Aurelian had been more reckless once.

That was a long time ago.

Now he wasn’t.

What they were looking at wasn’t something you rushed into without thinking, not anymore, not after everything he had seen and everything he had already chosen to build.

The place in front of them didn’t feel like something that would forgive mistakes.

It wasn’t just dead.

It felt worn out in every sense.

The remains of the system stretched out in every direction, broken pieces drifting in slow, quiet paths that had probably not changed in years.

Some of the wrecks were old ships, stripped down to little more than frames. Others looked like station parts, support structures, or things that had once held something important together.

A few pieces were so twisted that it was hard to tell what they had been without getting closer.

But all of it had the same feeling.

It looked dead and broken, and a single gentle touch could destroy everything.

as it had lasted longer than it should have, and then just... kept going anyway.

Rhoswen stared at it through the display for a while before speaking.

"I hate places like this."

Neris didn’t even look up when she answered. "You say that every time."

"Yes," Rhoswen said, without hesitation. "And I’m always right."

Aurelian didn’t respond to that. His attention had already shifted to the main structure ahead.

The patrol ships that were left had started guiding them inward, not along a straight or direct route, but enough to make the direction clear.

They weren’t leading in a clean or coordinated way, but they were still following some kind of pattern, still moving along routes that had been set long ago.

The structure they were heading toward was massive.

It wasn’t part of the broken ring itself, but something deeper, built into one of the largest remaining sections of the system.

It sat partly hidden behind layers of old framework and damaged shielding, but even with that, its size stood out. It was far larger than anything that should have still mattered in a system like this.

That alone made it worth paying attention to.

Eirenne spoke through the open channel as he focused on it.

"The main data systems about these civilizations are inside there," she said.

Rhoswen raised an eyebrow, looking at the structure again. "That whole thing is just data systems?"

"No," Eirenne replied, and for a moment, there was a slight shift in her tone. "It seems that all of these are coolers needed for the systems, and they didn’t have the right tech, so they used this method."

The way she said it was so dry that Rhoswen looked a bit surprised, as that was not a high-level technology, so why were they hell-bent on keeping this?

Aurelian noticed that.

He didn’t comment on it, but he kept it in mind.

The patrol ships guided them toward an opening along one side of the structure, one of the few bays that still appeared capable of accepting incoming ships.

The outer doors moved slowly when they approached, the mechanisms behind them clearly old and strained, but still working well enough to complete the motion.

Once they were inside, the bay sealed behind them.

That was enough to make Rhoswen shift slightly.

"Still not a trap?" she asked.

"Still nothing that proves it is," Aurelian said.

Neris was already working through scans, checking everything she could as quickly as the system would allow.

"Atmosphere is active in sections," she said. "Pressure too. Not stable by normal standards, but it’s there."

Eirenne answered without hesitation.

"It seems that the automated systems did this to keep the power usage as low as possible."

There was no pride in the way she said it.

Just a simple fact.

The ship settled into place, and when the locking sequence finished, Eirenne’s projection appeared again, this time through the internal feed just outside the hatch.

She looked the same as before, small and composed, standing there like she had been waiting for them.

"I will guide you from here," she said. "The path is stable. Stable enough."

Rhoswen looked at Aurelian. "So we’re going in."

"Yes."

"Good."

Neris stood more slowly, taking a moment to look at the projection before speaking.

"You really are from his side," she said.

"Yes," Eirenne replied.

"And you waited until now."

"Yes."

The answer was simple enough that Neris almost smiled.

Aurelian opened the hatch.

The air inside the structure hit them right away, not bad, not dangerous, but old. It carried the smell of metal and systems that had been running too long without proper care.

It was dry, filtered, and worn in a way that didn’t need explanation.

Rhoswen stepped out first, staying close to him in a way she would never describe as protective.

Neris followed after, quieter, her eyes moving over everything as she took it in. Eirenne’s projection stood a short distance ahead, waiting for them with her hands folded neatly in front of her.

Up close, she didn’t look any different.

But something about being here made her feel more real.

Like she actually belonged to this place.

"This way," she said.

They followed her.

The path took them deeper into the structure, through wide corridors that had clearly been built to impress at some point, but now held together only where they needed to.

The lighting was dim, mostly emergency systems, enough to see by but not enough to hide the damage.

Some walls still showed what the place had once been, clean lines and solid design, while others were patched together, with exposed sections and repairs that had been done quickly just to keep things running.

Aurelian took it all in as they walked.

The layout.

The remaining systems.

The way parts of the station still responded to Eirenne as she moved, recognizing her even after all this time.

This wasn’t just some empty ruin with one AI left inside.

It had been something serious.

Something important.

More than he had expected.

Rhoswen looked around and shook her head slightly. "This is the second time it’s just the two of us walking into something like this." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Neris, walking just behind them, spoke quietly.

"Three of us."