My @vldshipexchange gift for @nasigorengart ! Sorry it’s so late >,>

Sheith-General Audiences-2.4k words

AO3

Keith’s first memory was of watching a shuttle launch as he sat with his father on the front porch of their house. It had been a hot day, but he’d abandoned the shade to run out over the rocks and watch the shuttle disappear. With the clear blue sky, he could see it soar upwards for an eternity. His dad had told him that was the moment he had decided to become a pilot.

His dad also told Keith that he was born to do something amazing, but he hadn’t stuck around to find out so Keith never believed him.

When he dreamed of going to space, he had imagined a cramped shuttle shared with two or three others, heading off to some unexplored area of their solar system. He never imagined he would be flying alien ships in the front lines of a universal war.

Which they won.