Sabrina (Knox 3)
Copyright© 2026 by The Outsider
Chapter 44: Higher than Ever
04 April 2039 – Baffin Bay Spaceport, Kenedy County, Texas
The tension in the conference room was almost palpable.
The usual hum of Ad Astra’s bustling spaceport operations seemed distant, muffled by the weight of the conversation behind closed doors. Sabrina sat at the long table with her arms crossed, her black flight suit still faintly creased from a morning spent running simulations. Across from her, Mandy and Alex sat side by side, reviewing documents on their tablets, while Beth stood by the window, arms crossed, watching the endless Texas horizon. Beth finally turned.
“Campbell isn’t letting this go.”
Sabrina sighed.
“Because, of course, he isn’t.”
Beth tossed a file onto the table.
“He’s officially filed a complaint with the DoD. Claims y’all assaulted him ‘unprovoked’ and that y’all’s leadership in the Air National Guard has been reckless. He’s using every connection he has left to make it stick.”
Mandy snorted.
“That’s rich coming from a guy who got decked because he lunged at Sabrina like a rabid dog.”
Alex adjusted his glasses.
“And let me guess, he’s framing this as some high-level vendetta, painting himself as the victim?”
Beth nodded.
“Exactly. He’s not just trying to bury Sabrina – he’s coming after Ad Astra itself.”
That got everyone’s attention. Sabrina sat forward.
“What do you mean?”
Beth’s lips thinned.
“Campbell is pushing the narrative that Ad Astra is reckless. That we lack ‘proper oversight.’ He’s implying that private spaceflight should remain secondary to NASA and the government. If enough people listen, it could make investors hesitate. It could make NASA hesitate.”
Sabrina’s jaw tightened.
“So it’s not just about me – it’s about making sure Ad Astra doesn’t overshadow him or the old system.”
Beth nodded.
“That’s exactly it. If he can’t have power, he’ll burn everything down trying to stop us.”
A heavy silence settled over the room. Then Mandy leaned back in her chair, a slow, mischievous grin forming.
“Well, if he wants to play dirty,” she said, “let’s see how he likes it when the skeletons in his closet start dancing.”
Sabrina’s brows rose.
“What do you have?”
Mandy opened her tablet and spun it around.
“I started digging the second I heard Campbell push for this meeting. It turns out he’s got a history of burying complaints against himself – harassment, favoritism, even a few ‘drunk-on-duty’ reports that mysteriously vanished. And get this – he tried to force at least three promising pilots from the 71st and his previous units out of the service for questioning his leadership.”
Beth’s smirk returned.
“Y’all have proof?”
Mandy tapped the screen.
“Copies of complaints, old incident reports, even some internal memos meant to be deleted but weren’t. Turns out, some of the pilots he screwed over? They’re very willing to talk.”
Sabrina felt a slow burn of satisfaction in her chest.
“So we’re not just defending ourselves. We’re flipping this.”
Beth nodded.
“Exactly. We make him the liability. We don’t just clear y’all’s name, Sabrina – we make sure he can never do this to anyone else again.”
Alex leaned in.
“The best part? The media’s already circling. If we time this right, we let the truth hit before he can spin another lie.”
Sabrina exhaled, rolling her shoulders back.
“Then let’s do it.”
Three weeks later, the internet erupted.
A leaked report made its way onto aerospace forums, military whistleblower blogs, and the mainstream press. It detailed Campbell’s history – complaints buried, careers sabotaged, misconduct ignored. The media latched onto it instantly.
Sabrina sat in her office, watching the fallout unfold on her screen. News anchors spoke in serious tones about ‘troubling allegations.’ Social media buzzed with outrage. More pilots came forward, their testimonies damning.
Then came the official response.
The Department of Defense confirmed an internal review. NASA scrubbed Campbell’s name from its upcoming astronaut selection list. He was suspended, and his future as an astronaut was effectively over. Beth walked in, coffee in hand, with a rare look of satisfaction on her face.
“Well, that’s the end of that problem.”
Sabrina exhaled.
“It’s not just about him. It’s about making sure this doesn’t happen again.”
Beth nodded.
“That’s why we keep Ad Astra ours. No one dictates what we do. No one tells us who is ‘worthy’ of going to space.”
Mandy poked her head in, grinning.
“Oh, and by the way? NASA just called. They’re officially severing ties with Campbell. He’s done.”
Sabrina leaned back.
“Good.”
Beth smirked.
“Now, about that next test flight...”
That night, Sabrina returned home, exhaustion pulling at her, but warmth waiting for her inside. Tom stood in the kitchen, holding Jeff in one arm while stirring a pot on the stove. Marisa sat at the table, intensely focused on a crayon drawing of a spaceship. The smell of spices and home-cooked comfort wrapped around her like a familiar embrace.
“Mommy!” Marisa called, dropping her crayon and running into her arms. Sabrina scooped her up, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“Hey, sweet girl.”
Tom gave her a knowing look.
“Judging by your face, I’d say it’s over?”
Sabrina nodded, rubbing Jeff’s back as he cooed against her.
“Campbell’s done. Ad Astra’s stronger than ever.”
Tom kissed her temple.
“Then sit down, breathe, and enjoy dinner. You’ve earned it.”
As laughter filled the house, Sabrina felt something settle in her chest. No matter how high she flew or how fierce the battles were, this – her family – was her foundation, the reason she fought. And no one, not Campbell or anyone else, would ever take that away from her.
Sabrina stood on the tarmac at Baffin Bay Spaceport a week later, gazing at Astrum Plaustrum – Star Chariot – the next great leap forward. Mandy, standing beside her, nudged her shoulder.
“Ready to show the world what we can do?”
Sabrina smirked.
“Always.”
She climbed into the cockpit, strapping herself in. Beside her, her co-pilot, Daniel Valerio, did the same. Then, the countdown began.
“Five ... Four ... Three...”
She gripped the controls.
“Two ... One...”
The liquid deuterium engines roared to life, and Chariot shot into the sky, breaking free of the Earth below. Sabrina smiled as she left the chaos behind. This was just the beginning.
The silence of space was absolute.
Sabrina sat in the cockpit, her hands steady on the controls of Chariot as the SSTO settled into orbit. Below the Earth, a breathtaking blue-and-white swirl stretched endlessly beneath her. The view never got old. Daniel – her copilot – nodded to her.
“Control, this is Chariot. We have reached a stable orbit. All systems are nominal.”
“Copy that, Chariot, ” the mission controller’s voice crackled over the radio, the usual edge of authority softened by satisfaction. “Looking good up there, Raikou.”
Sabrina smirked at the familiar callsign.
“It’s what I do,” Sabrina answered, contradicting how she usually responded to something like that.
Her mission wasn’t just another test flight. This was proof that private spaceflight wasn’t just possible – it was superior. NASA had spent decades working toward this kind of Single-Stage-To-Orbit capability. Ad Astra had done it.
Sabrina leaned back in her seat, letting the moment wash over her. It wasn’t just about proving Campbell wrong or cementing Ad Astra’s reputation – it was about the future. Marisa, Jeff, and every kid growing up in a world where space was no longer a distant dream but a tangible, reachable frontier.
The mission controller’s voice returned.
“Raikou, let’s run through the orbital maneuver tests. We’ll start with pitch and yaw response, then move into controlled burns.”
“Roger that, Control.”
Sabrina’s hands moved over the controls with practiced ease. The ship responded like a dream, a testament to the engineering brilliance of Mandy, Alex, and the entire Ad Astra team. Thirty minutes later, after executing flawless maneuvers, she checked her mission clock. Time to head home.
“Control, beginning deorbit burn in T-minus one minute.”
The room was packed with engineers, executives, and representatives from various aerospace agencies. Monitors tracked Chariot’s descent trajectory while real-time data streamed across massive displays.
Mandy and Alex stood near the front, watching intently.
“She’s coming in hot,” Alex muttered, adjusting his glasses. Mandy smirked.
“She likes coming in hot.”
“She is hot!” Tom answered in return.
Beth shot them both a glance but said nothing. Her eyes were fixed on the descent data.
Outside, reporters gathered at the edge of the spaceport, cameras rolling. The world was watching.
The ship hit the atmosphere at Mach Twenty-five, glowing brightly as its heat-resistant shielding deflected the intense friction.
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