"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." — Spock, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Emily was still asleep, wrapped around Luca like a human blanket, when he woke up. Her arm draped across his chest, and her leg tangled with his. Even sleeping, she had that little smile on her face.

He untangled himself slowly, not wanting to wake her. The movement sent soreness through his ribs, the kind that meant healing instead of damage. He pulled the comforter over her shoulders and headed for the shower.

The cool tiles shocked his system awake. Steam helped clear his head, though he still felt like he'd been hit by a freight train. But manageable now. Human.

Stepping out, he pulled on his standard white bodysuit. The bio-monitor beeped softly as he adjusted it - Joey would probably get an alert about his elevated heart rate any second now. As he headed back toward the bed, he saw Emily stretching against the backdrop of New Dawn coming in through his viewport.

"Do I have to get up?" she asked, all sleepy and cute.

"We've got work to do," Luca said with a grin. "Cataloging samples, reports, logs, all that fun stuff. Plus, we need to figure out our next move."

Emily yawned and stretched luxuriously. "That's all taken care of."

Luca stopped dead. "All of it?"

"Samples catalogued, reports filed, logs updated." She gave him that satisfied smile. "What do you think I was doing for three days while you were napping?"

That drove him nuts in the best possible way. Emily was just... perfect. Completely, impossibly perfect.

"The world really does run on Emily-time," he said, shaking his head.

"I need to pee," Emily said suddenly, blushing as she scrambled out of bed and ran toward his bathroom.

"Make yourself at home," Luca called after her, grinning.

Her voice echoed from the bathroom. "Already did that while you were unconscious!"

An hour later, they gathered on the bridge. Luca settled into his command chair, still favoring his ribs, with Emily standing beside him. The crew had assembled - Zoe at navigation, Ryan and Chris flanking the engineering console, Danny with his tablet full of data, and Joey pretending he wasn't pointing his medical scanner at Luca.

"Alright, Zoe," Luca said, stretching his ankle carefully. "Hit me with whatever's going to ruin my day."

Zoe activated the holographic display, showing the Alpha Centauri system in three dimensions. What had once been empty space between the stars was now littered with blue-white portal signatures.

"Activating the system on New Dawn had consequences we didn't see coming," Zoe began. "Space-borne portals. Over four thousand so far."

Luca leaned forward. "How many?"

"Each one has a defensive fleet." Zoe highlighted several clusters. "Our destination is Alpha Centauri A, fourth planet. Still in the habitable zone, still needs a survey according to our charter."

"Shit." Luca studied the display. "We don't know what's on the other side of those portals. And our ship? Basically a science lab with a fancy engine. No weapons, light shielding. We're sitting ducks."

"Can't do gravity slingshots like we planned," Zoe said, zooming in on their route. "It's going to take more fuel."

"How much more?" Luca asked, trying to find a comfortable position.

"Still calculating. I need to rerun trajectories, plot routes that avoid the aggro range of those defensive fleets." Her fingers moved across the console. "Give me time, I might have answers later."

"What if we try stealth mode?" Chris suggested. "Sneak past them?"

Zoe shook her head. "Our tech is TL8. These guys are TL9. Remember how active camouflage didn't help against the guardians? Not worth the risk."

Emily straightened. "We'll figure it out. Maybe the new planet will have more tech we can use."

Luca stood, ribs protesting. "Alright. Let me know how I can help."

That evening, Luca decided to cook dinner for the crew. His ribs were still tender and his ankle throbbed, but he was mobile. And hungry.

Pasta fagioli - a recipe his mom used to make. Simple enough to throw together with their supplies. They had dried pasta and canned beans. No fresh spinach though - his greenhouse experiment had died while they were playing dungeon explorers on New Dawn. Defrosted spinach would have to do. Mom would've rolled her eyes, but a guy did what he could in space.

As he served everyone pasta, the smell of garlic and synthetic oregano filled the galley. Not exactly like Mom's, but it would do.

"So, Ryan," Luca said, setting down a bowl. "When are you plugging in that new reactor? Can't wait to zoom through the system."

"That's not how it works," Ryan replied. "The reactor just gives us more power. We'd need to upgrade thrusters, and I don't have anything better. Plus, we still don't know what the reactor needs for fuel."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Maybe one of those portals will drop ship supplies," Chris suggested. "Could be worth exploring."

"Sure," Zoe said, deadpan. "Be my guest. We don't have weapons, and ships in Sol aren't weaponized either. We'd need months of R&D before we could use our frigate schematic."

"We have most of those schematics," Luca added.

"Yeah, but they each require advanced components we can't build," Ryan said. "More TL9 shit that hasn't been invented yet."

Emily nodded as she twirled spaghetti around her fork. "Our focus should be wrapping up the survey and finding supplies."

"Alright," Luca said, catching Emily's eye and grinning. "And maybe after dinner, Emily can tell us more about her command techniques while I was out."

Emily blushed but smiled back. "I kept everyone in line."

"She was terrifying," Danny confirmed without looking up. "Had to break out the whip."

"I prefer 'motivational,'" Emily said primly.

Dinner passed with jokes and stories. Everyone seemed in good spirits despite the impossible situation they faced. Luca caught Emily's eye several times, sharing secret smiles.

Yeah, it was good to be home.

Later, the crew changed into loungewear and made their way to the lounge. Ryan and Danny headed straight for the pool table, while Chris and Joey lounged on the red leather sofas.

"We're not opening another bottle tonight, Zoe," Luca said, giving her his best captain look. "Limited supply. Save them for special occasions."

Chris and Joey flipped through their movie collection - over three thousand titles from his dad's collection.

"Most of this is old people shit," Chris complained.

"James Bond isn't 'old people shit,'" Zoe retorted, sounding personally offended.

Chris rolled his eyes. "These movies are almost fifty years old. And seriously, what the hell is 'Casablanca'? Is that a porno?"

"You're an idiot," Zoe said, laughing.

Pool balls clinked as Danny spoke up, clearing his throat dramatically. "Speaking of..."

"The planet we're heading to... it may not have a breathable atmosphere."

Luca's eyes widened. "This is the first I'm hearing of it."

"I've been wrestling with the sensor data from that planet... I couldn't figure out why the readings were so corrupted. I think I finally have a theory," Danny said.

"What do you think is the problem?" Emily asked.

"I believe the probes and sensors are damaged from exposure to corrosive or toxic air," Danny explained.

Zoe let out a sarcastic laugh. "This is why we don't discuss business in the lounge."

"And this is just your theory?" Luca asked, trying to keep the edge out of his voice.

"Maybe," Danny said. "But I'm pretty sure. Once we're closer we'll have a better view."

"Our new armor should handle toxic gases, right? It's airtight," Zoe asked.

"Well, shit," Chris muttered. "Here I was worried about alien spaceships, and now we might choke to death on acidic, bone-eating gas."

Joey snorted. "Leave it to us to find the one planet that wants to melt our faces off."

"At least it'll be unique," Ryan chimed in, lining up another shot. "Imagine the epitaph: 'Here lies the crew of the Triumph, defeated by air.'"

Luca rolled his eyes. "Alright, smartasses. Let's focus on solutions, not clever ways to die."

"We could always hold our breath," Emily suggested with a smirk. "I bet Joey can last thirty seconds."

"Fuck off," Joey retorted, tossing a cushion at her.

"Danny, any ideas for better readings?" Luca asked.

Danny shrugged. "Recalibrate sensors, maybe jury-rig some shielding. Or wait until we're close enough to see if the planet's actively on fire."

"Great plan," Chris deadpanned. "I vote we send Ryan in first. For science."

"Hey!" Ryan protested, missing his shot. "Why me?"

"Alright," Luca said. "Let's table the death planet discussion. Anyone up for a movie? Preferably one without toxic atmospheres."

"Alien!" Emily exclaimed, settling against him on the couch.

"Alien?" Luca groaned. "Isn't that a bit on the nose?"

"It's a classic," Emily said, sliding closer until her arm hooked through his and her head rested on his shoulder. "Plus, their alien can't be worse than whatever's waiting for us."

"At least the xenomorph kills you quickly," Joey chimed in. "Unlike our vacation spot that wants to slowly dissolve our lungs."

"I'd take acid blood over acid air," Zoe said.

"Speaking of scientific inaccuracies," Ryan piped up, "how does that thing grow so fast without eating? Conservation of mass, anyone?"

"Here we go," Chris rolled his eyes. "Mr. Science is about to ruin another movie."

Emily squeezed Luca's arm a little tighter, like she needed to convince herself he was solid and breathing. He tilted his head just enough to brush hers, sore ribs protesting but worth it.

"You're not paying attention," she whispered.

"Hard to focus when someone's clamped onto me like a koala," he whispered back.

"I almost lost you," she said so softly he almost missed it, then added more playfully, "Now you're stuck with me."

He kissed the top of her head. "Could be worse."

On screen, the Nostromo crew was making terrible decisions while being hunted by a perfect killing machine. In the lounge, Luca was being hunted by his very determined girlfriend.

"You know," Ryan said during a tense scene, "if they'd just listened to Ripley from the beginning, none of this would have happened."

"Yeah, but then we wouldn't have a movie," Chris pointed out.

"Five minutes of 'don't bring the obviously dangerous alien aboard' and credits," Danny agreed.

"Speaking of bad decisions," Zoe said, glancing meaningfully at Luca and Emily, "some people can't watch a movie without getting clingy."

Emily shifted even closer, curling against his side, her arm looped through his.

"You," Luca said, bopping her nose with his finger, "are a menace."

She grinned up at him. "Affectionate menace."

"Best kind," he murmured, pulling her tighter against his chest. His ribs ached, but he didn't care. He couldn't get enough of her warmth.

The movie continued with its slow-burn terror, but the real entertainment was watching his crew predict every plot twist and criticize every character decision.

"Why don't they have better weapons?" Chris asked as the xenomorph stalked through corridors. "It's the future, right?"

"Budget constraints," Joey replied. "Same reason our ship doesn't have proper defensive systems."

"Hey, our ship has excellent defensive systems," Luca protested. "They're called 'running away really fast.'"

Emily squeezed his thigh. "Good strategy. I approve."

Captain's Log: Day 73. Feeling almost human again after my extended stay in Joey's healing spa. Emily handled everything while I was out - samples, reports, crew morale. She's basically running this ship better than I do.

Found out we've got over four thousand portals scattered through space now, each one with its own defensive fleet. Our original plan to slingshot around Alpha Centauri A is fucked. Zoe's working on new routes, but it's going to cost us fuel we can barely spare.

Next stop is still Alpha Centauri A's fourth planet. Danny thinks the atmosphere might be toxic, which is just perfect. At this rate, we'll need environmental suits just to breathe.

The next FTL Probe is away with all our findings from New Dawn. We've sent our analysis and observations. The samples will have to wait for us to arrive back on Earth. We should still beat both probes if we stick to the schedule, though that seems even more unlikely.

The crew's in good spirits despite everything trying to kill us. Had movie night with Alien, which seemed appropriate given our circumstances. Emily couldn't keep her hands to herself during the face-hugger scenes.

Emily is being a creep and staring at me as I write this. Probably wants to "help" me with my log entries again.

Still not sure how we're going to navigate through a system full of hostile fleets in an unarmed science vessel, but we'll figure it out. We always do.

End log.

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