The Stellar Junk limped into the Drift, a sprawling market of ships and platforms tethered in a nebula’s glow. Lanterns bobbed like fireflies, illuminating stalls selling star-shards, void-maps, and questionable stew. Aiko clutched her loom, overwhelmed by the noise and smells. Ren, however, swaggered like he owned the place. “Welcome to the galaxy’s best pitstop,” he said, tossing a coin to a vendor for a skewer. “We’ll find leads on your Spindle here.”

Aiko frowned. “We need information, not snacks.”

“Relax, Weaver Girl,” Ren teased. “I know a guy.”

His “guy” was Sable, a sleek android running a data stall. Its frame shimmered with holographic circuits, and it greeted them with a verse: “In the Drift, where secrets hum, / Truth’s a coin, and lies succumb.” Aiko blinked, unsure if it was selling poetry or intel.

Ren leaned in. “Sable, we’re hunting the Celestial Spindle. Got anything?”

Sable’s eyes flickered. “A relic older than stars? Rare query. Costly answer.”

Aiko stepped forward, surprising herself. “I’ll trade a thread.” She pulled the glowing strand from her pocket, its light drawing gasps from nearby vendors. Sable tilted its head, intrigued, and accepted.

“Legends say the Spindle lies in the Temple of Elara, past the Void Rift,” Sable recited. “But beware—pirates guard the path, and the Rift twists reality.”

Ren whistled. “Pirates I can handle. Reality-twisting? That’s new.”

Before they could leave, a commotion erupted. A hulking figure in a cracked mask barreled through the market, chased by bounty hunters. Ren yanked Aiko behind a stall as the figure—Korr—fought back, his fists like meteors. One hunter fired a pulse-gun, but Korr caught the blast, absorbing it into his gauntlets.

“That’s our cue to go,” Ren whispered, but Aiko didn’t move. Korr’s mask slipped, revealing eyes full of pain, not rage. Against her better judgment, she tossed her thread into the fray, its light blinding the hunters. Korr seized the chance, knocking them out, then turned to Aiko.

“Why help me?” he rumbled.

“You looked… lost,” she said quietly.

Korr grunted, joining them reluctantly. Ren wasn’t thrilled—“Great, a walking wrecking ball”—but Aiko felt stronger with Korr there. As they boarded the Junk, Sable slipped them a data-chip. “For luck,” it said, quoting, “Brave the dark, and light will bloom.”

The ship launched, heading for the Void Rift. Aiko wove her thread into a tiny star, its glow steadying her nerves. Pirates or not, she’d find the Spindle—or die trying.

Chapter 2: The Market of Drifting Lanterns

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