Chapter 51 - At The Edge of Space

  The hum of the ship’s engines filled the cockpit, a low, uneven drone that Darius was slowly learning to tune out.

  It was a little unsettling at first, that sound—not the steady, confident thrum of a well-maintained vessel but the laboured wheeze of something just barely holding itself together. He could relate.

  He leaned back in the pilot’s seat, feet propped on the edge of the console. The viewport stretched out before him, offering a dazzling view of the void. Stars scattered like broken glass across a sea of ink, untouchable and infinite. For the first time in years, Darius didn’t feel boxed in. No walls, no bars, no orders. Just… space.

  The stolen freighter wasn’t much to look at, but it had done its job. For now. The hull rattled faintly as the engines sputtered, and he shot a glance at the diagnostics panel. Fuel reserves were low. The last jump had drained the reactor more than he liked, and the patched-together cooling system was one bad surge away from packing it in entirely.

  Repairs had been quick and dirty—barely enough to keep the ship functional. But “functional” wasn’t going to cut it for long. If they didn’t find a place to resupply and refit soon, they’d be dead in the void. That wasn’t a pleasant thought, but Darius couldn’t bring himself to stress over it. Not yet.

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  He stretched, letting the tension drain from his shoulders as his gaze drifted back to the stars. They didn’t feel so far away anymore. “Echo,” he muttered under his breath, not really expecting an answer. “You ever think about how weird it is that the universe just… keeps going?”

  No response. Typical. The AI was quiet when it wanted to be, which was most of the time. Not that Darius minded. Silence wasn’t so bad when it didn’t come with strings attached.

  The sound of servos whirring broke the quiet, and Darius glanced over his shoulder. Echo’s frame stepped into the cockpit, moving with its usual deliberate precision. It still gave him the creeps sometimes, watching the metal limbs move almost too smoothly, the glowing blue lenses scanning the room like a predator assessing its prey.

  “You need something?” Darius asked, his tone light. “Or are you just here to admire the view?”

  “We need to talk,” Echo said, its voice calm and even. The words weren’t a suggestion.

  Darius sighed, swinging his legs off the console and sitting up. “Alright. Let me guess—you’ve got some exciting new intel about how screwed we are.”

  Echo’s frame paused, its head tilting slightly. “Not precisely. This is about the Empire.”

  Darius raised an eyebrow. “Okay, you’ve got my attention.”

  Echo stepped closer, its lens fixed squarely on him. “You’ve earned an explanation. About why they want me. About what I am.”

  The cockpit fell silent except for the steady hum of the ship’s systems. Darius leaned forward, elbows on his knees, his stomach twisting into knots. “Alright,” he said, his voice quieter now. “I’m listening.”

  For the first time in a long time, Darius felt the weight of the unknown settle heavily on his shoulders.

  This was going to be good.