Space.

I've always loved the vast expanse of stars and nebulas. At an early age this frontier called to me, beckoned me to join the Sha'ah'dem in search of knowledge and for sake of discovery. I have seen many things in my years - beauty and death in my travels. I was settling down though. Happy to do the cargo runs between Sol and Aragoth. Then I heard about Rucyn. He had disappeared, and as far as the locals were concerned on that small moon where the Progen retired to, he was abducted. They told me of a strange, massive ship that came from the night clouds silently. It took Rucyn, and left. So I set off to find my lost husband and bring him back home.

I followed rumors of strange ships into unexplored regions of space, where time and matter had no meaning. I came to call this region Emma-O and was quickly lost in the mire of spacial anolomies and temporal fluxes.

I don't know how long I was in there. It was only after I was saved that I found out that I was gone for nearly two months. But in the Emma-O time was like water and flowed without meaning or restriction.

I was meditating when sensors picked up a planet embedded deeply in a thick nebula. Then I noticed the ships. They were small tactical fighters that appeared out of nothing. They escorted me to the planet. I had no contact with them, they ignored all hails. But I didn't need to hear words to know they were serious and deadly. Enough weapons were trained on me to blow apart a small station. The planet was gorgeous. Emerald green with vivid blue oceans. Large space cruisers orbited the body, ink black in color with cannons covering the hull. My sensors couldn't penetrate the cruisers or the planet. I was blind, helpless and alone.

My editor has informed me to continue the story in the next article. Something about space allotment and money. Please read the next installment; I believe that all pilots need to know about the Emma-O and the enemy within its expanse.