Chapter 1: Ch 1: He has woken up- Part 1
The ship pulsed with life.
Merchants, tech-runners, and low-rank engineers bustled through the narrow corridors of the Draiken’s Maw, hands full of scavenged alloys and relics. Even the air tasted different—sweet with the kind of victory that promised bonuses and early retirement.
"I’m telling you- this haul’s gonna pay for three cycles of luxury planet-side."
A young salvager laughed, slapping the wall as he passed,
"Three? Try ten. You saw the vault, didn’t you?"
His friend snorted.
"Barely. Security’s already locking it down."
Their voices trailed off into the noise—boots clanging on grates, laughter, crates being dragged across steel floors.
At the center of the hold, a dozen crew surrounded the prize. A pod. Seven meters long, smooth and matte-black, etched in runes that flickered faintly in the dim light. Ancient. Unmarked. Wrong.
"It drained dry. No trace of aether signature left."
Muttered Chief Engineer Hollis, tapping his wrench against the hull.