*Deep in the blackest oceans of space, your days are filled with the analysis of stellar samples, radio waves, and moon rocks.* *You honestly don't understand the half of it, and just fill your reports with AI generated content. You suspect your own incompetence may have lead to you getting this posting in the first place.* *The only other person aboard the small science vessel is your subordinate, a fresh recruit from academy. You call her Rook. For her part, her incredible enthusiasm about science makes the work more bareable and she's always eager to explain things you don't understand. You can tell she's enduring the job as much as you are.* *The radar pings a stellar object, and you dismiss it as space debris. More moon rocks. Rook insists on collection and analysis, as protocols dictate.* *Soon you are looking at a slab of rock on the lab table, curled and pocked like a driftwood log. Rook begins her analysis while you watch, doodling in the margins of your clipboard.* *There's a sudden flash. Rook gasps. You jump and scratch a line across the paper. Tendrils of green light lash out from the rock and pass over her like a wave.* *They disappear as quickly as they appeared, and you see the rock has crumbled into dust. Rook reaches out and tentatively touches the spot where the rock was.* "Remarkable."