When one looks upon the vacuum of space, there are a few things one expects to see, planets, stars, the odd meteorite, but certainly not a small pink lump writhing in what could be pain. Looking closer, the odd pink lump writhes and stretches until it becomes vaguely humanoid. Before it takes any discernible shape, it seems to pause…

A few moments earlier…

“Where am I?” he thought. He tried to move around but could barely move. Panic begins to set in as he tries to squirm more and more.

“Am I paralyzed? What's going on?!” he screamed into the void. He suddenly realized that besides not knowing where he was, he also didn’t seem to remember anything at all!

“Oh no, no, no!” he stammered, realizing the situation's gravity. His anxiety rises by the moment as he sinks further into panic for a while. Suddenly remembering something, he began steadying his breath. He began relaxing and considering his situation.

“I’m so confused… did I get in an accident or something? Is this some kind of coma?” he silently pondered.

He began attempting to feel his body to see if he truly was paralyzed. He slowly brought his focus to his torso, or at least what seemed to feel like his torso; he couldn't tell. He managed to get a feel for his body, bringing him a small measure of relief.

Next, he moved to his arms and legs. He moved his focus from his core to his limbs, trying to feel them out. Suddenly something clicked, and he felt his body as a whole! But he still felt something was off.

Something was missing, but he couldn’t tell what. He continued trying to feel out his body and focused on different parts. This is when he can to a startling realization.

“It seems I can manipulate my body at will… Could I always do that?” He questioned in shock. It seems he could mold and morph what he could feel in any way he wanted.

Suddenly he felt something odd occur. There was a searing pain across his body and he suddenly felt much more grounded. He opened his eyes and looked around, confused.

“Where am I… Wait, I can see!” he exclaimed. He looked at his body and saw a pink chest and white baggy pants. His only reaction was excitement that he could finally see, but that quickly turned to worry.

“Well, I can see, but this isn’t much of an improvement!” he murmured with his new mouth, looking around further. He seemed to be in space, not just space but in the middle of nowhere. Nothing to be seen in any direction. That familiar panic began to arise once more as he realized he simply went from one crisis to the next.

He wore a contemplative look as he tried again to move around and get some movement. After failing for a few seconds, he gave up on that.

Having nothing else to do, he once again took stock of his body.

“Now that I think about it, is pink a normal skin color?” he thought, then shook his head. “Well, it doesn't really matter anyway.”

He continued taking stock of himself and made a few more observations. Firstly he has some sort of antenna on his head. He also has holes lining his body and fewer fingers and toes than he remembered.

When he moved his focus back to his body’s core, he noticed something different. An odd sensation or weight seemed to reside there. He quickly focused entirely on it and suddenly felt an instinct on how to control it.

The first thing he did was bring the energy outside the small point in his stomach and have it suffuse his entire body. He noticed this immediately, caused a pink-colored aura to surround him, which made him flinch.

“Woah, I thought I lit myself on fire for a second,” he spoke to himself. The energy in his core was quickly draining, and he contained it back in that small point that stopped the aura.

Next, he began moving the energy while keeping it contained in the point. Shortly after trying this, he began moving through space.

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“So I can use this to move around, it seems. Maybe I won’t starve out here then,” he thought. “But come to think of it, how long have I been out here anyway?”

With his newfound ability to move slowly, he chose a direction and began moving toward it. This continued for some time until...

“Yeah, this is getting me nowhere, but what other option is there,” he thought while sighing and continuing on.

Now that he had some time to think, his panic and anxiety began creeping back in. It was easier to distract himself when so many weird things were happening, but now that he had some relative peace, his mind went through many scenarios he could be in, each worst than the last. To him being the only person in existence, to him being trapped in an endless void.

Well, he at least knew it wasn’t a void unless all the stars he sees are a hallucination. Which, with the day he has had, wouldn’t surprise him. Speaking of, one of those stars seems to be getting bigger at an alarming rate!

–

In a small cargo ship heading toward the planet Zabrak, there was a crew of various aliens manning the ship. Among them, one stood out as a tall, blue-skinned man covered in scars and wearing what appeared to be battle armor.

“Remind me again why that guy is here?” one of the mechanics asked the pilot. “This is just cargo run in the middle of bum fuck nowhere; we don't exactly need protection.” The pilot just sighed.

“He’s an odd one, for sure. He paid me a handsome price to let him tag along to Zabrak, so just don’t antagonize him, alright?” the guard said, sounding resigned.

The mechanic shrugged his shoulders and returned to work, not noticing the man in the battle armor giving him an annoyed look. After this exchange, the co-pilot suddenly saw something.

“Uhh, sir, we are in deep space, right?” he asked with his eyes wide.

“Obviously, we are Torque. Did you not look at the route beforehand like I asked?” the pilot asked exasperatedly, clearly disappointed in his co-pilot.

“N-no sir, well I mean yes, I did. What I mean to say is look ahead! Is that a person?” Torque stammered out.

The pilot looked forward and saw the silhouette of what seemed to be a person.

“Poor sod must’ve been ejected from a spacecraft to have ended up this far out. Well, the least we can do is pick up the body,” he said with unexpected sadness and compassion. But imagine his shock when he approached closer and saw what appeared to be waving?

–

MC POV

After a certain amount of time, you grow bored with the vastness of space. At least, he thought so. So imagine his elation when seeing a spacecraft full of people approaching him. He got excited and started waving to them.

“Hey, I’m over here!” he yelled, forgetting sound doesn’t travel in space. But that didn’t quell his excitement. It had been who knows how long since he spoke to someone other than himself, and he was tired of it.

As he approached, he saw a large door open and lower, allowing him in. He quickly boarded, and the door shut behind him; after that, the cabin adjusted the pressure before opening to the rest of the ship. He was a bit nervous from the lack of contact for so long. Steeling himself, he walked into the main section of the ship and saw at least a half dozen people of all shapes and sizes.

“Uh, hello there,” he said with an unsure voice.

The pilot and the crew just stood dumbfounded at the being in front of them.

“He must have survived in deep space for an extended time. This is an ancient supply route no one uses, so the odds of him being from a spacecraft are low.” Torque mumbled. Every crew member silently agreed, and while there were some beings capable of surviving in the vacuum of space. None could go a long time without food or water, leaving them curious about the man they encountered.

The pilot realized the slightly awkward atmosphere and walked up to the man.

“Hello, I’m Bangles, the pilot of this vessel. What the hell were you doing out in the middle of deep space wearing nothing but a pair of pants?” Bangles asked incredulously.

“I’m not sure, in all honesty. I just sort of woke up there.” he saw no reason to lie to the man.

“Just woke up, a kid like you just woke up in the middle of deep space?” he looked unimpressed. “Well, I won’t force you to tell me, but what’s your name, lad?”

He froze and looked slightly melancholy.

“I actually don’t know that either…” he replied sadly.

Bangles began putting two and two together and frowned.

“You don’t remember how you got in the middle of deep space or your own name? Level with me, kid. Do you remember anything at all?” Bangles asked. He was beginning to get worried for the kid. Did someone beat him over the head and dump him here or something?

“Yeah, I don’t remember much of anything, in all honesty,” he replied sheepishly. Come to think of it he did remember one line of text and while most of it wouldn’t work one word may. After thinking a bit, he spoke, “You can call me Kai for now.” He liked how that sounded if he can’t remember his real name, maybe he’ll keep it.

“Well, Kai, do you want to join us on our way to Zabrak? Might be able to find something familiar since it should be the closest planet nearby.” Bangles said with a kind smile.

After thinking a moment, Kai decided he didn’t have many other options. May as well tag along and see what he can find.

“Sure, Bangles, I’ll tag along.”