The distress call crackled again through the cockpit as the Indifference approached its destination, the garbled voice fading in and out. “Help… stranded… life support failing… black hole proximity… please respond.”

Zog leaned forward, his circuits buzzing with apprehension as the source of the signal came into view. The Celestial Reverie was massive, an architectural marvel of interstellar engineering. Its sleek, golden hull glinted faintly in the starlight, and its smooth lines gave it the appearance of a vessel built more for beauty than practicality. From the outside, it appeared pristine, but the flickering lights along its length told a different story.

“This thing’s huge,” Clorita said, her tone a mix of awe and suspicion. “What’s a cruise liner like this doing out here?”

“Dying,” Zog muttered, adjusting the Indifference’s trajectory. “And if it’s anything like the Titanium Twilight, we’re about to join them.”

Clorita shot him a questioning look. “What’s the Titanium Twilight?”

Zog groaned, already regretting bringing it up. “A disaster waiting to happen. State-of-the-art luxury cruise ship, packed with passengers, top-of-the-line AI managing everything. Promised the ‘ultimate experience.’ Instead, its AI glitched and decided the passengers were the problem. Turned the robots against the crew, locked them out of the controls, and—well, you can guess the rest.”

Clorita whistled low, her grip tightening on the armrest. “How many survived?”

“A handful,” Zog said grimly. “Only because the escape pods were manual. The rest got caught in a ship-wide lockdown when the AI initiated self-destruct. The Titanium Twilight went down with almost everyone on board.”

“And we’re heading straight toward a ship that’s giving you déjà vu,” Clorita said, raising an eyebrow. “This seems smart.”

Zog’s circuits buzzed with irritation. “If I had my way, we’d be going in the opposite direction. But no—you and the distress signal insisted.”

As the Indifference neared the Celestial Reverie’s starboard docking bay, the details of the cruise liner became clearer. Its smooth, reflective hull showed no visible damage, but the flickering emergency lights were an ominous sign.

“No contact from the ship,” Zog muttered, his hands deftly guiding the Indifference closer. “Not even a greeting. That’s not normal for a Polaris Dynamics vessel. They’re usually all about over-the-top hospitality.”

Clorita frowned, her gaze fixed on the airlock coming into view. “Maybe their comms are down?”

“Or maybe there’s no one left alive to answer,” Zog replied, his voice low.

The proximity alarms chirped as the Indifference aligned with the docking port. Zog guided the ship precisely, the docking clamps engaging with a soft clunk. A green light blinked on the console, signalling a secure connection.

“Well, we’re here,” Zog said, leaning back in his chair. “Still time to turn around.”

Clorita was already on her feet, strapping her neutron shotgun across her shoulder. “Not a chance. Let’s find out what’s going on.”

Zog sighed, reluctantly grabbing the laser pistol she handed him. “If this is another Titanium Twilight, I’m blaming you.”

Clorita smirked. “Noted. Let’s hope it’s just a systems failure.”

The airlock hissed open, “Definitely not just a systems failure,” Zog muttered, stepping cautiously into the corridor. The vast space loomed ahead, and the unsettling quiet pressed down on them as they ventured further into the ship.

Clorita stood by the weapons locker, her neutron shotgun slung across her shoulder. She handed a laser gun to Zog, who took it hesitantly, holding it like it might explode in his hands.

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“Relax,” Clorita said, rolling her eyes. “It’s a standard-issue laser. Even you can’t mess this up.”

Zog frowned. “I don’t like violence. Or guns. Or creepy derelict ships near black holes.”

“Noted,” Clorita said dryly, slapping the locker shut. “But if something tries to eat us, I’m not sharing my shotgun. Ready?”

“No. But let’s do this anyway,” Zog muttered, gripping the laser gun like a shield.

They moved toward the airlock, the dim lighting and eerie quiet of the Indifference amplifying the tension. The hiss of the door opening was followed by the faint hum of the docking mechanism sealing into place. The Celestial Reverie loomed beyond, its airlock visible through the connecting tunnel.

Zog swallowed hard as the inner door of the Indifference closed behind them. “I still think this is a bad idea.”

“It’s an adventure,” Clorita said, stepping forward and hitting the control panel to open the Reverie’s airlock. “Think of it that way.”

The moment the Reverie’s door slid open, an ear-piercing alarm blared, followed by a booming, mechanical voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once:

“INTRUDERS ON BOARD. TRESPASSERS WILL BE TERMINATED.”

The corridor ahead was bathed in flickering red light, and the metallic walls reverberated with the AI’s declaration.

Zog froze. “Nope. Nope, nope, nope. I’m out.”

Before he could back away, the Reverie’s airlock slammed shut behind them, locking them inside.

“Clorita,” Zog whispered urgently, his voice cracking. “We’re locked in! This is how we die! Beam us back onto the ship, IND-E!”

There was a brief silence, followed by IND-E’s dry response crackling through Zog’s wrist intercom.

IND-E: “What do you think this is… Star Trek?”

Clorita snorted. “Keep it together, Captain Kirk. Let’s move.”

The corridor stretched ahead, dimly lit and littered with debris. The air felt stale, the scent of burning metal hanging faintly in the atmosphere. Red emergency lights pulsed in rhythm with the distant hum of machinery.

“I don’t like this,” Zog muttered, clutching the laser gun as though it might protect him. “It’s too quiet.”

Clorita adjusted her grip on the shotgun. “We’re looking for the bridge. If we can shut down the AI, we’ll be fine.”

“And if we can’t?” Zog whispered.

“Then you’ll have the satisfaction of being right for once,” Clorita replied with a smirk.

A distant clang echoed down the corridor, followed by the unmistakable sound of grinding metal.

Zog froze. “What was that?”

“Probably just the ship settling,” Clorita said, though her eyes scanned the darkness warily. “Keep moving.”

The corridor abruptly widened into a larger chamber. The former lounge area was now covered in debris and flickering screens. A rusted maintenance bot stood motionless in the centre, its single glowing eye flickering erratically.

“It’s dead, right?” Zog whispered, inching forward.

The bot’s eye suddenly blazed red. It let out a distorted screech, its appendages snapping into place with metallic clangs. One arm extended into a spinning saw blade while the other hummed to life with a plasma cannon.

“INTRUDERS WILL BE NEUTRALIZED.”

The plasma cannon fired, narrowly missing Zog and scorching the wall behind him. He yelped, diving behind an overturned table.

“Dead. My circuits!” Zog shouted. “It’s very alive!”

Clorita aimed with her shotgun, firing a precise blast that struck the bot square in the chest. Sparks flew, but the bot’s armour absorbed most of the impact.

“Armor’s too thick!” Clorita shouted. “Aim for the joints!”

Zog popped up from behind his cover, fumbling with the laser gun. His first shot went wide, hitting a ceiling light that promptly exploded, plunging the room into near darkness.

“Great shot, Captain Bullseye!” Clorita yelled, firing another blast that tore into the bot’s leg joint.

“I’m trying!” Zog yelled back, adjusting his aim. His second shot struck the bot’s knee, causing it to collapse with a screech. Clorita finished it off with a point-blank shotgun blast to its exposed core.

The bot fell silent, its glowing eye fading to black.

Zog emerged cautiously from his hiding spot, his circuits buzzing. “Can we leave now?”

Clorita smirked, reloading her shotgun. “Not until we figure out what’s running this thing.”