The coordinates on the screen had changed, the computer had searched through its data base, and after a quick scan established, that they were in a different space from moments before, the good thing was, they were still in known space, the problem was what to do next.

The ship was in the dark, its engines and coms were down, it was a precaution as there was no way of knowing if there was really a rift, and where would it lead to. The Icarus rift for example, opened close to a star, many had died while the rift was being explored, and it was for the most part left unused.

Not dying after the rift cross was a success, however, after confirming the coordinates, this rift opened and opportunity, and incredible one, but for whom? A rift, also known as an Einstein – Rosen Bridge, was in essence a door, and as any other door the important thing was to know first and foremost, where did they led to, and afterwards, to own it. On a common door, it might no be that hard to own one, but a keeping hold of a rift, presented a series of problems.

“Not dying, check” the pilot of the small ship, moved himself on the cockpit, as the weird feeling from crossing a rift left him. “The mother fucking thing worked, now comes the complicated part” the pilot marked on the screen the exact coordinates, from where he had come through the rift, he looked at the coordinates again and sighed “Damned to think the rift connects with the Treppenwitz Nexus, this must be one of the longest jumps, the professor did believe it could lead into a nexus, but Treppenwitz, I may just have spent my entire luck here” the pilot moved inside the cockpit, looking for a landmark in sight but there was none “This is just too good, nothing in sight apparently, I’ll check with the scanner”.

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The ship was emitting almost no energy, running with just enough for the computer to function, but the pilot needed to run the long range scanner, the signal could alert someone else, but he needed to know where exactly had he come out, he prepared the scanner “Fuck it, here it goes” he activated it, a small division appeared on the main screen, as the long range scanner surveyed the area, after a few seconds, there was no response. “Time to go back” the pilot slowly turned the ship, and prepared to return, a big smile on his face.

He had invested a lot on the idea, damn he had risked the jump himself, but everything had been worth it, the door was open, and for the moment, he was the only one who knew about it. He had spent a lot of time thinking of what he could do If he indeed discovered a rift, it had taken over a year of thinking until a plan had formed, only then had he decided to work on the idea. Now, it was time to start, and he knew he could not keep the rift hidden for a long time, he needed to start.

He needed money, allies, connections and luck, but he was certain he had run dry of it, he took a deep breath, before he crossed the rift again, determination and confidence, maybe he could replace luck with those, that was his thought as space began to warp again, and the ship crossed the rift.