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.

---------------------------------

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-five – Anomaly

The Verity of Fate, Akila City, Akila, Cheyenne System



“Incredible,” remarked Andreja studying the results of Andromeda’s latest bioscan. “It does not appear as though your body reacted in any way to the Artifact. Yet you still had the vision?”

“Same as always,” shrugged Andromeda. “A crescendo of music followed by being whisked across the comsos. Are you done scanning? I could eat a whole ashta.”

“Of course you could. Are you never not hungry?”

“I seem to recall being the only one mauled by an alien beast. Are you really that surprised?”

“...That is a fair point,” Andreja conceded. “Have a seat in the galley and I will make you something.”

‘Something’ turned out to be a reuben, of which Andromeda had mixed feelings about. She liked the idea of a reuben but never really had a taste for thousand island dressing and based on the amount of it slathered over the synthameat and fermented cabbage, Andreja did not share that same opinion. She ate it but found herself left wanting and ended up snacking on a Chunks cake too.

Then it was time for a desperately needed shower in the tiny stall crammed into the living quarters. As Andromeda scrubbed herself down with a bar of soap, she wondered how the supposedly climate-controlled spacesuits managed to keep her from staying clean. She could even pee in the damned thing yet spending more than two hours cooped up in one left them all ripe enough to clear out a concert venue. All in all, Andromeda was thankful the Verity even had a shower because the Frontier did not.

“Will you get a move on it!” Andreja rapped on the door. “You are not the only one who smells like a groat pen!”

Andromeda chuckled and turned off the water. It normally was customary for a ship’s crew to wear a bathing suit while showering onboard but since Sam and Cora were staying home for a few days, they had the ship to themselves. And so, Andreja rolled her eyes with a distinct lack of surprise when Andromeda waltzed out of the stall fully nude.

“You do know that it is okay to be modest even when it is not required, yes?”

“Yeah, but then I can’t tease you,” said Andromeda. “Go ahead an act all prim and proper but I saw you biting your lip when the door opened. Now hop to it while I mix some drinks. I’m not ready for bed.”

A few minutes later she stood (mostly) dressed in the kitchen and chewed at the inside of her cheek in annoyance. The gin was gone and so was the vodka. All they had left were two bottles of red wine and that always gave Andromeda a headache if she drank more than two glasses. She bounced from side to side on the balls of her feet debating internally on whether or not they should just go to bed when Andrea saved the day.

“There is a pack of beer on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator if that is more enticing.”

“Ah [censored]! You startled me!” Andromeda noted her wet hair tied up with a towel and cocked her head to the side. “Wait, how did you shower that fast?”

“Not all of us need to contemplate. Hand me a beer, Annie.”

The hiss of escaping air followed by hoppy foam punctuated Andreja’s point. They took a seat and drank most of the six pack while discussing came next. Andromeda was all for returning to The Lodge for the promise of that wonderfully soft bed in her room, but they were burning through credits in a hurry on these expeditions. Constellation paid well, though not well enough to make the continuous improvements and upgrades to their ship that both of them had in mind. Andreja suggested picking up some more bounties while they were still in the city and in range of the bounty terminals. Andromeda, on the other hand, felt less enthused – her luck in the injury department was terrible when it came to raiding spacer or pirate outposts.

The bounties paid well though, and after knocking back three pilsners she acquiesced to her lovely companion.

“Fine, we can link up to the terminal and grab a bounty in the morning.”

“Thank you, Annie. Do not worry… I will keep you safe.”

“Damn right you will.”

* * *

Verity of Fate, Sagan I, Sagan System

Normal space returned around the ship and the icy rock of Sagan I floated in front of Andromeda and Andreja. Somewhere on the planet below, braving the deep freeze, hid their target: a pirate captain with a twenty thousand credit bounty on their head. Andromeda called up the ship scanners and began to analyze the surface while her other half scanned local space for any signs of trouble. The trouble of that sort usually took the form of enemy ships, though this time something entirely different caught her watchful eye - a space station that was not where it ought to be.

Andreja’s heart thumped loudly in her chest. How could this be here? Refusing to believe the initial scans, she ran it again. And then a third, fourth, fifth, and sixth time. The confirmatory beep on the seventh scan left her hand shaking as it hovered over the display to start an eighth scan when Andromeda’s hand gently clasped her wrist.

“What is it, Dre? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” She studied the station’s profile displayed alongside the data from numerous scans and frowned. It looked like any other station she’d seen.

“That is The Oracle”, said Andrea. “And it should not be there.”

“Obviously. Where is it supposed to be?”

“I cannot –“

“Andreja,” soothed Andromeda. “If not me, then who else?”

Her eyes remained fixed on the screen as Andreja considered her companion’s words. The presence of The Oracle offered to change… everything. And while it was true that Andromeda did not care about what little of her past she already shared, choosing to do anything other than flee the system and pretending they never saw the station meant a long overdue talk had finally come to a head.

Which, to Andreja’s surprise, did not seem all that intimidating. She finally tore her eyes away from the screen and met Andromeda’s face and encouraging smile. Butterflies danced in her stomach steeled her resolve, and she launched right into it with zero hesitation. “It should be in orbit of Va’ruun’kai. My home.”

“Oooookay,” nodded Andromeda. “It sounds like we have a long conversation ahead of ourselves. Good thing we didn’t drink all the beer last night.” Andromeda took Andreja by the hand and led her back to the galley. She thrust a cold beer into her hand and sat down opposite her. “You don’t have to tell me everything, hon. Just what you are comfortable with.”

“Ugh. Why must you be so considerate when it comes to me. I see you act so abrasively with others and wonder why it cannot be as easy with us.”

“The heart wants what the heart wants, Dre.”

“Indeed.”

The Verity of Fate orbited Sagan nearly three times while Andreja divulged what amounted to her entire life’s history to Andromeda Renault – the woman she found herself falling further and further for with every passing moment. She spoke of everything from growing up in the capital city of Dazra, in the confines of her strict, orthodox family home to how she eventually volunteered for the assignment that brought her to the Settled Systems – where she would be unable to return from.

“Assignment?” said Andromeda. “I thought you got into smuggling to help your family?”

“That was not entirely honest, and I have regretted misleading you since the moment I uttered those words. In truth, my role as a smuggler served as a cover while I gathered information on different factions in the Settled Systems. Even joining Constellation stemmed from that.”

“Wait, so I’m dating a spy?”

Andreja nodded meekly and held her breath. She felt they had reached a point of no return in their relationship – would Andromeda be hurt by her actions? Were things about to come to an end? House Va’ruun to this day was feared by the Settled Systems following the Serpent’s Crusade, and she had just revealed herself as an operative to the one person Andreja cared most about. And that she had hid the truth about what she was from that very same person.

Feigning indignity, Andromeda dramatically placed a hand across her forehead and sighed. Then she smiled broadly and winked at Andreja. “Just when I thought you couldn’t get any sexier.”

“I… what?” Andreja didn’t know what to expect after her confession, but it wasn’t that. “You are not upset with me?”

“For telling me what I already knew? Nah.” Andromeda took a pull from her beer and set it back down. “Don’t look at me like that; all I did was fill in the blanks. I think you always wanted to tell me because you certainly left enough breadcrumbs to follow. I’m assuming Sarah knows this as well?”

“She does,” confirmed Andreja. “It did not take long for her to sniff out what I was. And she accepted me anyway. It is why I owe so much to Constellation.”

“They allowed you to be yourself – to embrace the person you could be – that was buried beneath years of service to your people. I can empathize with that.”

“Correct. I am grateful you are not upset by this, Annie. I am not sure what I would do without you in my life.”

Andromeda felt her knees knocking together after that heartfelt profession and tried not to choke on her beer. A warm feeling rose to her face as she felt her cheeks flush, and she leaned across the table to kiss Andreja. “I’m not going anywhere, Dre. You’re stuck with my annoying ass.”

“There are far worse things in life,” beamed Andreja. She finished her drink and pointed back towards the cockpit. “Shall we investigate that station now? There is no logical reason for it being so far from Va’ruun’kai.”

One final swig drained Andromeda’s can and they headed for the cockpit to review the scan logs from Andreja’s early frantic analysis of the seemingly dormant structure. What power levels they could detect were very low and fluctuated erratically. Only the thruster systems were firing to keep a stable orbit around Sagan I, which also meant they would be able to dock easily if necessary. Life signs were present, but very faint, and there were also weird spikes of anomalous energy readings that the Verity’s scanners struggled to parse out. A passing glance between the two of them brought with it an understanding born of familiarity that was followed by Andromeda locking in a flight path for docking procedures while Andreja headed towards the rear companionway to make sure their suits and weapons were ready to go. By the time the docking clamps were moored, both suits were ready to go, and pile of ammunition sat on a table near the docking hatch.

“We all set?”

“Yes. Suit up – I will take the lead.”

Their boots clanged on the rungs of the ladder as they ascended through the hatch and into The Oracle. Dim lights barely illuminated the vestibule they floated weightlessly into. Tools, equipment, bits of food, and other objects drifted by in the zero g environment along with blobs of dark liquid that looked suspiciously like blood. Andromeda called up her scanning HUD and peered around the entryway but there were no signs of life nearby which meant that whatever the ship scanners picked up must be further in. Taking the lead as promised, Andreja fired a short thruster burst from her boostpack and sailed across the vestibule to where a bulkhead door stood partially ajar. She stole silently through it with competent ease, weapon trained for any sign of movement while Andromeda filed in after her, scoped rifle at the ready.

“Anything on your scanner?”

“Not really,” said Andromeda. “Just the occasional spike of that weird energy we picked up from the ship.”

“Might it have something to do with that?” Andreja indicated a corridor off to the left with the tip of her inflictor. A faint blue light eked through the doorway as if it were beckoning them on. “I have been aboard this station before, but I do not recall there being any light sources of that color.”

“Hm. The energy readings are spiking in that direction, so… lead on?”

“Follow me and watch my six.”

“Always.”

Through the door they went, one after the other, and a dead body immediately floated into Andromeda’s path. Her scream would have echoed through the entire station had it not been contained by her suit helmet. Instead, Andreja took the brunt of it and winced at the piercing decibel level while shoving the body aside. She then touched her helmet to Andromeda’s and told her to breathe. After taking a moment to collect herself from the sudden fright, Andromeda signaled she was ready to move on. Further in they went – past another dead body that thankfully drifted well within their view – until a voice crackled over their comm channel and brought them to a dead stop in the long corridor. Disjointed and incomprehensible, Andreja tried unsuccessfully to hear what it said while Andromeda stared open-mouthed at the unexpected audio intrusion.

“What the hell was that!?”

“I do not know,” said Andreja. “But I fear we are not alone on this station. Eyes up and keep alert.”

Andromeda nodded and they pushed on. At the far end of the corridor another door led to another ruined control room filled with floating debris. More blue lights shone from a room beyond, and when Andreja pushed open the next hatchway they stepped through and came to a dead stop. A multilevel chamber spanned the area around them and about halfway across stood two figures that appeared to be arguing animatedly in front of a curtain of pulsating blue energy that rippled like the surface of a lake. It grew so intense near the fringes that it turned white and arced with something resembling electricity that occasionally flashed in a blinding manner.

And if that wasn’t weird enough, the figures were composed of the same energy effect.

Why does all the weird [censored] happen to us? thought Andromeda just as the weird phantoms began to speak.