In the year 2250, Earth was no longer the vibrant blue planet of old. It was more like a gray, life-stripped rock, cast in the perpetual shadow of the colossal floating city that hung in the sky. On the surface, the air was forever filled with an indescribable smell—the rust of a bygone era, the acrid smog of pollution, and the charred scent of electronic waste vented from the floating city's underbelly. Aaron's office sat at the very bottom of this world.
The office was really just a crude corner of a derelict factory, partitioned off with a few sheets of rusted metal. Aaron had been here for five years, a period long enough to transform a once-lauded genius Navigator into a "Stargate P.I.," specializing in the petty cases of the underclass. On his desk sat an old comm unit, its screen flickering with static. He'd salvaged it from a junk heap; it emitted a harsh buzz every time it started, but Aaron cherished that rough, analog feel from the old days. He had no use for the slick, cold new gadgets from the floating city; they only reminded him of a life he once had, a life he had chosen to leave behind.
Chapter 1: Dust of the Surface, Echoes of the Stargate (Part 2)
On his wall hung a faded, yellowed photograph. In the picture, a younger man stood with him in the cockpit of a Stargate transport ship, both of them smiling so genuinely. That man was his father, Jason Smith, a revered genius scientist in Stargate technology. The cockpit's background was a mesmerizing web of glowing space lanes, a cosmic nervous system that had stretched human civilization to the farthest corners of the star system. Back then, Aaron was his father's most promising student and the most highly-regarded Navigator in the Stargate Corporation. He possessed a unique gift: the ability to sense spatial ripples. While other Navigators relied on complex data and instruments to chart routes, Aaron could "hear" the whispers of the cosmos, feeling the subtle fluctuations left behind by every single teleportation.
Chapter 1: Dust of the Surface, Echoes of the Stargate (Part 3)
This gift was once his greatest pride and his deepest bond with his father. All of that changed with the "lab accident." The official story was that his father had vanished into an unknown space due to a system malfunction during a new technology experiment. But Aaron knew better. He vividly remembered a strange conversation he had with his father over the comm unit the day before the accident. His father had said, "Aaron, I saw it... I saw another side of the cosmos. It's full of ripples, and they are crying." The next day, his father was gone. Those words became a permanent, haunting mystery in Aaron's heart and the root of his profound distrust of the Stargate Corporation.
Chapter 1: Dust of the Surface, Echoes of the Stargate (Part 4)
Aaron's gaze shifted from the photograph as his comm unit let out another shrill buzz. A frantic voice broke through the static: "Detective Aaron, it's me, Max, the Mars trader! My cargo, my cargo disappeared during transit!" Max's voice was filled with anxiety and despair. He was a small-time merchant who traded between the surface and the Mars colony, mainly dealing in rare Martian minerals and antiques from old Earth. For people like him, every shipment was their entire livelihood. Aaron rubbed his temples; he had dealt with too many of these cases. They were usually simple data errors where the cargo was randomly rerouted to some obscure warehouse—a hassle to find, but not impossible.
Chapter 1: Dust of the Surface, Echoes of the Stargate (Part 5)
"Calm down, Max. Give me the details." Aaron's voice was steady, carrying the seasoned tone of someone who had weathered many storms. "I handed the cargo over at the Stargate Earth hub, and it showed up as delivered, but when I opened the container, it was empty! I checked the nav unit, and it said the transit was smooth, but I saw... a tiny light dot. It flashed on the screen, and then the cargo was gone!" Max's voice choked with tears. That "tiny light dot" made Aaron's heart pound. This was no ordinary data error.
Chapter 1: Dust of the Surface, Echoes of the Stargate (Part 6)
Aaron quickly called Max back: "Your cargo isn't gone, it was just diverted. I'll find it as soon as I can." He hung up and put on his old baseball cap, pulling the brim low to conceal his sharp eyes. He walked out of his office and onto the streets of the surface, a place where sunlight never reached. He knew this case was no longer just about Max; it was about himself. He had to find the "hyperspace diversion" trail, find the person who used the ripples, and uncover the truth behind his father's disappearance. He hailed a battered automated public vehicle, and it took him to a defunct Stargate transfer station.
Chapter 1: Dust of the Surface, Echoes of the Stargate (Part 7)
Aaron stepped off the vehicle, his spatial sense telling him that the hyperspace diversion trail was here. He carefully navigated around piles of trash and entered the massive, echoing warehouse of the transfer station. The place was empty, save for the howling wind. He closed his eyes, trying to sense the ripple once more. This time, he didn't just feel the ripple's trajectory; he also felt a faint energy residue. This residue was unique—it wasn't left by a standard Stargate transfer but by some high-frequency, high-density spatial instrument. It perfectly matched the description of a "ripple manipulator" from his father's journal.
Chapter 1: Dust of the Surface, Echoes of the Stargate (Part 8)
Just as he focused, a sharp whoosh came from behind him. Aaron instinctively dodged to the left, a dark figure brushing past him. He quickly turned to face a mysterious person in a black jumpsuit. Their movements were swift and precise, clearly the result of professional training. What shocked Aaron the most was that this person's movements carried a familiar "spatial sense." Every punch and every kick precisely used the minute ripples in the surrounding space to increase speed and power. This person was a Navigator, just like him.
Chapter 1: Dust of the Surface, Echoes of the Stargate (Part 9)
During a close-quarters fight, his hat was knocked off. He looked up, and in the faint light filtering through a hole in the warehouse roof, he saw the person's face. It was a cold, yet familiar face. "Cullen?" Aaron's heart seized, a wave of disbelief washing over him. Cullen was once his best friend at the Stargate Academy and the only person who could rival his "spatial sense." They had fought side-by-side in countless training sessions, dreaming of exploring the cosmos together. But now, he stood on the opposite side, an agent for the Stargate Corporation. Cullen said nothing, his eyes cold and hollow, like those of a soulless automaton.
Chapter 1: Dust of the Surface, Echoes of the Stargate (Part 10)
Despite his shock, Aaron reacted quickly. He used a collapsed shelf to create a temporary energy field, trapping Cullen for a moment. Seizing the opportunity, he fled and vanished into the night. Back in his office, Aaron's mind was a whirlwind of emotion. Cullen's appearance confirmed that a massive conspiracy was behind the missing cargo case. The Stargate Corporation was not only using ripples but also training people with unique gifts like his to serve them. This solidified his belief that his father's disappearance was directly linked to these "ripple manipulation" experiments. He opened his father's old journal again, a single thought echoing in his mind: He had to uncover the Stargate Corporation's secret, not just for revenge, but to find the truth about his father. The battle that was no longer his to fight had officially begun.