☽ 𝐈𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 ☽
☆☆☆
𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭:
𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 (𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧)
𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞
𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐝 𝐢 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮
𝐧𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐮
𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞 - 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧 + 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞...
𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤
☆☆☆
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
SEASON 1 EPISODE 1
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Setting:
System: Narion
Faction: Freestar Collective
Planet: Vectera, the moon of Anselon
Place: Argos Extractors Mining Outpost
☆☆☆
Jimin
Day 256
Jimin hated rocks more than he hated spinach.
Every direction he turned his head, he saw rocks, rocks, and more rocks. Working in the Vectera mines made him want to kill himself more than usual, but it wasn't like he had a choice. After all, 260 days working in a mine was his punishment for being a repeated offender of numerous crimes prohibited by the Freestar Collective.
Jimin had no one to blame but himself. After all, he had been the one to accept the smuggling job to Akila despite how he had never been to Akila before. How was he supposed to know he'd get scanned before entering the city? How was he supposed to know his entire criminal record would catch up to him and land him working in a mine? Sure, it beat being behind bars, but he was doing free manual labor. Jimin's pretty hands didn't deserve that.
The mining cutter in his grasp spewed out a scarlet laser that acted as one of two light sources in the tiny hole. The other was Jimin's helmet light. The oxygen didn't circulate that low below the surface of the Vectera moon, therefore he had to keep a deep mining spacesuit on at all times. That meant hiding his perfect face.
Alright, Jimin changed his mind: he'd rather be in an actual prison.
The mine was gigantic, but Jimin had been assigned to a tiny sliver of it. He was in a circular hole that was below the main level of the mine. There were clusters of iron and aluminum all around him, and it was his job to harvest every ounce of it he could. Then, he'd return to the bunks, eat his slop, and pass out until the next shift came.
But it was day 256. Four more days until he could return home to Neon and vow to never venture off-world again. Unless he was offered an obscene amount of credits, of course.
"Dusty," a male voice said from above Jimin. He barely heard it over the thunderous 'bzzzz' of his cutter.
Jimin shut it off and glanced up. "I've been working here for over two-hundred days. Will you ever stop calling me that?"
The man above him, Heller, extended his gloved hand to help Jimin up. "Never. Boss wants to see you. Something about a special assignment."
"Special means dangerous, doesn't it?" Jimin asked, but it was more of a statement. Heller didn't bother answering.
Jimin joined Heller in the main section of the mine. It was an expansive space with VAS model robots trotting around. They had lanky arms and a boxy head that was always painted the same color as his mining laser. They made metallic 'thump... thump' sounds as they stomped by. Most of them were carrying hefty bags of minerals they had gathered.
Jimin cleared his throat. It didn't stop how dry his body felt. "Where is she?"
"In the back with ROVER."
Jimin snorted at the thought of the giant machinery being nicknamed after a moon rover. Or the "Lunar Rover" for those who wanted to sound more intelligent than they were. ROVER was just another piece of metal. It was a larger version of a cutter that sliced through entire cave walls instead of a minute portion of minerals.
They strolled through the mine, and Jimin noticed how few miners were working that day. There were only ten, and of the ten, Jimin recognized eight. The other two were newbies. They were the dusties, not Jimin.
"Enjoying day 256, dusty?" Heller asked as if reading Jimin's mind. Although it was dark, Jimin could see Heller's cracked lips smiling behind the glass of his helmet.
"Every time I see you smile, I want to punch you in the face."
Heller sighed. "This is why you're single."
Jimin decided not to reply to that as they reached an arch in the rock formation. The arch acted as a doorway to the next area, which was more square in shape and had two miners inside. One was the ROVER driver and the other was the boss.
"Good luck," Heller said.
Jimin flipped him off and entered, and upon arrival, he spotted the ROVER had made a door-sized hole in the wall that appeared to lead to another part of the mine. Jimin went to his boss, who stood in front of the machinery. It had a spinning blade that stretched at least four yards wide, but it slowed to a stop. It used its wheels to back away from the hole, which revealed there was a rock ramp that tilted upwards.
"Simple extraction assignment. Go in, grab what we need, get out. This intel came from my contact in Constellation," Supervisor Lin said, turning to face Jimin. "She wants what's in there."
"She say what it is?"
"Said you'd know when you see it." Supervisor Lin shrugged, and Jimin noticed her bushy eyebrows knit together. She had her thin lips pressed into her signature scowl that scrunched up her nose that was so tiny it made her mouth look enormous by comparison.
Lin motioned for him to get moving, and he did. He shimmied his way to the hole the ROVER created. The inside was a rocky ramp that pointed up. It was a bridge connecting where he was to another cave, and he sauntered his way across it. When he entered, even with his suit on, he could feel the cold air and taste the dust. Luckily, the only thing he could smell was his abhorrent breath.
Jimin knew why he had been selected. There were two reasons: 1) Jimin was a prisoner, not an actual worker, and 2) Lin wouldn't have to give him hazard pay due to that very fact. He was expendable. If there was any danger, Lin would have his body thrown in a ditch. It wasn't like anyone would miss him, so he couldn't blame her. Well, maybe Taehyung would miss him. Then again, they had interacted three times in their lives, but Jimin believed he had left a strong impression.
The second part of the mine started uneventful until he stepped through an archway and uncovered the true reason why he had been sent there. So, their contact was right: He would know it when he saw it.
The cave was more than a cave. It was an enchantress of awe and glory. Before him waited rocks that floated in the air despite the gravity not allowing for such an act to occur. Tiny pebbles drifted by as if they had a pilot flying them through the stars. Pillars of mineral deposits seemed to hold the rocky roof up. They were shaped like icicles and had jagged formations, and it appeared as though they were covered in a black, shining substance.
However, the real treat was what was placed at the center of the room. A crescent moon-shaped, silver object was buried under clumps of rocks. Jimin didn't know why, but the shine of the item captivated him. It wrapped him in an embrace from warm arms; an embrace he had never felt. It beckoned him forward, and he activated his cutter to slice through the blockage.
The shimmer of the mysterious being glistened against his helmet light. It begged him to touch it, and he came closer without hesitation. His gloved hand reached out. He dropped his cutter without meaning to. His hand came closer and closer and closer until...
'Bang!'
As soon as he touched it, the world left him. All sense of self fizzled through Jimin's mind. Instead, he heard a cacophony of orchestral music, as if a million violins were playing different notes at the same time. The noises crescendoed as Jimin attempted to locate where he was. He wasn't present. There was no body he could return to, no mine to find, no supervisor to cower behind.
Stars waited for him in a cocoon of serenity. It was like staring into the center of the universe. A sphere of vibrant cyan light engulfed him. The light moved like a wave, almost like the water back in Jimin's home city.
An amalgamation of purples, blues, and greens kissed every inch of his vision. The violins whispered into his ears, and when combined with the visuals, he felt as though he were being thrown from one edge of the universe to the next. His soul was wrenched from him and scattered on every moon, planet, and star in existence. The sensation amplified as the galactic light came nearer.
He couldn't tell if he was perplexed, terrified, or ecstatic. However, before he had the chance to determine his emotional state, the light skimmed by him. The music stopped. His vision failed.
He sunk into a black void.
The mysterious object...
☆☆☆
A gasp tore through Jimin's body.
He awoke in a snap, and a hand went to his shoulder to stop him from moving any further. Heaps of air flowed through his mouth, and that was when he realized he wasn't wearing his helmet. Next came his long black hair that covered his eyes. He parted the stray strands so he could analyze the situation.
Jimin's vision came back to him in time to see Supervisor Lin before him. She had no helmet either. Her dark hair was pulled into a bun that drooped like her eyelids. She had the same dark brown eyes as him, only hers were lined with wrinkles that acted like they were playing connect the dots between the countless freckles infesting her sagging cheeks.
"Woah, easy there dusty," Lin said. Her voice always sounded like she was being sarcastic despite how she never was. Still, for a miner, her voice was smooth. "You were out for a full hour there. Do you know where you are?"
Jimin did. He was in the bunks, which were aboveground. He was on one of the uncomfortable beds that had a black mattress thinner than Lin's lips. The lights in the ceiling were much brighter than any of the ones in the mine. It was a circular room with five beds. There were no decorations since they were in the inmate wing. They didn't want to give the prisoners any fun. All they got were beds, bedside tables, a bathroom connected to the main room, and a fuzzy carpet Jimin loved to run his bare toes through.
"Vectera," Jimin muttered.
Lin handed him a tablet that had his profile on it. "Good. Do you know who you are? Does any of this look familiar?"
Jimin scanned over the information, and he scoffed at the text below his picture.
───
Argos Extractor Employee #7903: Jimin Park
Age: 30
Eye color: Brown
Background: Old Earth Korean
Height: 174cm
Weight: 58kg
Faction: Freestar Collective
Birthplace: Ebbside, Neon
Birth planet and system: Volii Alpha, Volii
Criminal history: Yes
- Smuggling (1), ship-jacking (1), trespassing (167), illegal Aurora distribution (8), hacking (245), pickpocketing (approx. 456), arson (2), armed robbery (42), shoplifting (983), public indecency (3), forgery (25), bank burglary (32), hate speech (approx. 652)
───
Jimin practically threw the tablet back at her. "When the fuck did I do arson?"
"Does it look familiar, yes or no?" Lin asked.
Jimin huffed. "Yes, mom. Care to tell me where that thingamajig is?"
As it turned out, Lin was holding it in her other arm. It was as beautiful as it was in the mine. The shimmer never dulled. The crescent moon had multiple layers, like it was forged by a god with asymmetrical hands. It was small, but every layer had a different width and length. Both ends of it were pointy, but not pointy enough to harm a person.
"Awh," Lin said. She waved the item back and forth. "Don't tell me you're getting attached, dusty. We're giving it away in five minutes. Get your helmet on, I think the Constellation rep will want to speak to you."
Jimin grumbled a curse that started with an 'f.' "What the hell is Constellation?"
Lin set the tablet on the edge of his bed and helped him get to his feet. His helmet was on the ground, which, considering how much dust was on the floor, was concerning. He was sure that was a health and safety violation.
"Space explorers. Based in New Atlantis."
Jimin picked up his helmet and resisted the urge to stomp around like a toddler. "New Atlantis?! You want me to meet some UC dog?"
Lin held up her one free hand as if it were her white flag. "From what I know, only a few members are from the UC. Most of them come from around the galaxy. The rep might be a Freestar for all we know."
Jimin put his helmet on and rolled his eyes. "She better be, or I'm ramming that damn glowy thingy up her ass."
Lin shoved said glowy thingy in his hands with enough force to push him back. "This isn't Neon. That behavior will get you locked up for good. You're lucky you got off with mining work. You stay in line, or you go behind bars. Up to you."
"Lucky" to get off with mining work was generous. Grueling days in subzero temperatures, wearing clunky spacesuits that made a ticking noise whenever you took a step? Yep, that sounded like paradise.
Lin scooped her helmet off the bedside table and returned it to her head. Both of them were geared up and ready to go outside. They made their way to the airlock, and as soon as the thick metal doors shut behind them, Jimin couldn't hold back.
"Lin," Jimin said. Then, after a moment, "Supervisor Lin."
"What is it, dusty?"
"I... saw something when I touched it. I heard something, too. There were lights and music."
"I figured you ran into trouble. It's not like I expected you to pass out," Lin said as she opened the airlock. The stale air of Vectera hit Jimin's helmet. Not that it mattered. He could barely feel it thanks to the suit. "That's why I want you to talk to the Constellation rep."
Jimin agreed, and together, Lin and Jimin arrived on the surface of Vectera. Outside, there were miners hauling crates of minerals from one point of the outpost to another. There was a satellite dish on top of the residence Jimin had just exited. There were several tiny buildings sprinkled around the Argos Extractors outpost. Each one was a bunk that could house five miners, and considering the mine had well over a hundred employees, Jimin didn't want to do the math on how many bunks they'd need.
"She's here already," Lin said.
Jimin forced his eyes away from the bunks and observed the rest of the landscape. It was a wide open space. Vectera was a moon with subzero temperatures, rocks, and air that smelled and tasted like carboard. They orbited a gas giant with crimson-colored rings. The sky was full of stars thanks to the lack of light pollution, and the rings were so close Jimin could touch them if he jumped high enough. Not literally, but it was a dream of his to touch the stars one day. He had to steal a ship just so he could attempt the smuggling operation that put him in Argos in the first place.
Jimin felt hopeful for once; however, as soon as he saw the ship landed in the ginormous landing pad, he considered shooting himself with the pistol he wished he had.
She was a fucking UC Vanguard.
"Oh this is just great," Jimin said in a snarl. "Not only is she a UC dog, but she's a damn navy pilot. What's next? Does she have advanced UC military-grade armor?"
Jimin walked past Lin to get a glance, and the Constellation rep was, in fact, wearing advanced UC military-grade armor. That meant she wasn't the average United Colonies dick-sucker; she was above average. She had to have done something incredible to earn UC military-grade armor. Vanguard pilots typically wore red and black armor. Considering her ship was red and black, he figured that would be the armor she opted for.
The armor she wore instead was a mucky green that could easily be mistaken as black. The helmet, unlike Jimin and Lin's, was closed off, so he couldn't view her face. Metal plates to protect from gunfire were strapped around her shoulders and chest, along with her inner thighs and calves. There was a boost pack attached to her back, and a Breach shotgun right next to it. As much as he hated the UC, he knew better than to piss off a Vanguard. Especially one wearing military-grade armor.
UC military-grade armor
"A pleasure to see you again, Lin," the woman said. Her voice was garbled by her helmet's voice filter. "I see you have my object of interest."
"I do, and a little surprise with it." Lin pointed to Jimin, who held the item of interest. "This is Jimin. He pulled it. Claims he saw lights. Heard music, too."
The woman stepped closer and observed Jimin from head to toe. Then, she took the item from him and held it close to her chest.
"So Barrett was telling the truth. These artifacts grant the finder visions," the woman said with a tongue click. It sounded more like a gunshot thanks to her helmet's filter. "My name is Y/n L/n, UC Vanguard. I'm also a member of Constellation, and I know my colleagues would love to meet you. We're based in New Atlantis. I'll take you there."
"What? But I have four days left in my sentence, I can't up and leave."
Lin nudged Jimin. "You're being invited to meet legendary space explorers, and you're saying no?"
The woman, Y/n, tilted her head. "Sentence?"
"Argos is another way for criminals to serve their sentences. They get shorter sentences in exchange for hard work," Lin explained, and Y/n hummed.
"Alright, as long as you don't pull any of that criminal stuff while under our watch, then you have our word we'll take care of you. I'm sure Lin can put in good word to get you out early."
"Already done. I figured he wouldn't be work-ready anyway," Lin said, and Y/n agreed before shifting her attention to Jimin.
"We don't know the long-term effects of this. You could be in serious danger, and we're the only ones qualified to help. Two people have seen those visions, and you're one of them." When she saw Jimin was still on the fence, she sighed. "We work with Walter Stroud. He can pay you handsomely if you allow us to run some tests on you."
Walter Stroud, he was one of two CEOs of Stroud-Eklund, a famous, and more importantly, rich staryard. They made the best spaceships on the market. Jimin knew them all too well. After all, they were based in Neon. He had walked by their headquarters every time he took a stroll down the street.
Well, Jimin did say he'd go off-world again if the price was right.
"Fine, but I don't want to be there forever. I have to get back to Neon." Jimin paused and pointed at her as if that'd make him look threatening. "You suck the UC's dick even once, I'm gone, got it?"
Y/n chuckled. "What's wrong, princess? Still bitter about the Colony War?"
"I don't get paid enough to deal with the UC and Freestar's rivalry," Lin said, stepping between them. "Get going. I have work to do, so don't waste my time. Dusty, I'll get your sentence cleared for you. You're a free man. Don't waste it."
Lin walked off, and Jimin peered at Y/n, who was waiting for him so they could go into United Colonies territory. Jimin had hated the United Colonies, or UC, ever since he was a child. Anyone who did their bidding were just as guilty as the ones at the top. It had been almost twenty years since the end of the Colony War, yet no apologies were issued for all the lives the United Colonies stole. The lives they stole from Jimin, when he was barely old enough to tie his own shoes. The hands that used to tie his laces for him were swiped away because of the UC's greed.
"Come on, we have a galaxy to explore," Y/n said. "You heard her: Don't waste your second chance."
He didn't budge for a moment longer than necessary. Y/n's Vanguard ship had the ramp down, and he noticed how small the ship was. There couldn't be room for more than three crew members on it. Jimin would be cramped and forced to stare at UC logos for the entire trip to Alpha Centauri. So, as he followed Y/n to the ship, he made a mental decision. A decision he would enact later, when he was in Alpha Centauri.
He was going to waste his second chance.
☆☆☆
Upcoming Destination:
System: Alpha Centauri
Faction: United Colonies (UC)
Planet: Jemison
Place: The Lodge, located in the city named New Atlantis
☆☆☆
𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭:
The United Colonies is one of three major factions in the Settled Systems. It controls four systems: Wolf, Alpha Centauri, Sol, and Toliman. Their rivals are the Freestar Collective.
There was a Colony War from 2308–2311 between the United Colonies and Freestar Collective. Millions of lives were lost. The war began when Jimin was only eight years old.
☆☆☆
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
SEASON 1 EPISODE 1
𝐄𝐍𝐃
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
A/N: Thank you everyone for checking out the first chapter of Starfield. As always with my stories, it starts off slow but will get into the juicy bits soon. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and I also hope you appreciated the visual references. I took all of those pictures myself via the Starfield game.
The graphics (header/ender) were made by the Purple Stars graphics shop! Big thank you to them for creating such wonderful graphics for Starfield!
Remember to vote, comment, add to your libraries, and follow for more of this story!
P.S. Yes, I slightly aged Jimin up. That was purposeful.