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Stolen Star

Synopsis:
The spaceship Sahmany is on a mission at the edge of the Milky Way. There, where nothing but silence and emptiness should be found, lies an anomaly: a star that does not belong there, torn from a galaxy never before seen by a human.

Only one planet orbits this star. No moons. No trace of life. Just a black landscape. And in the midst of that desolation, a lighthouse-like structure. But there is no sea, no coast, no ship

to warn. Yet the tower transmits something. A pulse that penetrates ever deeper into the systems of the Sahmany and her crew. Slowly, the realization sinks in. They have not made a discovery.

They have been found.

But by whom?

Who built the tower? Why is it guarding a “stolen star”?

And... what happens when the crew lights the tower’s beacon?

At the edge of the Milky Way, on a planet orbiting a stolen star, stands an abandoned lighthouse. It gives off no light, but unbidden, something begins to answer in the darkness...

Genre:  Science Fiction

Type:  Short Story

Words:  9,650

Released:  September 15, 2026

Manuscript finished:  July 13, 2026

Inspiration: 

I wrote this story specifically for a Kickstarter funding, a collection of short Science Fiction stories. 

Great to be part of this wonderful collection.

List of characters

Characters alphabetical by last name. Nicknames and characters only known by their first name or their last name, are given underneath this list. Unnamed characters are not listed!

• Jim Crichton - (ex) captain
• Jonathan Kalimba - commander Security
• Mare Perova - helmsman
• Humphrey Walsh - First Officer
• 
  
• Atoya - Councilman
• Kalimba sr. - father of Jonathan
• Melzer - security officer
• Tasman - on-board AI computer
• Trocadero - captain
• Yamali - palliative nurse

Human ship "The Outbound"

Alien ship "Nor Apaga"

Destination KZ39401 - Terra Secunda

Remarks:

This story was previously published in the bundle The Expanding Universe 12. Short Science Fiction stories by 26 SF authors! This anthology is still available as paperback.