The Last Beacon
January 15, 2025
The Ecliptica drifted in the shadow of the dying star, its once-bright light reduced to a dim, pulsating ember. Commander Tessa Ryn adjusted her visor and peered through the viewport. The star’s faint light cast long shadows across the derelict station they’d come to investigate.
“I don’t like this,” muttered Ensign Jax. His hands fidgeted with his console. “The station’s been dead for over a century. What could possibly be here?”
Tessa shot him a sharp glance. “Orders are orders. Command wants answers, and we’re going to find them.”
Lieutenant Mira Onari chimed in from the scanner. “Commander, the station’s energy readings are sporadic but localized. There’s a single active power source deep inside.”
“Any signs of life?” Tessa asked.
Mira hesitated. “Nothing biological… but there’s movement. Something’s active down there.”
“Great,” Jax muttered under his breath. “Ghosts.”
Ignoring him, Tessa pushed off the deck and floated toward the airlock. “Suit up. We’re going in.”
The station’s interior was eerily silent. Their boots echoed against the metallic floor as the team made their way through the dilapidated corridors. Broken screens flickered weakly, displaying fragments of long-forgotten messages.
“This place is a tomb,” Jax whispered, his voice distorted through the comms.
“Focus,” Tessa ordered. “Mira, guide us to the power source.”
They followed Mira’s readings to a central chamber. In its heart stood a towering machine, its surface covered in glowing symbols that seemed to shift and writhe like living things.
“What is this?” Tessa murmured, stepping closer.
The moment she touched the machine, the symbols flared, and a deep, resonant voice filled the chamber.
“IDENTIFY.”
The team froze. Tessa took a breath. “Commander Tessa Ryn of the Ecliptica, Federation Scout Division. Who—or what—are you?”
“I AM LUX-7,” the voice replied. “LAST OF THE LUMINAR NETWORK. DESIGNATION: BEACON OF KNOWLEDGE.”
“Luminar Network?” Mira asked, scanning the machine. “That’s pre-Federation tech. Ancient.”
“CORRECT,” Lux-7 confirmed. “CREATED TO PRESERVE KNOWLEDGE BEFORE THE FALL.”
Tessa exchanged a glance with Mira. “The fall of what?”
The machine pulsed. “THE FALL OF CIVILIZATION. THE STARS GREW SILENT. WE REMAINED, WAITING FOR THE NEXT.”
“The next what?” Jax asked, his voice tinged with unease.
“THE NEXT INHERITORS,” Lux-7 said. “YOU.”
The chamber trembled. The symbols shifted into a map of the galaxy, vast swathes of it marked in red.
“What are we looking at?” Tessa asked.
“THE EXTENT OF THE VOID,” Lux-7 replied. “A PHENOMENON THAT CONSUMED OUR TIME. IT HAS STIRRED ONCE MORE.”
Mira’s face paled. “Commander, this isn’t just a map. It’s a warning.”
Tessa clenched her fists. “How do we stop it?”
“ACCESS MY ARCHIVES,” Lux-7 said. “LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES. THE ANSWERS LIE WITHIN.”
Jax took a step back. “This is too much. A galaxy-eating void? How are we supposed to handle that?”
Tessa locked eyes with him. “By doing what we came here to do: survive.”
The machine’s core opened, revealing a swirling vortex of light and data. Tessa stepped forward, hesitation replaced by determination.
“We’ll take it from here, Lux-7,” she said.
As the light enveloped them, the map expanded, revealing new paths, new dangers—and the faint hope of salvation.