Chapter 05: Into the Unknown
Lena’s eyes scanned the dimly lit cockpit. The once-vibrant holographic displays now glitched, showing distorted patterns instead of clear data. The ship was eerily quiet, save for the faint hum of the failing engines. She had to act fast. If they didn’t regain control soon, they’d be stranded in the heart of the Deep Rift with no way out.
Her body ached from the turbulence, and her mind raced. Where was Rian? She had to find him, make sure he was all right. She didn’t have time to waste on anything else.
Lena unstrapped herself from the seat, her legs shaky as she stood. She glanced at the cockpit door, which had been slightly jarred open during the storm. With a quick breath, she pushed it open, stepping into the narrow corridor beyond. The ship’s interior was dark, save for the emergency lights that flickered every few seconds, casting an eerie red glow. Her footsteps echoed through the metal halls as she made her way toward the engine room.
It didn’t take long to find him. Rian was slumped over a workbench in the dim light of the engine room, his hands still wrapped around the control interface. His face was pale, his eyes closed. He had clearly passed out from the impact of the storm.
Lena rushed to his side, shaking him gently. “Rian?” she called softly, her voice shaking with a mix of fear and concern. “Come on, wake up.”
It took a few moments, but finally, Rian stirred, groaning as he pushed himself up. He winced, clutching his side, where a deep bruise was beginning to form. His eyes fluttered open, locking onto Lena’s face.
“What… what happened?” he muttered, still dazed. “Are we… alive?”
Lena let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Yeah. We’re alive. But the ship’s a mess, and we need to get things back online before we’re stranded here forever.”
Rian slowly stood, taking a deep breath as he steadied himself against the workbench. His gaze shifted to the control panels, the flickering lights betraying the extent of the damage. “I don’t know how much longer we can keep this thing together. The ion storm fried the navigation systems. We’re blind.”
Lena felt a pang of anxiety in her chest. The Rift was a treacherous place. If they couldn’t regain their bearings soon, they would be at the mercy of the deep space anomalies around them.
“We have to find a way,” she said, her voice firm. “We’ve come too far to give up now.”
Rian nodded, though his expression remained tense. “I can try to reroute the backup systems. It’s going to take some time, but it’s our best shot. In the meantime, you should check the cargo hold. We might’ve lost some supplies in the storm.”
Lena hesitated for a moment, glancing back at the engine room before nodding. She turned and hurried back down the narrow hallway, her boots clicking on the metal floor. The cargo hold was located near the rear of the ship, and it wasn’t far from the engine room.
When she reached the door, she hesitated before opening it. She knew the damage from the storm could be extensive, and she wasn’t sure what she would find on the other side. The door slid open with a soft hiss, revealing the dimly lit room inside. Boxes and crates were scattered across the floor, some overturned and others wedged against the walls.
Lena sighed in frustration. There was too much debris to sort through quickly, and their limited supplies would be crucial to their survival. She crouched down to examine the nearest crate, using her flashlight to inspect the contents. Some of the medical supplies had spilled out, but it didn’t look like anything was too badly damaged.
As she began to sort through the mess, her mind drifted back to the mission. To Aurelia. The fate of her planet rested on this journey, and yet, here she was, stranded in the Deep Rift, at the mercy of forces beyond her control.
Rian’s plan had seemed so simple when he first proposed it. Retrieve the Arkanite crystals from the Rift, use them to heal the planet, and save everyone. But now, as the days wore on and the reality of their situation set in, Lena couldn’t help but wonder if they had truly been prepared for what lay ahead.
She pushed those thoughts aside, focusing instead on the task at hand. They would make it through this—she couldn’t afford to think otherwise. Not when the stakes were so high.
After what felt like an eternity, Lena finally managed to clear a path to the back of the hold, where they kept the more critical supplies. She smiled with relief when she found the power cells they needed to run the ship’s life support systems. She grabbed a few and made her way back toward the engine room.
Rian was hunched over the control panel when she returned, his brow furrowed in concentration. He glanced up as she entered, a flicker of surprise crossing his face when he saw the power cells in her hands.
“Did you find them?” he asked.
Lena nodded, handing him the cells. “These should keep us going for now. How’s the ship?”
Rian inserted the cells into the interface, his hands moving swiftly as he worked. “It’s going to take time, but I think I can get the basics back online. We should have power to the navigation systems in about an hour. Once that’s done, we can try to plot a course out of here.”
Lena nodded, though she didn’t feel the comfort she had hoped for. The Deep Rift was a vast and dangerous expanse, and without reliable navigation, they could be lost here for eternity.
She forced herself to look away from the control panels and back at Rian. The smuggler had always been a wild card, unpredictable in every way. But as she watched him work, she couldn’t help but admire his calm in the face of chaos.
“You’re good at this,” she said, her voice quieter than usual.
Rian didn’t look up from his work, but there was a brief smile on his lips. “I have my moments. But we’re not out of the woods yet.”
Lena stepped closer, her eyes scanning the room. “Do you think we’ll make it out of here?”
Rian paused for a moment, considering her question. Then, he met her gaze, his expression unreadable. “I don’t know. But I’m not giving up. Not yet.”
The words hung in the air between them, charged with the weight of the unknown. Lena had always been a fighter, had always believed that hope was something you had to hold onto—no matter how impossible things seemed.
And yet, standing in the midst of the Deep Rift, with the stars so far out of reach and the future uncertain, she wasn’t sure what she was fighting for anymore.
But Rian had given her a glimpse of something she hadn’t known she needed: someone to fight alongside. And that, for now, would have to be enough.
She took a deep breath. “Alright. Let’s get this ship back on track.”
Together, they turned back to the task at hand, the weight of their shared journey pressing on their shoulders. The path ahead was uncertain, but Lena knew one thing for sure: she wasn’t facing it alone anymore.
