Space was quiet.
Elias Thorne sat alone in his ship, the Brinejack, watching a dead star out the window. It didn't glow like normal stars. It was cold, dim, and kind of sad—like it was holding on, but just barely.
He liked places like this. No people. No rules. Just silence and old things to find.
Elias was a scavenger. He searched space for broken ships and abandoned stations, hoping to find parts or tech he could sell. Most of the time, he didn't find much. But today, his scanner started beeping.
He frowned. "Huh?"
There was something out there. A big shape. A ship. Just floating near the dead star. No lights. No signal. Nothing.
"That's not supposed to be here," he muttered.
He docked his ship and climbed into his suit. The airlock hissed open, and the silence hit him hard. The other ship was dark. Old. Dust hung in the air, barely moving.
He walked slowly, checking each hallway. Most of the doors were jammed. The lights flickered. It felt like a graveyard.
Then he found the cryo room.
One pod still worked. Just one.
And inside it was a woman.
Elias stepped closer. Her name was written on the screen: Maeve Calder.
She had been missing for over 50 years.
She looked like she hadn't aged a day. Her face was calm. Her hair floated gently in the pod. She looked like she was dreaming.
Elias stood there for a long time. He didn't know what to do.
Should he wake her?
She could be dangerous. Or confused. Or dying.
But she was alive.
He reached out and hit the release.
The pod hissed. Steam escaped. Her eyes opened.
Green eyes. Scared.
She gasped and tried to sit up. Elias caught her gently.
"Hey," he said quietly. "You're okay. You're safe."
"Where... am I?" she asked.
"You were asleep. A long time," he said. "You're on a ship. I found you drifting out here, near a dead star."
She blinked. "I don't remember... anything."
The lights above them flickered.
And then—they both heard something.
A sound. Quiet. Far away. Like whispering through metal. Or breathing.
Maeve looked at him, eyes wide. "Did you hear that?"
Elias nodded slowly.
Something was on this ship.
Something else.