He stepped down from the shuttle, trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun. Yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking.
She kept him still and held his beating heart with one gaze, feeding off of him. She was a succubus, beauti...
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Stars twinkled like scattered diamonds against the vast canvas of space, their light piercing through the inky darkness. The expanse stretched endlessly beyond the viewport, a silver tapestry against the deep black void. Inside, the soft glow of the control panels painted an ethereal mix of red, blue, and white hues across the cockpit, merging with the serene silence of the cosmos. Space rocks drifted lazily by, some tantalizingly close—close enough to touch—while others appeared as mere specks in the infinite distance.
Kneeling in the copilot's seat, Omega eyed the congregation of stars beyond the viewport. Eyes transfixed, she leaned forward on crossed arms, lost in thought. Beside her, Talia reclined in the pilot's chair, idly examining her nails with an air of casual disinterest. Yet, beneath her relaxed demeanor, a subtle awareness never left her posture.
"Talia," Omega asked suddenly, breaking the silence, "why do the starts twinkle like that?"
Talia glanced up from her nails, then followed her gaze to the star-studded void beyond the viewport. "The stars twinkle because of the way their light passes through different layers of a planet's atmosphere. The light bends and shifts, making the stars appear to flicker. Out here, we see them as they are, steady and constant."
Omega nodded, still gazing out. "Do you think... do you think we'll ever find a place where we can just stay and watch the stars without worrying about everything else?"
Talia's expression softened further. She looked saddened for the briefest of moments. "One day, Sticks. One day we will."
Their conversation was cut short by a sudden, jarring alarm. The shrill sound filled the cockpit, causing Talia to sit up casually and flip the transmitter switch. She spoke into the comm with a practiced calmness, "We read you, Havoc One."
Hunter's voice came through, tense and hurried. "Havoc Six, we need a pickup. Now."
Talia's eyes sharpened. "Acknowledged," she replied, taking hold of the control yoke, leaning forward to flip a switch.
Omega's face lit up with excitement. "We're on our way!"
With a clunk, the landing struts demagnetized, and the Marauder fell away from the asteroid it had been clamped to. Talia pushed the throttle forward, and the starship surged ahead, leaving the rocky outcrop behind.
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Alarms blared overhead, their relentless wail merging with the steady pounding of heavy boots. Hunter led the way through the dimly lit corridors of the space station, the rest of the team close behind. The city-station, embedded within a colossal asteroid, was a marvel of self-sustaining engineering, complete with solar collectors and domed farms. But their mission wasn't about marveling at innovation. They were here for the mine, the very reason the station had been constructed within this particular behemoth of an asteroid.
