Rift Breaker by Tristan Michael Savage

where he saw three stars burning bright, their light carving out the bowl shape over time. From his perspective they were a little smaller than his extended fist, relatively close. Their light pierced the gas and created a green shimmering glow with yellow highlights.
    Tazman came over, leaned forward between the seats and yawned. Luylla tensed and slid her loose gun into its holster. She ran a scan of the area. Apart from indicating some floating mineral, the results were blank — no planets, no life, and no machinery — an endless green void.
    Luylla huffed. ‘I knew this would be a waste of time.’
    Something glinted in the distance. Milton caught the flash from the corner of his eye. He leaned forward with elbows on the console. Something was out there; he had no trace of doubt. He scanned carefully in that direction. The shine came again and he perked up.
    â€˜There,’ he exclaimed, pointing.
    â€˜What?’ fumed Luylla.
    Tazman had also seen it. ‘There’s a little black dot right there,’ he said, pointing. ‘Just go forward … Captain, ma’am.’
    Luylla burned the thrusters. The spot soon became apparent to all and Luylla turned the ship to centre it in the forward pane.
    Milton was riveted. The details became evident. Not surprisingly, he’d never seen anything like it. Its shape was organic and without specific design. Clusters of black spines jutted in every direction forming a bizarre clump. The Inhibitan drew close and Luylla decelerated. The thing was massive, about three times the size of a large class transport.
    â€˜Space junk,’ stated Tazman.
    The incoming transmission light flashed, rounding up everyone’s focus. Not breaking her gaze from the spiny thing, Luylla moved slowly to flick the switch. A strange sound burst from the receivers. The moan sounded like a rusty girder twisting out of shape.
    â€˜I don’t know that language,’ said Luylla.
    â€˜Talking space junk,’ added Tazman.
    Milton’s vest pocket vibrated. He pulled out the gold disc.It rumbled in his palm for a moment then rang at a screeching pitch. Startled, he put it on the console, and the sound dropped an octave.
    The moan twisted and croaked. The disc whined and whistled. They were interacting. At first they both seemed to mimic each other. Then each made slight adjustments, allowing time for the other until the sounds matched perfectly. With that, they cut off. The three mesmerised beings, Milton, Tazman and Luylla, waited expectantly in absolute silence.
    The object outside moved. One of the spines shifted, angling away from the ship. Several more came to life. The large ones parted to reveal smaller spines that followed suit. The whole clump bloomed apart like some carnivorous botanical thing. From the shadowed gap that emerged, something poked into the light. It lengthened towards the ship, a rough-edged shaft, hollow and transparent.
    â€˜A boarding tube,’ smiled Tazman.
    Luylla inched the ship closer. She pulled the controls back and to the right. The black mass swept out of view and the docking indicators splashed on screen. The proximity readings increased and the spikes crept into view again. The Inhibitan ’s side entrance drifted over the tube. A sudden pull came on the ship and the appendage latched on with a shaking rumble. The pressurisation status indicator fired up.
    Luylla stood and turned. Tazman smiled up at her face. She drew a pistol and he graciously moved from her path. Shestormed out of the cockpit, subtly disengaging her weapon safety on the way. Tazman followed.
    Milton leaned out to take another glance at the structure before trailing behind. He went down the connecting passage and found Tazman stopped in the cargo hold. He was looking down another smaller corridor labelled ‘medical centre’. A locker slammed and Luylla emerged from the corridor with a rifle. She cocked the handle on the side and slung it