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]

Twenty Four – Into the Breach

The way in which Sarah’s demeanor completely changed suggested Christmas might have come early, rather than her latest unique recruit coming back into the fold. Constellation’s leader beamed from ear-to-ear, and Andromeda half expected her to lean across the table and plant a kiss on her cheek. Andreja probably wouldn’t appreciate that though.

“That is wonderful news!” gushed Sarah, thankfully forgoing the more physical show of appreciation. “Oh, we have so much work to do now! Noel here needs to run a plethora of scans on you, and we’ll need another demonstration.” She paused to ladle a concerning amount of sugar into her coffee and suddenly Andromeda understood exactly why her boss often burbled with so much palpable excitement. “And we need to talk to Vlad again – he has a lead on more Artifacts. Sam needs called back too, he’s run into a wall on Akila.”

“[censored]’s sake, Sarah, slow down and take a breath!” said Andromeda. “We just got back. Can’t we start small?”

“You’ve had plenty of time to relax, Ms. Renault. Andreja has, too. Speaking of which… I never got to ask either of you – how the hell did such an intimate romantic relationship develop in the time after we went our separate ways?”

Andromeda grinned while Andreja continued to blush and sip from her piping hot mug of coffee. This was definitely a question for the more outgoing of the odd pair to answer – Andreja rarely expressed anything resembling a feeling to others. She saved those for her partner, which meant those emotions were typically very intense. Which Andromeda loved. Still though… it was not the easiest endeavor to explain. There had certainly been a mutual attraction between them when they first met, but that first mission in the abandoned mine had been rocky, to say the least, and by the time Andromeda and Andreja had linked up with Constellation again, a deep bond had already developed.

Not feeling like the intricacies needed delved into, Andromeda settled for a bit of deflection.

“Not important. Besides, do you really want to know, in detail I might add, just how attracted we are to each other?” Andreja hid herself behind a slate to avoid having to leave the room entirely while Sarah shook her head vehemently. “No? Didn’t think so. Let’s settle for this: we like each other. A lot. Like, a stupid amount of a lot. A fact which I’m sure you’ve picked up on by now, so let’s just leave it at that. Sound good?”

“I can live with that,” agreed Sarah. “Hurry up and eat so that we can start the scans.”

‘Sarah…” sighed Andromeda. “I’m a human being; not a guinea pig.”

“Annie is not wrong in this,” Andreja spoke up. “You are being callous again, Sarah. Do not make her regret the decision to join Constellation again. We understand how important all of this is, but we cannot lose our humanity in the pursuit of exploration.”

Sarah apologized profusely and headed downstairs before she dug a deeper hole, leaving Noel to finish breakfast with Andromeda and Andreja. The following silence had a not-so-small touch of awkwardness to it and lasted for several minutes before Andromeda rolled her eyes and lobbed a crumpled up napkin at the young scientist whom she could tell was fit to burst with new questions regarding the Temples and her strange abilities.

“Just ask, Noel. You look you’ll explode if you don’t.”

Noel fidgeted nervously. She did have about a million questions, and at least two million follow-up questions, but she was also more empathetic to Andromeda’s situation that Sarah appeared to be. Or, at least, more willing to sacrifice the pursuit of this incredible advance into uncharted scientific waters than their charismatic leader was, if it meant the young woman from Neon City didn’t come unraveled. Thankfully, Noel learned a long time ago to trust her gut; and her gut told her to be a friend, first and foremost.

“Only if that’s okay with you, Dro. I, um. I know this has been hard on you. Are you still, you know, anxious? About what we’re doing?”

“Anxious?” Andromeda let out a hollow laugh. “We’ve been over this, Noel. I’m [censored] terrified. That hasn’t changed. The only reason I haven’t dissolved like wet tissue paper is because of Andreja.” She firmly gripped the hand of her lover that now rested on her leg and smiled gratefully at her for the gesture of support.

“Look, we don’t have to keep talking about it,” offered Noel. “You can come to me on your terms if that’s easier. There’s plenty to do in the meantime.”

“No, it’s fine,” said Andromeda. “Let’s just get it out of the way.” She finished her breakfast and topped off her and Andreja’s coffee and followed Noel down the hall to the small lab she had set up near her bedroom.

Andromeda privately thought that Sarah had some freakish sixth sense, for she showed up unprompted mere seconds after Andromeda sat down, and, alongside Noel, started peppering her with question after question after question while the various diagnostic machines ran way more tests than before. Noel explained that the equipment she had brought to Villa Renault was more limited due to it being designed for field work and therefore was not as robust as what currently examined every nanometer of her body and mind. This went on for nearly three hours until all the coffee she’d consumed told Andromeda enough is enough and she yanked the various leads from her skin and ran to the bathroom.

“Did we get enough data, Noel?” asked Sarah. She giggled at the sight of the door still rocking on its hinges after Andromeda burst through it at a run yelling her head off about peeing her pants. “Goodness knows we kept her long enough.”

“Not sure there is much more to get,” said Noel. “This’ll keep Barrett and me busy for a while.” Setting her clipboard down, she turned to Andreja who had been reading in a chair opposite the scanning equipment. “Andreja? Did she, er, leave anything out we should know?”

“Of course not,” said Andreja, setting her slate down. There was a slight edge to her response, but she felt it warranted. “Annie is a lot of things, but never once has she misled any of us.”

“Sorry. Had to ask – especially with her past.”

“She stole from those who deserved it and no one else.”

Noel decided it was time to shut up. “Ooookay. Forget I said anything.” Andreja nodded tersely and left to find Andromeda. “Do you think I pissed her off, Sarah?”

“Yep.”

* * *

New Atlantis, Jemison, Alpha Centauri System

“Will they integrate with the Verity’s existing power systems? I do not want them to fail should a pirate or spacer attack us.”

“They’re fully compatible with your reactor,” said the Ship Services Technician. “Test them and come back if you don’t believe me.”

Andromeda waited by the ramp with Sam and Cora and watched Andreja haggle with the technician. Something about the way she gestured and spoke with her hands always tickled Andromeda. Andreja typically chose her words thoughtfully, so to see her conversing with a stranger on the fly offered a glimpse into her that was rarely seen by any of her associates. She thought about stepping in, but she knew her that companion took their new particle cannons very seriously and wanted to be doubly sure nothing would go wrong with them. Casting her gaze at the one mounted directly above her, Andromeda wondered how many palms Sarah had to grease to procure them. Civilians weren’t supposed to have access to Vanguard weaponry since they were considered military grade, yet somehow she managed to help get four Obliterator cannons mounted to the Verity of Fate’s hull.

“I’m with you, Dro,” said Sam, interrupting her train of thought. “Those guns are impressive. It’s no wonder Andreja wants to make sure they were installed properly.”

“Dad, can I try them out sometime!?” squealed Cora. “Please!?”

“Absolutely not, kiddo.”

Thank god he at least has that much sense, thought Andromeda.

She still opposed the idea of having a kid on her ship, but everyone involved assured her over and over again that there was no harm in jumping from Jemison to Akila; the two most well-guarded planets in the Settled Systems, and the capitals of their respective organizations. Akila was also the home of Sam and Cora, so it was a regular route for them. And they supposedly were going to stick around Akila City after the adults completed the mission they were going there for. That having been said, Andromeda still laid out some ground rules.

“I agree with your dad. Also, don’t come up to the cockpit unless Andreja and I say otherwise. The ship will have plenty enough for you to without getting underfoot.”

“Awwww, but that’s sooooo boring!” Cora protested. “Dad lets me sit in the copilot’s chair all the time!”

“It ain’t our ship, Cora,” said Sam. “We go by Dro’s rules, got it?”

“Ugh, fine.”

“Here comes Andreja,” said Andromeda. “And she looks satisfied. Get on board and strap in.”

* * *

Akila City Outskirts, Akila, Cheyenne System

The hard ground beneath Andromeda’s back felt familiar. It was not the first time she experienced it, and with the way her life unfolded these days, it likely would not be the last. The pop of Sam’s rifle firing from nearby, and the thrum of Andreja’s odd weapon – which she finally showed Andromeda was just a specialized particle beam rifle modified by House Va’ruun – elicited the smell of burnt ozone as its beams whistled through the air and away from them. A steady stream of blood from her forehead obscured Andromeda’s vision as she succumbed to unconsciousness with the cold Akila air billowing through the scrub land.

After a few dozen rounds were spent between those still awake, the fearsome ashta that almost caught them unawares gave its final painful spasm at their feet. A renowned predator; the ashta were the apex predators on Akila, and the capital city had walls and guards to keep beasts out, rather than to defend against ne’er-do-wells. This one had been a particularly challenging obstacle and despite the unrelenting efforts of Andreja and Sam, it managed to get in close and take a brutal swipe at Andromeda.

Kneeling in the dirt with two first aid kits open, Andreja tended to the gash in Andromeda’s scalp that bled profusely. A good slathering of healing gel sealed up the wound in short order, but they wouldn’t know if the glancing blow had any effect on her brain until she regained consciousness, and a concussion at the minimum could not be discounted.

“Can’t you give her an Amp or something?” said Sam. “We need to be on the move or more ashta will find us. Staying in one place will be signing our death warrants.”

“It would not be safe if there is head trauma. Perhaps we should -”

“Mm. Ow.” Andromeda shifted uncomfortably in the dirt. Her eyes blinked open a couple of times, but they were still out of focus after a few attempts. “Ow. [censored]. My head hurts.” Two Andreja’s swam into her view and she managed a weak smile. “Hey, beautiful. I think I won the lottery… there are two of you now.”

“Damn it. She is concussed; I can see it in her eyes. Do we have any boosted injectors?”

“Fresh out,” said Sam.

“Jinan’s pants. Andromeda, do you think you can stand?”

“No promises. Got any painkillers?”

“Just a sec.” Sam grabbed a battlestim out of his aid kit and fired it into her thigh. “That should help until we get back to the city. Hang back and let us handle the Shaw Gang when we get to the Empty Nest. You’re in no condition for another fight.”

“If you, ow, insist,” said Andromeda. With Andreja’s aid she managed to get to her feet and take a few deep breaths. “Ugh, why is it always me?”

“This one’s my fault,” said Sam. “I should have flanked it from the left but my teamwork is a little rusty. I can tell Andreja’s been teachin’ you a few things about combat and you were doing great until I gave the beast an in. Drinks are on me next time.”

“Sam is correct, Annie. Do not be hard on yourself.”

Andromeda shrugged and followed in behind them as they set off again. Their words were kind even if they didn’t make her feel any better about it. Of the three of them on this expedition, she was still the only to get inured. Again. All in the name of recovering another Artifact, or so they hoped. This entire ordeal predicated on a Coe family legend that Sam recalled from his youth and it led them to his homestead where they had to deal with his estranged father. Not awkward at all.

It had been fun to tease him about his heritage, though. It’s not every day you get to me a descendant of the man who founded the Freestar Collective, and Sam at least had the courage to act properly embarrassed about said teasing, which Andromeda appreciated. She had no room in her life for self-obsessed divas, and Sam Coe was anything but. That didn’t change how she felt about Cora exploring the stars with him. Nothing about her experiences in space thus far convinced Andromeda that the starfield was any place for a child.

As she walked and thought, a large rock nearly caused her downfall again though she managed to stay upright and follow her four, er, two companions through the dusty desert. After another hour of walking haphazardly towards an area Sam referred to as The Empty Nest, Andromeda realized her vision had corrected itself, and the headache subsided. She was pretty sure that wasn’t supposed to happen and called a halt to the proceedings.

“Dre, can you scan flip your handscanner to medical and scan me again? I feel a lot better. Somehow,” she added.

“Very well. Please stand still.” Andreja aimed the scanner at her and tapped the screen a few times. Her eyebrows rose higher and higher with each subsequent scan result. “I do not know how this is possible. The scans say you are in perfect health.”

“How can that be?” asked Sam. “Maybe another side effect of what happened to her?”

“That is as good a guess as any I suppose. At any rate, I suppose you can help us up ahead after all. And hopefully we do not cross paths with any more ashta -” She fell silent and strained her ears towards the south where a familiar roar could just be heard on the wind. “Damn it. We should move on before it catches our scent.”

“No, wait a sec,” said Andromeda. She closed her eyes and called upon the knowledge bestowed in her at the Temple on Piazzi II. Feeling a newfound sense pouring out of her, Andromeda opened her eyes and gasped at the amount of life glowing all around them. Bugs scuttling underfoot; huge herbivores nibbling on leaves beyond the ridge line; birds soaring high and out of sight; and most importantly, a massive ashta chasing its prey in the opposite direction they were headed. “We’re clear. The ashta has its sights on something else already.”

“How…? Oh! Did you use the power you spoke of before?”

“Mhm. I can sense all life. It’s a bit overwhelming if I’m being honest. There is a lot of it here.”

“Then let’s get a move on,” advised Sam. “We’re almost there.”

The Empty Nest turned out to be a small valley tucked between two tall outcrops of rock. Too small to be considered cliffs, and not tall enough to be a proper ridge, it at least offered shelter from the elements. And, if the tales were to be believed, the ever-feared ashta. The problem it posed came in the form of the Shaw Gang, of which some members were arrested just as the trio landed at the Akila City spaceport and passed through town. There were a few outpost structures and walkways scattered about the makeshift den along with two laser turrets and a reprogrammed robot. Andromeda reached out with her unique sense and counted eight humans nestled among the inanimate objects permeating the camp.

“What do ya think,” said Sam. “Pincer movement from three sides?”

“Too risky,” said Andreja. “There is not enough cover on the opposite side of the valley. What do you think, Annie?”

Andromeda paled. She never expected to look tactically at a combat situation, but she should have figured it was coming eventually. It seemed like most places they went outside of civilization placed obstacles just like this one in their path.

“Um. Well…” She glanced around at the rocky rises, and then at her scoped Beowulf, and Sam’s scoped Lawgiver. The kernel of a plan started forming in her mind: they had the element of surprise, the range advantage, and were on higher ground. “Let’s catch them in a crossfire. I’ll plant myself on the rocks to the southwest. Sam, you move north about twenty meters along this ridge. Andreja -”

“I shall stay here and keep stragglers from flanking you.”

“Just be careful, hon. If any of them spot us they will rush up this path and right into your position.”

“I do not plan on making it easy for them.” Andreja lowered her overland bag gently to the ground and pulled three fragmentation mines from a pocket on the side, and began placing them in a staggered line where the path leading into the valley cut up towards their current position. “They will not be expecting this.”

“You’re so goddamn devious,” grinned Andromeda. They shared a kiss while Sam moved off.

And a slap on the ass from Andreja. “Get moving. Make your shots count. Remember: exhale, and squeeze the trigger. Do not pull it.”

The plan went off without a hitch, and after clearing the perimeter, they headed inside a natural cave, dispatched a couple lingering gang members, and found what they were looking for: another Artifact. Andreja had already made a vow never to touch one, which left it to Andromeda and Sam.

“Yeah, so, I don’t really want to deal with that either.”

“I hate you both,” grumbled Andromeda. And then she touched the Artifact.