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, 2826
The Halcyon Unknown Moon Orbiting Unknown Gas Giant, Unknown Space
The sky rumbled at the coming storm, the wind picking up outside the Halcyon. Desree looked up from where she sat on the hallway floor, sliding her goggles off of her head. Setting the samples aside, Desree covered her face as the gusts got stronger. Maybe she should close the ramp. The wind was reminding her of the derechos back on Earth with gusts on average of 80 mph.
Suddenly, the hairs on Desree's neck stood up as if she was being watched. She didn't react sharply, instead slowly gazing around as if she was watching the incoming storm. Not far from the ship, she spotted a slight reflection of something beyond the perimeter fence in the brushes of the forest. Desree kept her eyes moving to feign ignorance before taking a step back inside the Halcyon.
Her hair whipped in front of her face as she clicked a button on the wall. With a whirring sound, the ramp started to close, but the wind started to lift it and almost yank it off of the ship. On instinct, Desree hit the first airlock door shut just in time. The ramp was yanked off the ship and plunged into the door where she had been standing. The door crunched beneath the sudden force, denting so that it was no longer air-tight.
"Crap," Desree muttered, biting her gums in thought. Without Beck's expertise, she'd not be able to even attempt to fix the door. And with whatever was out there, that made her feel very exposed. At least she'd have another airlock.
No longer feeling safe sitting in the hall, Desree gathered her samples and the miniature analyzer, closing the last line of defense—the final airlock. She prayed that nothing would get through or even attempt to do so. She didn't want to deal with any hungry or curious alien beasts when she hadn't even finished processing her samples.
『ν』
Desree dozed off a few times as she watched the setting sun above the mud stains on the window. She struggled to get comfortable in her space suit, restlessly wiggling on the seat. Her thoughts drifted to her crew, struggling to get some sleep even if the storm had hit a lull.
"Perimeter breached," Hal's voice quietly reverberated through Desree's helmet piece. Desree froze, the hairs standing up on her arms. She slid out of her chair, wracking her brain for whatever was about to happen. Whoever or whatever was intruding, Desree would have to take on with only the element of surprise on her side—she didn't think that Riggs left any guns when they evacuated to the Haven.
Desree slid over to the wall, nestling herself behind a cabinet strapped to the wall. Desree squatted down slowly, unlocking the wheels so that the cabinet could move around. Inching her way back to her feet, Desree unclasped the straps, steadying the cabinet to keep it from rolling from her grasp.
