A Serpent in the Crew

The hum of the *Stardust Drifter* had become a comforting lullaby to Leo, a constant, steady presence in the vast, indifferent quiet of space. He found himself watching the starfield bleed across the viewport, a canvas of distant fires that held both promise and a chilling emptiness. Anya was in the nav-station, her brow furrowed in concentration as she cross-referenced the fragmented stellar charts against their ship’s trajectory. Even the gentle clinking of her tools, the soft murmur of her self-corrections, had become part of that familiar symphony. But today, a discordant note had begun to vibrate just beneath the surface of their routine.

It started with small things, easily dismissed. A minor system glitch that resolved itself just as quickly. A tool misplaced, then found in an unusual spot. Joric, their quiet, efficient technician, was usually beyond reproach. He moved through the ship with a silent competence, a ghost in the machine of their small vessel. He was their anchor, their assurance that the intricate, often temperamental, systems of the *Drifter* would hold. But lately, Leo couldn't shake a prickle of unease. Joric’s eyes, when they met Leo’s, seemed to hold a deeper, more calculating glint than usual.

"Anything, Anya?" Leo asked, his voice deliberately casual, trying to push away the growing knot of suspicion.