Chapter 6: A Tune in the Dark
Celeste pressed herself against the cool metal of the wreck’s outer hull, heart pounding against her ribs like the beat of a drum solo gone rogue. Orion crouched beside her, his expression sharp and calculating. The bandits moved through the wreckage with a predator’s patience, their boots crunching softly against the sand-covered floor.
“So, just to recap,” Celeste whispered, “we’re sneaking through a wrecked spaceship while armed mercenaries search for a mysterious package and we still need to steal a hyperdrive?”
“That about covers it,” Orion murmured back. “And we’re not stealing. We’re reclaiming.”
“Semantics.”
From the other side of the wreck, the static-filled voice crackled to life again.
“Still nothing. But there’s a locked storage bay in the aft section. Could be inside.”
The leader responded with a grunt. “Blow the lock if you have to. That package is worth more than this whole rust bucket.”
Celeste’s stomach twisted. Whoever these people were, they weren’t just scavengers. They were after something specific, something important enough to justify blowing up part of the ship to get it.
She turned to Orion. “Tell me you don’t know what they’re talking about.”
Orion hesitated. “I might have a theory.”
Celeste exhaled through her nose. “You might have a theory?”
“Look, now’s not exactly the best time to discuss it!” Orion’s eyes flicked to a gap in the hull. “Come on. I know another way in.”
Before Celeste could argue, he was already moving, keeping low as he slipped through a twisted doorway. With a sigh, she followed.
Inside, the wreck felt even more eerie. The ship’s once-sleek interior was now a graveyard of broken consoles, shattered light panels, and exposed wiring. Dim emergency lighting flickered along the walls, casting long, trembling shadows.
“So,” Celeste said, keeping her voice low, “what’s the plan? Because ‘wander around and hope we don’t get shot’ really isn’t doing it for me.”
“Trust me,” Orion muttered. “I know what I’m doing.”
Before Celeste could respond, her boot hit something metal, and an ear-splitting clank echoed through the wreck.
Orion whipped around, eyes wide. Celeste winced. “That wasn’t me,” she lied.
A distant voice called out. “Did you hear that?”
Orion muttered something under his breath. “Run.”
Without waiting for further instruction, Celeste bolted after him, her pulse racing. They weaved through the wreckage, ducking behind consoles, slipping through narrow passageways. The distant shouts of the bandits grew louder, their footsteps heavy against the deck.
Up ahead, Orion stopped at a sealed hatch. “This leads to the engine room,” he whispered. “If the hyperdrive is still intact, it’ll be in there.”
Celeste frowned. “And if it’s not intact?”
“Then we wasted a perfectly good chase sequence.” Orion pulled a multitool from his belt and got to work on the panel. Sparks flew as he worked the wires, the hatch’s locking mechanism groaning in protest.
Celeste glanced back. Shadows flickered in the corridor. They were running out of time.
“You know,” she muttered, “a high-speed getaway would be a lot easier if I had my actual ship.”
“Yeah, well, if I had my actual tools, I wouldn’t be improvising,” Orion shot back.
A shout rang out.
“THERE!”
Celeste turned just in time to see one of the bandits raising a weapon.
Without thinking, she swung her lumitharp around, her fingers flying across the strings. A piercing note filled the air, reverberating off the metal walls. The vibration sent a cascade of loose debris tumbling from the ceiling, buying them precious seconds as the bandits ducked for cover.
Orion blinked. “Did you just use your instrument as a weapon?”
“Music is a powerful thing!” Celeste said, strumming another discordant note.
Orion yanked the last wire free. “Well, let’s hope it’s powerful enough to keep them distracted—because we’re in!”
The hatch hissed open, and Celeste dove through just as a blast of energy singed the wall beside her. Orion followed, slamming the hatch shut behind them.
Inside, the engine room stretched before them—dusty, dark, and full of long-dead machinery. But at its center, half-buried under fallen beams and rubble, was exactly what they had come for.
The hyperdrive.
Celeste let out a breathless laugh. “Tell me that thing still works.”
Orion grinned. “Oh, it’ll work. Once I fix it.”
Outside, the bandits pounded on the hatch, their voices growing angrier by the second.
Celeste tightened her grip on her lumitharp. “No pressure, right?”
Orion smirked. “You wanted a high-speed getaway, didn’t you?”
Celeste groaned. “Next time, remind me to ask for boring adventures.”
Orion’s fingers flew across the hyperdrive’s control panel. “Too late now, starlight.”
As the door behind them shook under the force of the bandits’ efforts, Celeste took a steadying breath. She might not have a ship—yet—but she had music, she had a hyperdrive, and she had an unlikely partner who, against all odds, seemed to know exactly what he was doing.
If they survived this, she might just owe him a song.
