Staring From The Abyss
By Edoardo Albert
Marius Gwerre, bodyguard to the rich and occasionally the famous, looked up at the crystal dome. Beyond, the stars spread across the void. They were turning, slowly, gently, in a vast circular dance as the abyss station danced, too, spinning slowly on its axis while it orbited the Pinnacle slip point.
“This is so…so real.”
Gwerre looked down from the wheeling stars to the man who was speaking. Warq Halem. The man whom he had been employed to protect by Halem’s clan family.
And the question occurred to him: Why?
Gwerre watched as Halem’s commentary, relayed through his feeds, brought an answering chorus of real-time responses. Yes, it was true, the man had his followers, but anyone with a crackpot theory and a loud enough voice could always attract a following. It still didn’t seem sufficient reason for Halem’s clan family to have contracted Gwerre as close protection.
“Proper z-space reporting, this.” They were watching what Halem was watching, and he was seeing them watching him.
Gwerre shrugged mentally. The Halem clan family was wealthy and powerful enough in the heliosphere to do what they said without regard for why.
The feeds echoed and amplified Halem, building the buzz. Gwerre could see the spark lights around Halem, each a feed into z-space, taking what he was seeing and transmitting it to his followers in this heliosphere and, through intersphere relays, beyond.
Halem tapped his wrist, summoning a scriptor. “Record everything.”
The scriptor, a shimmer in the shape of a man, nodded and waited, light pen poised.
Gwerre scanned his own feeds. He had sealed off the crystal dome, the visitor observation station of the Abyss Station, so he didn’t expect any readings, but it was his job to check. He looked again. There did, though, seem to be some people approaching the port to the crystal dome. Gwerre drifted toward the port while Halem pointed up, through the crystal dome to the stars beyond.
“See how the compass stars are coming into alignment: Fomalhaut, Altair, Procyon. That is what we celestographers look for when charting the slipways.”
Gwerre heard the whisper of Halem’s feeds murmuring acknowledgement.
“But we’re not here to see our fake freedom; we’re here to see our real prison.”
Gwerre grimaced. He had his back to Halem, so the part-time celestographer could not see his expression. Gwerre did not understand why Halem’s clan family let him spread his wild theory. He glanced back and saw the scriptor, hunched in light, scribbling, motes sparking from its pad: prison, fake, stars.
But then Marius heard sounds, voices, coming from the portway. People were trying to get in, to override the lock he had placed.
“Marius, they’re disturbing me; make them go away.”
Gwerre reached the portway and put his hand on the lock.
The gate slid open to reveal a slim, epicene individual badged as an authorized tour guide. The guide stepped toward Marius.
“Why is the door to the crystal dome locked?” The guide pointed to the group of people gathered behind him. “They have come from the heart of the heliosphere.” He placed a long-fingered hand over his heart. “As have I.” Marius noted that those fingers were five-jointed; the guide was a stem-celler. Touching the first joint of his little finger with his thumb, Marius keyed his bioscanners: should the confrontation become kinetic, he needed to know if the guide had any surprises.
“I don’t doubt you have.” As Marius spoke, the scan overlay the guide in his vision, sparking where it found physiological anomalies; few of the mods appeared to have any combat focus. “However, the crystal dome is closed, and it will stay that way for the next hour.”
“But my tour party have come here specifically to watch the conjunction. In an hour, it will be over.”
“What are we waiting for? I paid a lot of money to see this.”
The guide turned to his increasingly impatient group of tourists. “I am sure this will be sorted out very soon. I have already contacted the station commander. She is on her way over.”
“Better do,” said the man. “I promised my Honeys they’d see the show, and I keep my promises, don’t I, Honeys?”
The Honeys, three vat-grown identical temps, answered in rising harmony, “Every,” “Single,” “Time,” and then in unison, “Honeybun.”
Marius ignored them: the bioscan showed that the Honeys had an expiry date set for three days ahead; presumably, Honeybun had bought them as vacation companions and set their expiry for his return. No doubt Mrs. Honeybun would not have welcomed them back.
“Hello, Marius. What’s going on here?”
Gwerre had watched station commander Shay Nahlek’s approach, her signature tagged on the situation map embedded into his peripheral vision.
“Station Commander,” said the tour guide, “this man is stopping me from taking my party into the crystal dome to view the conjunction that we have come so far to see. Please ask him to stand aside.”
“Marius, kindly stand aside and let these people into the crystal dome.”
Marius shook his head. “I am sorry, Station Commander, but I can’t do that. Mr. Halem requires privacy and quiet; he has instructed me to ensure that no one enters the crystal dome for the next hour.”
The station commander opened her mouth to reply, but before she could get her words out, Honeybun was standing in front of Marius, eyes popping from his fleshy face, finger jabbing at Marius.
“I promised my Honeys that they would see the conjunction and I paid a hell of a lot of money to make sure they did.” Honeybun poked Marius again. “I’m not having some security goon make me break my promise.” Honeybun pointed his thumb at his own chest. “Standon Merrick Heywell the Third keeps his promises.” He glanced at the three identicals simpering beside him. “Don’t I, Honeys?”
“Oh,” “You,” “Do!” they replied. “Always!”
Encouraged by the chorus, Standon Merrick Heywell the Third raised his hand to push Marius aside.
Gwerre’s feeds flashed up the normal biomech augments used by adherents of the Prosperity Creed. Nothing that needed special countermeasures. Marius simply caught Standon Merrick Heywell’s wrist and pressed here and here and here, deactivating the augments.
Standon Merrick Heywell stared at him, and then his right leg collapsed.
“H-how…?”
Marius looked at the identicals. “Honeys, help Standon stand up, please.”
As the Honeys clustered around their Honeybun, Station Commander Nahlek shook her head. “Don’t make me call security, Marius.”
“Check your feed, Station Commander. You will find the Station’s operating deficit has been cancelled.”
Nahlek stared at Gwerre. He saw her eyes flicker as she looked to her feed. He saw her eyes widen as she saw he spoke truly.
“You did know that Mr. Halem’s clan family is wealthy, but perhaps you did not realize just how wealthy.” Marius paused. “They can ensure the Station’s viability for the next ten years.”
“Damn,” said Nahlek. “If I’d known, I would have asked for more to take Mr. Halem on as our celestrographer.”
“The Halems prefer not to advertise their resources.”
“Wait a minute.”
Standon Merrick Heywell the Third, now standing although supported by his Honeys, waved his hand at them. “I’ve got money. I’ve got plenty of money. Anything he’s got, I’ll match.”
Marius looked at Standon and his Honeys. “I know it’s normally out-of-bounds to visitors, but the view from the bridge is as good as anything you might see from in here.” He turned to Nahlek. “What do you say, Station Commander?”
Nahlek nodded. “For such distinguished guests, we can make an exception.” She turned to the guide. “Please take your party up to the bridge. I will follow shortly.”
“You won’t hear the last of this,” said Standon Merrick Heywell.
The Station Commander sighed. “I will ensure that we make up for any disappointment before you leave the station.”
Marius and Shay watched the star party make its way down the treadway. When they were far enough that they couldn’t overhear, Shay shivered and turned to Marius.
“Vat-grown temps always give me the shivers. Makes me wonder if any of my memories are implants.”
“They’re week models. They only have basic memories.”
Shay grimaced. “Since they don’t have much time, I’d better go and show them ’round the bridge.” As she turned to go, she glanced back to Gwerre. “I hope Warq thinks this was worth it.”
“I’m sure he will,” said Marius. He grimaced in turn. “Everything he observes seems to back up his ideas.”
“I know, it’s one of those theories,” said Shay. “Well, let him get on with trying to convince people—I’m sure there are some who’ll fall for it.” She rolled her eyes. “Big cosmic prison. Slipways engineered to confine us. He’ll be saying that he’s found the escape hatch soon.”
“No doubt. Still, if it keeps him happy, then his clan family are content.”
Shay nodded. “What would you have done if they had tried to get past you?”
“I’d have stopped them.”
She nodded again. “Thought so. Tell you what, after you’re done, come up to the bridge. You can spin the tourists some tales of how you fought off Pact forces or neutralized a Prospero cell. They’d love that.”
“Wouldn’t want to turn the heads of the Honeys.”
“Don’t kid yourself: they’re printed on their Honeybun.”
Marius watched Station Commander Nahlek go, slipping down the treadway towards the ascensor. Then he let himself back into the crystal dome.
As always, the view stopped him as soon as he entered. The crystal dome was without flaw, as if there was no barrier between the station and the galaxy beyond. The stars were all around, both near and far in that way that the unfiltered sky had of being both deeply intimate and infinitely remote.
“Yes!”
Marius looked to his charge.
Warq Halem appeared to be having some sort of fit. But the feeds showed no medical emergency, just very high levels of excitement and satisfaction.
Halem, whirling, spotted Marius and stopped.
“I have found it!”
Read Part 2 on September 10th, 2026!
About:
Edoardo Albert is a British writer of Italian and Sri Lankan descent. He writes about Britain in the early medieval period (between the Romans leaving and the Normans arriving), the 40th millennium in the Warhammer universe, and lots of other things besides. He enjoys hearing from his readers via social media or directly through this website (you can find the contact form here).
Social Media:
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