It was an empty and desolate place. Dark, silent, lifeless... Walking through those empty halls was a disquieting experience, something like nothing Mrill had ever known before.

The men and women who had lived and worked here had left traces, of course. You could see signs of their passage through the entire base: abandoned holodisks, leftover clothes, discarded photographs... Things they could not have taken with them when they’d left—or chose not to. What was blatantly absent, however, were the parasites that followed humans everywhere they went. There were no bugs here. If the Gnorlians had brought any with them, they had carried them off again. If any had stayed, they had long since died, as there was nothing here for them to feed on.

It had taken her a while to realize this absence was the source of her unease. She had not spoken of it, however, as it would have broken the silence—something all six of them seemed reluctant to do. The patter of her bare feet against the cold metal floor sounded loud enough to her ears, in an eerie sort of way. It was odd, because she knew the shoes the others wore made more noise than she did, yet her own footsteps were all she could hear.

Peter was frowning and had been for a while. If anything, the frown had increased as they explored the base. She sensed his thoughts before he finally decided to voice them.

“Someone else has been here. Recently.”

Kesh nodded. “Gnorlians are known to be meticulous and tidy. The mess we see here everywhere is... unusual.”

“Whoever it was must have been upset to find the place empty,” said Lartha.

“It’s not just the mess, though.” Peter pointed at the ceiling. “Have you noticed those?”

Mrill looked up and saw large and deep gashes in the alundil surface.

“What kind of weapon would do that?” asked Kesh.

When Peter remained quiet, the blue-skinned woman turned her impassive gaze on him.

“You don’t think it was a weapon,” she said.

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The rebel leader glanced at her. “I thought you didn’t read the minds of your friends?”

“I didn’t.”

“Oh.” He sighed as he looked at the others in their group. “I think we had better head back.”

All agreed. They turned and walked out, though now they would often examine the ceiling. The gashes were not everywhere, but they were frequent enough to make them all nervous. In a few places, they spotted them on walls as well.

After another long silence, Kesh grunted. “There’s no life on this asteroid, damn it! How can an animal have done this?”

“Maybe the Gnorlians brought some with them,” suggested Evor—a young green-haired man from Evaran.

Lartha made a face. “Why would they bring something capable of doing that?”

“And, more importantly, where is it now?” asked Kesh.

“Maybe they took it back with them.”

Kesh snorted. “Next, you’re gonna tell me it was a pet.”

They fell quiet again.

Peter had remained silent throughout the exchange, a concerned look on his face.

Without reading his thoughts, Mrill understood all too well what must be going through his head. This base was an obvious opportunity, but could he jeopardize his people’s safety if something dangerous had been set loose? Even assuming the creature was no longer here, what was to say it would not return? Without knowing precisely its nature, there was no telling what sort of limits it had—if any.

They made their way back to the ship, casting wary glances around them as they walked out into the open. Their wristpads had generated shimmering forcefields around each of them that allowed them to breathe in the vacuum of space—there was no air, no atmosphere on the asteroid.

The base had two greenhouses that generated enough oxygen to make living indoors comfortable, but outside was a different story.

As soon as they’d boarded Starrider, the fields shielding them faded. Most of the rebels headed out to the mess hall to join their companions. Only Kesh and Mrill followed Peter to the control room.

There they found Val napping in her chair, head resting on arms, arms resting on dashboard.

Peter sat next to her. She must have sensed his movement, for she stirred, lifted her head, and opened sleepy eyes.

“Ah, it’s you,” she muttered.

“You look like you haven’t slept in a while, sis.”

She rubbed her eyes and leaned back in the chair, then rolled her head around to ease her neck.

“Yeah, well, I’ve been kind of busy lately with people trying to lock me up when they’re not shooting at me.”

“Fair point. You should go get some rest while I’m here. I can fly this thing, you know.”

Val smiled. “Of course you can. And I might take you up on that. So, how was it out there?”

Her brother frowned. “Creepy, I’d say.”

“That bad?”

He shrugged. “Jury’s still out on that one.”

“So, where are we going next? Back to Pluvios?”

“Might as well.”

“Alright.” Her fingers darted across the console. “And while we’re on our way, I will tell you a story.”

“A story?”

“Yes, my dear brother. Tell me, have you ever heard of the United Nations of Cadrina?”