It's the year 2105, at Edos Station, in the Helix Galaxy.
It was 11.00 pm Eastern time. I was walking to my hoverbike, which I had parked nicely in a bike parking spot. The surrounding area was bright with lamps, yet it felt dark. There were barely any vehicles left at the parking spot. A cold breeze of wind passed over my back, I shivered. As I was about to get on the bike, I heard a sudden noise of something metallic crashing down nearby. Instinctively, my attention turned toward the noise.
I saw an old homeless man crouched on the ground, picking up tins and metal scraps scattered on the ground. I looked around but there was no one nearby to help him. So, feeling sympathy at the time, I walked toward the homeless man to give him a hand. I picked up his scrap without saying anything. He looked surprised for a while but continued to pick up the scrap with me.
After a while, no more metal scrap was left on the ground. I handed over the last piece to him before making my way back to my bike. But, as soon as I turned back, he spoke. His voice was old and weak but it was clear.
Homeless man: Thank you, young man. It is rare to find a kind person like you these days...
He complimented me but I couldn't possibly accept it. As I was about to open my mouth, he continued.
Homeless man: Here, a token of my appreciation. It is the key to your bright future. May your life be blessed.
The homeless man gently placed something of a silver coin the size of a poker chip on the palm of my hand. I took a quick look at the coin and noticed a strange pattern carved on its surface. I had never seen the pattern before. When I looked back up, the homeless man had gone. I looked around but he was nowhere to be seen. Just me alone in the middle of an empty parking space.
Not knowing what to do with the coin, I slipped it into my pocket before I walked back to my bike. Unbeknownst to me at that time, that moment was my turning point.
A month later
9.00 pm Eastern time. Cyber-City, the indoor city inside the station, was bustling with people walking, talking, fighting, floating cars and hoverbikes on the roads. It was a normal night like any other.
Except for me.
I had been falsely accused of stealing a very important neural chip from the government. I was on my bike, dashing through the highway at 200+ km/h, slipping between cars and trucks as I was getting chased by a group of police.
They tracked me from my house and when I realized I had been watched, I packed the essentials and got on my bike. As soon as I did that, several police cars turned the siren on and chased me.
I didn't know where to go. I couldn't possibly crash at my friends' place; they would get tangled with me, too.
I took a sharp turn to the right, entering the dark side of the city. It was so much quieter with far fewer vehicles on the road. The road lamps were barely working, flickering, dead, or broken. The shop buildings on the side of the road were closed, the front glasses were broken, flickering lights, and trash was everywhere.
However, the police were still chasing me. I barely knew this place but what I knew there was a dead end at the end of the road. My time was close and the end was closing in. I had to think fast or I would end up in jail.
Then, I saw a spaceship on the horizon. It was a medium-sized private ship. Fortunately - and strangely - the door opened. Without thinking much, I pulled the throttle as much as I could, through the conveniently placed ramp, and into the ship.
As soon as I was in, I got off the bike, closed the door and turned on the ship. I might not have a spaceship in my entire life but I got licensed for it. All the lights were on and an engine was firing, my hands grabbed the yoke and I pulled it as quickly and hard as I could to lift the ship off the ground and into the sky.
The ship was far on the sky and I could see a group of police cars stopped below me and officers came out while looking up as the ship flew away.
The ship trembled slightly as it broke through the upper atmosphere of Edos Station's artificial sky. I kept both hands firm on the yoke, trying my best to steady my breathing.
Freedom.
A fragile one but freedom nonetheless.
The blinking lights of the Cyber-City drifted farther and farther away until they looked like distant starts scattered beneath me. I didn't know where to go. No more home to return to, no safe place to rest, and no one I could trust without dragging them into this mess.
For the first time in a while, I was truly alone.
I leaned back in the seat, letting exhaustion weigh down my arms. The ship's systems flickered one by one, running through their automated startup cycles. A transparent holographic display lit up in front of me, showing the general map of the Helix Galaxy, the only galaxy I had ever known, and even that felt too small now.
"Where do I even go...?" I whispered to myself.
Before I could think further, something moved in my pocket.
A faint vibration.
I froze. Slowly, I reached inside and pulled out the silver coin the homeless man had given me a month ago. The metal felt warmer than usual.
Then, the coin glowed.
A soft silver light pulsed from its carved patterns, illuminating the cockpit in a pale, ghostly shine. The ship's interface glitched for a brief moment, static flickering across the holographic panels.
"What the—?"
Suddenly, an unfamiliar navigation window itself open on the main display. A single coordinate appeared in glowing white text:
UNKNOWN SECTOR — GALAXY: UNCHARTED
A place outside the Helix Galaxy.
That was impossible.
The ship shouldn't have even recognized that region, let alone plotted a route to it. Yet the display kept insisting - almost begging - to be followed.
The coin pulsed again, brighter, as if urging me.
I stared at it, remembering the homeless man's weak voice.
"It is the key to your bright future."
Was this what he meant?
Why now?
Why me?
I tightened my grip on the coin. My life on Edos was over. The police wouldn't stop until they dragged me into a cell or worse. Staying anywhere in the Helix Galaxy would be suicide.
So I made a decision.
"Fine, let's see where you want me to go."
I pushed the throttle forward.
The engines roared.
Stars stretched into streaks of white as the ship jumped into warp. The Helix Galaxy vanished behind me.
I had no idea how long I was traveling but the ship eventually dropped out of warp by itself. A cold shiver ran down my spine when I looked out the window.
There, suspended in the middle of a dark, quiet region of space, was a colossal structure.
A space station.
No lights. No signals. No movement.
Just a silent, dying giant floating in an unknown galaxy. A place no map had ever shown.
My breath caught in my throat.
The coin in my hand dimmed as if it had brought me to its final destination.
"This... is where my future begins?"
The abandoned station loomed ahead, massive and eerie, like a grave of forgotten civilizations.
The Key... had led me here.
And I had no idea what awaited me inside.