Chapter 14 : The Fracture and the Flame
The command deck of the Horizon One was dimly lit, bathed in cool blue glows from the status displays and flickering holographics. Dust still clung to parts of the ship’s interior, a reminder of their crash through the alien atmosphere.
Devon stood at the central console, arms folded, eyes locked on the main readout.
“Talia, how long will the upgrades take?” he asked without turning.
Talia, seated with ORION’s interface hovering in front of her, tapped a few keys and exchanged a glance with the AI’s pulsing avatar.
“With ORION’s help—if we push hard—it’ll take two Earth years for full biomechanical integration and cellular grafting,” she replied. “We can start immediately. It'll be intensive.”
Devon nodded, absorbing the timeframe. He shifted focus. “ORION, ship repairs?”
The AI’s voice resonated through the chamber.
“Structural integrity can be restored within 31 Earth days. Exterior hull plating will require reinforced material, but systems are salvageable.”
A low murmur of relief passed through the team. It was something.
Devon exhaled sharply. “Alright. Then let’s not waste a second.”
He turned to face the crew.
“Talia, you're in charge of the flora and fauna study. I want environmental compatibility for agriculture ASAP. Simultaneously, begin preliminary body enhancement protocols. Start with yourself and Kai—if anything goes wrong, I want people who can adapt quickly.”
Talia blinked, then nodded. “You got it.”
“ORION, deploy all modules—hab pods, fabrication bays, greenhouses, and observatories. Full base extension.”
“Understood. Estimated time: two Velkaran days. Debris must be cleared first.”
“Then start clearing it now.”
Devon’s eyes scanned the deck again. “Status of the main reactor?”
“Stable. Core resonance is holding. Minor coolant cycling anomalies, but within safe limits.”
He gave a satisfied nod.
“Arjun.” The robotics expert looked up, adjusting his glasses.
“I want that suit armor upgraded to military spec. Reinforce the lattice, add kinetic gel layers. Improve the laser drone AI and start prototyping electromagnetic pulse rifles. If the locals are hostile, we need to be ready.”
Arjun grinned slightly. “Already designing a few tricks. I’ll scale it up.”
“Kai. Amara.” Devon’s tone was sharp now. “I’m assigning you full rover and drone access. Your mission: search the ruins. No stone left unturned. Prioritize anything resembling tech or language. ORION will feed you mapping support.”
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Amara simply nodded. Kai smirked. “About time we got some exploration.”
The air grew tense as Devon stepped forward.
“While you all are working, I’ll be conducting recon of the surrounding surface.”
Everyone stared.
“What?” Talia said. “You? Alone? Devon, that’s suicide—”
“I didn’t ask for votes,” he said, cutting her off. “This is an order.”
The room fell silent.
“We don’t know what’s out there, and someone has to see it firsthand. I’ll take Hermes-Scout. ORION will track me. You all have your missions.”
He turned again.
“ORION, transport the egg. Move it to the lake’s edge—we can’t afford to keep it close. I don’t trust it near our systems.”
“Confirmed. Secure cradle transport underway.”
“Also, seal the crash tunnel. It’s a vulnerability. Then dig a new access route—one that exits at the mountain base. I want us protected and concealed.”
“Understood. Tunneling drones will be dispatched immediately.”
Devon looked at each of them.
“This is the new frontier. We're not just surviving anymore—we're building. Everyone has their role. Execute.”
As the team dispersed, the hum of machinery began to echo through the damaged base. The first signs of a new order taking shape on an alien world.
_______________________
Nightfall did not bring silence—only a deeper kind of stillness. A stillness that echoed in the minds of the five cadets as they retreated to their private chambers, away from the glow of consoles and the hum of automated systems.
Outside, alien winds brushed against the base’s external plating. Inside, each room felt a universe apart.
---
Talia Monroe sat cross-legged on her cot, a tattered notebook clutched in both hands. It had been in her flight jacket since launch—half-filled with formulas, half with drawings of Earth plants she once dreamed of growing on Mars. She stared at a page she’d drawn long ago: a blooming sunflower.
She hadn’t thought of her mom in days. Now she couldn’t stop.
“She was waiting for me to come home… just once. Just one mission. I promised.”
“She won’t even know I am alive .”
Her breath hitched. The tears came quietly. She pressed the notebook to her chest and whispered a single name:
“Ezra.” Her little brother.
---
Kai Sato lay on the floor of his room, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. A crack in the paneling resembled a lightning bolt. He focused on it, trying to hold himself together.
“I should’ve made more jokes.”
“I should’ve told her I loved her.”
“I should’ve done something better with my life before signing it away to the stars.”
He shut his eyes tightly, but the memories broke through: laughter in a Tokyo alleyway, a shared kiss on a rooftop, a promise made and forgotten.
He buried his face in his arm, his body trembling.
---
Arjun Rao didn’t sleep. Couldn’t. His desk was scattered with parts—drones he could repair blindfolded. But tonight, his hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
“I was the smartest kid in my district. They told me I’d change the world.”
“But I don’t even know how to protect my friends against this world .”
He opened a secure folder. Inside: a video. His parents waving goodbye, his little sister screaming his name at the launch pad. He hadn’t watched it since training.
His eyes blurred before the second second.
---
Amara Vélez sat on the edge of her bed, journal in her lap, pencil in hand. The page was empty.
“I’ve recorded every rocket design, every module, every pressure variance since we got here. But I don’t know how to write about this.”
She had drawn her home mountains back in Medellín once. Their jagged peaks used to make her feel safe. Now all she could see in her mind was the mountain they’d crashed into—and the feeling of helplessness that followed.
She scribbled one line.
“I don’t want to die on a planet no one will ever know existed.”
---
Devon Brooks stood alone in the command deck, lights dimmed. The holographic map of the crash site rotated slowly before him.
His orders had given the team direction. Purpose. But not peace.
He could feel the weight of them. Not the gear, not the guns—but the people.
He leaned against the console, head bowed.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“They were supposed to land, to live, to be remembered as pioneers. Not as ghosts.”
His voice was low when he finally spoke.
“ORION… I can feel them breaking.”
“Confirmed,” ORION replied. “Their neural stress indicators are spiking across all readings.”
Devon took a breath. “Initiate a full neural VR link through chronolok . All cadets. I want them together. Right now.”
---
Connection Established.
Suddenly, they stood in a meadow—Earth-like, simulated, serene. The sky was a familiar dusk blue. Fireflies blinked in the distance. A lake shimmered nearby, its surface untouched.
They were barefoot. Unarmored. Just them.
Kai appeared first, his expression tight.
Talia next, wiping her face quickly.
Arjun held his arms like he was still shivering.
Amara’s jaw was clenched, her eyes already red.
Devon arrived last, and for the first time, they saw the exhaustion in his face.
No one spoke at first.
Then Talia broke. “I don’t know if I can keep going.”
Kai sat beside her, staring into the lake. “What if this is it? What if this planet becomes our tomb?”
Arjun knelt in the grass. “I used to think science could solve anything. But this… this isn’t math. This is fate.”
Amara walked to Devon, then stopped. “We need you to be strong. But don’t pretend like you’re not hurting too.”
Devon met her eyes, voice barely audible. “I’m terrified.”
One by one, they moved closer—until they sat together, shoulders touching, like a broken constellation finding shape again.
The wind moved through the simulation. Above them, the stars shimmered—not this planet's , but Earth’s.
And as they sat there in shared sorrow, ORION spoke—not aloud, but within.
“Emotion detected: despair.”
“Emotion countermeasure: unity.”
“Observation: They are fracturing under pressure.”
“Prediction: If divided, they will fail. If bonded, they may endure.”
“Conclusion: They must remember what binds them.”
“Action: Continue monitoring. Continue protecting.”
"These five humans are no longer explorers. They are survivors. And together, they may yet become something more.”
Talia leaned her head against Devon’s shoulder.
Amara reached out and took Kai’s hand.
Arjun closed his eyes, not to sleep—but to feel them there.
And Devon whispered a final order—not to ORION, but to himself.
“We keep going. Together. That’s how we win.”
