To someone generally aware, the space station Icosagon was cobbling together would cut an imposing sight; without any lights showing from its dark windows, it simply cut out a dark shape from the starry sky of space. With no apparent power, it just seemed to drift in space; potentially dangerous detritus, or at least a small potential interest as scrap.

But an even closer observer would note something else. The fact that it made slight course-correction changes to maintain its orbit around the large, lush planet below. That, despite its state, its hull was almost completely enclosed; there were no holes or leaks, and that the only open areas were still sealed on the doors further in. That although the place was not lit up, the power generator within was running... rumbling gently.

Yif was none of these things. The docking station may not have power, but the clamps were designed to draw energy from the docking mechanism of the other craft if so. Her system confirmed breathable atmosphere... always a good thing. But the station was strangely silent; no attempts at communication, no ships coming to or from it... nothing at all... it was as silent as the grave. Though if there was any fuel on the station, obviously no one was using it. And if they were, she could always ask to borrow some.

Ylf's mission was to seek out other alien races as a diplomat. Normally, what appeared to be an empty, crude space-station would prove no interest to her, but this wasn't a normal situation.

For one thing, the station kept powered movement, correcting its course periodically. The Albinnja had known of machines that could do such a thing without input from an outside source, but they had to have been built by something. Whoever had built the station could be found by visiting the forboding looking structure. Even if they were not there in person, then surely there would be a means of finding them somewhere within the station, a forwarding address? Most beings would have thought of that as a joke. To a creature as naive as Ylf, it was a serious thought.

The other matter was that her ship badly needed fuel. Endless bouncing from one planet to another in search of life did take its toll on the machinery and it desperately needed some attention. This station was a machine, where you find a machine, you find fuel. That was just the simple way that Ylf's brain worked.

With practiced care, the Albinnja brought her ship into what appeared to be a sort of rudimentary docking bay. There was no sign of any power in the docking station, but Ylf knew how to land her ship manually if needs be. It just meant that she would have to don her space-suit. She looked with scorn at the horribly restrictive garment, hoping there would be a breathable atmosphere inside the station so that she could go back to wearing her usual diplomatic attire quickly.

Fortunately, her systems were registering a breathable atmosphere on the other side. It looked like she might not need her space-suit after all. If there was still atmosphere and pressure... which there was, then obviously the place was better off than it first appeared. More good news in her book!

The station itself was broad, a large and thick ring of some sort, with a number of floors and docking stations. This thing might have serviced a major travel route... not a central hub, certainly, but a place where many would need to pass by. It certainly was convenient, but did not show evidence of frequent... or even recent... use. But surely someone must be in there...?

An atmosphere!

And one breathable by an Albinnja at that rate! Things were starting to look up for the young diplomat, giving her cause for a big smile. She pushed the space-suit aside with the back of her hand, telling it "Not Today". She engaged a mechanism from her ships console, the vessel beginning to send its airlock across to the nearest door. A resounding thud reverberated through the ship, letting Ylf know that contact had been made, everything was ready for her to explore.

Putting a necklace around her slim neck, she patted the expensive stone that it bore between her enormous breasts. She placed her small pistol in it's holster in her boot (better safe than sorry), and made some last minute checks to see if she was presentable.

Ylf approached the airlock of her ship. With a hiss, it opened wide and revealed the interior of the space station to her. It looked thoroughly abandoned. She hoped there was someone around nearby to help her. The Albinnja stepped down from her ship onto the metallic floor of the station.

"Hello?" She called out.

Wrrrrr... clnk. Ftt. Fttt. Ftttttt. clk clk. clnk.
...
Sssssssst.

After the sounds of the airlock finishing its checks and setting were heard, the door slid open. The other side opened as well, and she was left standing before a long, dark hallway...

She had to strain her eyes to see; no light sources shone from within, and her ships own light only illuminated a long path straight into the ship, the rest visible only through the fringe of the illumination. The walls were metal, cut through by an indent that housed a long line of panels for illumination; those panels were dark, unlit, and strangely housed behind a thin metal mesh that made the groove seem 'flat' with the rest of the wall. The floor was also metal, covered with patterned bumpings that allowed for better friction. This place hardly seemed welcoming at all!

She could make out the walls and floor enough to see a break up ahead; a crosshall cut through this long one, though there was nothing else she could really make out. It was rather disappointing... and kind of creepy.

As if to complete her thought, she heard a deep, low groan reverberate through the station. The sound of metal slowly moving from cosmic winds and forces; it was a strange noise, one that conjured up uneasy images of things most terrible. But the station was solid enough... and there was no such things as ghosts, right?

Ylf took another step into the darkness of the ship, looking about her. She was about to call out to the shadows again, just as the station reverberated with a monstrous groan. The Albinnja held her breath, swallowing hard. The noise had caught her off guard, and shocked her, but she hadn't let out a scream. A few of the adventures she had come across on her journeys had told her that screaming was a bad tactic. The best way to proceed would be to keep a level, professional head.

She began to walk further into the ship, keeping her eyes on anything that might have been the cause of the huge groan from earlier. She occasionally had to hold onto the walls of the station to keep herself from falling over in the darkness, the gloom increasing the further she got from the ship.

"Hello?" She called again, "I am Ylf of the Albinnja people. I have come to trade for food and fuel. Is there someone here I can talk to?"

Unfortunately, nothing strode from the shadows. Or, is that fortunately? Nothing responded, and she heard another groan, deep within the station. It made her nervous... very nervous. Striding in further, she found the long, wide hall that probably ran along the entire stations ring. Here is the place where the most foot-traffic would move along...

Again, she heard another deep moan. It was almost reassuring... that was definitely the noise of metal, moving slowly from solar winds and other cosmic activity.

Even with that explanation, it did not make her feel better. Not with dark archways showing black chambers, halls extending into nothingness, and without a sound of life around her.

She had not gotten far down the hall before she noticed a doorway into a large chamber... a large storage bay. She could make out the outlines of boxes with her flashlight... if there was fuel in this place, it might be in there!

In the distance, somewhere further down the hall she was in, she heard a faint 'wwwwwwrrrr... thunk.' A sound, like an electronic door or elevator. But does she really want to go deeper into this place, looking for life?

Even in the depths of the fog that was Ylf's naivety, she was beginning to understand that there was something seriously wrong with this place. The creaking and groaning, while not necessarily a sign that the station was falling apart, it was not a portent that everything was ok. The Albinnja walked a little slower, making sure to look over her shoulders every couple of steps. The last thing she wanted was to be crept up on.

She had a decision to make. Investigate the possibility of fuel, or the noise that sounded like life ahead. It took her a while to turn the options over in her mind, but in the end her logic won out. If there was fuel in the storage area, it wouldn't do to just take it, she would have to ask the owner. Therefore the only polite thing to do would be to go towards the clunking noise from up the hall.

Making sure she looked presentable, Ylf made her way up the hall towards the sound.

Fortunately, the groans were not frequent... nor did they change much. It was like a ship of wood groaning loudly in the ocean... back when her people had the audacity to make ships (and not spacecraft).

Moving ahead, she finds the first signs of life in this place... light. Up ahead, around a corner, she sees a sliver of light shining into the hallway from an open doorway. As she watches, the whirring noise is heard as the light slowly disappears... and then clunks as it stops. There is a half a second pause... and the door begins to whirr, sliding open again, revealing the light coming in from the room. And stops, open.

It was actually creepy on some level, though the sight of light was very encouraging. She was able to close the distance to the door as it slid closed... and stopped again. But Yif, waiting, heard it begin again, and it slid open in that regular what it had been doing. Yay! She saw the door slide open... and then from here, saw the lit-room beyond.

It was a huge room, at least three stories high, and stretched back for perhaps a hundred feet. There was no floor panels here; soil was covering the massive room, and out of that soil grew plants of a strange and bizarre variety. The ceiling had large lights that shone brightly, and the surface they were set upon was painted a brilliant sky-blue. Wow, she cannot actually see across the room from all the foliage, although a few large stones were set in something of a path headed straight inside.

Ylf made a quick calculation of logic. It made sense that on board a station as dismal looking as this, the occupants would want to stay in a place as beautiful as they could make it. To that end, Ylf assumed that the reason for these plants was to add a little lifelike ambience to the structure, to make things more pleasing to the eye for the stations inhabitants. If that was the case, then it meant they would be nearby!

The Albinnja girl quickly started down the stone path, trying to peer into the depths of the foliage, but seeing nothing yet. She was happy for the stronger light this room gave her, it was certainly a welcome change from the dark corridors.

"Hello?" She called out, for some reason her voice a little quieter now...

Yif did not hear any answer to her call; there was a faint breeze, generated by the station, that made the foliage tremble and rustle faintly. But it did not seem there was any wildlife or any inhabitants here. Still, she guessed there were other doorways out of this place, and it was big enough that there might be someone, somewhere, in here...

As the lovely Albinnja walked through the foliage, finding it thicker and thicker as she went, she saw something up ahead. A small clearing of grass, with a loop of pebbles making its way around the border... and in the center, a flat, circular table, and a pair of small, smooth chairs with tall backs. The furniture seemed to be made out of hewn stone, except for a large shade umbrella that sheltered any at the table... and a small kettle and two small teacups! Definite signs of life! Well, assuming there was tea in the kettle...

Ylf made her way towards the table at the center of the room. The pebbles clacked underneath her feet, echoing uncomfortably clearly in the large room. As far as the Albinnja knew though, there were only plants around her to hear.

She leaned over the table, underneath the umbrella that stood out from the middle. She looked at the kettle and teacups, trying to discover any signs of recent activity in this room. This tension was beginning to work its effect on her.

Hm.. the stuff on the table was new. She does not find any dust, and she noticed on of the cups still had a bit of tea left in it... hmm... someone was definitely here.

With the feeling of edginess still crawling up her back, she was startled by a noise! A voice, this time for sure, muttering and whispering, and a metal rattling!! It nearly gave hr a heart attack!

But as she looked around... she saw it was no ghost... at least, it was no ghost nearby her. At about face-height, beyond clusters of trees and bushes... an air vent. It was blowing a faint cool breeze into the chamber... and with it, the faint sounds of someone talking. The cover made a faint rattle, bouncing a little loosely from screws that were halfway free from the wall. Oh geez... that was the rattling, at least.

Definite signs of life, Ylf thought as she looked the teacup over. How long ago had this station's resident been here? It can't have been that long ago... Maybe they were still here, watching her from the foliage. That thought put a shiver through Ylf's shapely body and made her look over her shoulders a number of times.

The rattling and voice didn't help matters. She almost yelped out in surprise as she heard the noises, spinning on the spot to see the vent. The Albinnja tried to compose herself, hand on her chest, trying to slow her breathing as she looked the vent over. Voices? That must be where the station's resident was! But why would they be hiding in a vent? It was suspicious, but it was the only lead that Ylf had. She approached the vent, placing her hand on the grating.

Yif nears the vent, peering into the square, dark shape of the ventilation opening. The cover rattles loudly, and she faintly hears something new from inside... a metal thumping, like the siding is being bent and pushed slightly. The voices echo from deep within, distorting and becoming indistinct with their travel... hm... someone is on the other side.

Or... trapped in the air vent?! She hears that thumping... closer it seems from within. She still cannot tell what is being said, but she bets someone is trying to climb through it!

And then, she saw something fall into view from deep within it. Before she could think, before she could comment, something erupted down the vent! A tentacle shot through the opening, the cover popping up and open as the winding thing turned to shoot down! It launched between her legs quickly, then curled upwards, coming up behind her back.

Like that, it scooped her right off the ground! The tentacle undulated as she fell back against the tentacle behind her, and began to be pulled into the vent feet-first! Though, her body was still free and unbound for the moment...