Prologue
The Dentari International Space Station was
the pride of all Dentari, for it symbolized the fragile unity that had been
forming on the planet over the decades.
It was humbling to know that they, as a species, had evolved beyond the
point of mindless warfare, instead focusing on the fruits of space
exploration—and this was it.
The space station was a massive facility
being constructed by nearly half of the planet’s governments. It would house at least one hundred people,
and utilize the most advanced technology available to the Dentari to conquer
the greatest mysteries of space. It
was, in essence, the Dentari’s greatest achievement, and Canis Isari was proud
to be a part of it.
For most of his life, Isari had been an officer in his nation’s
military. He had seen countless
battles, and been witness numerous atrocities over the years, and as a result,
had a very thick skin when it came to danger.
And while there was certainly nobody attempting to kill him at the
moment, Canis Isari knew that his job was an extremely dangerous one.
He and his men were installing the solar panels on the space
station—a key component, for they would be used to power the mighty space
station through its myriad adventures.
It was a long, arduous, and extremely delicate procedure; one wrong
move, and it was all over—consequently, the danger was constant.
But Isari liked the danger.
It seemed to breed the tension and excitement of the battlefield, only
in this instance, the results were instantly gratifying, and far more positive
than any battle.
“I think we’re ready to put number three into position, Turan,”
Isari said as he finished securing the second solar panel in place. He was floating with his partner of nearly
ten years, Hurel Turan, near the aforementioned solar panel; both adorned the
bulky gray spacesuits specially designed by the Dentari to protect any
astronaut from the void of space—so while the things may have been heavy and
clumsy, nobody really minded wearing them.
Slowly, Isari began to move away from the solar panel with the
intention of heading back to their space shuttle where the third panel was
waiting. But as he did so, Isari
thought he saw something other than stars reflecting in the solar panel before
him. At first, he dismissed it as his
overactive imagination, but after a moment, he saw the odd reflection
again—something was definitely there.
Using the space station for leverage, Isari slowly came about to
place the odd reflection under a bit more scrutiny. And his jaw dropped.
“What the…?”
By that point in time, Turan had also noticed the strange vessel,
and much like Isari, the look on his face was genuine confusion. “It’s a spaceship or something!” he
exclaimed, and though they didn’t know it at the time, Canis Isari and Hurel
Turan were staring at the shapely curves of a Constitution-class starship…