All the Stars Stay Silent

The void between stars has a substance all its own. They say even vacuum requires energy to sustain itself. I could almost feel it, as I sit in the cabin, looking out the window at the stars.

My ship, the civilization ark, Coconut, would reach one of them, eventually. For now, however, our destination Sirius was just another star in the distance, never moving, never growing. I am here as an organic failsafe in the unlikely event of a problem with the mechanical systems.

I turn to look at my crew, frozen in cryostorage, but something else looks back me. It's me, in the nude, hovering a a foot above the ground. The apparition mimics my look of surprise, then slowly fades from sight. It's then that an alarm on the oxygen converter sounds. Something in the great expanse of vacuum has noticed us, and theres no way to call for help.