Citadel of Lost Ships

Roy Campbell, a pilot fleeing the Coalition, crash‑lands on a drifting citadel of salvaged spacecraft that drifts like a gypsy caravan among the stars. He hopes to find refuge there for the Kraylens, a persecuted Venusian community, but awakens bruised in a dim hut, his mind still reeling from the chase and the violent impact that tore his ship apart. The oppressive heat and alien night settle over him, a reminder that danger is never far away.

Outside, the quiet of the swamp‑laden settlement is broken by a single, primal drumbeat that seems to pulse from the darkness itself. The rhythm draws Campbell toward a clearing where a circle of silent, otherworldly figures watches a strange, feather‑crowned being coaxing a drum that feels like a living heart. The scene is both mesmerizing and threatening, hinting at a ritual that could bind or betray anyone who steps into it. With his instincts on edge, Campbell must decide whether this eerie gathering offers the freedom he craves or a trap from which there may be no escape.