"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."
— John A. Shedd
Luca leaned against the Peregrine's hull, watching the tall red grass sway beyond their periter. Sowhere in there, copper eyes were probably watching them back.
The past seventy-two hours had been a blur of frantic activity and tension. Between Emily's condition, collecting all the samples, and now Danny's injury, this whole planetary survey had turned out to be a bit more challenging than expected.
"Fucking furballs," he muttered.
The Peregrine's generator humd beside him. They had powered up the Peregrine's large energy turret as their shield wasn't doing jack shit against the alien critters, but at least they'd learned to keep their distance.
Through the Peregrine's open back ramp, he could see Joey bent over the dical pod in their storage compartnt. The diagnostic panel above the pod glowed with vital signs. They were all stable, if a bit erratic.
Despite the attack, their survey progress had been remarkable. Inside the Peregrine, sample containers were packed into storage boxes as they fulfilled their objectives.
[Objective Assigned: Water Source Survey] (8/40)
[Objective Assigned: Collect Core Samples] (4/12)
[Objective Assigned: Alien Biosignature Detection] (7/40)
[Objective Assigned: Flora Sample Collection] (22/150)
[Objective Assigned: Fauna Sample Collection] (18/75)
The sound of the Peregrine's hatch opening drew his attention. Emily stepped out, her face imdiately softening when she saw him.
"Hey," she said, coming to stand beside him. "Joey says Danny's stabilized. The toxin's responding to treatnt."
Luca nodded, unconsciously straightening his posture. "Good. That's good."
"You look like hell," she said, her voice gentle despite the blunt assessnt.
"Thanks," he replied with a wry smile. "It's a new look I'm trying. Calling it 'captain under pressure.'"
Emily stepped into his space, close enough that he could feel the warmth radiating from her. Her hand ca up, cupping his cheek, her thumb gently stroking the tense muscle along his jaw. The simple, grounding touch cut through the fog of his exhaustion.
"You need sleep, Luca," she murmured.
"Later," he said. He found himself leaning into her touch for a fraction of a second before pulling back, his gaze drawn again to the dangerous adow. "We need to make so decisions first."
As she lowered her hand, her fingers briefly squeezed his arm, a silent promise of support.
A distant howl rose from sowhere beyond the forest edge. A sound that started low and warbling before climbing to a pitch that made the hair on Luca's arms stand up. Sothing answered from the opposite direction, a similar call but deeper, more resonant.
"The predators are gathering," Emily said quietly, following his gaze. "Zoe thinks they're coordinating, maybe forming hunting packs."
"Smart," Luca murmured. "Just what we need. Intelligent alien predators."
"Technically, we're the aliens here," Emily reminded him with the ghost of a smile.
Another howl, closer this ti. Luca's hand tightened on his rifle.
"We need to move," he said finally. "Get everyone together. Ti for a strategy eting."
Emily nodded, turning back toward the Peregrine's hatch. Luca remained outside a mont longer, watching the swaying grass and the shadows gathering at the treeline. They had co too far to be stopped now. One way or another, they would complete this mission and find that signal.
His mind made up, Luca followed Emily inside, the Peregrine's hatch sealing behind him with a reassuring hiss.
The Peregrine's dinette wasn't designed for seven people. With all of them cramd around the small table, the air grew stuffy despite the environntal controls. Luca leaned against the kitchenette counter, giving himself so space to think.
Danny had insisted on joining them, against Joey's protests. He sat gingerly on the edge of a bench, his back covered in dical patches that peeked out from the neckline of his t-shirt.
Ryan stood by the large workstation, the topographical map of the surrounding area projected in front of him. He zood in on their current position, then out to show the larger geographical features: the forest ridge to the north, what looked like a desert ecosystem to the east, and the hint of mountains far to the west.
He switched the display to a tiline graph that showed their energy consumption spiking sharply over the past two days. "Every ti we power up the turret to protect against the local wildlife, we drain more power."
"And it gets worse," Ryan said, tapping another icon. "The two cells we had on the recharger after the furball attack? They're fried. Won't hold a charge. Whatever those things are, they're tough on our gear. That leaves us with thirty-four."
Chris leaned forward, elbows on the table. "So what are you suggesting? We pack up and call it quits? After we just started finding the good stuff?"
Ryan shook his head. "No way. But we need to be smarter about our resources." He switched the display again, this ti showing the Percival sitting idle outside. "The dropship's just sitting up there empty. It's using power for basic maintenance cycles, and it's a big target for curious predators. We've already had to repair damages to the hull from those climbing things with the suckers."
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
"So?" Zoe prompted, arms folded across her chest as she leaned against the wall opposite Luca.
"So we send it back to orbit on autopilot," Ryan said, as if it were the most obvious solution in the world. "It stays safe in a stable orbit, not using landing thrusters, not attracting wildlife, not requiring shield protection. We recall it when we're done."
Zoe pushed off from the wall, her posture stiff with disagreent. "And if there's a chanical issue? Or navigation glitches? What if sothing happens during reentry when we call it back?" Her eyes locked with Ryan's. "We'd be stranded on an alien planet with no extraction plan."
"The Percival's systems checked out fine before we left," Ryan countered. "It's designed for repeated atmospheric entry and exit. The risk is minimal compared to—"
"Minimal isn't zero," Zoe cut in. "And I'm not a fan of gambling with our only ticket ho."
Emily, who had been quiet, stepped up. "Ryan's right," she said, her voice calm but firm. "We need to move to different bios. We've barely scratched the surface of what's out there, and the mission paraters require samples from at least five distinct ecosystems."
She traced a path across the map. "The Peregrine's solar panels can recharge while we drive. If we head toward the forest ridge, we can gather new samples and continue scanning for that energy signature we detected earlier."
They were all right, in their own ways. The mission required them to explore, but safety couldn't be compromised.
"The forest ridge shows significantly less activity," Emily added, highlighting the area on the map. "Denser vegetation, more cover, but still accessible enough for the Peregrine to navigate. And it's a completely different ecosystem with new plants, new animals and new soil composition."
Luca felt their eyes turning to him. The captain. The decision-maker. The one whose call could strand them here or get them killed if he got it wrong.
"What about that energy signature?" he asked, looking at Zoe. "Any progress on locating it?"
Zoe shook her head. "Still too faint to pinpoint from here. We're barely getting traces, whatever it is."
"Which ans moving," Ryan pointed out.
"Or sending drones," Zoe countered.
"With what energy cells?" Ryan shot back. "We're already rationing power."
The tension in the room ratcheted up another notch. Luca held up a hand, silencing the brewing argunt. "We've heard the options. Now we need to decide."
He stepped forward, joining Emily at the map. The colorful terrain stretched out before them: unexplored, uncharted, full of both danger and discovery.
"Emily," Luca said quietly, "how confident are you in the forest ridge assessnt?"
"Very," she replied without hesitation. "The satellite data is clear. It's our best option for both safety and scientific objectives."
Luca paced the length of the cabin. The limited space made his movents appear more agitated than he intended, but it helped him think. This was every captain's nightmare: mission objectives versus crew safety. The rational part of his brain knew what they needed to do, but the protective instinct that had kept them all alive through countless scrapes scread caution.
"You're wearing a groove in the floor," Chris remarked dryly, but his attempt at humor fell flat in the tense atmosphere.
The Percival... their lifeline, their ticket ho. Sending it back to orbit was logical from a resource perspective, but it eliminated their ergency extraction option. If sothing went catastrophically wrong and they couldn't recall the Percival... they'd be stranded until soone, anyone, followed their footsteps to Alpha Centauri. That could an years.
"Captain," Danny called out, his voice stronger than Luca expected. "For what it's worth, this adow is a major gathering point." He gestured to his tablet, which displayed thermal imaging of the surrounding area. "The herbivores co here in cycles, and the predators follow. We're sitting in the alien equivalent of a watering hole during migration season."
Luca moved to examine the data. Danny was right—the heat signatures showed increasing concentrations of large creatures moving toward their position from multiple directions. What had seed like a peaceful adow when they landed was rapidly becoming the center of a massive convergence of alien wildlife.
"We need to move," Luca finally said, his decision crystallizing. He turned to face the crew, eting each of their eyes in turn. "The adow's becoming too dangerous, and we've collected what we need from this bio."
He pointed to the map where Emily had indicated the forest ridge. "That's our next stop. Different ecosystem, less predator activity based on our scans."
Ryan nodded, already pulling up the Percival's systems on his tablet. "I'll prep the dropship for autopilot return."
"Wait," Zoe began, but Luca cut her off with a raised hand.
"I don't like it either, Zoe. But we can't afford to lose more energy staying put, and we need the Peregrine mobile if we're going to complete our survey objectives." He stepped closer to her, lowering his voice. "Program the Percival to maintain a stable geosynchronous orbit. Set it to respond to our direct recall codes."
Zoe's jaw tightened, but she gave a short nod. "I'll add redundancy to the navigation systems and ergency protocols for malfunction detection." Her eyes t his, firm and direct. "But if it crashes on reentry, I reserve the right to say 'I told you so' for the rest of our lives, however short those might be."
"Don't be so dramatic, Zoe," Luca replied. "It'll be fine."
Emily had already climbed to the Peregrine's passenger seat. "The vehicle's fully charged," she reported. "Solar panels are at optimal collection angle. We can head toward the forest ridge imdiately."
"How's the terrain between here and there?" Luca asked, joining her at the front.
"Mostly flat, so gentle slopes," Emily replied, highlighting the route. "The Peregrine can handle it easily. Three hours at standard speed, less if we push it."
Through the Peregrine's viewport, Luca could see the distant shapes of the massive six-legged herbivores they'd observed earlier. A whole herd of massive beasts was visible now, moving with purpose across the adow toward their position. Behind them, darker shapes slunk through the tall grass, likely predators following the herd, or perhaps drawn by the strange chanical intruders in their territory.
Luca turned back to face the crew, his decision final. "We're breaking camp. Zoe, plot a course for the Percival to a stable geosynchronous orbit. Make sure the recall protocols are bulletproof."
Zoe nodded grimly, already moving to the communication station.
"Ryan, prep the Peregrine for a long-haul trek. Full diagnostics, all systems. I want us ready to roll in an hour."
Ryan gave a mock salute. "On it, Captain."
"Chris, Joey, secure all our samples and equipnt. Nothing can break or spill when we hit rough terrain."
As the crew scattered to their assigned tasks, Luca moved to the main viewport again. The creatures were definitely closer now, the massive herbivores moving with surprising speed for their size. But it wasn't them that concerned him, it was the predators trailing behind.
"We're going hunting for that signal," he said, more to himself than anyone else. That faint energy signature was their best hope for what they'd really co to Alpha Centauri to find, evidence that the System had reached this far. If they could locate its source, they might find the key to breaking past the level cap that had constrained them back ho.
Emily appeared beside him, her presence a comfort in the midst of chaos. "The drive systems are online and the navigation route is plotted," she reported. "We'll find it, Luca."
He squeezed her hand, bringing it up to his lips to press a quick, firm kiss against her knuckles.
"I know we will," he said, reaching for her waist and pulling her against him.
She ca without hesitation, her hands resting against his chest. Their kiss was soft. When they finally pulled apart, Luca rested his forehead against hers.
"As soon as the Percival's away," he whispered, "we move."
Above them, the Percival's engines lit the sky with a violet burn as it lifted into orbit.
Their last safety net was gone.
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