Navigator first grade Jerrick Nelson’s last coherent thought, before he was torn limb from limb, was that his parents had been vociferously against his getting his spacer accreditation and joining a salvage crew to search the outer rim. “Space is dark diseased, and dangerous!” they warned. “You’d be much better off staying here on Terra… maybe go into politics. Your scores on your aptitude tests are in the top one percent. You could do or be anything you want!” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ But what Jerrick secretly wanted was adventure. He'd been coddled and protected his entire life, and he saw this as his best chance to forge his own path. Being a crewman on a deep space salvage ship marked you as an "alpha"; a real Terran. Plus, everyone knew that the big money was in alien artifacts. And the only place you found those on Terra was either on the black market, or in the government propaganda centers which used them to prove Terran superiority over all other races. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ “It’s the unknown that I’m looking for” he told them. “Well, be careful the unknown doesn’t find you first” they responded. Too late, he realized that they’d been right.