared skyward, engines screaming. Raider ships pursued, spitting streams of plasma. Leonardo’s hands danced across the controls, weaving the ship between jagged cliffs.


“Hostile lock incoming,” Mira warned.


“Deploy decoys.”


A swarm of holographic duplicates burst from the Aurora Hawk, scattering in every direction. The raiders fired, destroying nothing but ghosts. Leonardo grinned.


“Now, let’s show them how fast we can fly.”


The Aurora Hawk surged forward, engines burning blue. Within moments, the raiders were specks in the distance.



---


Hours later, they were safe in orbit, far from Epsilon Delta-9. The family sat in the ship’s mess hall, clutching steaming mugs of nutrient broth. The boy looked up at Leonardo with wide, curious eyes.


“You didn’t have to help us,” the boy said softly.


Leonardo knelt, resting a hand on his shoulder. “That’s where you’re wrong. Out here, we only have each other. Remember that.”


The woman, her voice trembling, asked, “How can we repay you?”


Leonardo smiled faintly. “You can’t. Just… help the next person who needs it. Pass it on.”



---


Later, alone in the cockpit, Leonardo stared out at the stars. Mira’s voice broke the silence.


“You know, Captain,” she said gently, “you could live an easier life. No more dangerous runs. No more raids. Just… peace.”


Leonardo’s gaze didn’t waver from the endless starlight. “Peace isn’t found by hiding, Mira. It’s found by giving.”


The AI was quiet for a long moment. Then: “New distress call detected. Sector 7-Gamma. Civilian freighter trapped in a graviton storm.”


Leonardo’s lips curved into a determined smile. “Plot a course.”


The Aurora Hawk turned, its engines flaring like a second sunrise. As it leapt into hyperspace, Leonardo Duremdes felt the familiar rush in his chest—not fear, but purpose.


Somewhere in the vastness of space, people still needed him. And until the day the galaxy no longer cried out for help, he would keep answering.


Because that was what he did.

That was who he was.


Leonardo Duremdes, the Starlight Courier.


And he never, ever, left anyone behind.