Deep Darkness

Vast. Infinite. Dark. There are a lot of words that people use to describe the massive emptiness of space, but none of them ever seem to come close to truly encompassing the scope and sheer size of the stars above. A lot of settlers, safe on their little worlds below, seem to forget that sometimes. They forget that the likelihood of finding Class E planets, like the ones they live on, is incredibly rare, and it's more likely than not that a single ship could simply disappear into the stars, never to even see another planet, much less a habitable one.

Ethan sat in his pilot's chair, staring out into the vast blackness of the stars, a single narc-cig hanging from his lips; enjoying the high of the chemical mix rushing through his veins. It was moments like this, moments of utter silence where he was left to his thoughts and the quiet hum of the engines, that he liked to smoke. It allowed him to contemplate everything that had happened so far and everything that could happen in the coming future.

Lifting his fingers to the narc-cig, Ethan held it in place as he took another hit. The rush was instantaneous and he felt his mind cloud, starting from his lungs and filling every crevice in his brain like a rush of warm water. Everything felt better. Smoother. Cleaner. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

As he leaned back in his chair, a soft beeping at his Comm. panel caught his attention. Looking down to the flashing red light on his terminal, he realized the someone was trying to get his attention.