The ship floated in what looked like a black void, unmoored and directionless. Nothing appeared on the sensors, nothing stirred outside their window.
No planets, no stars, not even drifting debris—just a heavy, suffocating stillness that crept into the air like a fog.
Anna stood near the control console, arms crossed, a tight expression on her face.
"Is this… space? Why does it feel so quiet?"
"Too quiet. This isn't normal space. Something's off."
Nova muttered. His eyes scanned the darkness outside.
Nyx's voice crackled through the interface.
"You're both right. I've tried running scans three times, but the aether systems aren't responding. Every diagnostic line is flat. It's like we're being… muffled."
Anna frowned.
"Muffled?"
"Yes. Like something is suppressing our systems—actively. I'm locked out of the interface, and I can't establish a full link with the ship's core. All functions are barely running. That shouldn't be possible unless..."
Nyx paused.
"Unless we're inside something."
Nova turned toward the observation window. He narrowed his eyes and, for a moment, something shifted—a shimmer, a flicker in the darkness.
Then it appeared.
A massive silhouette revealed itself as if the shadows had peeled away just enough to show what lay hidden: a colossal, ancient ship wrapped in layers of interlocking armor and surrounded by a barely visible, swirling field of aether.
"I see it now."
Nova muttered.
Anna took a step closer to the glass, her eyes wide.
"Was that here all this time?"
"Yes. I ran scans twice but got nothing. This thing… it's cloaked in aether tech I don't recognize. Some kind of suppression field. It's not just hiding—it's erasing itself from existence."
Nyx's tone darkened.
"The only thing I've ever encountered even close to this was the Ship of Death."
Anna flinched.
"Wait, are you saying we're near that ship?"
"No. The signatures don't match exactly. But it's… similar. It must have come from the same root power. Maybe a fragment, maybe a prototype. Whatever it is, I don't like it."
Nova turned back from the window.
"Can you figure out what's jamming the ship?"
"Not unless I get time. And I don't mean ten minutes. I'm talking hours, maybe days. I can't even run full diagnostics, let alone mount a countermeasure."
Nova gave a short nod.
"Then we don't have that kind of time. I'm heading in."
Anna's eyes widened.
"Wait—what? You're going out there?"
"It's the only way."
Nova said.
"Whatever this thing is, it pulled us here. We can't jump again until we break free, and Nyx can't do that while blind. I'll find the source of the interference and deal with it."
Anna hesitated for a moment. She looked from Nova to the dark ship and then back.
"…Fine. Then I'm going too."
"No."
"Yes. You're not going alone. I'm not a liability."
She walked past him.
Nova didn't argue further. They both knew he couldn't stop her if she'd already decided. He just adjusted the strap on his shoulder where his weapon was holstered.
"Wait."
Nyx's voice pulsed again through the ship's intercom.
"You need to understand. Once you go inside, there's no guarantee I can stay in contact. Whatever shielding is keeping me from scanning might also sever our link. You'll be going in blind."
"Then keep working. Get our ship running. Find a way to punch through the suppression field and keep the escape route ready."
Nova said.
"…Don't die in there. This place reeks of old aether. I don't like it. And I've seen some hells."
Nova glanced back at the control console with a faint smile.
"Worried about me?"
"Yes. I am quite worried. After all, I don't know what to do without you."
______
Nova stood by the hatch, scanning the shadows stretching around the ship that had emerged from the void. His hand hovered near the release switch.
[Connection will terminate in sixty seconds. After that, I won't be able to see or hear you unless you come back. Are you sure about this?]
Nyx said through the intercom.
Nova didn't hesitate.
"We'll be back before you miss us."
[I don't miss people. I just hate managing corpses.]
Anna stepped into the airlock beside him, adjusting the seal on her exploration suit.
"Do you ever take anything seriously?"
"Only when it matters."
Nova replied.
She eyed him, noting his lack of gear.
"Wait. You're not wearing a suit?"
Nova adjusted the strap across his chest.
"I don't need one."
Anna raised an eyebrow.
"Not even a helmet?"
"I told you—my genetic structure and aether regulation are advanced. Space conditions don't affect me the way they do normal humans. My body compensates."
Anna stared at him for a moment longer, then gave up trying to understand.
Nova just smiled faintly and turned to the hatch.
The airlock opened with a hiss. The tether between their ship and the ancient structure creaked as they crossed.
Anna's boots clanked against the metallic walkway, her breathing audible through the suit. Nova walked beside her, untouched by the vacuum of space, his steps light, unbothered.
They reached the entrance—an angular, sealed hatch set into the side of the massive vessel.
As Nova touched it, it shuddered open with a deep, grinding moan, like a beast waking from long slumber.
The inside of the ship was cold and silent.
[I've got bad news. There are traces of inorganic life inside. Minimal movement, but... present. Be careful. I'm losing contact in twenty seconds.]
Nyx's voice crackled into their earpieces, softer now, strained.
Anna gripped her weapon tighter, eyes flicking through the dim corridor. "Inorganic life forms. That means machines, right?"
[Maybe. Or maybe worse. Something made to think. Something made to hunt. I don't have details.]
Nova stepped in ahead of her, boots silent against the floor.
[Ten seconds.]
"Keep our systems on standby. If anything changes, get this ship ready to fly."
Nova said.
[You act like I'd ever stop watching if I have a choice. Good luck, Nova.]
Nyx's voice softened.
Then the line cut. Just like that, silence.
Anna blinked as the absence of Nyx's voice settled into her helmet.
"It's strange. She talks so much that I think I forgot what quiet sounds like."
Nova tilted his head.
"You'll miss her by the end of this."
She didn't respond. Just flicked her weapon's safety off and followed his lead into the darkness.
The ship's interior was ancient—cold metal walls lined with strange grooves, many of which pulsed faintly with silver light.
The corridors were wide, but something about them felt… constricting. The air—what little there was—tasted sterile, filtered through centuries of stagnation.
Anna scanned with her helmet's radar.
"I'm picking up faint signals. Weak, slow-moving."
"Inorganic?"
Nova asked.
"Yeah."
They moved deeper into the ship, Nova leading with confidence, his senses stretched wide. The aether inside the vessel was… strange. Not dead, not hostile, but heavy.
Saturated with memories, forgotten purpose. This place wasn't just abandoned—it was buried.
"This doesn't feel like a warship. It feels like a tomb."
Anna whispered.
Nova paused at a junction. A low vibration hummed through the floor beneath them, subtle but present.
"Something's awake."
He said.
A sound echoed from somewhere behind the wall—metal dragging against metal.
Anna raised her weapon.
"Is that one of those things Nyx warned us about?"
"Probably. They're not attacking yet. That's a good sign."
Nova placed a hand against the wall.
"Or they're waiting."