𝕊𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕟 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕤 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕟, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕘𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕘𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕩𝕪 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖.
Captain Desree Pepin's one job was to get the crew of the Halcyon to Mars and settle down, but she...
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March 25th, 2675
The Haven, The Halcyon's DSS (Detached Settlement Shuttle) Unknown Moon Orbiting Unknown Gas Giant, Unknown Space
Rowan's head pounded, thrumming against her skull. Blinking her heavy lids open, the orange emergency lights flooded into the room. Beside her, Burton was drooling in his unconsciousness, his saliva splattered across the inside of his glass helmet. Across the lab, she spotted Trent and Riggs slumped over in their chairs, space suits on. Why wasn't the Haven moving?
Then Rowan remembered. Struggling against her straps, Rowan finally unbuckled, trudging over to the door at the opposite end of the airlock. The door slid open revealing the Haven's small cockpit with Beck leaning against the dashboard, unmoving. Gently lifting his limp arm, she examined his vitals on his wrist-comm, glad to see a pulse. She hoped his neck was okay from the odd angle he was sprawled out.
Natural light streamed into the cockpit as clouds rolled in the sky, thunder rumbling through the ship. Looking out the cockpit windshield, she first noticed the tall grass around them as fog billowed up from what looked like water or bogs. They were in the fields at the edge of a series of rocky plateaus. Above them, the purply-blue hues of the sky were graced with fluffy-looking clouds that failed to hide the large silhouette of the gas giant in front of them. In the distance, the clouds were turning a dark purplish-black, which sent shivers down Rowan's spine. That didn't look promising.
"Magnificent," Rowan muttered under her breath, fighting the urge to press her glasses further up her nose. That was hard to accomplish when she was wearing a helmet.
Beck stirred beside her, letting out a groan. "By the great burger kings," Beck muttered, pushing himself up from the dashboard. He looked about himself, blinking as he stared outside. "Why couldn't it have been a dream?"
"We need to find Desree," Rowan said, crossing her arms over her chest as she examined the dashboard. "Can you locate her?"
Beck clicked a few buttons and flicked a few switches before shaking his head. "I'm afraid not," he said, letting out a shaky breath. "Without her setting up the beacon, we won't be able to pick up on a trace since the Halcyon doesn't have any signal."
Rowan scrunched her brows, pursing her lips. "Well, then, we must find her." She brushed past him out of the cockpit, making her way through the lab as both Trent and Riggs started waking up. "Come on, gentleman. Meet me outside."
Rowan turned to Beck, who was tagging along behind her. "Beck, can you find my analyzer?"
"Yes'm," he said, nodding to her as he turned on his heel to grab it from the cabinet.
Rowan clicked the button to open the airlock hall, stepping into it. She went through the process before finally letting the ramp down, the outer doors sliding open with a hiss.
