The Phantom Menace

Eve stood at the gaping maw of the SoulDrifter's ramp, a desolate desert planet stretching endlessly before her. The dusty near the sunset horizon of planet Yalindra 8A gave a heart sinking touch to already brewing emotions.

Mira, her face a mask of concern, stood beside her, while the rest of the squad, Hannah, Axel, Jax, and Kai, formed a tight semicircle.

"This is the way it has to be," Eve said, her voice a low murmur, but firm. "The IC sent their message. Andromeda's membership, her protection… it hangs in the balance. I can't let my choices jeopardize everything Saiyarans have worked for, everything we have worked for." She looked at each of them, her gaze lingering on Mira. "Stay loyal to the IC. Continue the mission. This is important for Andromeda, and for Saiyara."

Eve stepped towards Mira and handed her a data chip. "A message for the Nomad crew, from me," she said, her sorrowful but calm, serene. Mira nodded, taking the chip. A moment of silence stretched, heavy with feelings, before Eve turned and left.

She was leaving Nomad, stepping into an isolation she hadn't known since Saiyarans embraced her. Her journey, a solitary path reminiscent of her early days.

She travelled from planet to planet, hitchhiking, covering her face in corners where someone might recognize her. She didn't want to be seen.

Is this how Synthia must have felt when she became too much to contain? "Was your existence this lonely?" she murmured into star-scapes.

The echoes of Synthia's fate resonated deeply within her, a chilling premonition of her own potential future if she weren't careful.

Her travels eventually led her to the Sal Parlos Orbital Station, a massive colonial hub nestled in the heart of the New Galaxy, a haven for misfits and outlaws, a place where the Andromeda's forgotten and rejected found a harbor, a refuge or just a hide out… but to her, it was her transient home.

It was here, amidst the buzzing throngs of diverse species and shadowy figures, that she encountered a familiar face: a grizzled old bounty broker, in his 60s, although he was over 150 years old… cybernetic enhancements. Life extension laws varied planet to planet, galaxy to galaxy… illegal on many planets, including Saiyara. Even elsewhere, most humans do not opt for it. Choosing power enhancements instead. Both weren't an option, it crushed the human brain.

Anyway, cybernetic life extension maxed life span to 250 and peeps in the business will almost certainly go for it. So this guy was now a far more established figure in this underbelly of the universe. He recognized her instantly, his eyes widening in surprise at the legendary Eve, now even more renowned.

"Well, well, well," the broker rumbled, a grin splitting his scarred face. "Look what the void dragged in. The Queen of Bounties herself. Last I heard, you were a ghost story. Did the lawful side treat you well?"

Eve met his gaze, a wry smile playing on her lips. "And here I thought I was going to meet my old boss. Where's the nut job? I could really use an old face."

"Come, give your old daddy a hug."

They went to his office making their way through a huge hallway, club, weaponry, and finally the elevator that opened into a huge luxury suite. It was a huge mansion, body guards, men in black suits, cyborgs, revelry, women, various alien species. Everything you can find in a Mafia head's premises.

"Seems the universe hasn't gotten any less messy since you started cleaning… you always did have a knack for finding trouble… or trouble finding you," he said pouring wine for her.

"I remember that neon lit office down in the slums, I liked it, it had spiritual vibes."

"Now that's a whore house."

"And you have gotten fatter."

"Blame the booze."

Their conversation was brief but potent, a testament to how far they had both come since the days when her head bore a bounty that spanned galaxies. And he used to give her her own bounties. She became a first class bounty hunter. Soon, other brokers were asking him of her. Out for hunt, she never returned empty handed.

"Mario, I came to see you. But I was also hoping if you are still keeping Natasha around?"

"Don't worry about her. Go to the black market. Put your finger on anything you want, it's on the house."

"Look I can't stay long."

"Leaving already? Come on Eve, where will you go? Stay here."

"I couldn't even if I wanted to."

"Just crash a few nights here at least until you have a plan. Then I wouldn't stop ya."

"I don't know Mario."

"Look around. We made this. You made this. I wouldn't be here puffing Cigar in this comfy leather chair if it wasn't for you. Let me do at least, just be your host."

"Alright. Just one night."

One night became two. Two became three. Then the disorientation and restlessness begin to spin around her. She couldn't just keep her feet in the same place.

A luxury hover car dropped her to black market. She got off, Mario handed her a digital card before closing the door, "this is my parting gift if this is a goodbye for now. Just remember, you always have a home at Sal Parlos. Need anything else or just money, just give me a call."

He closed the door. The driver zoomed away the car into air traffic.

Eve wandered through the black market. Finally she arrived at a space ship junkyard. She saw an old woman. Eve often used to visit her during bounty hunting for gears and weapons. Eve used to be her top buyer.

"Oh, old Noora. Life extension couldn't hold this fossil together, it hurts my heart to see you so old."

Negative effects of cybernetic life extension, sometimes the brain adopts but the body rejects. So these enhancements will extend your life but your body will look old. Noora gracefully looked 90. It just works differently on different individuals. Another catch.

Noora, dressed in old hippy fabrics, tattoos now looking dim on her old skin, adjusted her visor like lenses to focus on Eve. When she recognized her, she let out a soothing sigh and embraced her.

Then she stepped back and observed her from tip to toe, "look at my little girl, she's grown so mature and so beautiful," Her eyes were in tears as she held her hand together to her chest, "and she's a queen now."

Eve and Noora talked for hours after Noora put the 'shop closed' neon sign on the door. Then finally Eve began to leave.

"You can't leave now."

"I have to be at places."

"You don't even have a ride."

"I was hoping to get Natasha back but… I don't think Mario saw to it."

"Oh about that."

She took Eve to a hanger. Inside there she was. Natasha. Her very first vessel. Her RV. Her Andromedan Cadillac.

Eve was so pleased to see it. She kissed Noora. "I can't believe it's still here."

"Mario didn't tell me who was coming or I would have brushed it out for ya."

"You know Mario how he is."

So this was Mario's partying gift.

"Mario also told me to give you the finest of the crafts available in the hanger if you opt for it. Knowing you, you just won't."

Eve said her goodbyes to her. And flew away Natasha to unknown destinations through the celestial tapestry.

The joy was fleeting. Her thoughts kept returning to the Thalerians, their grotesque experiments, and the echoing screams of her dying clones. The emptiness of space seemed to amplify her anger, her resolve solidifying into a singular, unwavering purpose.

Without Nomad's resources or communication, Eve embarked on a solo campaign against the Thalerians. She hunted them across uncharted star systems, meticulously tracking their hidden compounds and orbital stations—those clandestine outposts that had evaded the IC's notice. She inflicted devastating blows, leaving a trail of shattered Thalerian operations in her wake, a phantom menace striking from the shadows.

Mira, ever vigilant, attempted to contact Eve, she couldn't. Using a vast network of Nomad and allied spaceships, Mira would find places where Eve popped up, tracking the trail of devastated Therlian outposts, or agents deployed in black markets… looking for new bounties on her head…but tracking Eve live when she didn't want to was impossible.

The constant struggle, the endless hunt, the weight of her clones' tragic end, began to take its toll. She made a drastic decision.

She set a course for the Dark Galaxy, the universe's most dangerous and mysterious expanse, a place of unspeakable horrors and colossal threats, a labyrinth from which few ever emerged.

Fifteen months later, a faint, almost imperceptible transmission reached Nomad. Mira, at the command console, nearly dropped her tea. It was Eve.

She was on an uninhabited planet a few galaxies away from the Dark Galaxy.

Mira couldn't say anything but smile with tearful eyes. Eve smiled back looking at the screen of the comm console she ripped out off her wrecked space cruiser. Natasha was gone.

Mira brought Eve back to Nomad. Squad members. Tears were shed. The entire Nomad crew beamed with joy at the commander's return.

Then there was a message, a live feed from the Intergalactic Committee. A member and had come forward as spokesperson.

When he saw Eve, his face was a mixture of disbelief and apprehension.

"What is the meaning of this Eve? Do you wish to test Intergalactic Committee's authority against Andromedans?"

Eve cut him short, her gaze unwavering.

"Thelarians. The Dark Galaxy," she stated, her voice quiet but firm. "Intel. On the Dark Galaxy. Its true nature, its inhabitants, and more importantly… Thalerian hideouts within its borders. Hideouts you never even knew existed. Places IC can't reach. I can."

The IC rep was stunned, but he listened carefully. No coherent data had ever emerged from that Galaxy. IC had lost countless ship and resource power after finally declaring it a no go zone.

"How do I believe you?"

"The Void Threat."

Now the face of the Alien on the screen filled up with horror. He almost choked on his next question. "What do you mean, The Void Threat!?" Not even high space commanders with starfleet knew about it. It was a committee's secret or known by very few in the lawless world. Like Razmos. No one talked about it. As if it didn't exist. As if there was no point speaking about something no one knews what it is.

The news of Eve's exploits in the Dark Galaxy, and the intelligence she brought back, sent shockwaves through the assembly. A resounding 70% of the committee members, swayed by the undeniable proof of her capabilities, agreed: Eve was an indispensable asset.

She was no longer a liability to be contained; she was a weapon to be wielded. The committee authorized Eve to conduct further missions within the Dark Galaxy, officially sanctioning her unique brand of warfare and more authorization levels. There was something about The Void Threat that flipped the votes of even unbending Eve hardliners.

Later, in a quiet corner of Nomad, Mira confronted Eve, "How could you just leave?" Mira cried, her voice cracking, a mix of hurt and affection. "This wasn't how it was supposed to be! You're my sister, my queen!"

Eve pulled Mira into a tight. "I can't say I had it all planned, but it turned out fine. During my time out there I met some old folks. They reminded me Mira, that you are not just a friend, you are also my home."