The Star of Argon glided through a nameless system like a graceful tomb. Its cold dark hull groaned against the supernatural gravitational pressures exerted by distant stars, and swollen gas giants. Its sub-light engines were burning hot, casting dual stars from a distance, as it journeyed along the edge of the system. It wouldn’t be long before it would speed by, and traverse yet another barren cluster of decaying rocks trapped by another aging star.

      New tension marks could be seen along the spine of the ship, the strain from the sudden jump through time and space had left multiple stress fractures. While strictly superficial, each crack needed to be logged, and carefully analyzed for future repair. Rise wasn’t sure how many more emergency jumps they could make before the damage would snap the ship in half. He was also concerned with the fact that there were no dry docking stations that could be relied upon in this stretch of space.

      There was only one stable system on the new route to Sinmore. 

      Only one! Rise rubbed his eyes in frustration just thinking about it.

      Rise struggled with a massive migraine burning behind his eyes. He was almost to his private room, just a few feet away, when a notifications hit his private terminal. He almost ignored it, but his better nature took hold. The details of the next system were uploaded to the small tablet, along with new duty logs.

      The only thing Rise wanted to do was rest his laurels, and maybe poke some fun with his Comfort Liaison. He had yet to meet her, and wondered what she actually looked like. Judging by Dithy’s description, she was exceedingly beautiful. He flirted with the idea of having her clean his room while poking some fun with Dithy, if she were up for it. Rise could only imagine how the mechanic was handling things with the emergency jump. It was very likely she was far too exhausted to do anything but pass out. Then again, she might want to let off some steam? 

      That would be nice, Rise thought to himself. 

     The buttons to his coat jacket were undone, and his hair was a mess. There was a coffee stain on the collar of his undershirt, making him look like the most unprofessional officer on board. Even though Rise really wanted to log off the terminal and throw it away, he couldn’t help himself from looking through the details streaming down the display. 

      The system they were about to traverse through was registered on old star charts as Omega Thirteen. It held two population centers, each were nothing to brag about. Despite this, it was the undisputed dominate power in the local region. It didn’t claim this with legitimacy, it simply was the only region where pirates didn’t dare to tread.

      The world of Acropolis was an old dark world. Its oceans were literally made of oil and tar, coating its entire surface in an obsidian glow. What few continents rose above the muck, were home to sporadic foundry cities. Up above, the world was orbited by a poorly constructed habitation station. Crudely constructed, Durkhelm almost looked like a jutting thorn in the night sky. While life on the surface was hell, life on the station seemed only marginally better. 

      Rise glanced through the data as he reached forward to open the door to his private room. He was always curious about studying new systems, especially populated ones, and learning about their cultures. It was a small hobby of his, one that he indulged every time he got to venture through a new region.

      The only thing that seriously concerned him was how the Omega Thirteen system was ruled by a man calling himself simply, the Tyrant. He hoped that was a mistake, or mistranslation. It wouldn’t be the first time the translator took words like King, or Emperor, from other languages and returned Tyrant. 

      Rise put a tab on the data stream, he would review it in more detail later. The inside of his quarters welcomed him, internal monitors activated as he stepped inside. The air conditioning turned on as well, releasing a cool breeze through his lanky hair. Music chimed from the portable device sitting near the window, creating an ambience of soothing stringed instruments. He appreciated the classical music after the long shift, and near death experience. 

      Rise hadn’t walked two steps inside his private sanctuary before being interrupted. Dithy had rushed to his door just as it was closing behind him. Her arm shot through the crevice at the last second, causing it to open so she could trip inside. 

      “Rise! Don’t have sex with her!” Dithy called out as she fell into his arms.

      “What?” Rise barely caught her fall, and could tell she was shivering under stress. The doorway shut behind her, this time locking without interruption.

      “I made a terrible mistake!” Dithy gasped for breath, “A terrible, terrible mistake!”

      “Dithy, calm down,” Rise tried to comfort her. “What did you do?”

      Just as he asked, someone began knocking on the door.