[center][h1]~ Chapter 1 ~[/h1]
[sub]Unknown Contact[/sub][/center]

	Asteroids streamed by behind the Numinous as it drifted through space, suffering little in terms of wear in its long journey from the edge of the core worlds. Mischa Pomonov was well on her way into the darkest reaches of uncharted space, the Beta sector, perhaps headed towards immeasurable technology, or so she might've hoped. After her most recent jump, her scanners were still unable to pick up anything of interest. The cockpit window gazed into blackness, lit only by a scarce collection of stars that could not even be seen from her home worlds. She was farther out this time than ever before, and perhaps, to no avail.

	Very few were willing to explore the vast expanse between the Alpha and Gamma sectors. The Beta sector was aptly dubbed [i]dead space,[/i] though that was more of a buzz phrase to dissuade inexperienced pilots from heading towards their certain doom. Although the Beta sector was certainly vast, and mostly empty, there were no real dangers that accompanied exploration of the darkness within. Well, aside from the occasional plasmatic event, or running out of supplies without any chance of finding help. But like the saying always went, [i]if nobody's been there, how can you really say that it's empty?[/i] That's what good ole' Gregory used to say, anyways. The man was a nut-job, but his age held more than phantasmal tales of wonder. It helped that he was one of the only mentors that actually treated Mischa with care. He had a fatherly air about him, but it was often overcome by his quirky nature, and idiotic practices.

	Hours into the void, and the Numinous' on-board computers began to blip frantically. It was a distress signal, coming from what appeared to be [i]empty space.[/i] Whatever the source, this was coming from something that the ship's sensors couldn't pick up, or something that [i]didn't want[/i] to be seen. Where was it coming from? There wasn't anything for [i]miles[/i] showing up on the scanners, and Mischa sure as hell couldn't see anything through her cockpit window.