The throttle began to dial back as the starship dropped out of inter-light speed travel. Before the ship was a dark unilluminated structure hovering in the orbit of the green planet’s inner moon. It was strange to see something so lifeless and still in the foreground of a planet teeming with life and activity.

I pressed two buttons on my console, initiating a scan for life forms. The ship locked onto the station and began its sweep. Moments later the console let out two soft beeps. I looked down at the screen. ‘Zero life signs detected’. I tilted my head slightly in reluctantance as I dialed the throttle up slightly. The starship crept slowly towards the empty space station now, bringing it closer and closer as I appeared to grow compared to the planets behind it.

As I drew closer, my console let out a soft ding. ‘Proximity alert: station detected. Initiate docking sequence?’ I pressed two more buttons, acknowledging and proceeding with the automated docking procedure. My heart was pounding now. I knew the moment I docked, anything that my sensors couldn’t detect would be alerted to my arrival. Assuming they weren’t already. I could feel sweat beginning to form on my brow.

Was this mission worth my life? Could I truly salvage the computer fragments in time? Was this station truly abandoned?

*Clunk*

‘Docking successful’