It was the year 4048, and the Earth, once a vibrant cradle of life, now teetered on the brink of destruction. The planet had reached the limits of its natural resources, its ecosystems long since collapsed, and the countdown to the inevitable had begun. According to the Wyvern Research Center, humanity’s most advanced scientific institution, the Earth had no more than 150 years left before it would explode, turning into stardust as a result of intense, uncontrollable geological activity. The human race had to find a new home or perish along with their dying world.

Terry, a seasoned space captain who had dedicated his entire life to preparation for this moment, was quickly ushered into action. His mission was twofold: first, to explore the cosmos in search of a new planet where humanity could resettle and rebuild; and second, to transport Princess Veronica Firestine, the last of Earth's royal family still residing on the planet, to the safety of Galaxy B20. Located in the Andromeda galaxy, Galaxy B20 was humanity’s safest and most luxurious space station. It was the seat of power for the royal family and other elite members who had left Earth years earlier to avoid its impending doom.

Princess Veronica was different from the rest of her family. While the royals had retreated to the security of B20, Veronica had insisted on staying behind on Earth, feeling it unjust for her family to live in comfort while their people remained in danger. For two years, she had lived among Earth’s citizens, working tirelessly to offer aid where she could. But now, her father, King Meldrich II, had drawn the line. He would not tolerate her defiance any longer and had ordered her onto Terry's ship for immediate transport to B20.

The journey from the Milky Way to Galaxy B20 would take one year. Terry and Veronica boarded the spacecraft, their nerves a mix of anxiety and determination. As they strapped themselves in, the countdown began:

“Five… four… three… two…”

Before the final number could sound, a sudden glitch flickered on the spacecraft's control screens. But it wasn’t just the screens—Terry, Veronica, and the entire ship seemed to be glitching, like reality itself was unraveling for a split second.

“What’s going on?” Veronica’s voice cracked with a tinge of fear as she glanced at Terry.

Terry’s fingers raced over the controls, trying to re-establish communication with the space station. But no one answered. Static hissed through the speakers, and their once perfectly calibrated instruments now displayed garbled data. “This doesn’t make any sense,” Terry muttered, trying to suppress his own rising panic.

Veronica stood, looking out of the glass panel that stretched across the front of the shuttle. The view was breathtaking, but not in the way she expected. Instead of Earth’s familiar blues and greens fading behind them as they ascended, there was only an endless stretch of stars.

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“We’re in space... but how?” she asked, her breath catching in her throat.

“I don’t know,” Terry responded, his voice strained. “That glitching phenomenon we experienced earlier has something to do with it, that’s for sure.” He glanced at his wrist, where a portable watch synced with the Wyvern Research Center’s navigation systems blinked with error messages. “And to make matters worse, the radar has no idea where we are. This location isn’t registered anywhere on Wyvern’s map system.”

“So, what do we do now, Captain?” Veronica’s voice was steady but carried an edge of worry.

“All we can do is wait and hope that Wyvern’s tracking system picks up our signal,” Terry replied. He tried to exude calm confidence for her sake, but the look of concern etched on his face was impossible to hide. He knew what it meant to be off-grid in deep space. “Don’t worry, Princess,” he said, attempting to soothe her. “There’s no place in the universe Wyvern’s tracking system can’t reach. It’s designed to automatically reroute and capture unknown domains. You see this watch? The ship and our communication system are linked to Wyvern through ripples in space-time. Our systems are built to detect even the smallest gravitational waves.”

“So, it will eventually link back to headquarters?” Veronica asked, her eyes wide with hope.

“Yes,” Terry replied, nodding confidently. “And besides, we have enough food and supplies to last us a year. We’ll be fine.” He casually reached into his provisions and grabbed a bag of chips, tearing it open and popping one into his mouth. “All possible scenarios are well accounted for, so you can rest easy, Princess.”

Just as he finished speaking, a violent tremor shook the entire ship. Both Terry and Veronica were thrown to the ground as alarms blared through the cabin. Red lights flashed ominously, and the control systems buzzed with warnings.

“Oh, what now?” Terry groaned, scrambling to his feet. He rushed to the control panel and peered out the glass. His breath caught in his throat. Hovering in the vastness of space before them was an enormous ship, easily ten times the size of their own. Its design was ancient, like something pulled from a history book about Earth’s earliest civilizations. Mesopotamian-like patterns adorned its massive structure, carved into its hull with intricate details, glowing faintly in the dark void.

“That isn’t one of ours, is it?” Veronica whispered, her voice trembling.

“Nope…” Terry said, his eyes wide with shock. He stood frozen for a moment, unsure of what to do next. The sight of the gargantuan, ancient-looking ship was beyond anything they had trained for. There was no record of such a craft in the entire history of Wyvern’s exploration logs.

The mysterious ship loomed closer, casting a long shadow over Terry and Veronica’s vessel. As they stared out into the blackness of space, Terry’s mind raced with possibilities. They were far from Earth, lost in an unknown part of the galaxy, and now seemingly at the mercy of a colossal, alien ship. The glitch had transported them somewhere far beyond the grasp of human technology, and now they were truly on their own.

“We’re going to need more than chips for this one,” Terry muttered under his breath, his heart pounding in his chest as the larger ship stood majestically in front of their eyes.