Chapter 1 : Rebel

Boom. Kaboom. Boom-fucking-boom.

Rafe's ship exploded, without much of a flash, the relentless chill of space extinguishing it before it had a chance to burn. The pieces of his craft scattered in all directions, spinning, and flipping, now and forevermore space junk.

He blinked, and in his mind's eye, saw it again. And again. The end of his Annabelle, a ship that was more than just bolts and welded parts. His ship was real, the Annabelle a person to him. He couldn't have said how or when it happened. One day, after a trip through a wormhole, she'd changed. His ship's AI achieved a true personality, going from robotic and humorless to sarcastic and sassy. And now she was gone, extinguished, never to drive him to lunacy again.

"Are you fucking crying?" asked Mikhail, not even attempting to hide his disgust.