Conrad woke to the blaring of alarms, his heart racing as the shrill sound cut through the stillness of the ship. He bolted upright in his bunk, the echoes of the past days' hallucinations still fresh in his mind. For a moment, he wondered if this was another trick of the void, another way to torment him.

"Athena!" he called out, his voice rough and panicked. "What's happening?"

"Proximity sensors have detected an unknown vessel," Athena's calm, mechanical voice responded. "The Wayfarer has been boarded."

Conrad's blood ran cold. The void had found him.

"Jackson, you have to move," he muttered to himself, scrambling out of bed. "Can't let them take you. Not now. Not ever."

His hands moved with practiced efficiency despite the trembling. He grabbed his toolkit, a small pack of essentials, and most importantly, Athena's coffin. With a few quick movements, he disconnected the NHP from the ship's mainframe, leaving the once-vital systems of the Wayfarer in a vulnerable, dormant state.

"Time to hide, old man," he whispered, clutching Athena's core like a lifeline.

He darted through the dim corridors, his mind racing. The ship was his sanctuary, his prison, and he knew every nook and cranny. He slipped into a narrow maintenance crawlspace, barely wide enough for him to squeeze through, and pulled the hatch shut behind him. The darkness enveloped him, and he sat there, every nerve on edge, listening to the sounds of his own ragged breathing.

Minutes felt like hours as he waited, ears straining to catch any hint of movement. He heard the faint thuds and clangs of boots on metal, voices muffled and indistinct. Whoever they were, they were thorough, methodical, searching every inch of the ship.

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"Conrad Jackson, you can't hide forever," he muttered to himself, rocking slightly. "But you can try. Just a little longer."

Eventually, the noise grew closer, louder, and Conrad's grip tightened on Athena's core. He pressed himself further into the cramped space, willing himself to be invisible.

A sudden burst of light pierced the darkness as the hatch was wrenched open. Conrad blinked against the glare, his eyes adjusting to see several figures in advanced suits, their faces obscured by helmets. One of them reached out, a gesture that seemed almost gentle, and spoke in a calm, authoritative voice.

"It's okay. We're not here to hurt you. We're a deep run far-field team. We found your ship drifting."

Conrad's mind struggled to process the words. "Not... not the void?"

"No, not the void," the figure replied. "We're here to help."

Relief and confusion washed over him in equal measure. He allowed himself to be guided out of the crawlspace, his body weak and unsteady. The team members spoke to him in soothing tones, but their words barely registered.

They led him to the ship's common area, where he was given water and a blanket. As he sipped the water, the reality of the situation began to sink in. These were people, real people, not figments of his imagination. They had found him, saved him.

"Can you tell us what happened here?" one of the rescuers asked gently.

Conrad looked up, his eyes haunted and distant. "The void," he whispered. "The void devoured them and left me to suffer alone."

The team exchanged worried glances but continued to treat him with kindness and patience. They gathered what they could from the Wayfarer, cataloging the ship's condition and salvaging what was useful. All the while, Conrad sat in silence, clutching Athena's core, his mind drifting through memories of loneliness and terror.

Days later, when they reached the relative safety of a Union base, Conrad was given medical care and psychological support. The doctors and counselors asked him countless questions, but his response remained the same.

"The void devoured them," he would say, eyes staring into the distance. "And it left me to suffer alone."

The team documented his account, filing it away with the other mysteries of deep space. For Conrad, the journey to recovery was long and uncertain. But in the quiet moments, when the memories surged and the voices whispered, he found a strange comfort in knowing he had survived the void.