Atlas & Frigate by Hex

Engage Hyperspace

They call it Witchspace. A mysterious void that enraptured all who enter, luminous lights flow by with colors fading in and out. For pilots who travel from system to system, they first have to enter this obscure realm, a few meters inside this realm can equal several light-years in the real world. Its mysteries create rumors, conspiracies, and fantasies of what exists beyond just looking at the sparkling lights and fading colors.

Would we be able to find the afterlife, where all the dead go?

Would we meet god? Or the devil?

Or something that exists beyond our comprehension?

Maybe, we would find the truth of our universe.

Or maybe we would find an alternate universe similar to our own yet slightly different.

Or it could just be an empty void like the rest of the universe, expanding till it all comes back to where it all started.

Regardless, the lights that pass by, the humming sound that echoes in your ears and the colors that fade in and out can put even the most experienced pilots into a hypnotized state if they stare long enough, making seconds feel like hours.

Like the saying goes, 'If you gaze into the abyss long enough, the abyss gazes back into you.'

"Rachel? Are you still listening?"

Rachel wakes up from her trance state, "Uh, what's the status, Frigate?"

"We're exiting hyperspace, be sure to veer left upon exit."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Frigate. Otherwise, the stars would've eaten us whole by now."

Rachel could see Frigate's voice visualizer become silent before responding, "That is not how it works, stars don't eat ships."

Rachel chuckled, "It's called a figure of speech."

Rachel grips onto the control stick and thruster lever, in a blink of an eye she's now appeared in front of a red dwarf star, the crimson color contrasting in the dark void of space. The ship veered to the left as they now traveled in Supercruise to their next delivery destination. Rachel checked her target panel on the left which showed all the orbiting planets and stations around this system. The station she wanted to dock in was a planetary outpost named Icecloud Enterprise, probably named after the company that runs the outpost.

The system was a common attraction for many pilots. Smugglers, merchants, and transporters like Rachel. The main hub was on a small ice-covered planet that held the digital job board as well as a pub, even pilots needed to have an intergalactic beer sometimes. The pub also served as a place to get more specialized jobs from the mission board or to make deals with investors looking to find reliable pilots.

Rachel entered the planet's atmosphere, the reentry hot and fiery but safe otherwise. The planet's surface coated in overwhelming white with snow and mountains across the horizon. However, the snowy desert only made the docking station stand out. The docking procedure itself was simple enough with Frigate automatically docking it in Rachel's stead. Rachel exited the cockpit and grabbed her Inter-Planetary suit, heading to the airlock.

Frigate abruptly called out, "Wait! Wait, Rachel! You're forgetting something!"

"What?" Rachel gave a thought and her eyes widened, "Oh! The earpiece!" Rachel rushed back to the cockpit and put on her earpiece before heading back out.