Starbase 47, commonly referred to as “the big ring” was a marvel of engineering, a band spanning the entire circumference of a black hole. The energy siphoned from the black hole supplied the ring's residents with all the power they  needed and was the main export of Starbase 47. The ring produced high-power energy cells that fueled the great starliners moving at immense speed across the universe.

For John, it also powered his espresso machine in a small coffee shop just off the main transport corridor in Sector 5. He had a small group of regular customers, a couple of employees and earned a living while completely avoiding both space and spaceships. 

This attitude was not uncommon among the residents of the big ring, as space travel was expensive, uncomfortable, and risky. Random bursts of radiation from the black hole frequently erupted, causing significant anxiety for ring dwellers who ventured outside its protective enclosure. The ring itself was protected by a series of field generators that deflected any harmful rays that threatened the ring's residents. The generators cast an unnatural color on  the stars that could be seen through the portholes, different every day depending on how much radiation was being dissipated through the fields. This unnerved some people. Others just ignored the phenomenon.

One day as John was walking to work, he noticed through one of the portholes that the stars seemed somehow different. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it kept bothering him all the way to his cafe. And, as he set things up for the day, he caught himself staring out the window multiple times. Just as the very first of the breakfast crowd was coming in, he realized what it was. The stars were white. The stars changed color all the time--everyone knew that. But he had only once seen them be white like this, and then it had been lightyears away, at a cemetery on a distant planet. He had stood by an empty grave and gazed upon the heavens as night fell, wondering where in all that vastness his brother had found his final resting place.

The bell on the front counter dinged, and John was snapped out of the past, and back into the reality of his job. There was a line of customers, all wanting something from his menu, and  all a bit miffed by the delay. The fifth customer wanted to pick up a set of drinks that he had ordered the night before for an event. As John was going to the fridge to get the order, he glanced out a porthole and froze. Time seemed to slow down as a double helix of white light came hurtling directly towards him. The light passed cleanly through the glass, and then through John’s head. He saw it twist though his mind, lighting up every neuron, until he saw himself, standing in the kitchen with his head ablaze with the light. Then everything went black.

John awoke in a hospital bed with no idea how he had gotten there. A nurse told him that he had been hit by a burst of radiation during a power failure affecting the field generator for Sector 5. It was a miracle that he was even alive, let alone conscious. A doctor told him that he should stay in the hospital for at least another week, but John left as soon as he possibly could. He wandered the corridors of the ring, lost in his thoughts and pondering the knowledge that his brother was still alive, somewhere in the darkness. His brother had spoken to him, he was sure of it. John knew that the only thing he needed to do now was find him. But where? John wandered aimlessly, not caring where he was going, until he came to the docks. Spaceships, from great starliners to small dinghies were moored here, and were constantly coming and going to bring goods and people to and from the ring. 

John knew what he had to do. He surveyed the craft and chose a 15 foot purple solo dinghy. He quietly waited until the area was free of people, then hopped into the cockpit. He had never operated a spacecraft of any sort before and had no idea how to use the majority of the controls. He firmly grasped the  stick and yanked it back, sending the tiny craft spinning wildly into the hangar, bouncing off other ships and the hangar walls. As alarms blared, he wrestled the controls until he was facing out of the airlock and into the abyss. He could hear the distant shouts of the people on the ground, and the warning lights flashing and alarms wailing. Through the chaos, he could still hear the voice of his brother calling to him. He lined up the dinghy with the center of the black hole, and hit the hyperdrive, going to join his brother among the stars.