Though All the Mountains Lie Between

When star pilot Jael rebels against an abusive captain and flies the "mountain route" through the Flux, she dismisses a legend claiming that dragons lurk waiting for unwary riggers. But appear they do, challenging Jael to a fight to the death. This story appeared originally in the anthology Dragons of Darkness, edited by Orson Scott Card. 9000 words, plus excerpt from the novel that followed.

"Though All the Mountains Lie Between" formed the seed of two novels, Dragons in the Stars and Dragon Rigger, both published in print by Tor Books. They are available in the omnibus Dragon Space (in the author's edition, available on Smashwords), or individually (in E-Reads editions, available in most other ebook stores).