Dead Galaxy

"Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not. Both are equally terrifying."
-Arthur C Clarke

"'Neither' is worse."
-Clara Washington, exoplanetary explorer

The transit was a scientific breakthrough, allowing for instantaneous travel to any point within the Milky Way. Humanity, led by a global Coalition, set forth unto the cosmos and prepared for the first meeting with extraterrestrial life.

It never came.

On ancient worlds orbiting distant suns, the exoplanetary explorers of the Coalition find nothing but ghosts and the terrifying mystery behind why we have ventured forth to find a graveyard. The galaxy has seen the rise and fall of countless civilizations across the eons. All, without exception, have fallen victim to plague, disaster, or self-destruction. Nothing remains but the faded ruins of those who came before. We are alone within the Dead Galaxy.

On an expedition to yet another lifeless planet, Clara Washington discovers an oddity, perhaps what Earth and the Coalition have long since given up hope of ever finding. A survivor of an ancient species awakens, and they carry a message.

"As it came for us, so it comes for you."

A/N: I'm unsure if I'll continue work on this story in the near future. It's an idea that I had bopping around in the mind grapes, and it needed to come out. It has an outline and a few later chapters written, so we'll see if anything comes of it. For now, the Empress Saga will take precedence.