The cabin felt heavier in the days after the ambush, the hum of the ship's engines a constant reminder of their drifting isolation. Ren kept to herself, often staring out at the stars with a distant look, while Shizuka and Kenta worked to ration their supplies, moving quietly around the cabin.
Max checked the sensor logs for the fifth time that day, frowning as he leaned closer to the console. "Elan, come look at this."
Elan walked over, arms crossed, peering at the slow, blinking dot on the edge of the scanner. "What is it?"
"Ship signature. Way out, but it's been holding position relative to ours for hours now."
Ren turned, tension returning to her eyes. "Scavengers?"
Max's jaw tightened. "Could be. Or someone else. Either way, they're tracking us."
Elan took a breath, steadying himself. "Options?"
Max shook his head. "We can't outrun them in open space, not without burning too much Fluxine. We can try to lose them in debris fields or near moons if we can find cover."
Shizuka stepped forward, her voice calm but serious. "We should assume they know we're here. It's only a matter of time before they get close enough."
Kenta clutched his knees, looking small against the bulkhead. "Are they going to come hurt us?"
Elan knelt, meeting Kenta's frightened eyes. "Not if we're careful. We're going to find a way to lose them."
He stood, turning to Max. "Start scanning for asteroid fields or small moons nearby. We'll find a hiding spot and figure out our next move."
Max nodded, already shifting the scan range. "On it."
Outside the viewport, the cold stars remained silent as the crew prepared for the next chapter of their fight for survival, shadows of pursuit pressing against their fragile hope.
Max's fingers flew across the console as a blinking cluster appeared on the map. "Found one. Small asteroid belt, not too dense, but enough to hide our signal if we're careful."
Elan nodded, gripping the back of Max's seat. "Plot a course. Ren, keep an eye on the sensors. Let us know if they close in."
Ren's voice was tight but steady, "Copy."
Shizuka placed a reassuring hand on Kenta's shoulder as the ship adjusted course, the stars shifting in the viewport as they approached the jagged silhouettes of drifting rocks.
The asteroid field loomed ahead, dark shapes turning slowly in the light of distant stars, shadows dancing over the hull as the ship slipped into the maze of stone and ice.
Max slowed the engines, shifting to minimal thrust to reduce their signature. The vibration of the engines dulled, leaving only the quiet hum of life support as they drifted deeper into cover.
"Scan the rocks," Elan ordered. "Find a spot where we can anchor or stay hidden."
Ren's eyes moved rapidly across the scanner, marking larger asteroids and gaps. "There. Between those three, we can nestle in and use the mass to block scans."
Max adjusted the controls, guiding them carefully into the gap, the ship sliding between two massive stones, the proximity alarms softly beeping as the hull slipped within meters of the jagged rock faces.
The engines powered down fully, leaving them floating in silence, shielded by ancient stone drifting through the cold dark.
Elan let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Hold position. We'll wait and see if they follow."
Outside, the asteroids turned slowly, shadows and starlight playing across the hull as the crew hid in the rocks, waiting for their pursuers to reveal themselves.
The silence felt heavier in the asteroid field, broken only by the occasional soft ping of a proximity alarm as the rocks drifted around them.
Elan sat near the viewport, watching the slow spin of an asteroid as it passed, its surface scarred and pitted from countless impacts over time.
Ren's eyes were locked on the sensors, the screen filled with the outlines of drifting rocks and static. Her fingers drummed against the console, impatience mixing with fear.
"Anything?" Elan asked quietly.
Ren shook her head, not looking away. "No movement. Nothing that looks like a ship. But if they're careful, we won't see them until they're right on top of us."
Max leaned back in his seat, eyes closed, arms crossed. "We've done what we can. If they find us, we'll deal with it."
Shizuka and Kenta worked quietly at the ration crates, packing them efficiently and counting the remaining supplies. Kenta's small voice broke the tension. "How long do we have to stay here?"
Elan looked over, offering a tired smile. "As long as we need to."
Kenta nodded, though the worry in his eyes remained.
Hours passed with nothing but the slow dance of rocks and the cold glow of the stars outside. The crew rotated shifts on the sensors, resting in turns, the tension never fully leaving the room.
Ren finally spoke, her voice low, "Still nothing."
Elan let out a slow breath. "Then we wait a little longer."
They sat in the drifting shadows, hiding in the cold dark, hoping their decision to steal from the Scavengers wouldn't catch up to them in the quiet void.
The silence was nearly suffocating as they drifted between the asteroids, each minute stretching into hours. The stars outside seemed distant and cold, the vastness pressing in around them.
Ren leaned closer to the sensors, narrowing her eyes. "Hold on… I'm getting something."
Elan was immediately at her side. "What is it?"
"A signal. Weak, intermittent. It's not the Scavengers, at least not on their previous frequency." She adjusted the dial, isolating the faint signal, a low pulsing beep echoing softly in the cabin.
Max rolled his chair over, listening carefully. "Distress beacon?"
Shizuka glanced back from where she sat with Kenta, her eyes sharp. "Can we trace it?"
Ren nodded slowly, working through the interference of the asteroid field. "Yeah. It's coming from deeper in the field, maybe hidden behind some larger rocks."
Elan crossed his arms, thinking. "Could be a trap."
Max shrugged, "Or it could be another group like us, desperate and out of options."
Kenta's small voice cut through the debate, "If it's someone who needs help, we should help them."
Elan looked at him, seeing the fear and hope mixed in the boy's eyes, and let out a breath. "We'll approach carefully. No lights, no signals. Ren, keep monitoring for any other ships."
Ren nodded, her fingers already working across the console.
Max powered the engines on minimal thrust, guiding them slowly through the drifting rocks. The soft glow of the console lights reflected off their tired faces as they moved towards the faint beacon.
Outside, the asteroids continued their endless drift as the crew followed the faint echoes, uncertainty and hope mixing as they prepared for whatever they would find hidden in the cold dark ahead.
The ship drifted closer, engines at the lowest hum as the crew peered out at the source of the signal.
"It's… a rock?" Ren's voice was flat, confusion mixing with disappointment.
Elan narrowed his eyes, leaning toward the viewport. The asteroid was small, no larger than their ship, with a rough, grey surface marked by cracks and scars from impacts over millennia.
But every six seconds, a faint blue light pulsed from within, seeping through thin fractures, casting eerie lines across the stone's surface before fading again.
Max checked the scanner. "Signal's definitely coming from that thing. It's not mechanical, but… it's structured. The pulses are too regular to be random."
Shizuka leaned forward, her eyes sharp. "Natural crystal resonance, maybe? Or something embedded inside it?"
Kenta pressed his face against the glass, eyes wide with wonder. "It's like it's alive…"
Elan exhaled slowly. "Could be valuable, or dangerous. We can't ignore it."
Ren crossed her arms, glancing nervously at the scanner. "We're still hiding, remember? If we stay here too long, we might get spotted."
Elan nodded. "Max, get us closer. Shizuka, prep the drone for a scan. We're not bringing it aboard until we know it's safe."
Max guided the ship gently, matching the slow spin of the asteroid while Shizuka activated the small exterior drone, sending it forward into the darkness.
The crew watched as the drone hovered near the pulsing cracks, scanning the faint blue light as it glowed once more, painting the asteroid and the drone in cold luminescence before fading again.
They waited, silent, as the drone gathered data, the stars watching from afar as the mystery of the pulsing stone drew them deeper into the cold, endless dark.