Lost among the stars

Title: Lost among the stars
Rating: General Audiences
Series: Sex Pistols, No Man’s Sky
Pairings/Couples: None at this moment
Part of: Racing between the stars
Beta: No Beta, all mistakes are my own
Summary: He thought he was alone in the universe, just one anomaly among the Gek, Korvax, and Vy’keen.  Never to find another such as himself. 
Notes: It’s been so long and I am so rusty at this.  I’m using this to just write something again.  I’m taking a lot of liberties with everything in this series/stories, especially when it comes to No Man’s Sky.  The same with space travel as well as messages traveling through a system and throughout the galaxy.  The game has about 18 Quintillion planets and with that many planets, there can be a multitude of things that don’t make sense (like some of the fauna in the game)  So why not a story about literal star crossed lovers?  This isn’t crossover pairings, I just love the universe and the world building that No Man’s Sky has.  This is a strictly Sex Pistols pairing, where they learn about each other and what it means to not be along in the universe.

The howling of the wind was muffled through his helmet, ice creeping into his veins as he finally reached the ship.  Through the frost covered visor he could make out the lights that danced along the panel, buttons flashing as the ship Phobos lit up to his presence.  Electricity hummed as the door slid open and the warmth that enveloped him as he stepped in.

With a hiss, the door closed and for a moment, as brief as it was, everything felt as though nothing was wrong.  That everything was right in the universe, wasn’t lost among the stars and that he’d be able to fully communicate with the other creatures and life forms that he had come across.  

He wasn’t that lucky.  No one was that lucky in this unforgivable universe.  Death is always around the corner to those struggling to survive.

The frost that had been building on his visor meeting away, he gave a sigh of relief as finders made quick work on the latches of his helmet.  Giving a tug, breathing in the welcome scent of Phobos gave off that resemblance to something of a home.  Setting the gray helmet on the table that he had found scrounging at an abandoned settlement, among other things that he had found.  Giving his gloves a tug and toss, he pushed back his bangs as he worked to get his suit off, glad that this world wasn’t radiated like the previous one was. 

The small bathroom to his left held a mirror, just big enough to see any injuries that he would normally get when he explored or escaped a battle that pirates started.  His ship at the moment was fast enough to escape with little damage, though not strong enough to deal the damage that was needed to fend off those that wanted to steal what he found.  

Reaching and turning the tap for water, wanting nothing more than to wash away to cold and forget that he still hadn’t found another like him.  Looking up at the mirror, his gray eyes took in features that are smooth and nearly unblemished save for the scar running from his left temple, down his neck to his collarbone.  Skin that healed, leaving a silver scar that would itch at times.  His mind would struggle to remember things, loneliness plaguing him,  an ache that never seemed to leave.

When he could communicate with others, what words he knew helped in getting what he needed.  The Gek would be happy when he found things they thought were rare, though negotiating was a hassle when it wasn’t something they really wanted.  Shrewd when it came to paying for common items, eager when it was rare and valuable in the hopes that they could get their hands on them.  

Still, at times he would get flashes of lost memories.  Of blue eyes and a halo of golden hair that one wouldn’t normally find among the Gek or Korvax nor any of the other sentient races he had come across.  Echos of things he could swear he never experienced, aching as though he missed them.

Shaking his head and chasing away his thoughts, he stepped into the spray of water.  Upping the temperature on the water, he quickly washed away the grim that had gotten into his suit, warming up his soul and the flush that started to spread across his chest.

The vent on the ceiling kicked on, sucking up the clouds of steam as he turned off the water and quickly dried off.  Heating on the various ships worked, sometimes too well, he didn’t want to linger too long wet, never wanting to chance of things breaking down on a freezing world.

Bundling up in some of the clean clothes that he had, making a mental note to visit the station before gathering his supplies, he crawled into what one would call a bed.  What comfort he could find under the blankets, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.  Nothing but darkness behind the lids and the word that he had come to associate as his name that came to him.

Time was meaningless in the universe he had come to find out when he first awoke on the desolate planet with little to no information about himself and where he came from.  Even longer when he managed to fix his ship to save himself from being burned by the wall of flames that would rise up with little notice.  In the safety of the small ship, he tried to speak.  Tried to make out more than just a croak of pain.

Throat roughened by the smoke, he spoke.  Words that he knew in a language that no one seemed to figure out.  He could speak to those that tolerated his attempts at their language, though no one dared to try to communicate with him in his own language.  Knowledge stones that jutted from the grass, dirt and rocks.  Among the acid rains, deadly plants and the like that passed on age old knowledge.  Those that had died eons before helping those that want to learn.  Towers of broken stone and glass, dark as the space between the stars, leading him to a journey to the center of the galaxy with hopes of answers that no one else can answer.  He heard rumors of Atlas, seeing glimpses of alien life that seemed just as rare as himself.

Normally after returning from exploring, hunting down what could easily get him some credits, he slept for at least a day.  Longer depending how far he traveled away from Phobos, searching in the hopes of coming across rare metals.  This time, getting his hand on some of the more in demand storm crystals.

The steady slow beeping lured him out of the sleep he was enjoying.  Dreams that welcomed and shunned, promising of what can happen and never could.  Teasing away his hopes in dashes.  Snippets of what he really wanted, flares of emotions of what he saw and witnessed between others.  Both the friendship between the Geks, Korvax and sometimes the Vy’keen to those that broke away from the group, conversations that surpassed friendship.  Forbidden by others in their circle and empire, their chance for safety is higher on the outskirts of the galaxy.  Welcomed by the pirates that turned their backs on the conquering empire that was crumbling from within.  There were times he could make out the sweet scents of happy Geks that were content, happy with their partners.  Even times he could swear he witnessed a Korvax or two blush, if they even could.

He wanted the closeness others had, wanted the camaraderie and intimacy that others have.  Enviousness crawling up the back of his throat, heart clenching as loneliness grew.

Pushing off the heavy blanket, stretching out his legs as the chill quickly started to seep in under his skin.  Cursing under his breath, he cleared his throat before he spoke to the voice activation on the ship he recently installed.  Hoping that his shoddy attempt of installation worked.

“Power heating up by fifty percent,” he called out, voice a little hoarse from disuse.

The brief dimming of lights and a chirp was his answer as he reached for his exosuit, getting dressed as quickly as possible while ignoring the fact that his suit needed new filters to remove the lingering scent of body odor.  Pulling on his suit, he was able to see frost attempting to form on the thick glass, enjoying the heat that the ship was giving him.  The ice storm that many planets like this was known for was raging once more, the harsh wind trying and failing to move the ship with little more than a gentle rock.  He knew his time left on this planet was nearing an end, so tired of the cold.

The beeping that had lured him from his sleep continued on, a low sound that told him that the heating systems as well as the power needed to be charged.

Grimacing, he didn’t want to step outside and into the ice cold.  Grabbing his helmet and muttering under his breath at his own stupidity, he should have taken care of things early.  Tugging on the helmet until the thick glass allowed him to see out and snapping the lock in place, he checked his vitals as well as life support.  He had enough to last him just enough to collect the chromatic metal from the refiners that dotted the clearing outside the ship.

Steeling himself, he took a deep breath and opened the door, stepping out once the sliding door gave him enough room.  Already he could feel the chill, an ache deep in his bones that would take a while to stop.  Shivering in the cold, he moved in an arch, moving from one refiner to another, he collected the chromatic metal that he would turn into antimatter, allowing him to travel to another system with the hyper-drive on Phobos before dismantling each refiner.  Giving the landscape a look, he turned back to his ship and into the heat that he so desperately wanted to bathe in.  The door slid closed with a solid click, releasing the breath he didn’t know he was holding.  A quick glance at the computer panels in the cockpit, reminding him of what he needed to do, he turned back and walked through the small living area and down the steps into the belly of the ship.

The heavy door that protected the front of the ship from the cargo area and the containers of dangerous materials lit up, requesting the combination that he had set in the hopes to deter pirates if they were to ever try to steal the cargo from him.  Though he knew that would only be a minor set back to the ones who were ballsy enough and maybe desperate enough to try.

Entering the combination of letters and symbols, gestures with his gloved fingertips, he stepped back as the door lit up with approval, opening up for him.

Down the narrow path, containers on either side of him.  Each one filled with what he harvested and found.  Full of materials and ingredients that moved through his multi-tool, separating into their proper containers, several overflowing to another container.  He could just have the ingredients and materials stored in his exo-suit for easier access, and he knew he should.  Really knew he should.  Not wanting to be stuck away from his ship with his protection failing and just freezing to death, among other things that could happen.  

It’s just, his priorities were in exploring and the cost to upgrade his exo-suit wasn’t the foremost thing he worried about.  And he hadn’t been able to get his hands on a map for a drop pod to upgrade his suit for free.

He gave a shudder at the thought of what he had come across, images in his head of other explorers.  Of researchers.  Of those who had died, their bodies were in different conditions and stages of decay.  Radiation.  Burned or being frozen to death.  Predators that stalked the ones that didn’t take notice of their surroundings.

Sometimes he was hired to find the missing among the planets and systems, returning with what he found.  Sometimes information on the whereabouts and if he was lucky, he would find the missing alive, just hungry and scared.  Hiding away from the elements and creatures that wouldn’t think twice about eating them.

Like how he had been as he had approached the planet.  The prospect of hoping to find and harvest rare storm crystals instead of Tritium for the Pulse Engine, having ignored the asteroids that cluttered between the planets in favor of chasing elusive riches.  He had enough for one full charge and then he was out completely.

Clucking his tongue at his own foolishness, he crafted what he could for the Pulse Engine before injecting the fuel into Phobos.  The dimming of lights then the sharp hum of the ship, power surging before quieting back down as he topped off the hyperdrive fuel as well as fuel for the launch thrusters.

He could faintly hear a chime coming through the speakers of the ship.  Looking over his shoulder towards the living area where his bed lay, wanting to slip back under the blankets.  To fall into the dreams where he felt welcomed and wanted, of a place that doesn’t seem to exist in this galaxy.  He wondered if his dreams were memories from a time so long gone.  From abandoned buildings and the data that had been left behind for those to find.  Or if it was nothing more than what his mind was coming up with to deal with the loneliness.

The howl from outside, wind kicking up once again as the storm continued.  It would die off soon, and start up once more some time later in a never ending cycle.

Shaking his head, his decision was made as he made his way back up the steps and into the living area.  Giving the bed a sad look, he grabbed some food out of a locker before slipping into the pilot’s seat.  He could see the flashes of storm crystals off in the distance as Phobos hummed, the promise of not so easy money taunting him.  Nearly urging him to stay and harvest just one more.  

Chewing his bottom lip, he steeled his determination and reached out, flipping the cover of the launch switch.  Buckling himself in, the sound of thrusters as the ship launched off the ground and into the swirling dark clouds of ice and rain.  Gripping the handles, getting his fingers comfortable, he guided his ship.  The shimmering light from the distant sun as he escaped the atmosphere of the planet, being pushed into the seat from the force.  Escaping the orbit of the planet, his foot pressed forward as he pulled back the handles, exhaling in relief.

Guiding his ship away from the planet and towards the large belt of asteroids that lay between him and the space station, he set to work.  Deep down he knew he could do this himself, one asteroid by one, moving slowly and methodically, getting the Tritium that he needed to get him further along in the system and more.  Instead, he set the instructions for the computer to do what he should be doing.  Once the computer took over, scanning and mining for Tritium, he finally turned to the messages.  The flashing green light that became solid as words were projected on the screen.  His eyes glanced over it before his heart froze for a brief moment, racing in his throat as his pulse pounded in his ears.  The text on the screen didn’t read in the way that the Gek spoke, nor the Korvax and Vy’keen.  

Leaning forward, he read.  A message in his language, something that he could read.

‘…..Heard there is something like me’

The message began, the structure so similar in the way he himself talks.  He swallowed as he continued to read.

‘Trying to find others, haven’t-’

Some of the words of the message were missing, he didn’t care.

‘Is it true?  I haven’t seen others-’

Another cut off.

‘My message coordinates are the following,’

Scrambling to pull out his pocket navigator, he punched the coordinates in.  Waiting as the seconds tick by, followed by a minute.  Feeling a lump in his throat as time continued before the results from his navigator projected before him.  A small holographic galaxy slowly rotated before him, a light flashed close to the center of the galaxy.  Dimming and brightening repeatedly as his heart fell.  He was nowhere close to the center of the galaxy.  He couldn’t pinpoint the planet nor system from where the message came from.

Reaching out, he zoomed in on the holographic galaxy.  Still unable to figure out the system, but he knew it must be close to the center, it has to be.  According to the quest he had taken from a Korvax on the very first space station he visited, he should have reached the center a while ago.  Searching for information on Atlas, to figure out everything.

To find his destiny.

Heart in his throat, he deflated.  He was on the edge of the galaxy, in a system orbiting one of the many spiral arms of the galaxy.  Pressing his lips and snorting through his nose, he cleared away the hologram and entered the coordinates he had.  Fingers hovered over the recorder, he was too far away for a vocal recording, knowing that the recording would get scrambled and lost along the way.  A message in text would have less of a chance to be damaged and lost.

Chewing on his lower lip, fingers flying over the keys as he started.

‘This message came to me,’ 

He started

‘How long have you been looking?  I don’t-’

He paused. This person is a complete stranger.  He couldn’t start off as if they were just long lost friends.  Erasing what he started to type out, he took a deep breath and focused on what he wanted to convey.

‘This is the owner of the ship PHOBOS.   I am surprised to be able to read what others cannot.  My name is-’

Again he paused, no one really used his name.  Majority of the Gek, Korvax and Vy’keen used a different name for him, even some of the travelers used a nickname.  They never used the name he had woken up with, unable to fully pronounce his name.  Words that have no meaning in their native tongue.   

This one, though, he trembled with excitement and nervousness, feeling his hands tremble as he typed.

‘My name is Shirou.’

Licking at his bottom lip, he hit the send button, knowing that it’ll be sometime or even longer than that before he’d hear back.

Quelling his nerves, Shirou turned back to the mining that the computer was doing before switching back to take control over the mining, stopping completely.  The quantity of Tritium that had filled two of the containers in the cargo.  He had enough to make more than what he needed to fuel the pulse engine.  Reaching to the left, turning on the scanner and locating the system’s space station, he set course.

No one would think of it bad if he started to hum a tune he heard on a station so long ago.  His cheeks heated up as he pushed the thrusters to go a little faster as he activated the pulse engine.

For the first time since he woke up on an unmapped planet did he feel giddy, excited to communicate with someone like himself.  To hopefully connect with them as others had connected with their friends and more.  

Urging Phobos to go just a little faster as the space station came into view, the ship automatically exited from pulse mode.  Glancing at the screen that was to the right of the steering, the arrival time to the station, he looked up at the sound of another ship exiting pulse mode.  He wasn’t carrying anything illegal per say, but the salvaged data that he had was more than enough to tempt pirates.  Still, not wanting to take the chance, he slipped into the space station and let the station take over, escaping any potential pirates.

Releasing a sound of relief as Phobos landed on the circular landing pad, Shirou waited as the landing pad turned the ship around before lowering with a whoosh.  Unclipping his belt and getting out of the cockpit, he unlocked the door and stepped forward as the door opened, closing right behind him.  Looking up towards the left, the ramp that leads to the merchants that could hopefully answer some questions.  And hopefully point him in the right direction.

If anyone saw that he had pep in his step, no one mentioned it.