Treasure Planet AU Fusion with the prompt: Just as sailors had told tales of lovely fish-people, spacefarers reported sightings of 'starmaids', whose forms tapered off into comet trails.

...

Kanae had grown up hearing the stories of course. Having grown up on the streets of Crescentia instead of Montressor proper, there weren't many myths and stories she hadn't heard. When she'd first overheard the ship crews talking about it in whispers at the diners when they were in port, she'd been a kid. Back then it'd been scarier.

Don't sleep near the windows while yer out there. The starmaids will get ya. They'll lure ya out into the black, and there'll be no way back.

Her siblings had laughed it off when she'd talked about it, and had told her to pay it no mind. They'd said she should pay more attention to the wages they needed to earn that week, and to go out and sell some more ship parts. Kanae had listened, if grudgingly. She needed to eat after all.

But as a teen, having earned her place and her keep at Lory's Space Exploration Academy as a mechanic, she grew more and more curious. She delved into the old texts in between classes where she learned ship maintenance, and searched the archives and the libraries wherever she went. She did her best to learn as much as she could about the stories the spacefarers told. Her classmates told her it was a silly past-time, and a waste of energy. But Kanae didn't care. The legend seemed as if it was burned into her mind.

Why were there stories? People would get scared of the black while they were out there and tell tales, it was only natural. And of course the sounds could be explained away as the solar winds pushing against the metal of the ships as they sailed, or the ship exteriors being hit by floating debris. But where did the stories come from? Where did they begin?

Kanae was on the RLS Legacy, sailing under Captain Amelia, when she first thought she found a clue. There'd been a mutiny, the ship diverted for Silver's purposes, and she was stuck in the brig with the others who were loyal to the Captain. And that's when she heard it, the scratch against the window, and a soft sigh. So soft, like leaves rustling in the wind.

She snapped her head around, searching the space outside of the port window near her, her eyes straining to see whatever she could. All she saw was the fading of a comet tail in the distance. She blew out an aggravated sigh, and knocked her head back against the metal of wall.

"Did you… You just saw it too, right?" the whisper came from next to her, to the other side of the port window.

"Don't know what you're talking about," Kanae muttered.

The other girl snorted, "Whatever. You totally saw it. That old myth you know, there's starmaids out there, but you can only tell they've been once they're gone, because they leave behind a trail that looks like a comet."

"You're probably tired and stressed out, it was just a comet," Kanae replied.

"You can keep pretending you didn't hear it, but I saw you. I know you did."

"Whatever," Kanae said,"You should get some sleep before the mutineers come back. Captain Amelia will need us to retake the ship as soon as there's a chance."

The other girl huffed, but said nothing more.

Once the ship was retaken though and everything sorted out to rights, the incident kept bothering her. Something about it stuck out in Kanae's mind.

The sigh that she had heard… It had felt...lonely.

…

A few years later, Kanae was out spacefaring again, Bosun on the RLS Lightning, working under the command of Captain Kurosaki. She'd long since graduated from her ship mechanic days, and was now more often Bosun on the ships she was contracted to. Having known all the differents parts of ships since she'd learned them as child, she finally felt like she belonged when she walked the decks, learning how they ticked and fixing what needed fixed.

This expedition was a little different than most. It was exploratory, rather than a patrol route against the Ironsides, who were the Royal Navy's long-standing enemy in this sector. Another unusual factor, was the girl that had approached her in the dining hall at the end of their first week.

"I'm Chiori," she said as she held out her hand for her to shake, "We once were under Captain Amelia together."

Kanae studied her, trying to place the face as she put her silverware down. She shook the girl's hand.

"Ah, Silver's mutiny. The-"

"Port window in the brig," they said together. Chiori smiled.

"That was me. You're Kanae right? I saw the listing of crew for the RLS Lightning at Montressor Spaceport, and thought it'd be interesting if I joined up."

Kanae hesitated, but was curious, "Interesting how?"

"Where we're exploring, the sector we're in. It's where that old myth started you know. With the first exploration fleet sent out there. It gets forgotten these days, and is typically only known for Ironsides attacks. But I looked it up. Didn't you?"

Chiori studied her as she asked this. Kanae, for a split-second, thought that maybe the girl in front of her with her razorsharp smile and the curious glint in her eye, was used to being underestimated. Kanae knew how that felt. It had been a long, arduous process, for her to reach the position she was currently in.

After a long moment, Kanae replied, "Yeah, yeah I looked it up. You're in good company."

Chiori smiled.

"I thought I might be."

…

Kanae and Chiori didn't become friends exactly, not really. They were too guarded, and too jaded. But they became… colleagues of a sort. They had a shared interest in old tales from the very first spacefaring age.

"This one text says they lure only men. That's who they'll appear to," Chiori said, leaning over Kanae's desk and pointing out the words on the tablet they were sharing.

"Well that's rather sexist," Kanae mumbled, squinting at the words as she sipped her tea.

Chiori giggled, "Obviously it can't be confirmed. But, how could it be true? There's so many genders and I heard the Slitheens, for example, only reproduce symbiotically. They have no gender, as we know it. So obviously, that was probably just added by us humans."

Kanae was nodding along, before she thought of something, "Wait, this is a really old text. This was written by humans. That means humans must have been part of the first exploration fleet."

Chiori straightened, tapping her lip thoughtfully, "You know, I think I might have something on that."

But Kanae was already flicking through her library in her tablet, pulling up and looking through some of her old sources, "Yes, yes they were. We've lost some of the old archives, especially when they were destroyed by our enemies during the War of First Contact, but, but! I did a paper on the RLS Hizuri. Their First Mate Yashiro, he became a Diplomat and historian later, and went around to all of our Spaceport Libraries and Academies, making sure they had a copy of the RLS Hizuri's Captain's Log. He said it was important that it never be forgotten."

Chiori looked through the pages, fascinated by what Kanae was saying.

"It did get forgotten though, right?" asked Chiori.

"It did, but when you're as inquisitive as I am, well, you go looking. It helps that I have an eidetic memory," Kanae said, her lips quirking up in amusement.

Kanae flipped to one of her bookmarks, "Here, this right here, their Captain speaks of what's called a 'siren song', like the old, old stories from planet Earth. Their sailors, they talked about being lured to their death."

Chiori mumbled to herself for a couple minutes as she read through the log, "This captain… He keeps talking about hearing things, his first mate always tells him that he needs more sleep. But… Oh wait, that fades away. He keeps talking about dreaming of a beautiful woman, with golden eyes. Oh funny that...What do you make of it?"

She turned to Kanae, but Kanae was focused on the inscription at the beginning.

To those lost to comets, to the stars, and to the black. You'll never be forgotten, your song will last, and be a reminder to all of us that did make it back.

"The RLS Hizuri's Captain…," Kanae said, inexplicably saddened by the inscription, and finally remembering why this Captain's Log had always stuck out to her, "He never made it back."

Chiori sighed, "That's… That's a bit heavier than what I was expecting to learn today. Are their travel routes logged in the archives too?"

"Should be."

"Think the Captain will let us follow the route?"

"Mmm, we can ask the navigator if we can adjust. Our Captain Kurosaki is focused on the what, not the where."

"Well.. It's not much, but it's something," said Chiori.

Kanae couldn't help but agree.

…

Their navigator, Matsushima, agreed to the adjustment in route with little complaint. Like the captain, he was more curious about what they could find, nebulas, supernovas, new solar wind routes for better fuel efficiency, and etcetera. Their expedition was a long one. They'd been contracted for up to three years, and no specific routes had been demanded by their patron, the Royal Naval Academy. The Academy simply wanted information and discoveries.

That had been part of the appeal of joining up, to Kanae. She had thought she could conduct a fair amount of research for her own personal reasons while out in this sector. So far, she was making great headway. And having Chiori around, someone who saw what Kanae missed, was a great boon.

It helped that Chiori and she had a similar sense of humor, and that they got along. They were like-minded individuals with a quietly burning passion. As much as Kanae and Chiori had been motivated though, some of that fizzled out with no new discoveries or incidents within the next few months.

They were into month eight, again in Kanae's office, when they heard it again.

A scratching like a fingernail on glass, and then a soft sigh, like leaves rustling when wind blew through them. They whipped around, staring out the window, only to see the fading trail of a comet. Kanae stared, and stared, her heart in her mouth. But, nothing else came. She sighed, her hands burying themselves in her hair. Chiori slammed a hand against the wall, and cursed.

"What's that old saying? It's the journey? Not the destination?" remarked Kanae dryly as she rested her chin in her hand.

Chiori huffed out a small laugh, and collapsed against Kanae's desk.

"A damn siren's song," she muttered, "Are we chasing after something impossible?"

"I don't even know anymore."

Kanae caught sight of Chiori staring out the window, yearning clear on her face. It plucked at Kanae's heartstrings.

"Why did you start chasing after this?" asked Kanae.

"A long time ago," began Chiori quietly, "A long time ago, I saw this old, old painting. A beautiful woman, looking like she was bathing in stardust and light, surrounded by a glittering blackness. But she herself, it was like she had this brilliant radiance, and it was like she was keeping the darkness at bay. It was so… it was...it was,"

"Transcendent?" offered Kanae.

"... Yeah. Yeah, that's a good word. It was called Starmaid," Chiori said, "And you?"

Kanae shrugged, even though Chiori was still just looking out the window.

"I was fascinated when I heard the stories. I'd heard them my whole life. And then, then I began to wonder where they came from."

The sat there in silence for a long while that night, wondering if what they were looking for was impossible to find.

…

They were a year and four months into their expedition when they dreamed of a woman with golden eyes. Kanae woke up, her heart pounding, and headed straight for Chiori's cot.

They said it together, "Did you? Yes!"

They stared at each other, beyond thrilled, as their crewmates stirred from their own slumber because of how loud their exclamations were. They hurried back to Kanae's office, rapidly talking over each other in their excitement.

"The Hizuri Nebula, the one we just found yesterday that the RLS Hizuri first found ages ago-

"Yes, yes! The captain's log, it said that the Hizuri captain had his first dream after they found that Nebula-

"Right, right, we have to try to get closer-

"If we get closer, we just might…"

Their voice trailed off as they realized they were still holding hands and talking to each other. Kanae stepped back and released Chiori's hand, embarrassed and cleared her throat.

"Ahem, yes, well, we must inform Matsushima."

Chiori nodded, similarly embarrassed, "Yes. Good idea."

Chiori departed from Kanae's office, after nodding once more.

She mumbled to herself all the way back to her cot, "Dumb, dumb, keep focused, focus…" she groaned a little as she rolled back into her cot. Ruri, in the cot below, slapped a hand on her railing.

"Mack on her yet?" she asked slyly.

Chiori slapped her hand away, "Shut up. No one asked you to stick your nose in it."

"Yeeeah, sure, whatever you say, Chiori and Kanae sitting in a tree…"

Chiori rolled back over and slammed her pillow into Ruri's face while the younger girl laughed uncontrollably.

…

Despite the dream, and despite their hopes, their search was halted unceremoniously by an attack from the Ironsides a day later. It was a fast little Destroyer Class ship, and must have a been a scout too far from home. It had been hidden on the outskirts of the nebula, and it blasted the RLS Lightning with every weapon it had once it appeared in their line of vision.

"To arms! TO ARMS!" bellowed Captain Kurosaki, and Kanae rushed to get to her gunner and command her squadron.

The RLS Lightning wasn't named Lightning for nothing. Her squadron was in charge of the plasma guns, and they did serious damage. Her team was quick to scramble behind their guns, and Kanae felt a surge of pride at their training. The attack had come mid-morning, and many of them had been amidst a shift change.

"Fire!" Kanae shouted, and her squadron did so, amongst loud cursing and hollering.

The RLS Lightning was an exploration vessel, but in this sector, they had been given free reign to defend themselves. And Kurosaki was not a captain afraid to do so. The Ironsides came around again for another try at hitting their ship, their engines clearly failing, and their solar sails nearly destroyed.

"Fire!" yelled Kanae again.

The blast from the ammunition meeting from both ships set almost her whole squadron back on their heels, and they covered their faces from the heat wave.

"They caught the med bay!" the First Mate shouted across the topdeck when the Ironsides unleashed another volley. Kanae cursed. They were quick to fire. Their guns must have had less recharge time.

"Get Engineering crew to the Medical deck!" roared Kurosaki.

Kanae's heart leaped into her throat as she caught the order. Chiori.

"Fire!" she screamed, "Take out their engines!"

She heard Kurosaki yelling out orders to the rest of the crew, and she swore to herself right then that if they made it through, if they took out the Ironsides ship-

Her gunners swiveled in their seats to follow the order of the direction, and locked on to the engines of the other ship. She could only stare, her heart racing, as the blue-white color sparked and discharged.

In another second, it was over. The engines were gone. The other ship floated, dead in space, with no power. Kurosaki bellowed for teams to gear up to take prisoners, and Kanae took a deep breath to steady herself.

It was always quiet on the gunner deck, but Kanae felt the silence, like she never had before. Her pulse was pounding in her ears, and she felt herself trembling.

"Bosun?!" she heard Kurosaki yell.

"All clear Captain! No casualties here, and no damage! Gunner Deck is clear!"

She heard faint cheering from the other decks, and her team looked at each other, shaken. It'd been the first attack they'd had to pull their guns out for, but they'd finished it. They'd won.

"Good work everyone," said Kanae, her voice trembling as she stood and stared out at the viewing window.

"There's something I have to do, I release you from my command for the moment. Get to the Second Mate, and help the other teams if you can."

With that last order, Kanae rushed to the medical bay deck, and arrived with a wave of maintenance and nurse personnel. Her eyes searched and searched for the black-haired girl with the pink butterfly necklace, but kept coming up with nothing. After ten minutes of this, she pulled aside a nurse.

"Nurse Chiori, where is she?" Kanae demanded. The other nurse just stared.

"I'm…I'm sorry ma'am, she was in here when it happened…they haven't found her yet."

No. No. Unacceptable.

Kanae grit her teeth and shoved away from the nurse and started for the hull breach of the deck. A laser grid was already up along the breach as the ship's AI deployed drones to start patching it. She kicked aside rubble and tossed it away where she could, falling into the ranks of the maintenance crew, and kept her eyes peeled for black hair and a pink butterfly necklace.

As she got nearer to the breach, she caught sight of a glittering pink necklace dangling from a piece of rebar. Her heart dropped to her stomach. She plucked it off, and the chain pooled in the palm of her hand, and she pressed her other hand to her mouth to stifle the sound of sobs.

The butterfly shined up at her, and Kanae couldn't help but cry as she looked at it.

Her eyes searched for any other sign, any at all as she hurriedly stuffed the necklace into a pocket. It took her several more minutes to realize, that light was shining past the laser grid. A golden light was shining through the pale blue of the grid. Kanae set her jaw, and kicked on her rocketboot propellers. She didn't need an exploration suit just to take a peek past the grid. The atmosphere shield of the ship was good enough that she could chance it.

She slipped in between the laser grid, and made sure her hands touched the safety chains that lined the outside of the ship. Maintenance teams always hooked into them when doing work on the ship's exterior, and they were sturdy enough for her to hook into with her utility belt hook.

The golden light seemed to pulse. When Kanae had first caught sight of it, she had thought it might be a malfunctioning homing beacon. Everyone was required to keep one of them, so they could be more easily found if lost. But this golden light… It seemed to permeate everything, and in the cold vastness of space, it seemed…Warm.

"Who's here?" Kanae demanded. The golden light pulsed again, and began to take shape. It was a form, three times the size of Kanae herself, and seemed slightly feminine in the curves that began to appear.

It took Kanae a long moment to realize a pair of golden eyes was staring back out at her. Tendrils of light, or of smoke, or maybe even of hair wafted around the eyes. And then Kanae realized a cautious curiosity was surging within her that wasn't a feeling that belonged to her.

"I'm looking for someone," said Kanae, growing more desperate as she saw the flickering of the atmosphere shield. She was almost too far out. She pulled back a little.

And again, feelings rose in her she couldn't call her own. Then, more clearly, a voice came through. Like something that could be heard through the old radios in the diners Kanae grew up around. Faint, and staticky.

Human. You are human? I know this?

"Yes, human. I'm human. I'm looking for another of my kind."

Images came next, and Kanae managed to make out the image of Chiori. Chiori dangling from the safety chains much like Kanae herself was doing. It must have been right after the breach, she must have managed to have grabbed onto a chain with one of her hands. She saw Chiori's panic-stricken face and Kanae clutched at her chest as her heart spasmed with pain.

"Yes!" Kanae said, "Please, I must find her! Please!"

Other images came to her mind, and Kanae saw another round of weapon fire, and Chiori was knocked loose, and she began to float further away from the safety chain and the ship itself.

"No! No please!" Kanae cried.

Then the voice again, but different.

If this is it, then please, let me be right. Let me be right. Please, if you're out there, save me Starmaid. Save me.

Kanae stifled her sobs and the words played again, more clearly sounding like Chiori's voice.

Save me. Save me Starmaid.

The golden eyes looked at her in curiosity as Kanae sniffed.

You are sad? The voice rang through her brain and Kanae winced.

"Did you save her?" Kanae whispered, terrified of the answer.

The light flickered and Kanae got the distinct impression that the being in front of her had giggled.

Of course. I always save those that call out to me.

"Then, please, give her to me. She needs to be inside of our atmosphere shield to live. She needs to breathe our air."

She is sharing my air.

Kanae tried to wrap her mind around this for a moment, then tried again.

"Give her to me please. I need her back."

But she called to me.

"And you saved her, and I can't thank you enough. But I need her back. She belongs with me," Kanae said, trying desperately not to think of the alternative.

Belongs with you?

"Yes. She needs to be with me. Surely you understand. You can't keep her. If you keep her-"

You will be alone?

Kanae stopped, and the golden eyes studied her. Then the being in front of her sighed, and it felt lonely.

"You understand right?" asked Kanae softly, a sympathetic heartbreak surging within her.

We need to not be alone. Yes. I understand.

Kanae got the impression of hands being cupped together, and before she could understand the mechanics behind what was happening, the being in front of her seemed to be holding a sleeping Chiori in her hands and held her out to Kanae, passing her into the range of the atmosphere shield.

Kanae tugged her close, clipping her belt hook to her own to secure her.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Kanae wrapped her arms tight around Chiori, cradling her head so it rested on Kanae's shoulder.

We need to not be alone, said the golden eyes again.

With Chiori now safely secured, questions erupted from Kanae.

"Are you a starmaid? Is that right? Did you come across the Hizuri ship? Do you venture out past this sector? Where do you come from? Why-"

Kanae stopped talking again as the light flickered and it seemed to giggle again.

I… simply am... I will always be. I have many sisters, however. We go everywhere we can. We are always searching.

"Searching? For what? What do you look for?"

We search for those that call to us. Because we do not want to be alone. It, the being, she? She seemed to lean in close then.

Do you like my home? The one before you, he named it Hizuri.

Kanae stared out past her, to the orange and blue shimmering light of the nebula.

"It's beautiful," Kanae said softly.

I like to think so. I stay here, for him.

Kanae's heart ached, and she didn't think it all came from her. She blinked tears out of her eyes, and spoke up.

"You are familiar with our kind."

Yes. Your souls sing to me.

"We don't live very long."

No.

"I...I'm...sorry," said Kanae, tears falling down her cheeks.

The light flickered again.

What is, is. We were happy. He called to me. We sang together. We explored together. We were happy.

"And now? You will still stay, even now?"

It is my home, after all.

"Aren't you… don't you want to see other places?"

Maybe… Maybe, maybe one day I'll keep going. But my home is beautiful. Don't you think so? We found a beautiful home.

"Yes, yes. It's beautiful," said Kanae softly, her voice thick with unshed tears.

She felt Chiori stirring and she woke with a quiet moan. She blinked up at Kanae, and as Kanae looked down at her, she thought she might get it a bit better then.

"I found her," Chiori whispered.

"You did. Good girl, Chiori. Good girl," Kanae hugged her tightly to her once more. Chiori smiled, and looked around at the golden eyes again.

"Thank you Starmaid."

You are welcome.

"We need to help the Captain, and we need to get you back into med bay. Make sure you're alright," said Kanae firmly, refocusing on what mattered more, which was making sure Chiori was ok.

Kanae tugged them back, her boots helping to propel them, and the golden eyes stared after them.

Chiori piped up before they could reenter their ship.

"The Hizuri's captain. He named your home. Did he name you too?"

The being seemed to smile at them again.

He named me Kyoko.

…

Halloween prompt incoming! There'll be a double update for ya'll.

Much love to everyone on the Discord server that inspired me to post.

-artsy