Taming the void

distant shimmer of a dying star from the asteroid outpost where he'd landed. The station's weak artificial gravity tugged at his boots as he scanned

ed, lighting a stim-stick and exhali

quiet. Out here, silence was often the precursor to death. He reached for the

er into the station

came the gravelly voice of Varr

g back at the ship. "But since wh

d through the deck plating. Finn froze. That sound was no engine. It was a

" Finn m

re incarnate-hulking creatures with jagged exoskeletons, bioluminescent veins, and a hu

iously, his boots clicking against the metal floor. The

He whirled, weapon raised, only to

orm scorched and torn. She clutched her

rasped befor

thing was shallow, but she was alive-for now. Slipping his

bay!" Finn bark

and louder. Finn's heart raced as he caught a glimpse of it-a Strynx, emerging from th

move,

he Strynx charged, its claws gouging deep furrows into the deck

ed as he secured the w

g as the ship rocketed away from the station. The Strynx leapt, its claws scraping t

auto-suture and a dose of painkillers. Her eyelids fluttered

you?" F

ed. "You have no idea wh