///LOCATION - NUAKEA/OBLIVION/GENESIS BIOTECH///TIME - 10:53 LMT///DATE - 14-05-2232///

Michelle had practically turned the Genesis BioTech Bureau upside-down out of anger when the people there told her that Eric had gone missing. She couldn't believe it. Her best friend, Eric, who had always been able to find a way out of a dangerous situation, was presumed dead. Her friend.

She wasn't going to just accept it. She tried her best to convince the people at Genesis to initiate a Search-And-Rescue party, but they said that such a thing wouldn't be worth it. The chances of finding him out in the depths of space were so small, that it was incredibly unlikely that they would ever find him.

All they had was a list of coordinates and checkpoints where Eric had reported in, and a transcript of the communications with local flight controllers. The last thing that anyone had ever heard from Eric, was him declaring that he was charging his Alcubierre Drive to jump to the next star-system:

"PHT-752D, charging warp-drive for jump to [INAUDIBLE] sector 58."

Unfortunatly, the part where he said his exact destination was inaudible, due to a partially corrupted drive at the local flight-control center. Michelle was willing to try anything she could to prove that Eric was not dead, and to make sure that he would make it back to the station. They told her that it would be best for her if she left the investigation to the local authorities, and she decided to take that advice.

///LOCATION - NUAKEA/OBLIVION/KENDRIK UNIVERSITY///TIME - 16:00 LMT///DATE - 14-05-2232///

"And that is why this specific flower is capable of surviving in a vacuum, but not inside an atmosphere. Any questions?"

Nobody in the classroom lifted their hand to ask a question. The explanations provided by their teacher Christina Castello were more than enough for them to understand the subject of non-atmospheric vegetation. After confirming that nobody had missed any information, Christina noticed that the class was out of time. "Okay class, you are dismissed! Don't forget to study for next-week's test!"

Michelle finished typing the last notes, and then proceeded to put her stuff in her bag. She had tried her best to focus, but all she had been able to think about was Eric. He was still out there, she knew it. As she made her way down to the exit, she passed by Christina's desk. As she did, her professor asked her: "Hey Michelle, are you okay? You seem quite distracted? Is something bothering you?"

Michelle looked up, and turned towards Christina. "Well, uhm, yeah, there is something, but I'm not really supposed to talk about it."

"What is it? Trust me, you can tell me. I might even be able to help."

She sighed, and opened up. "Okay, the thing is, my friend Eric went missing in space, and the people at Genesis refuse to help me find him!"

Christina looked at her in confusion. "Wow, calm down there! How did he end up missing? And what does Genesis have to do with it?"

"You see, my friend Eric was trying to find a job, since he was a bit short on credits. So I told him about a job-offer I overheard whilst working at the Star-Bar. You know, the bar at B266? The one with the special drinks? Anyway, I told him about the job. It was something about scanning a newly discovered nebula or something. He was halfway there, when all communications with him were lost. Nobody has heard from him again. All you had to do, was scan the damn nebula Eric!"

Christina was shocked by what she heard. "Let me guess, this job was offered by Genesis BioTech?"

"Yes, it was. I don't know what to do! They won't help me, and they are saying that Eric is probably already dead, but I know he's not!"

"And how exactly do you know that he's still alive, if I may ask?"

"I JUST DO!" Michelle yelled, almost crying in the process.

"Okay, just calm down. I'm done for today anyway. Would you like to come with me? We might be able to figure something out." Christina asked.

"Sure, that sounds good."

///LOCATION - NUAKEA/OBLIVION/APPARTMENT A600///TIME - 16:17 LMT///DATE - 14-05-2232///

"Hello dear, welcome back! How was your- wait, who's this?" Adrianos Castello said to his wife.

"Hello honey, this is Michelle!" She replied. "She needs help with something."

"Oh, is she one of your students?"

"She is, but it's not about that. She needs the both of us for something else."

Adrianos started to become more and more curious. "Well, would you mind telling why you need me and my wife's help?"

Michelle looked at the man standing before her. He was atleast in his fifties, maybe even older, and he was wearing glasses. Not many people wore glasses those days. Most people with sight-issues get laser-treatment, which doesn't even cost that much anymore. Either way, it did make him look rather intelligent, somehow, which fitted him, as Adrianos Castello was one of the smartest doctors on the station. Maybe even in the entire UEE. He came from a family of doctors, one of which led a team of researchers to discover a cure for heartfailure.

"Well..." Michelle said. "It all started out when my friend Eric was on a job for Genesis..."

Author's Note

Names, locations, ships, technologies and events are inspired by various sources, including: Games - Elite: Dangerous, Star Citizen | TV - MLP:FiM, The Expanse | Companies/Organizations - NASA/JPL (Alcubierre Drive)

If you want your character to be featured as a human soldier, pilot, politician or civilian, or a pony civilian, politician or royal guard, please send me a message with the character's name, looks, characteristics, and role if you have any preference. All featured characters will be credited.

Featured Characters:
Lightning Sky - Oskar

Fun Fact!
Adrianos Castello is actually based on a real-life scientist and doctor (I will not give away his real name here.) who is part of a team which is incredibly close to finishing a cure for heartfailure! In less then a month, they will know whether the medicine will be succesfull. If it is, I will share the results, and a link to the corresponding medical page in one of the upcoming chapters and/or blogposts!