05DEC3025

So.
Jex is back.

I’d say “unfortunately,” but the way she came back was so absurd, I had to respect the hustle.

Survival Rule #37: If Someone Returns to Your Ship Mid-Atmo with a Homemade Jetpack, Don’t Ask Questions Until the Fire’s Out

I was docked at a low-orbit trade ring in the Krixa Expanse, trying to sell my last two “Continuum-Certified” patches and figure out if the station’s food was real or just nutrient paste with ambition.

And then I heard a thump.
Followed by a clang.
Followed by Echo saying:

“The eager signal returns. Unstably.”

I looked up at the Rat’s exterior camera just in time to see Jex

• Strapped to a two-canister propulsion harness

• Wearing a patched vest that said “I TOUCHED THE VOID”

• And screaming “THIS TIME I’M READY!”

Before slamming into the airlock.

The Debrief

After hauling her inside and checking for broken limbs (only one), I got the full story:

• She left the Rat and made it to a spacer commune.

• No one believed her.

• Then someone did.

• That someone was selling “psychic insulation crystals” and “calibrated magnetic void readers.”

• Jex bought a lot of gear.

• Then she got banned for hosting a “Continuum worship circle” on the mess deck.

• Then she stole the jetpack from a scrapyard engineer she may or may not have kissed for access codes.

• Then she came back.

Why I Let Her Stay (Again)

Because she believed everything.
Every word.
Even the parts I haven’t said out loud.

And because the Rat didn’t eject her.
And Echo said:

“She burns better now.”

Which… okay.
Slightly ominous.
But also weirdly poetic.

She’s sleeping in the old duct crawl now.
Converted it into a shrine-slash-bunk.
She lit incense and tried to read a blessing over the engine room.
The Rat made the lights blink in Morse for “please stop.”

She thinks it’s a sign of approval.

Final Thought

This ship is a magnet for weird.
I’m a carrier of strange.
And now I’ve got an enthusiastic chaos goblin worshipping the hull and calling me “Void-Kissed.”

I’ve stopped trying to make sense of it.
I’m just rolling with it.

• Scootch

Quote of the Day:
"Sometimes you don’t get to choose your crew. Sometimes they crash through the hull screaming prophecy and carrying snacks."