The Galactic Plumber

You'd think that after flushing a sentient space ghost out of our systems, we'd get a break. Maybe a little time to enjoy some questionable coffee and patch up what was left of the ship's dignity.

But no.

Because the moment the shadowy figure's voice came through the comms, I knew we were about to step in something worse.

A Deal We Can't Refuse

The screen flickered to life. The shadowy figure leaned forward, their face still obscured, but this time, I caught a glimpse of something underneath—a pair of faintly glowing eyes, sharp and knowing.

"Congratulations. Most don't survive their first encounter with the Entity."

"Yeah, we're real lucky," I muttered, arms crossed. "What the hell do you want?"

The figure chuckled. "Straight to business. I like that."

Ryker, still standing firm, narrowed his eyes. "Start talking. You've already wasted enough of our time."

The figure nodded. "Very well. You've just dealt with an Echo—a fragment of something far greater. A mere whisper of what lurks beyond. But you've proven yourselves resourceful, and that makes you... valuable."

I groaned. "Oh god, this is the part where you offer us a job, isn't it?"

Benny whispered, "Please don't let it be plumbing-related."

The figure ignored us. "We need someone to retrieve something for us. Something dangerous."

Ryker frowned. "If this is about Specimen 37, it's gone."

"We're well aware. But that was just one of many. The Entity is spreading, and it is not the only thing lost out there. We need a team willing to go where others won't."**

I sighed. "Great. We're being drafted into cosmic pest control."

"Call it what you will."

The screen flickered, and a set of coordinates appeared. They led deep into the Drift Expanse—a sector nobody sane went into unless they had a death wish.

Orla's face paled. "You want us to go there? Are you insane?"

The figure tilted their head. "There is something waiting for you. Something that, if left unchecked, could make your last encounter look like a mild inconvenience. You should hurry."

Then the transmission cut out.

The room was silent for a long moment.

Then Benny sighed. "Guys, I hate this job."

Ghost Ship in the Drift

Twelve hours later, we arrived at the Drift Expanse.

The place was a graveyard—wreckage from ships long forgotten floated aimlessly, their hulls shattered and covered in an eerie green mist. The stars barely reached this part of space.

And at the heart of it all was a single, massive derelict ship.

"The Acheron," Orla read from the scans. "Abandoned for over thirty years. No records of survivors."

"Let me guess," I said, rubbing my temples. "We're going in?"

Ryker sighed. "We don't have a choice."

Boarding the Acheron

The inside of the Acheron was worse than I expected.

The air was stale, the walls coated in something organic, like the ship had been growing despite being abandoned. Lights flickered weakly, casting long shadows that moved when they shouldn't.

Benny clutched his scanner. "Yeah, nope. This place is definitely haunted."

I kept my grip on my plasma cutter. "Just stay sharp."

As we moved deeper, we found it.

A chamber lined with cryopods.

Only one was still active, fogged up from the inside. A single heartbeat pulsed on the monitor.

Dr. Vex approached it cautiously. "Someone's still alive in there."

The moment he said it, the ship screamed.

Not a mechanical failure. Not an alarm.

A deep, guttural, inhuman wail.

And then the lights went out.

Something Woke Up

Panic erupted in the darkness. Benny cursed. Orla yelled for backup.

And then I saw it.

A shape moving through the shadows, big, crawling along the ceiling.

Red eyes flashed.

A hunger so deep it made my bones feel hollow.

"RUN!" Ryker shouted.

We sprinted for the exit, the creature slamming into the walls behind us, its claws raking through metal like paper.

And then—

The cryopod opened.

And everything stopped.

A single figure stepped out, gasping for air.

A woman, eyes glowing gold, her body covered in strange, shifting symbols.

The creature froze, as if afraid.

She looked at us, then at the monster.

And she smiled.

"Ah," she whispered. "You're just in time."