Outcasts

An original science fiction story

alien space station

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Investigating the derelict space station only raised additional questions instead of supplying answers. Violet stared down a darkened empty corridor. Her helmet light illuminated her ebony face as her brown eyes settled on a sea of shadows. Infrared scans uncovered no trace of life on this level. Questions swarmed her mind as Violet exited the docking bay.

Who built the station?

What purpose did it serve?

Why did the builders abandon their creation?

“A passing star must have jettisoned this planet from an alien solar system.”

Violet snapped her head back at Nate. He shone a flashlight on a drab gray corridor wall behind her.

“That's the only logical explanation,” he continued. “How would anyone know where to find this planet? And why build a space station above a cold dead world wandering through deep space?”

Violet shrugged.

“Maybe alien explorers came here long ago to study this planet. We found it easily enough.”

Nate cracked a knowing smile. His sky-blue eyes sparkled under his helmet light.

“Your definition of easy doesn’t match mine. Finding a planet and a space station out here is a one-in-a-trillion cosmic fluke.”

“Fluke?”

 “Our ship blundered right into its path.”

Violet turned away and pursed her lips. Nate made a valid point. Stumbling upon a rogue planet wandering beyond the outer reaches of their solar system amounted to a giant stroke of luck. The same held true with their nava sensors even detecting an anomaly moving parallel to their hyperlight path. Violet still hadn’t made up her mind if their discovery fell on the good end or the bad end of that luck spectrum.

Earth established thriving colonies on 13 exoplanets since first settling on Colonia nearly six decades earlier. Even with so much exploration preceding these colonizing expeditions, their little corner of the Milky Way Galaxy still harbored countless mysteries. To her knowledge, no other Earthian encountered a planet not bound to a specific star before she and Nate uncovered this one.

Cubic lights sprang to life along both walls as they moved deeper into the corridor. Each shoulder-high light appeared no larger than a navel orange and bathed the corridor in a dim pale-yellow hue. Violet turned and shot a worried glance at Nate.

“Did we trigger a hidden motion sensor?” She worked to conceal the tremor seeping into her voice. “This is kind of creepy.”

Nate’s eyes darted from wall to wall, and he answered her with a reluctant nod.

“You’re telling me. How does this station still generate enough power to operate lights?”

Violet refocused her gaze on the section of corridor ahead of her and squinted at the dull lights.

“Some form of nuclear energy is my first guess.” She cast her eyes at the ceiling and studied twin columns of giant hexagonal paneling crossing over her head. “You’d need a power source with a half-life that’s off the charts for this station to still function while wandering in interstellar space for God knows how long.”

Ventilation shafts carved out of random gray hexagon panels circulated breathable atmosphere throughout the corridor. At least that’s what environmental readings on Violet’s helmet visor indicated. It had to be a mistake. Neither she nor Nate picked up life signs when they boarded the station. Any oxygenated air inside this station should have been depleted soon after it entered deep space traveling at subluminal speeds.

They reached a sealed box-shaped door at the end of the corridor. Nate unholstered his handheld scanner and started running fresh infrared scans. Violet shone a flashlight on the door, trailing the beam around the perimeter while she searched for a control switch or access panel.

An electronic voice called out to them with startling abruptness. She recoiled and backpedaled a few steps. None of the words emanating from some sort of unseen computer sounded familiar. An alien language in every sense.