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: For now, that expression of force is all she's learned. But there is a lot more power out there waiting to be discovered...

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Sixteen - Back in the Saddle

Villa Renault, Nesoi, Olympus System

For a moment, only the saddened cries of Andromeda Renault could be heard mingling with the rustling trees surrounding her empty home. Her friends were gone, including the one whom she thought for sure would have stayed by her side no matter what, especially after all they went through together.

And then she heard footsteps. Desperate to not be alone, Andromeda stared hungrily at those same concrete stairs Andreja had only just followed Sarah and Noel down. The click-clack of heeled boots drew closer and closer, and she could scarce get her hopes up. Andromeda blinked away the tears blurring her vision, and there she was: Andreja crested the final step with a large duffle bag slung over her shoulder that swung back and forth with each footfall.

Andromeda practically tackled her in an embrace filled with unrestrained relief. “Andreja! I thought you’d left with the others!”

Letting the bag fall to the patio floor, Andreja returned the hug. “What kind of friend would I be if I left you here to deal with this alone? I will not pretend to understand your decision, but I will certainly an effort to.”

“I’ll take what I can get,” laughed Andromeda. “Uh, what’s in the bag?”

“The rest of my belongings. Sarah was kind enough to grant me a leave of absence. Is it okay if I stay in the guest bedroom?”

“It’s yours. Help yourself to anything you’d like.”

“Thank you, Annie. Do you feel up to relaxing with a drink?”

“Relaxing? Yes. Drink? No thanks.” Andromeda sat back down in her chair feeling infinitely happier about the prospect of staying at home for a while. But she also felt tired. Again. “Sorry, but I’m still so drained. Go settle in… I think I’m due for another nap.

Andreja patted her gently on the shoulder and then she picked up her bag and disappeared into the house. She was only gone long enough to unpack some clothes and toiletries, but when Andreja came back outside onto the pool deck, she found Andromeda snoring away under the warm sun.

The glistening clear waters of the swimming pool looked very inviting. Figuring she would have some time to herself and that she’d have to get accustomed to the idea of relaxation, Andreja stripped down to her underwear and slid into the deepest part of the pool. After a few cursory laps, she wrestled Andromeda’s lone inflatable raft and tethered it to the ladder nearest her sleeping host should she wake up and need anything.

Unbeknownst to Andreja, the enchanting sun of the Olympus System would soon work its magic on her too, and she dozed off while floating in the pool.

* * *

An hour later, Andromeda woke up with a yawning stretch. She got to her feet and was about to head inside when the sight of Andreja gently bobbing along on top of the calm water made her do a double-take. In the time they’d known each other, she’d never seen the woman embracing the idea of simply doing nothing. Curious to see how long that would last, Andromeda walked over to the poolside and sat down with her feet dangling into the water.

Being exactly who she was, it didn’t take her long to start appreciating the more physical traits of Andreja. Remarkably fit, Andromeda couldn’t ever remember seeing such a flat and toned belly. And while she may have been lacking in cup size compared to Andromeda, Andreja definitely made up for it with the soft curves of a rear-end that had already distracted Andromeda enough in a dangerous situation to get her arm hacked up by a sword.

Biting her lip, Andromeda closed her eyes and shook her head. Get a hold of yourself. Nothing good will come from getting all torqued up. Then her stomach growled in protest of not having anything to eat at all so far that day, which proved to be the perfect distraction. Knowing that Andreja could still use some peace and quiet, Andromeda wandered inside to the kitchen without waking her up. There was still plenty of food from Constellation in the fridge but nothing really jumped out at her. In the end, she pulled out a dish with what she guessed contained carbonara and tossed it into the microwave.

The pasta tasted divine. Asking who made it and why they only sent one portion was the first thing she’d be talking to sleeping beauty about whenever she moseyed back inside the house from her afternoon snooze. She twirled the noodles on her spoon taking great care to not miss any pieces of crispy pancetta and savored every forkful until the bowl ran dry.

“I hope you saved some for me,” said Andreja.

Startled by her silent arrival, Andromeda glanced up and shot her a guilty smile while sucking in the last noodle.

“Um. About that…”

“I am just teasing you, Annie,” she giggled. “I tried some of Barrett’s pasta yesterday. The eggs did not sit right with me.”

“Barrett made this? He needs to send more.” She took a drink of water and pushed the empty bowl aside. “Can I get you something?”

“No, thank you. There is still some of Vladimir’s stroganoff in the fridge. I will heat that up.”

She took Andromeda’s bowl and set it in the sink before popping her own dinner into the microwave. One minute later she was sitting across from her now jobless friend, wondering what the plan going forward would be.

“If you do not mind me asking… what will you do with yourself now, Annie?”

Andromeda shrugged. “I haven’t really thought that far ahead. And, to be honest, I don’t know when I’ll even feel up to anything else. Every time I get up and do something I get exhausted.”

“Then the first thing we will do is physical therapy. The pool will work wonders for that. I will have you back to your old self in about a week.”

A dark look passed over Andromeda’s features and it did not go unnoticed. She got up and left the kitchen without a word or a backwards glance. Andreja set her fork down and went right after her, trying to figure out what caused the abrupt change in her behavior. She must have been feeling better after a nap and a meal because Andromeda moved so fast that Andreja almost couldn’t find where she had gone to. The bedroom and bathroom were both empty and she was about to head outside when she noticed a sliver of light through the doorway leading down to the basement.

Andromeda sat on the floor in the corner, wiping her eyes on a tissue. Recognizing that sometimes words are not needed, Andreja simply sat down next to her and offered a shoulder to lean on. They stayed that way for a while, until Andromeda cleared her throat.

“I didn’t thank you earlier,” she sniffled. “For staying with me even though I’m a goddamn mess.”

“You do not have to thank me. Although I am sorry if I said something hurtful just before.”

“It’s fine. You didn’t. I’m just… I don’t know.”

“Do not worry about explaining yourself. Sometimes the things we feel cannot be articulated so easily. And I am sure there are a great many emotions you are grappling with right now.”

“Yeah. I guess.” Andromeda blew her nose into another tissue and tossed it away. “Y’know, you’re awfully wise for being as young as we are.” She sat up straight and sighed deeply, staring blankly at the carpeted floor. “I’m not the same person anymore and I’m still trying to accept that. Please, just bear with me for a while.”

“Not the same pers - oh. I understand now what upset you in the kitchen. I apologize, Annie.”

“Forget it. You couldn’t have known.”

“I can still be sympathetic. Now, come back upstairs and rest on the couch while I finish eating. We can spend the evening inside with a book, or maybe listen to some music.”

“Okay,” sighed Andromeda. “Um. Can we just can talk instead?”

“Always.”

* * *

The next ten days went by in a tiring blur. Every morning at sunrise Andreja dragged Andromeda out of bed for a light breakfast followed by an ever increasing amount of laps around her swimming pool. And by mid morning, it was usually time for a nap. After a week of this had passed, Andromeda began to think her home was becoming less and less desirable to stay at. But on that tenth day those feelings of annoyance evaporated in an instant when Andreja pointed out something obvious.

Andromeda had finished her laps and continued splashing around the cool waters without a second thought.

“Well now,” said Andreja, cracking a coy smile. “You seem to be no worse for the wear! I would say this has gone swimmingly, yes?”

“Oh god,” groaned Andromeda. “That was awful.” She turned over and kicked her feet violently, which had the desired effect of splashing water all over Andreja. “There, that’ll help wash away the stench of that terrible pun.”

“It was no more terrible than some of the jokes you have subjected me to.” Andreja wicked some of the water away from her eyes and then clambered out of the pool. “Dry off and meet me inside for lunch, Annie. I think it is time to discuss what comes next.”

Following her out of the water, Andromeda stripped off her bikini and draped it over a chair to dry in the sun before picking up a plush towel and patting herself down. She tied the towel around her waist and headed inside. A cold drink sounded enticing, so she stopped by the kitchen for glass of lemonade on the way to her bedroom.

That also happened to be where Andreja had chosen to sit and wait for her. She rolled her eyes and chided Andromeda’s lack of clothing once again.

“Annie, can you please make yourself decent?” she asked while averting her gaze. “Serpent preserve me, I swear you are naked more often than not!”

“Still my house and still my rules. You should try it sometime. It’s very freeing.”

“I think I will pass on that offer.”

“Suit yourself,” shrugged Andromeda. “Back in a sec.” Andromeda left the kitchen and did indeed return in short order with a satin bathrobe draped over her figure that barely disguised the parts of her body that made Andreja blush. “So, what’s for lunch?”

“Business first. How do you plan to earn credits without the aid of Constellation?”

“No [censored] clue. I thought about putting my cyber skills to use, but that would mean stepping back into the seedy underworld of crime - organized or otherwise. And after being on the straight and narrow for the last few months, it’s been sorta nice not having to worry about bounties, or looking over my shoulder on the streets. Got any ideas?”

“Plenty. But, similar to your own ideas, not all of them are legal.”

“Andreja!” gasped Andromeda. “You never told me you strayed on the wrong side of the law in the past! This changes everything!”

“Did I not? Well, I was heavily involved in smuggling for a few years. However, I do not wish to return to that lifestyle, so we must find you a more honest way to make a living.”

“I knew I liked you for a reason, you rapscallion.”

At this point, Andromeda started feeling the first doubts about leaving Constellation creeping into her thoughts. Her work there had been honest and with good people at her side. She still had Andreja (which mattered more than anything else), but now life felt aimless. And the brief flirtations Andromeda had had with exploring planets was more enticing than she expected.

Andreja seemed to be having similar thoughts.

“I have an idea, Annie,” she began. “But I would preface this by asking that you hear me out entirely before jumping to conclusions.”

“I’m all ears.”

“Your whimsical expressions confuse me sometimes. How can one be all ears? Nevermind.” She cleared her throat in something approaching a nervous manner. “How about we visit The Eye and speak to Vladimir. No one at The Lodge needs to know,” she added, quickly, “and he can point us to paying work. There are often survey missions available and Vladimir has access to them from the station.”

Andromeda breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, Andreja! I’m in. It sounds peaceful, and we get to explore the stars together. What more can a girl ask for?”

“You are? Just like that? I thought for sure you might object to being anywhere near Jemison…”

“Nah. It’s not like I hate the place. I just… I can’t deal with all that Artifact bullshit right now. It’s too much.”

“I understand. We can prep the ship to leave this afternoon and head out tomorrow morning. Oh, that reminds me - I think I have found a good name for the Razorleaf.”

“Really? Good, because I haven’t given it any thought at all. Lay it on me.”

“The Verity of Fate.”

This post has been edited by Kane: Oct 11 2025, 01:40 PM