Thrum, thrum, thrum. A memory: I’m disembarking from Pioneer. Mahdi, Lily, and Vasilissa flank me as we descend the ramp into the docking bay. I gaze around me, taking it in, the vastness, the newness. My crew, my friends, vibrate with excitement. We’re here, we made it. And someone’s waiting to greet us: a man with pale skin and dark hair, with eyes as black as night.
