The Imperial Science Vessel Fat Lady cruised silently through deep space, far from the charted spaceways. The region through which they travelled was known by many names. Official Imperial records named it "Zone 51", but its most common nickname amongst the crew of the ISV Fat Lady was "the Bramble Patch". Here, space itself was twisted in upon itself, knotted into bizarre anomalies where the standard laws of physics did not apply. Standard space travel was hazardous in the Bramble Patch, and hyperlight travel was impossible. Hyperspace itself did not exist here.
While the scientific importance of Zone 51 could not be understated, the region held a far greater significance. It was the ideal place for the Imperium to develop their new planet-busting weapon.
Although close to the centre of the galaxy, Zone 51—almost fifteen light years across at its widest point—was devoid of stars. It was dark here.
Directly ahead of the Fat Lady, part of the darkness began to shimmer and sparkle with a sickly green glow. The shimmer grew larger, and larger still, and vague shapes began to form: walls, decks, humanoid figures moving within. Suddenly space itself flexed and rippled, and something huge popped into existence. For a moment, the object seemed to be delineated in flickering columns of letters and digits; then the glow faded, and the object was solid. It was massive, and it was shaped like a dodecahedron.
"What in Hell's Handbasket...?" began Captain Sondarombalom Dravisikhtar. He was a THIGH. Bred specifically to pilot THIGH Fighters, the THIGH—Transmogrified Hermetically Incubated Genetic Humans—were designed to withstand the stresses of high gravitational shifts. As such, they were ideal for duty in the shifting spatial wasteland of Zone 51. The ISV Fat Lady was crewed exclusively by THIGH.
"Evasive action, hard to port," he yelled as the proximity alarm sounded.
The comm speakers crackled to life. "We are Droid," rasped a harsh, mechanical voice. "You will be integrated. Resistance is futile."
Captain Dravisikhtar stood up out of his seat.
"I have a bad feeling about this," he said.