Astroplane

Expected release: Spring 2022

When the CEO of the world’s largest aerospace company approaches Quaid Rafferty about stealing them back their plane in midflight — Astroplane, the first craft capable of slipping seamlessly between earth’s atmosphere and outer space — Quaid has concerns.

Why does the heist need to happen midflight? How in the world are the Chinese, whom the CEO claims stole the technology, going to allow Quaid on board?

And: how come she, the CEO, is coming to him rather than taking her beef to the FBI?

For all this, Quaid needs cash and covets the call to adventure. After trying unsuccessfully to recruit Third Chance pals Durwood Oak Jones and Molly McGill, he flies to Beijing solo.

He obtains phony press credentials and uses them to interview Lijuan Shào, the blindingly attractive astronaut who’ll pilot Astroplane.

Suddenly, his concerns feel minor. What’s the job going to require, prosthetics? Hand-to-hand combat? A favor or two from Quaid’s vast network of political and philanthropic contacts in the States? Seems workable.

One $2 billion plane, coming up.

cover design and illustration by Ethan Scott