It was strange, no it was surreal to see my old self again. Walking the ship in my all-grey nanite form, every movement perfectly fluid, with a tiny glowing fairy hovering at my side like some bizarre sci-fi buddy comedy.

  Mira was the first to wake up. She’d come into the galley to attempt some kind of breakfast. There wasn’t much stocked yet, but a basic porridge was doable.

  Her double-take was hilarious with her eyes wide and spoon clattering but it was her scream that sealed it.

  That woke everyone.

  Stewie burst in first, barefoot and still half-asleep but ready to defend the ship with nothing but his elbows.I held up my hands or tried to, there was a little lag as my instruction was translated to movement and tried to calm them down. “It’s just us and our new Avatars. Nothing to panic about.”

  Lynn poked her head in next, her red hair a mess, eyes barely open. “Must still be dreaming,” she muttered before ducking back out.

  Kel followed, gave me a once-over, admiring my fearsome dad's body then glanced down at his toned belly. A grin split across his face. He didn’t say anything but didn’t have to.

  I was about to fire back when Stewie, ever the innocent realist, delivered the killing blow.

  “Why’d you make the avatar so unrealistic?” he asked, tilting his head. “No human has that shape.”

  It wasn’t even cruel. He was just… being honest.

  Lynn completely lost it, collapsing into a fit of giggles against the doorframe.

  Laia, who had somehow ended up being held like a teddy bear by Mira, chimed in cheerfully. “Some humans do take this form it’s mainly when they overindulge in food.”

  I pouted, or at least my avatar did, which only made things worse.

  Kel smirked. “Hey, look at that. I can finally see your emotions.”

  Fantastic. My big reveal and I was already being roasted by teenagers and a sentient holographic fairy. At least they were laughing.

  Breakfast was a noisy, clattering affair—the kind where half the conversation overlapped and the other half was interrupted by Mira trying to stop Stewie from stealing all the porriage.

  Lynn sat at the galley table, datapad in hand, scrolling through the day's itinerary with the focus of a battlefield commander. "Alright, the first stop is the Cartography Agency," she announced, tapping her stylus against the screen. "We hand over our survey data and collect the Telk they owe us."

  Kel let out a low whistle from his seat across the table. "Finally. Something shiny to show for all that work.”

  I couldn't tell what labour he believed he did but the toil felt entirely mine on that mission.

  Stewie was hunched over a bowl, pretending not to listen, but his eyes flicked up. Mira perked up, mid-chew.

  "Once we've got the Telk," Lynn continued, ignoring the interruption, "I’ll take care of getting us registered with the local exchange. We need a proper contract, or we’ll end up stuck with heaps of worthless credits or a garbage conversion rate."

  Kel nodded, mouth full. "And I’ll handle our freelancer registration. No point having a ship and a crew if we can’t actually work.”

  “After that,” Mira piped up, licking her spoon, “we’re going shopping, right?”

  Lynn gave a small smile. “Right. Food, supplies, tools, proper manuals everything we need to be successful.”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Everyone seemed energised, laughing and making suggestions, already planning which station shops to hit first.

  Everyone except me.

  I stood nearby, my avatar folded into a lean against the wall, arms crossed as I watched the crew map out our next big step.

  I wouldn’t be going with them.

  I would stay behind. Again. I know it was no one fault but there was going to be a new planet and I couldn’t even step on it.

  Laia must have noticed. She floated beside me, her fairy wings flapping gently, voice pitched low enough that only I could hear.

  “You’ll have your own mission,” she said gently. “You’ve got catching up to do.”

  I raised a brow. “Homework?”

  Her wings pulsed in amusement. “The galaxy’s a big place. Borders, factions, laws… You need to know what’s out there if you want to keep them safe.”

  I glanced back at the crew.

  Kel grinning like an idiot as he exaggerated their future diplomatic greatness. Mira arguing with Stewie over what colour their new toolboxes should be. Lynn keeping them all on track with that sharp, no-nonsense voice of hers.

  Yeah.

  I’d study. I’d learn. I’d prepare.

  The moment we dropped out of slipstream, alarms started pinging. Not danger alarms they were just the type that made you double-check your diplomatic channels and brace for a lot of official voices.

  We’d landed smack in the middle of a military encampment.

  Massive carrier-class warships loomed around us, their hulls bristling with weaponry and flanked by patrol corvettes. It felt less like arriving at a starport and more like crashing a private party with a warship-shaped RSVP.

  “Unidentified Vessel, Identify yourself and purpose”

  “Hailing frequency open,” I said. “Kel, you’re up.”

  Kel didn’t even flinch. He smoothed his jacket like he hadn’t just rolled out of bed an hour ago, and stepped into view of the forward comm relay.

  “This is independent vessel Lazarus, slipstream-capable, with crew and registration pending,” he said, voice smooth as synth-silk. “We’re here to register with the Freelancer Guild and trade at the system exchange.”

  There was a pause, followed by a dry, regulation-tone voice. “Lazarus, our logs show no Freelancer ID on record. Please confirm your registration credentials.”

  Kel offered a polite smile. “This is a new build, recently activated. First-time registration. We were advised this system had the proper facilities to handle that.”

  Another pause. Then: “Stand by for routing coordinates to Docking Station Delta-Six. Freelancer intake services are located there. Do not deviate from your assigned corridor.”

  “Understood,” Kel said, nodding as if he’d just won a diplomatic victory. “Much appreciated.”

  The comm cut.

  “You’re welcome,” he said over his shoulder, grinning.

  The system itself was nothing short of stunning. One star, golden and steady, with three planets sharing a single orbit—equally spaced, like they’d been set there by design. Watching them turn in unison felt like observing some vast, cosmic timepiece.

  Docking Station Delta-Six was smooth and high-end, clearly built for traders who dealt in serious goods. Gilded trim, automated couriers, and internal gravity calibrated so well you could balance a coin on the deck plating.

  I voiced my concern. “This looks expensive.”

  Lynn, standing near the airlock with her datapad, didn’t even look up. “It’s fine. We’ve got Telk now. Time to start acting like we belong here.”

  Fair enough. I guess 1kg of Telk was a bigger deal than I knew, but also felt like we were spending money before we had actually obtained it.

  I watched from the internal cameras as the crew departed down the docking tunnel—Lynn leading, Kel charming a passing officer, Stewie looking mildly overwhelmed, and Mira practically vibrating with excitement.

  Then it was just me and Laia.

  We shifted to the virtual bridge, the starfield surrounding us like always. She floated beside me, map projections unfolding between us in delicate layers of light.

  “The galaxy is currently divided between eight major powers,” she began, hands moving through the projections like a conductor guiding a symphony. “But for now, you only need to focus on four.”

  With a flick of her fingers, the map zoomed in, highlighting four sprawling territories.

  “Humans,” she pointed out first, “control a significant portion of this quadrant. A lot of trade, a lot of bureaucracy.”

  Another wave, and a tightly compact, glowing sector pulsed to the side.

  “Kall-e space. Small, but heavily fortified. They maintain a neutral zone between their territory and Human space. It’s tense, but stable.”

  The third faction made my processors spike.

  “Traxlic,” she said, highlighting their twisted sprawl along the outer reaches. “Hyper-intelligent. Xenophobic. Highly advanced. You’ll recognise them—they resemble what you humans used to call 'Greys'.”

  I stared at the silhouette and felt a chill despite the simulated environment. “I’ve seen that face in old documentaries. I didn’t think they were real.”

  “They’re very real,” Laia replied. “And their tech is ahead of everyone’s by a long stretch. But they don’t like outsiders. Keep your distance.”

  She swept her hand across the final zone.

  “And then there’s the Alliance which is a coalition of several races working in concert. Not perfect, but stable. Democratic. Inclusive. They’re the ones most likely to help us or hire us.”

  I took it all in. Borders, threats, opportunities.

  The galaxy was vast and complicated.

  But at least now… I knew the shape of the board.