The Phaethon Array

The story

In the ruins of a mega-scale solar collector orbiting a swelling red giant, mute salvager Vesper extracts a glowing micro-fusion stellar core seed from a decaying generator reactor. As she secures the radiant artifact, the station's automated defense harvester—a colossal multi-legged mechanical titan—awakens, interpreting the core's removal as a system failure. Vesper races through zero-gravity water-recycling chambers and across vast open-vacuum solar mirror panels while pursued relentlessly by the metallic beast. Aided by her floating repair drone Tinker, she uses reflective sails and plasma cutters to blind and delay her attacker. At the edge of the docking spire, the harvester corners Vesper, but she lures it onto an unanchored solar panel and severs the structural cables with her cutting torch. The harvester plunges into the red giant below while Vesper uses the thrust from the activated stellar core to launch her escape craft into the deep void.

Cast

• Vesper Wants to extract the stellar core and escape the collapsing solar ring alive.
• The Harvester Wants to reclaim the stolen stellar core and incinerate all intruders.
• Tinker Wants to assist Vesper by overriding doors and creating visual distractions.