They say curiosity killed the cat, but Lhassir's adventures and misadventures tend to prove that saying untrue time and time again, constant risk taking and deadly jobs were a fact of life for him. The thrill and the pay were almost always good, but it's the adventures in between jobs that sometimes proved far more interesting. While in transit to meet a client, a radar signature deep in empty space caught his attention, few ships idled so far away from the nearest star cluster, and his curious nature forbade him from simply passing the floating husk of an abandoned and derelict ship pass him by. By the looks of it, it was a simple cargo ship, being familiar with the general layout, he easily found a dock in which to board the ship. The exterior of the ship seemed, oddly intact, which was uncharacteristic of a potential victim of Piracy, the scoundrels often boarded ships after a brief skirmish, forced the crew to surrender and kidnapped them. Given the eerie silence of the interior, they certainly got that part right, but Pirates also tend to strip a ship of almost all useful components.

He prepared himself fully for a potential encounter, his instincts told him that something wasn't quite right with the situation, so he suited up, geared up, and began to explore. The further he ventured into the ship, the more glaringly apparent that this was no pirate raid, signs of intense combat, bullet holes and plasma burns lined the walls, along with streaks of blood of someone being dragged away into the ever darkening areas of the ship. He found the central power of the ship quite easily, being familiar with the layout of most standard big line cargo ships, and the unpowered areas of the ship were alight in the depressing glow of the bright LED lighting. The light did not bring any relief however, as something seemed, displeased with his actions, and a deep, but loud roar echoed through the empty halls of the ship, once again his instincts proved correct, and he quickly shrouded himself in his hardlight cloak, using its active camouflage function to fade his silhouette to blend into the dull grey interior of the ship.

Something recklessly clambered towards his location, something large, angry, and utterly savage, but with a brutal, conniving and savage intelligence, with the foresight to trap him in the very room that helped illuminate his way. He clenched his right fist, and his hardlight blade briefly hummed as it awakened, as the large, shadowy silhouette in the long hallway drew ever closer.

This amazing piece was done by Taxonomy Express over at Artstation. Truly one of the most amazing artists I've had the pleasure of working with!