Starchildren Options

[Kane]

Two stories at once is a lot for me, so these updates may not be as frequent. I also did not plan on this but a certain young woman in my head refused to be quiet.

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Prologue (May 7th, 2330)
Ebbside, Neon City, Volii Alpha


Andromeda awoke with a start. Somebody was pounding frantically on the door to her sleep crate and had ruined a perfectly deep slumber after a long day of work and even longer night of partying to celebrate her birthday. There was no way in hell it was daylight already which meant she probably left her slate at Euphorika. Again.

The bleary-eyed young woman fumbled in the dark for her glasses while the pounding on her door continued. If whomever it was out there kept it up much longer, she felt like her head would start pounding, too. Having finally fished her glasses off of the cold floor Andromeda slid them on and then clicked her bedside lamp to life. Most of her clothes were strewn about the floor of her metal box, which also explained why she was now so cold.

Two minutes or so later, she was half-dressed, and her nearly decrepit Solstice was clutched tightly in her left hand. Please don’t fizzle out on me now old girl, she thought. Looking down at the worn laser pistol in her hand, she sighed and silently chided herself for never spending any credits on a decent gun. The little pistol had been thrown out for good reason, yet Andromeda had fished out of the garbage anyway and fixed it up in the most half-assed way possible. Each time she squeezed the trigger was just another gamble on whether or not the damned thing would even fire.

This time she prayed to gods she didn’t give a [censored] about that it wouldn’t let her down. And then she finally opened the door.

Andre burst into her sleep crate and slammed the door shut behind him.

“It’s about goddamn time you answered! What the hell took you so long, Dro?”

Andromeda blinked in surprise at the urgency in his voice. She’d known Andre for over six months now, and the man was usually as cool as a cucumber. Even when he drunkenly tried to flirt with her. Andre had taken a courier job for HopeTech on Valo and was reassigned here to Neon City, much to his initial dismay, but they had grown close in the time since. The man was of average height with dark skin and kind brown eyes that sometimes hid behind a mop of unkempt blue hair.

“Slow down, Andre,” she said. “What’s the big deal?”

“No time to slow down. The ‘big deal’ is that your [censored], Dro. Absolutely [censored].”

“Wha -”

“Gather up what you care about the most and stuff it in your bag. Security thugs are closing in already �" I set up a prox alert for when they get within twenty meters.” Andre saw her bag sitting on the floor near the door, grabbed it, and handed it to Andromeda. “Pack! Now!”

“Andre, I am not going to move another goddamn muscle until you tell me what the [censored] is going on!”

“[censored]. Fine. Start packing and I’ll explain while you go.” He waited until a few things had been shoved unceremoniously in her bag before continuing: “Those Ryujin files you hacked yesterday for your anonymous buyer? They were tagged for Bayu’s personal records. Dunno how he tracked you down so quick but if you wanna live to see your twenty-sixth birthday then we need to get you the hell out of this city.”

Her blood froze. Benjamin Bayu. The Administrator of Neon City and possibly the most corrupt man in the settled systems. His fingers crept into every business venture on the planet and the security force was at his beck and call. No one did business in Neon without giving him a cut, and his ruthlessness against would-be competitors was legendary. Everyone who lived in Neon lived comfortably by skirting his brutality.

If she was on his radar at long last, then she had definitely taken the wrong job, pile of credits notwithstanding. Being a Cyber Runner in Neon always ran the risk that Andromeda would one day cross paths with that monster, but she had always been careful about her choice of contracts in the hope of avoiding Bayu. Her luck had finally run out and yet she still was uncertain about leaving the only home she ever knew.

“I can’t just up and leave!” stammered Andromeda, freezing midway through emptying the contents of her wall safe. “My whole life is here! It’s all I’ve ever known!”

“Doesn’t matter. Bayu will have you killed just to make an example - “ Andre ceased talking abruptly at the sound of rapid beeping emanating from his slate. His face took on an unhealthy pallor and he nervously ran his hand through his hair. “Time to go. They got there sooner than I expected.” Andre pulled another slate out of his jacket pocket and gave it to Andromeda. “Here, take this and give it to Doc Manning at the clinic. He’ll give you a short makeover to fool security at the spaceport.”

“Andre, I...” Andromeda was at a loss for words. The sudden shock of what was happening and the thought of fleeing her life �" Neon, Andre, the friends and people she’d grown up around �" was too much. Hot tears fell down her pale cheeks and splashed on the floor of her crate. She raised a hand to brush them away, and then shoulder her bag. “This isn’t over,” she finally said with a firmer resolve than what she felt inside. “Bayu isn’t chasing me out of my [censored] home forever. I’ll come back for all of you, I promise.” Andromeda stood on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on Andre’s cheek. “I promise.”

“We’ll do what we can to clear your name. You need to go. Now. They’ll be here any second. I can keep them occupied for a few minutes but they’ll tell me to get lost before long. Go!”

Andromeda pulled her hood up to hide her vibrant fuchsia hair and fled into the night without another word. The garbled chatter of Neon Security radios echoed up from the alleyway to her right, so she moved silently away from them and ducked into a dark alcove that was still within view of her crate. It was hard to much of anything, but she recognized the dim form of Andre now standing back outside of her door and soon heard him pounding on it once again.

“Yo! Open up, Jen!” Andre’s voice rang out. “Open up!”

Flashlights illuminated and three security goons stood at the ready, their guns trained on her friend. Andre’s hands flew skyward while the nearest guard began to pat him down.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” demanded another guard.

“Damn, take it easy, bud,” said Andre. “My friend lives here and she’s gonna be late for her shift at Generdyne again. Just trying to get her ass on the move!”

“Jen, huh? Yeah, sure pal.” The guard shoved him aside and addressed one of his partners. “What do you got, Reg?”

“Andre Mitarn, known associate of one Andromeda Renault. Courier for HopeTech.”

“Did ya hear that you lying piece of [censored]?” laughed the first guard. “Jen my ass. Where’s the girl?”

“If I knew where Jen was I wouldn’t be here, officer.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever, punk. Reg, you know the drill �" get him out of here.”

Andre lowered his hands to leave while Andromeda released a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. Her friend turned to walk away but Andre only made it a few paces before two sharp cracks rang out through Ebbside. He fell to the ground in a pool of blood while Andromeda watched in silent horror. She shoved her hand in her mouth in a desperate bid to stop herself from crying out.

“Dump that sack of [censored] over the side. The chasmbass will get rid of the evidence for us.”

Two of the security goons forced open the door to her sleep crate and disappeared inside while the third dragged off Andre’s lifeless body and heaved it over the railing and into the churning waters far below. Andromeda slipped away unseen and headed silently for the Neon Core, wiping away the tears as she went. The nearest door to Bayu Plaza wasn’t far, and within five minutes she had stepped through it and darkened her glasses against the garish light that gave Neon City its name.

Every type of store and service imaginable spanned the length of the Core, brilliant neon signs and lights shining down upon everyone who walked the expansive length from Ryujin Tower to the Trade Tower. Even late at night (or early in the morning, as it was now), the walkways were teeming with citizens, tourists, guards, scumbags, and dregs.

Andromeda’s destination was Reliant Medical and thankfully it was only a short distance away. Doc Manning seemed to never sleep and with her life crumbling around her, Andromeda was grateful to see him sitting at his counter.

“Ah, there you are, Dro! Andre warned me you were coming �" c’mon around back and we’ll get you fixed up.” He paused at the signs of grief that had stricken her normally carefree face. “What’s happened? Wait… where is Andre?”

It took everything Andromeda had to not scream in frustration and anger. She settled for kicking helplessly at the front of his counter which only resulted in a stab of pan shooting through her foot. “They [censored] killed him, Joe! Bayu’s security goons iced him without a second thought and threw him over the rails of Ebbside!”

“Bastards,” sighed the Doc. “I keep hoping this city will change some day but I don’t think I’ll ever live to see it. Despite younguns like you fighting back, Bayu’s grip never seems to relent. All the more reason to get you out of here, I guess.” Doc Manning waved her towards the back again and dismounted from his stool. “Go on, I just have to lock up real quick.”

The back room had a small biological modification chair that the doc had somehow procured from one of the Enhance! stores that were peppered throughout the local galaxy. It must have cost a small fortune, but she once again found herself thanking gods she didn’t care about for its existence in the back of the clinic. Doc Manning followed her in a few seconds later and instructed her to take a seat in the chair.

“Okay, so Andre...” Joe trailed off and made a gesture that Andromeda had never seen before. His hand moved across his face in the shape of a ‘T’.

“What was that for?” she asked him.

“The cross? It’s from an old-Earth religion that most have forgotten about. I’ll explain some other time. Anyway… so Andre most have been tipped off pretty early and with a good bit of info. Bayu has your name, financial history, work records, and physiological profile; but not your DNA records. We lucked out there. A few cosmetic changes will get you past the spaceport sniffers.”

“Joe, I can’t pay for any of this,” said Andromeda. “All my accounts are probably seized and I have less than two-hundred credits in my bag.”

“You don’t owe me anything, Dro. You’ve already done so much for the hard working people of this city that your friends are lining up behind me to get you safely out of this place.”

Andromeda sniffled and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue from the box Doc Manning held up to her. She knew it would be a long time until she saw those friends again, and the thought of that hurt more than anything else. Then she laid back in the chair and closed her eyes while the doctor powered up the alteration arms. She knew it would take thirty seconds to a minute for the machine to fully boot, so Andromeda pressed her friend on what would happen next.

“I have another slate from Andre,” he said. “It will transfer enough credits to get you on an outbound freighter, and provide a new identity. But the tricky part will be getting you to the port with perfect timing. We need to have you at the gates just as the ship’s thrusters begin to burn, so that the guards will hopefully rush you through without looking to closely at your records.”

There was lot that could go wrong with that. However, she trusted her friends implicitly and so she closed her eyes again and let the doctor go to work. The procedure was relatively painless, but she did flinch from the occasional needle or sharp prod. Some calibrations to the machine were in order when she returned. If I can return, she thought. Benjamin Bayu had a long memory, and she doubted he would forget about her anytime soon.

Ten minutes elapsed before Doc Manning leaned back on his stool and powered down the alteration arms. He grabbed a mirror from a side table and handed it to Andromeda. The same brown eyes stared back at her, but Joe had completely changed her hairstyle and its color: the long ponytail she had entered the clinic with was gone, and only a small knot was tied up in the back. Instead of fuchsia, her locks were now dyed an incredible opalescent prism of stunning colors, and the strands on the right side of her face fell down past her cheeks while being tucked back tightly on the left side.

She noticed the bare skin of her neck and left cheek and inhaled sharply. “Did you get rid of my tattoos?! Those were really personal to me, Doc!”
“Relax, I just covered them up with some foundation. Keep your hood up a the spaceport or the rain will wash it away and give up the goose. They’ll stick out like a sore thumb. Oh, and leave your piercings here. Those are easily replaceable.”

Andromeda frowned but did as advised. She popped the studs out of her ears and nose, removed the loop from her septum, and slid the barbell out from her nose bridge. Doc Manning collected them all in a small steel pan and then dropped them into a medical waste bin. Andromeda slid out of the modification chair and gave him a hug.

“Thanks for everything, Doc. I’ll be back to repay you some day.”

“I already told you your credit is good, Dro. Just promise me you’ll be careful out there.”

“I’ll try. But you should know better than most that the trouble usually finds me first.”

“That I do!” laughed Doc Manning. “Damn, almost forgot �" lose the glasses, too. I have some lenses for you instead.”

She removed her glasses and chucked them in the bin with her piercings. The good doctor handed her a set of icy blue colored contact lenses and after a couple minutes of struggling, she managed to pop them in to obscure her natural eye color. Another hug for the Doc Manning. Then he tapped a slate to hers and ushered Andromeda out the back door of Reliant Medical. Syndal, her best friend from university and one-time lover waited somberly in the trash ridden alley running behind the shops.

“Time to go, doll,” said her diminutive cohort. “Ship leaves in six minutes.” Syndal was tiny even compared to the slight 1.6 meters Andromeda rose to. The top of her head just barely made it to Andromeda’s nose. She put a hand on the back of Andromeda’s head and pulled her down to a reasonable level, kissing her very briefly on the lips. “For luck,” she explained to Andromeda’s quizzical stare. “Don’t think we’re ever getting back together or anything.”

“Fair enough,” said Andromeda. “Are we taking the main elevator down?”

“Have to. It’s all you have time for. “Let’s go, and try to keep up. Security is swarming the Core for you.”

Andromeda nodded and followed along in Syndal’s speedy wake. It was easy to unobtrusively hang a few steps back and still keep tabs on the impressive length of platinum hair falling past her friend’s hips. It swayed to and fro in the constant gentle breeze flowing through Neon City. The draft was one of many effects of living on massive platform built high above the roiling seas of a water world. A world that Andromeda had never left. Or had ever planned to leave. Those idle thoughts helped keep her features neutral when they stepped back onto the main thoroughfare and snaked their way towards the spaceport elevator.

Neon Security had fallen for the gambit. None of them paid her any mind, despite having her former appearance projected on the inside of their helmet visors. Syndal led her right past squad after squad of the corrupt officers until they reached their destination.

“You’re on your own from here,” said Syndal. “Take the lift down to the port and make a show of rushing, but don’t outright sprint. Play the part of the late departee who is trying to make their flight. The guards down there are a different detachment than the Core goons and generally skew towards being less of an asshole than the ones chasing you up here.”

“Okay, I’ll try. Never was much of an actor but I can do this. I have to do this.”

Syndal slapped her on the ass. “Quit stalling. You’ve got less than two minutes.”

“Right. Bye, Syn. And thank you.”

The elevator doors opened and Andromeda rode the lift down to the docking port. Two guards flanked the it at the bottom but the alterations Doc Manning made to her appearance seemed to have fooled their scanners. She showed them her slate and they told her to get moving else she miss the freighter. Settling for a speedy trot, Andromeda sighed gratefully and flitted down the long catwalk spanning over the ocean below, squeezing her hood tightly to her face. The warm, wind-driven rain splattered against her while she half ran to the ship waiting for its final passenger.

It was an ancient Deimos model that took up most of the landing pad. Bright lights illuminated faded letters above the ramp: The Gryphon. A crew member ushered Andromeda inside with little patience and directed her to a jump seat in the main cabin. Unsure of how the seat worked, her fingers trembled while she tried to strap herself in.

“First time in space, dearie?” A middle-aged woman next to her smiled gently at Andromeda.

“Yeah. I’m scared shitless if I’m being honest.”

“There’s nothing to it.” The kind woman reached over and showed her which buckles went where, and pointed out the safety pouch under the cushion. “Mouth guards in there if you’re worried about biting your tongue off. Once we take off, just keep your mouth closed and you won’t need them.”

Andromeda thanked her, and the woman went back to humming an off-tune key. Voices rang out over the loudspeaker and warning signs began to light up all around them. The entire ship rattled and shook, and the message on the flight console on the wall across from her changed from ‘docked’ to ‘achieving thrust’. Seconds later the engines roared into life and the sudden g’s from massive acceleration pressed Andromeda back into her seat. Unable to move so much as a finger, she closed her eyes and whimpered slightly as the ship gained altitude.

And then the pressure was gone. She opened her eyes and the porthole in the ceiling above revealed the deep black of space, dotted with innumerable points of light blinking back at her from incomprehensible distances. For the second time in as many minutes, her breath had been taken away for very different reasons.

She had done it. She had escaped Neon City and the closing grasp of Benjaim Bayu.

The tears came again anyway. Her life as she knew it was over and she had no idea where things went from here. She didn’t even know where this ship was bound. She was alone among the stars. And then the engines powered down while the grav drive engaged, folded space around the ship, and leapt from the Volii System in a blazing show of cosmic light and energy, carrying Andromeda far way from danger with a dumbfounded expression on her face..

This post has been edited by Kane: Jun 20 2025, 12:59 PM

[Kane]

Acadian: that situation with Barrett is unique but should've been something BGS explored more. The pirate captain Matsura the Grim is a breath of fresh air because he isn't just an evil caricature. He's a pirate, yes, but not the devil incarnate.When you find Barrett they are just sitting around, shooting the breeze and swapping space stories, and you can just pay some ransom money and be on the way.

{+++++++}

Ten - Hot and Cold and Hot Again

The Clinic Starstation, Deepala, Narion System

“He’ll get the best care in the Settled Systems, Dro. In a week or so, Heller will be right as rain and on his way to Mars.”

Andromeda stood in a surgical theater overlooking the operating room where doctors and nurses tended to her friend’s injuries. They put Heller into an induced coma not long after being admitted, but he at least got the time to thank her profusely, even though Andromeda didn’t feel she deserved it.

I should have been there at his side, she thought. At all of their sides.

A terminal screen on a nearby wall chimed and Sarah moved off to check it. “The nurse says he’ll make a full recovery. But they’re going to leave him in the coma for a few days so that he can rest.”

“Best news I’ve had all week. I guess we can head back now. Where’d Barrett get to?”

“Still on the ship. He didn’t want to intrude.”

“Should we take him back to The Lodge first? Or go meet up with Sam?”

“Lodge. Barrett needs a break from the action, too.”

The clinic staff began to wrap up the surgery below. Heller was carted off to a recovery room while Sarah and Andromeda made their way back to the docking port where the Frontier awaited them for the trip home. Barrett was waiting in the cockpit and looked ready to depart, but Andromeda had a bone to pick with him first.

“How the [censored] did Heller end up in that ship wreckage, Barrett?”

The charming smile Barrett usually wore faded under Andromeda’s glare. He tugged nervously at his collar before fessing up. “That was my fault, cowgirl.”

“My name is Andromeda,” she spat. “We’ve been through that already. Don’t call me ‘cowgirl’ again, got it?”

“Okay, I got it,” said Barrett, putting his hands up in a placating manner. “Well, getting back to the story… I was trying to come up with a way to distract the guards, so Heller and I started a fake fight. I managed to get a gun off one of the pirates when they came to break us up but when I pulled the trigger the bullet sailed right through the pilot and struck the nav console. We dropped out of orbit like a stone.”

“And what, they just left him there? No one else was hurt?”

“A pirate died, I think. I tried getting them to grab Heller, but they figured he was a lost cause. I’m glad he held on until you found him. I’m sorry about what happened, Andromeda. Truly.”

She felt the genuine remorse in his voice, so Andromeda nodded sharply and left the cockpit to cool off for a while. The bed looked inviting after the excitement of the day, and after getting a bulb of water to drink, she laid down on it and flicked through news feeds on her slate while Barrett and Sarah began the undocking procedures.

“Just give her some time, Barrett,” Sarah’s voice floated back. “She’s been through a lot and things seem to just keep piling up. Dro is a remarkable young woman and I think you two will be good friends in no time.”

Andromeda snorted obnoxiously.

“It’s rude to eavesdrop,” Barrett called back to her in a singsong voice.

“Don’t tease her,” Sarah jabbed him lightly in the shoulder. “If anything, you owe her a drink. She prefers gin.”

* * *

New Atlantis, Jemison, Alpha Centauri System

Andromeda still wasn’t in the best of moods when they returned to The Lodge. She swung by the kitchen and ransacked the fridge for a bite to eat and enjoyed her pilfered sandwich in the confinement of her bedroom. Sarah seemed intent on letting her be for a change, so Andromeda decided a shower was in order after the light dinner. Unfortunately, she’d yet to purchase a robe, and her filthy space undersuit had already been tossed into the automated laundry system chute.

Wagering that the others would all be downstairs, she decided to risk it, and darted down the hall wearing only her bra and panties. The bathroom and shower were free (thankfully), but Andromeda only managed to soak in the cascade of steaming hot water for just under ten minutes before someone rapped on the door.

“Dro, is that you in there?” Noel called out.

[censored]. “Yeah, what do you want?”

“Can you meet us downstairs soon?”

“Do I have to?”

“Not really. Just thought it would be nice to sit around and chat. Maybe have a drink.”

Andromeda groaned and let her forehead thud into the shower wall a few times before turning down the offer. “Not tonight, Noel. I’m just not in the mood for it.”

“Suit yourself,” said Noel.

Andromeda resumed her soak until the damnable timer ran out. After drying off, she tied her hair up in a messy bun and then headed back to her room to get dressed for bed. Still wishing she had a robe for evenings like this, she instead pulled on a new pair of panties and an over-sized shirt before flopping onto the bed and drifting off for the night.

* * *

When the next morning came it brought with it a much more amicable version of Andromeda. To her delightful surprise, she also found the rugged and handsome Sam Coe sitting in the greenhouse with a cup of coffee. She wasted no time in joining him to see how things had fared in Akila City. And to try and rekindle the sparks Sarah doused the day prior.

“Back so soon, Sam? I thought we were supposed to meet you there?”

“Change of plans, miss,” he said. “My gut told me I should be here and it looks like I was right. Vladimir’s concerned about the radio silence from Andreja, so our top priority has changed to helping her out.”

“Two people I still haven’t met,” noted Andromeda. “What’s the deal with them anyway?”

“They’re both the kind of folks you just have to meet. Me trying to describe ‘em just wouldn’t do it justice.”

“I’ll take your word for it, Sam.”

They had the greenhouse to themselves for a while and Sam finally got to tell Andromeda his own story of how he ended up in Constellation. Suffice it to say, when she heard he used to be a Freestar Ranger, her knees started knocking together under the table. Even on the streets of Neon, everyone knew the Rangers were the best of the best. Strong, confident, fair, and unerring in the line of duty.

By the time their mugs ran dry, Andromeda wanted nothing more than to sneak off with Sam and have a little fun, and the coy smile he wore suggested he had similar thoughts. Then the other shoe dropped, and the mood dried up like a grape in the hot sun.

“So, back to this business with Andreja,” said Sam. “Wanna head out there with me and the kiddo today?”

She did a double-take at that last part. Is he serious​? Andromeda had never imagined herself as a mother, but the thought of taking a child into the depths of space with no idea of what could lay ahead of them struck her as profoundly irresponsible. What if they ran into more pirates? Or those Spacer maniacs? Or some sort of monstrous alien bug?

“You want to take Cora with us?” she asked with incredulity. “On a possible rescue operation?”

“That’s right, miss. We’re a package deal. If I go then she goes, too.”

A lot of the respect Sam had built up with Andromeda evaporated in that very moment. He was serious, and what’s more… he didn’t even seem think it was such a bad idea. “Are you insane, Sam? How could you possibly [censored] think it’s a good idea for Cora to go along on something like that? What if our ship gets attacked in space? What if some nutjobs break into the ship while we aren’t there?”

“Whoa whoa whoa, hold up a sec, Dro.”

“No. No way, no how!” said Andromeda. She could feel herself getting heated up and knew her voice carried the louder it got, but she didn’t care who could hear them. “I’ve had my face planted in enough [censored] over the last few weeks to understand how [censored] up space really is, and it’s NO place for a child! She is not coming on a ship with me unless it’s to a settled planet. Period.”

Sam’s nostrils flared in way she would have found very enticing not five minutes ago. But there was also an anger behind his eyes that told Andromeda the same thing she felt: whatever attraction they began with had disappeared.

“Look here, miss - you don’t get to tell me how to raise my daughter. I’m her father and if I want Cora to come along with me while I explore the stars, then that’s my business and no one else’s, ya hear?”

“Oh, I hear you alright,” snarled Andromeda. “And you go do whatever you please, but it won’t be with me. I’ll figure out how to help this Andreja woman on my own.”

Andromeda left without another word. She waved a concerned Noel away and headed for the basement where she was less likely to run into anyone else for a while. She could feel her frustration rising still and she tried to subdue it by tinkering with her spacesuit at the nearby workbench. The auto-laundry had cleaned it of dust, debris, and scuff marks overnight and now Andromeda checked the seals and added reinforcements where they were needed. She didn’t pay any mind to how long she toiled down there for, but light footsteps eventually descended the stairs.

“For what it’s worth, Dro, I agree with you.”

Of course it’s Sarah, thought Andromeda. Why did I expect anyone else? “Agree about what?” she asked, not taking her eyes off her work.

“Sam and Cora. I’ve tried - in a much gentler way - to have that conversation with him and it always ends the same way. He’s much too stubborn, but Sam’s right in that he’ll do whatever he thinks is best for them. I’d advise you to not bring it up again.”

“I don’t intend to.”

“Good.” Sarah walked around the workbench to examine Andromeda’s handiwork. “Reinforced nanotubes, polymer stitching, fiber mesh underlays; you’ve done excellent work on your suit, Dro. These modifications will help you greatly in the field. Speaking of which…”

“You want to go chase after Andreja with me now that I’ve screwed things up so badly with Sam?”

“If you’ll have me.”

“Then I guess it’s the Sarah and Andromeda show again. But when this is over, I’m taking a break. A long break, got it?”

* * *

The Eye, Jemison, Alpha Centauri

The airlock cycled and Sarah led Andromeda through a heavy archway. The latter of the two boarded The Eye for the first time, gazing around in wonder at the sight of it. A long corridor encircled the station, its walls consisting of floor to ceiling glass panels that offered an incredible of space and Jemison far below. Further in another circular corridor branched off into a habitat ring that included all the amenities one could need while endlessly orbiting a planet: sleeping quarters, a gym, kitchen, showers, and a rec room.

“How the [censored] did Constellation get their hands on this?” exclaimed Andromeda.

“I called in a few favors from my time in the navy,” shrugged Sarah. “MAST abandoned the station years ago and left it floating dark up here. Seemed a shame to let such a resource go to waste.”

“You did this? I would’ve guess Walter for sure.”

“Walter’s pull is mostly in Freestar space. We can talk more about that later, though. For now…” An older man Andromeda had yet to meet approached them from the control room. Dark-skinned and muscle bound, Vladimir Sall had kind eyes and a warm smile that she took a liking to instantly. “Andromeda, this is Vladimir,” said Sarah. “He keeps the station humming and scans deep space for signs of the Artifacts.”

“We got a rook on deck!” said Vladimir. “Good to see Constellation getting some fresh blood.”

Andromeda cocked her head to the side curiously. Vladimir had a strong accent and a unique cadence to his voice that she couldn’t place. Some of his word choices were odd, too. Wonder what this guy’s story is… “Nice to meet you. Vladimir,” said Andromeda.

“Wish I could’ve been down at The Lodge to see the Artifacts come together. But I got a little lost peeking through The Eye.”

“Yeah, well, I’m still not thrilled about those goddamn things. Didn’t miss much in my book.”

Vladimir chuckled. “Probably would have just gotten annoyed at being bothered. I’ll catch a smile at our next big revelation.”

Finally someone who cares about something else, thought Andromeda. I wonder if he needs a roommate.

Sarah and Vladimir began reviewing an enormous file of data from his scopes which sounded enormously boring to Andromeda. She excused herself to poke around the station while they conversed, the idea of which didn’t seem to bother them. Vladimir had a plethora of supplies, including a well-stocked kitchen where Andromeda stumbled upon a container in the fridge that held one of her favorite and hard to come by foods: potato latkes.

She pried the lid off, set a pan on the stove, melted a chunk of butter in the bottom of it, and tossed the latkes in. Andromeda’s mouth began to water while they sizzled away, and the aroma filled the kitchen and drifted down the hall.

Five minutes later, she rejoined her friends in the control room, piping hot snack in hand. “Ah, I see you found my swill. What’s mine is yours, rook, but I would ask that you share one with me. The smell is enough to let anyone catch a smile.”

Andromeda was all too happy to share. She jabbed one with the fork and offered it to Vladimir. “These are amazing, Vladimir. If you cook like this all the time I’m liable to move in up here instead.”

“Careful with this one, Vladimir,” teased Sarah. “She’ll eat you out of house and home and drink you under the table.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “It was good to see you again, old friend. Time to go, Ms. Renault. We’re bound for Procyon III-a.”

* * *

Moon of Procyon III, Procyon System

The Frontier touched down on the cold, rocky moon of the third planet in the Procyon system. Vladimir’s scans led them down the same path of breadcrumbs Andreja had followed, and Sarah had picked up the missing Constellation member’s transponder mere seconds after entering orbit around the tiny moon.

“She’s definitely down here,” said Sarah. “Or her ship is at least.”

“Remind me who this lady is again?”

“She was our rookie before I recruited you. Tough and capable; which is why it’s odd that we’ve lost communication with her. Andreja can handled herself anywhere.”

“So, the complete opposite of me.”

Sarah paused and blinked rapidly. “Actually, that is spot on, Dro. No offense, but while you’re not great in a fight, Andreja will knock heads together all day long. She’s also very quiet and withdrawn, compared to your more outgoing nature. Yes, I would say that you two are opposite sides of the same coin.”

Andromeda grew curious at this point. The mysterious woman they sought sounded much more interesting than anyone else she’d met since joining Constellation, save for maybe Vladimir. Andreja sounded sort of roguish, which didn’t fit the bill at all for this group of idealistic explorers. Then again, Andromeda herself didn’t exactly have a squeaky clean background either.

But they had a job to do, and after suiting up and checking their weapons, Andromeda followed Sarah out onto the airless surface of the drab, gray moon. An abandoned mine sat just over the ridge beyond their ship, habs and catwalks devoid of life.

After picking through the structures for supplies like ammo or first aid, Andromeda found the controls to open a massive door that sealed the mine away from the harsh conditions of the surface. The door cycled open, and the moment they set foot inside they were greeted with gunshots and the figure of a humanoid standing over two dead bodies.

“Do not come any closer!” a voice rang out from the dim light, its owners weapon pointed directly at them. “Identify yourselves!”

“Relax, Andreja - it’s just me.”

“Sarah? Did Vladimir send you? I can take care of myself. You should know that by now.”

Andreja holstered the strange rifle she bore and moved closer so that the darkness of the cave no longer enshrouded her. The woman they’d been searching for didn’t look much older than Andromeda. Wearing a sort of wrapped violet dress, she was slightly taller with tanned skin, long black hair, and gorgeous hazel eyes. Her accent was implacable, and she carried a look of deadly seriousness.

And to top it all off, she was stunningly beautiful.

“Who are you?” Andreja asked, sizing up the newcomer.

“Holy [censored],” said Andromeda in tiny voice. “Er, sorry. Andromeda Renault. Um. Can you excuse Sarah and I for a moment? Just a sec.” She pulled her boss back a few paces and whispered heatedly at her. “Sarah! Why the [censored] didn’t you tell me she was so goddamn cute!? My hair looks like [censored] from this damn spacesuit helmet and I didn’t put any makeup on this morning!”

“Is she? I guess I hadn’t noticed,” winked Sarah.

“Goddamn it. Of all the times we’ve had together you pick now to screw with me!?” Andromeda shook her head in disbelief and went back over to where Andreja waited nearby. “Sorry about that. Anyhoo… lovely to finally meet you.”

“We can exchange pleasantries when the mission is complete, Andromeda.” Andreja frowned in thought. “This name is a mouthful, yes? I will call you ‘Annie’, in the interest of brevity.”

“I’d rather you didn’t. My friends call me ‘Dro’.

“Dro? No, I do not like that,” said Andreja. “But we are here for an Artifact, and that is what matters at this moment. Sarah, Annie… are you ready to move out?”