At last, I have finally arrived. After what felt like eons, I have reached The Nexus. It is very beautiful, with trees and plants of the perfect shade of green everywhere around you. The blue, the purple, and the red flowers delicately swaying in every soft breeze. And the warmth of the brightly lit sun, casting pleasant rays of sunshine down onto my skin. These glorious factors equal that to what a pirate might find in a sunken ship; Treasure. Upon arrival, I realized that the Nexus wasn’t very busy. Could it be that perhaps the Nexus is becoming more and more unpopular than when it was first founded? Ah, no matter. I will still come here, even if I do end up being the only person to ever set foot on its existence. More importantly, I noticed that the Guardians were present at the Nexus, as there were Guardian ships docked at almost every docking station. Recently, there has been talk about an investigation at the Absence, which the Guardians will conduct. That is very unlikely, and is probably a way to grab unnecessary attention for absolutely no reason. More over, there has been “proof” of the Guardians’ plan to begin the investigation. Drama, useless, and quite annoying, if anything. I decided to ignore the Lobby. I don’t want to get caught up in the blubbery mouths of those drama starters. So, I went to the Trading Hub. To my surprise, I met some of the Council members. They were unusually quiet, but I didn’t pay much attention to them. Luckily for me, I got my hands on an Astro Device. Although I don’t think I’ll use it anytime soon, I should still keep it, just in case. I sat down into my pilot seat and activated my Holo-map. Hmm, let’s see. I begin pinpointing my route and prepare for takeoff. Well, it was nice while it lasted, but, unfortunately, I have to continue my adventure to the ends of the universe. I really don’t want to. The Nexus is so perfect and beautiful. Why can’t I just live here for the rest of my life? Ah, whatever. I’ll just have to wait. But, if only I could be a space pirate. Maybe even a Space Defender. Just something that has excitement. Being an astronavigator, all I have to do is write down what someone would see if they go somewhere in the universe. The only “cool” part about being an astronavigator is that I get to name landmarks. Other than that, it’s just traveling around the galaxy figuring out where I am and writing it down. I wish I was important. People like inventors, or soldiers, or scientists, or even Peacekeepers. But, no, I landed my happy *** at an application for astronavigator. To be honest, my job isn’t terrible, but I would really like to try something different. Anyway, I have a universe to see and information to record, so I’ll go ahead and end off here.

-End

Nope...

Nope...

Nope...

Still nothing...

No...

I sink back into my chair. A sigh escapes my mouth. The universe is pretty empty. Other than a few inhabitable planets and a some stars, there isn’t really anything to be excited about. There usually isn’t, especially when you’re in empty space.

...“Computer. Commence area scan.” I command....

“Commencing scan...” It replies.

A few seconds pass and data gets transmitted to my holo-map. Yep, just as I thought; nothing. I groan. See? This is my job. I tap a button on the communication device in my ship.

“This is Jason Marcland speaking to HQ, do you copy, over?” I speak into the microphone.

“We read you loud and clear Jason, over.”

“How far do I need to go before I can return to base, over?”

“To the ends of the universe, Jason, over.”

“Sir, with all due respect, I really don’t think I should. I mean, I’m not even halfway to my destination point and it’s completely empty out here.”

“Jason, this is extremely important. We need to know what’s out there. We need to scrutinize the Absence while you are out there exploring the rest of the universe. Please understand that we cannot afford to leave the Absence unauthorized. We made that mistake a long time ago, but we will not make it again, over.”

I sigh. “Yes sir, over.”

“Thank you, Jason, over.”

I slouch back into my chair. The mistake from a long time ago. The mistake that almost broke reality. It was when humanity was clueless to what the universe was. We discovered something far beyond our understanding. It was a supernova that we could somehow gaincontrol over. We had not a slightest clue as to how we figured it out, but we didn’t steer away from the opportunity. We then built giant machines, spaceships, and better technology. Afterwards, we captured the remains of the supernova into a humongous sphere of metal. This made the present-day man-made planet know as The Nexus. However, the metal could not contain the power of the supernova. So, we built two different stabilization units. The Congress Vortex and the Abysmal Fraction. The Congress Vortex supplied the supernova with power-containing plasma, while the Congress Vortex supplied the Abysmal Fraction with power. And, it worked. But, it was shortly lived. The Congress Vortex somehow started oversupplying the Abysmal Fraction, and it become extremely unstable. The Nexus was falling apart, and if it did, it would destroy humanity. The supernova will set of once more, and it would destroy everything in its vicinity. Miraculously, we were able to contain it once more. And, we made some improvements to The Nexus and the two stabilization units. And, it’s been nearly 50 years since then. And now, the Council watches over the Absence all the time. The Absence is a vast expanse of literal nothingness. However, the Council believes that it is possible to get through the Absence. They have tried. It failed. They used the two stabilization units and The Nexus’s supernova. They fused the two stabilization units’s power and turned it into a beam of plasma. Along with the Nexus’s supernova, they were able to launch the beam into the Absence. However, only about 10 seconds after firing it, the two stabilization units went unstable, and they both almost exploded. If they did, reality would break and what humanity knows as existence, would end. The Galatic Barrier, which is the only thing humanity knows to the extent of what our universe is, would tear aprart.

*Beep Beep Beep*

I quickly shoot up from my seat and look at my holo-map. Huh, interesting. There’s an astronomical object out here! But, it’s massive. I reach up to a console above my head and flip a few switches.

“Computer! Activate manual pilot mode!” I say.

“Manual pilot mode activated.” It says.

A small control panel flips open and a steering system unfolds in front of me. I grab it firmly and begin to steer my way towards the mysteriously humongous object in space. Finally, I might have something to do now!

-End

Holy hell...

Well, that “astronomical object” is certainly astronomical alright. It’s a planet. Except, it’s uninhabitable. However, it has strong signals coming from it. Like, super strong.

“All right. Computer! Start landing sequence!” I command.

“Commencing landing sequence...”

I quickly rush into the cargo bay and put on my suit. I open the oxygen repository. It gives a loud hiss as I do. I grab a container of oxygen and connect it to my suit. I attach the tubes to my helmet and insert my head into it. Then, I power my suit on.

“Welcome, Operator.” It greets.

The helmet lights up and a screen is displayed onto the glass. As it does, the suit speaks again.

“Oxygen levels full. Running vital scan...”

A few seconds pass, and it speaks once more.

“Vitals are normal.”

This is TIES, a.k.a, The Intergalactic Exploration Suit. It’s basically just a buttered up astronaut suit. Except, it has a whole lot more features. A GPS, a scanner, communication system, weapon system, and a nicer look. It’s covered in a black metal. I have no idea what it’s called, but it’s extremely sleek and appealing. It’s almost like cool and sexy had a baby with machinery. Anyway, I quickly entered a launch pod in the pod bay. I press a red button and the countdown begins.

“Commencing launch in...”

“3...”

“2...”

“1...”

I take a deep breath and brace myself for the launch. Here we go!

“0.....Launching pod.”

I hear the machinery hiss and clank as it prepares to launch the pod. It’s almost like a roller coaster anticipation. You hear the machinery and then——

I suddenly get blasted in the back with a force of gravity and pressure as the pod propels from the ship. I look up through my window and see the ship slowly becoming smaller. I reach over to the control panel and begin the startup sequence.

“Computer! How much farther until Pod 01 reaches a nearby celestial body?” I ask quizzically.

“Calculating...”

I sit back in my chair and loosen my grip. I relax my shoulders and force myself to calm down. It’s okay, it’s just leaving my ship behind in space whil I explore and unknown planet.

“Error. Could not compute estimate arrival time. Please try a different query.”

What?

“Computer! Commence area scan.” I say.

“Commencing scan...”

This is quite peculiar. I’ve never any setbacks with the computer system. Maybe it’s just that it actually cannot estimate my arrival time? I look back out the window and see my ship. It looks so small now.

“Error. Could not acquire any astrological data. Please try a different query.”

Now this is strange. What is wrong with the computer system? It’s never failed any of its tasks. I have one last idea, and if this one fails, then we have a major problem.

“Computer! Who am I?” I ask hopefully.

“....”

“Computer?” I ask again.

“....”

This is bad. If I can’t figure out what’s wrong with the computer system, I can’t leave the planet once I arrive there.

-End