The ship sped through the stars, further and further away from the Imperium, the rim left well behind.

It was not quite uncharted territory. There were alien nations, some two light years away, that humans dealt with. Mostly commerce. But Sarisa was not going in that direction.

She had bought the ship before leaving Sedzirah. It had cost her a fortune. Even the seller had recommended she rent a crew instead, but she had refused. This was something she needed to do alone. She hadn’t told anyone where she was going either. That would have frightened them. They would have called her mad. Nor would they have been the first to do so.

Her parents had wanted her to marry and settle down, never mind her gift. What good was understanding languages when everyone in the Imperium spoke the same one? That wasn’t entirely true, though. Each planet had its own set of local dialects. But all that mattered to them was the universal tongue, which everyone spoke. And the more did, the better. So why learn other ones? Within a few generations, there would be none of them left. Everything would be unified. “You just wait and see,” her mother had told her.

Well, she didn’t plan to wait and see. Or to get married and settle down, for that matter. Not when there was so much to see, so much to learn. And most of it was out there, beyond the rim.

Out here, she corrected herself as she stared at the stars.

She had saved enough credits to pay for the ship. It had been a well-paid job. She would miss it. But this mattered more. Granted, she’d never have gone down this path had it not been for the Society of Imperial Linguists. It was through her work she had discovered this fascinating language. Hints of something so old it predated humanity itself. Colleagues had scoffed at her. No one cared about a dead language. What use was that? They almost sounded like her parents. It was disappointing. She had expected them to understand. Who else, if not them?

But no. She was alone. Had always been. So why hire a crew? She would remain alone. Better this than being mocked to her face by unbelievers. Besides, no one in their right mind would have accepted to come here. Unless, maybe, she paid them a lot more than what the ship had cost her.

Food wouldn’t be a problem. The onboard AI could generate anything she craved. So long as the thilium core was not compromised, she could go on for years.

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Part of her was anxious, though. Would she find what she was looking for? Space was so big. Without end, some said. How would they know? Still, she had clues. Clues she hoped would set her on the right path.

She tapped on her wristpad and went through the data again.

“How long until we reach A36Z?” she asked.

“One hour and thirty-six minutes,” answered the onboard AI.

She’d have to find a better name for that world—assuming it held any answers. For now, she used the official Imperial designation.

Humans had been there before. Once. Some two thousand years prior. During the long reign of Hassan the Conqueror. They had found ruins of an ancient civilization, and the first traces of the intriguing writing. She’d come across bits and pieces of it over the years—the latest and largest sample being that slab of metal the Society had confiscated. Sarisa had a picture of it on her wristpad, and it had been enough to convince her this was a much older language than any other humans had ever come across. She needed to see more of it, though. That was the only way to understand it, to pierce the mystery of these people—whoever they were. So she was going to the source.

A36Z.

She only knew it was the source because of Axxarx. The alien who had procured the slab had purchased it from an art dealer who himself had purchased it from a museum. It was allegedly discarded because it was broken. Sarisa questioned how much purchasing was truly involved, but some questions were best left unanswered.

She spent the rest of the trip reading through records. She’d brought plenty of them. Reports from the archaeological team that first explored A36Z; descriptions of items found; geological accounts; Imperial decrees to cease further explorations... The latter puzzled her most. It was as if the Emperor had no interest in alien civilizations. Which she knew not to be true, since Hassan had dealt with many of the Imperium’s neighbors, establishing long-lasting and mutually beneficial relationships. Was it truly because this particular species was dead? That was the official story, at least. The reports stated the government had no interest in exploring the past—especially that of an extinct alien civilization.

“A36Z within sight,” stated the voice of the onboard AI. “We will be landing in thirty minutes.”

Sarisa lowered her wrist and lifted her head. The screen showed a bluish-gray rock filled with craters.

Having dug up in the reports the coordinates the original exploration team had used, she had fed them to the ship. After all this time, she did not expect to find any traces left of their passage, but the descriptions she had should help her find her way to the ruins.

The ship slowed as it approached the surface and finally landed.

Sarisa stared at the barren landscape for a moment. A glum mass of protruding peaks, filled with crags and crevices. There were very few smooth surfaces here, she knew as much. Seeing it was quite a different thing, however.

With a deep breath, she stood and headed for the airlock.