Lost in a Wormhole

The blackness of space ravages my mind.

It has been almost a year since that fateful day. I had found new wealth in shipping goods between regions -- my small contribution to serving the people of the Empire. I finally had the resources to buy the finer ships of the galaxy, including the largest freighters to support my trading federation. But I wasn't content. Null space was a mess, overrun by savages lacking any code of conduct. High security space was a bore. And with pirates as active as ever in high security shipping lanes, my freighters were locked up in space port with most of my shipments still using the sexy but limited deep space transports.

That is when I saw the shimmer. It drew me in a first glance. It drew me in with a dance of colors that ebbed and flowed that seemed somehow both random and orderly at the same time. It was like no wormhole I had encountered before. On any other day I might have turned away to avoid the unseen dangers, but this was no ordinary day. Dissatisfied with known space and mesmerized by the wormhole to worlds unknown, I charged forth with all the bluster of a drunk sailor on a mission.

That was almost a year ago. I've seen amazing worlds and unbelievable stellar phenomena, but I am lost among the stars. I yearn to go home without any idea how to get there. At my wits end, coasting on the fumes of a starving fusion reactor, I suddely saw something familiar. A glimmer of light. And a glimmer of hope. First, a moment of disbelief. Then, of heighened excitement, as I burst from my chair and spilt my drink. The way home! That's it! Then, finally, a feeling of dread. What husk of a shell of what was already a decaying Empire would I find when I get back? Would anything be the same? Would anything be left worth returning home for?

My sudden dread came about so suddenly as to leave me in shock. At that moment, I remembered the Mystic who spoke to me many years ago. Such an odd encounter at the time. "Heart and mind", she told me. Alone, the heart can leave you in chaos, and the mind can make you cold. Only together can they find balance, and lead you out of the dark. "You will find yourself in the dark one day", she said. "Let your heart be the Captain, and your mind the Navigator."

I think I understand now. My heart yearns to reconnect with my people. To try to make things right. My mind can help me get there, and keep me steady on the journey. It's time. I'm going home.