Prologue
"I can't believe rotated me out but not you."
Nicole Brennan smiled. It had been about the fourth time Isaac had stated this. He was not happy at all. She took his hand as they walked through the transfer bay. Nicole's shuttle was to arrive in a mere five minutes.
"Serves you right for not marrying me. We could have claimed spousal preference."
Besides, Nicole thought. There's no way Isaac would remain sane with that many Unitologists onboard.
Isaac snorted, but smiled. The marriage humour always got him. "Very funny."
"Besides," Nicole continued "It's only for about six weeks. Some of the crew has been up there for two years! I'm sure some of them have girlfriends too."
Isaac glanced at the ground and then back up at Nicole. "Not like you though."
The two paused in front of the loading bay door. It was an exciting prospect to be offered a position on the USG Ishimura, but still… it was hard to leave Isaac. No matter the circumstances. Nicole turned towards Isaac and kissed him goodbye.
"I'll call you soon okay? Don't worry about me. I love you Isaac."
Isaac nodded. "Love you too."
Nicole stepped into the loading bay. She turned, took one last look at Isaac, then the doors shut, obscuring him from her view. Nicole sighed; made sure her RIG's log was recording, and then headed toward shuttle no. 214.
The vastness of space had always intrigued Nicole, no matter how many times she saw it. But as she gazed out the port window of the shuttle, she always thought experiencing the Ishimura was always different. It seemed to draw her eyes like a dead body in its magnificence The USG Ishimura was the most famous Planetcracker class mining vessel in service. Huge, stellar, and somewhat intimidating, she loomed in the emptiness before the shuttle, Aegis VII serving as a backdrop for the ship. It was widely known that Aegis was of more importance than it initially seemed.
All over the news, reports of an ancient artefact called "The Marker" had been recovered from the planet. This attracted the attention of a religious group called Unitologists, who took the discovery of The Marker as a symbol of divine salvation, or whatever it was. Nicole hadn't been extensively educated in Unitology, partly because Isaac wasn't too fond of them. Even more ominous was the "incidents" on the ship since The Marker's discovery. Reports of workers disappearing were becoming commonplace, even stories of crew members going crazy and killing themselves or others was widely known. Part of the reason why Nicole was assigned to the Ishimura was to lend medical assistance to a regrettably low doctor count. The shuttle pilot's calm voice came in over the speakers, cutting thorough
"Attention, please secures all personal belongings, and secure your zero gravity harnesses. We'll be docking shortly."
Nicole strapped her herself and her bag into the seat as the Ishimura's enormous shuttle bay doors slowly opened.
"Docking in ten seconds, please secure all belongings. Welcome to the Ishimura folks."