The deafening quiet tugged at her consciousness, straining it like a thread, pulled taut. The warning lights flashed, assaulting her retinas and casting the control room in a frantic red glow. Her visor did little to block out the bothersome light.

On

Off

On

Off 

“I’m so cold, " a voice murmured, a familiar yet echoing sound bouncing inside her skull. Her mind was fuzzy as if someone had shoved a bunch of cotton balls in the grooves of her brain. She vaguely felt her hand brush against the control panel of the pilot's seat through her EVA suit. A slight memory pushed its way to the forefront of her mind. The Vanguard Horizon, she recalled. The starship was the first of its kind. She heard the ceiling groan as objects clunked against the ship's haul. The ship lurched to the side, and a loud screeching sound of metal pierced her ears. The sudden motion jolted her body, the harness barely keeping her in her seat.

 Her stomach lurched clenching inside her ribcage. She could almost taste the foul and foamy film of bile on her tongue as it burned its way up her throat. Images flashed past her eyes at the speed of light. As she tried to focus on what lay before her, the stars ceased shining and then ignited once more. Disoriented, her mind spun out of sync with her body before slamming back into focus. 

A ruby-red glow painted over the blurry images that moved past her visor, debris floating past like petals in the breeze.

-CRITICAL SYSTEM FAILURE-

-LIFE SUPPORT FAILURE-

-MAIN THRUSTER FAILURE-

-NAVIGATION SYSTEM FAILURE-

-COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FAILURE-

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

--UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY—IMPACT IMMINENT-

Distantly she heard the robotic voice speaking into the coms of her helmet before it glitched out. Her mind grasped to make sense of the static. She vaguely felt her mouth open, odd, she thought, with a strange buzzing sensation felt in her throat. Why is my mouth doing that? Then it struck her. Oh, I'm screaming. Her ears rang at the panicked sound. Sweeping her eyes around the chaotic mess hoping to make sense of the situation, her eyes caught sight of the viewport, more specifically what was outside it. The reinforced glass shone an astounding image of the grandiose, large, and unfamiliar planet before her, causing her breath to stutter and her screaming to cease. Swirling clouds in shades of misty blue and silvery gray; blanketed the atmosphere forming intricate patterns; and spreading over the planet like veins of lightning trapped in a fractured marble. Beneath the clouds, sprawling landmasses littered with patches of vibrant green and dusty beiges, broken by the vast expanse of deep blue oceans. The continents seem as if fractured, their jagged edges clashing with smooth, mirror-like water surfaces.

Thin, swirling rings of ice and dusty gray rocks of crumbled asteroids encircle the planet casting faint shadows on its surface. Several moons orbit around the rings in a mesmerizing spiral pattern, weaving through their gaps with graceful precision. The moons vary in size and color: some are smooth and pearlescent, reflecting the distant sunlight like polished silver, while others are rugged and dark, scarred by craters and ancient collisions.

The celestial dance of moons and dusty rings reminded her of a double helix, moons trace intertwined paths as though choreographed by an unseen godly force. Their movement is so hypnotic, and their orbital spirals are so precise that they seem deliberate, defying the chaos she’d been so used to seeing on natural celestial formations.

The porthole had disappeared. 

Where had it gone?

 Mind, foggy and drifting. Her gloved hand reached out slowly to touch the planet. She was enthralled and mesmerized by its foreign and celestial nature, the swirling wispy clouds spiraled up to touch her hand, like silken tendrils wrapping around her fingertips.

 A soft hum filled the air, growing louder as the planet seemed to pulse with life, pulling her closer, deeper. The clouds thickened, their light shifting to a brilliant, blinding glow. Suddenly, the hum fractured into a sharp, jarring crack, and the light collapsed inward, dragging her with it. Her breath caught, a sensation of weightlessness gripping her chest, then falling.

Plunging-

With a sharp gasp, the fog shattered. 

Her eyes flew open.