July 12, 2497
Water dripped like sweat from the walls and ceiling of a seemingly endless corridor. Rhythmic drops echoed through the otherwise perfect stillness – perfect silence. This silence was broken by the engines of a prisoner transport shuttle. Metal scraped against metal as it thudded to the ground, sending a vibration through the entire complex and momentarily speeding the lone drip. A man was rudely shoved from the shuttle onto the structure as it groaned under the foreign weight. He fell to his knees and one of the men on board shouted an obscenity.
"Enjoy your stay at the resort, Scummer! Try and survive until Lift four-zero-four arrives," another officer called. "Whatever happens, just don't forget . . ." the engines kicked and a muffled series of laughter pressed through the deafening hum.
Bren stood up and turned to face the graying sky. His bright blue eyes focused on the distant spacecraft as it shrunk into the atmosphere. He dropped his gaze as he turned to face the entry ramp into the depths of the structure. Shrenner, it was called. A drop station for prisoners in transit to the galaxy’s largest and finest penitentiary, Kingshall. Although bearing a seemingly ironic name and housing the highest tier of lawbreakers in all the worlds, Kingshall was surprisingly accommodating. It was overseen by the Gezum, who were doubtless the most humane of all the Sentients. Despite this, very few worlds near the galactic edge were willing to make the voyage to the prison, especially for the sole purpose of transporting criminals. Instead the Lifts were commissioned - massive transport ships designed to carry nearly anything from outlying words to the Sector Gates for instantaneous transport anywhere in the galaxy.
Bren stood up and turned to face the graying sky. His bright blue eyes focused on the distant spacecraft as it shrunk into the atmosphere. He dropped his gaze as he turned to face the entry ramp into the depths of the structure. Shrenner, it was called. A drop station for prisoners in transit to the galaxy’s largest and finest penitentiary, Kingshall. Although bearing a seemingly ironic name and housing the highest tier of lawbreakers in all the worlds, Kingshall was surprisingly accommodating. It was overseen by the Gezum, who were doubtless the most humane of all the Sentients. Despite this, very few worlds near the galactic edge were willing to make the voyage to the prison, especially for the sole purpose of transporting criminals. Instead the Lifts were commissioned - massive transport ships designed to carry nearly anything from outlying words to the Sector Gates for instantaneous transport anywhere in the galaxy.
Lift 404’s arrival at Shrenner was uncertain. Bren would have to survive in the shambled halls until then. Intelligent mechs and robots maintained the structure and although they, too, were falling into disrepair, their work provided some help to any soul unfortunate enough to be left here. The man made his way down a ramp leading to a pair of malfunctioning
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