"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science."

—Albert Einstein

Luca's heart hammered against his ribs, threatening to break free. The sound came again, closer this time, every muscle coiled tight as a spring. He clutched the tracking device, knuckles white. Behind him, Ryan was a statue. Danny's shallow breaths echoed in the confined space.

Was it a stowaway?

The saboteur?

Then Chris's voice drifted down the tunnel, casual and completely oblivious to the fact that he'd just scared the living shit out of them. "Joey, you see that bolt I dropped? It rolled this way somewhere."

The relief hit Luca like a physical blow, leaving him dizzy and grateful and fucking furious all at the same time. He released the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"Jesus Christ," Ryan muttered from behind him, his voice shaky. "I thought we were about to get murdered by space pirates or some shit."

Chris and Joey emerged from a parallel maintenance tunnel twenty feet away, covered in dust and looking exhausted. Chris held up a small bolt between his thumb and forefinger, grinning sheepishly.

"Sorry," he said, not sounding particularly sorry. "Dropped this little bastard while we were checking the backup power systems. It went bouncing around like a pinball in there."

Joey wiped his forehead, leaving a streak of grease across his freckled skin. "Find the tracker?"

Luca held up the tracking device, its red light still blinking steadily. "Yeah. We found our little spy."

By the time they reached the bridge, the crew was already gathered, waiting with expressions ranging from curious to anxious. Emily looked up from her station as Luca entered the bridge, her green eyes immediately focusing on the device in his hand.

"That's it?" she asked, moving closer to get a better look.

"That's it," Luca confirmed, setting the tracker down on the main table. Under the bright bridge lighting, it looked mundane, just a black box with some indicator lights and wire connections. But knowing what it represented made his skin crawl.

Ryan and Danny immediately converged, Danny pulling out his tablet while Ryan produced a small toolkit. They worked with an intensity that told Luca they were genuinely interested in figuring out how it worked.

"Definitely not transmitting anymore," Danny announced after a few minutes. "Whatever signal it was putting out, it's gone dark."

Ryan was carefully examining the wire connections. "Professional work," he muttered. "Whoever installed this knew what they were doing. Clean connections, proper shielding, and an integrated power tap. This isn't some amateur hour bullshit."

Luca looked around at his crew, his childhood friends who'd followed him into this nightmare without question, who'd trusted him to keep them alive when he barely knew what the hell he was doing himself.

He flicked open the System overlay for the Triumph Initiative. He needed to ground himself, to remember that this mess wasn't just a group of friends scrambling in the dark. They were a recognized Adventuring Company. A subsidiary of the IFC. Legit, whether he felt like it or not.

[Triumph Initiative - Adventuring Company]

Company Overview Level: 1 Designation: Survey and Exploration Membership: 7 / 100 Contribution Points: 12,780 / 600,000 Credits: 0 Tax Rate: 0% Affiliation: Interstellar Frontier Company (IFC)

Assets: Triumph of Darron - Exploration Vessel, Helios Class Mk-I Percival - Orbit-to-Surface Dropship, Heavy Transport Class Peregrine - Light Combat Vehicle, Reconnaissance Class [Expand for complete list...]

Officers: Company Leader: Luca Rossi – Level 60 – Starship Commander Mission Control: Emily Berrow – Level 60 – Operations Executive Science Officer: Danny Donahue – Level 60 – United Theorist Medical Officer: Joey Donahue – Level 60 – Clinical Strategist Quartermaster: Ryan Mitchell – Level 60 – Integrated Engineer Exploration Officer: Zoe Woods – Level 60 – Spatial Analyst Field Operations Officer: Chris Valtz – Level 60 – Tactical Systems Engineer

Objectives:

Recruit 20 members to establish permanent headquarters – [Pending] Complete missions to advance Company Level – [In Progress] Define contribution objectives – [Pending]

Contracts & Charters

Alpha Centauri Survey Expedition Charter – [In Progress]

Luca lingered for a second on the last line. Define contribution objectives.

He turned to Emily. Her eyes met his, like she knew what was coming. She'd read the same screen a hundred times.

"Hey," Luca said, a little quieter. "Think you could start assigning formal objectives? Even basic stuff. Setup. Diagnostics. Whatever helps rack up contribution points. We'll need them when we get back." They would be coming back.

Her expression softened, that small smile she reserved for when he asked instead of assumed. "Already ahead of you, Captain."

"Now we get our shit together," Luca said, surprised by how steady his voice sounded. "We've got a ship that's accelerating faster than anything built in Sol. Even if someone was chasing us, they wouldn't be able to catch up, not at this speed. Interception isn't even on the table, and in about three weeks, we'll be aligned into the Oort Cloud passage."

Luca moved to the center of the bridge, feeling every eye on him. This was it. The moment he either stepped up and became the captain this crew needed, or crumbled under the pressure and let everyone down.

"First priority is getting the ship in order," he continued, his voice gaining confidence. "We can't live out of crates and coffee forever."

Emily nodded. "The habitation deck is mostly empty space right now. All the furniture and personal equipment are still in boxes."

"Right, thanks, Em. First is Deck 4: Habitation. I'll start setting up our rooms first, then work our way down. After that, we can run a systematic check of every deck and every system," Luca said. "From the habitation deck, to the command deck, the hangar, armory, science labs, and engineering. We need to know what's working, what's broken. We'll need to run a full inventory as well."

Luca started pacing again, the motion helping him organize his thoughts. "Ryan, Chris, you're on engineering systems. I want a full diagnostic of every mechanical component on this ship. Thrusters, reactor, life support, power distribution. Everything."

Ryan's grin froze as he squinted sideways at Chris. "Both of us? On the same systems?"

Chris squared his shoulders, voice even. "I worked on this ship during construction. I know it inside out."

Ryan cracked his knuckles with theatrical flair. "And I've been keeping Luca's gear running since we were twelve. I think I can manage."

Chris's brow twitched. "This isn't about plugging in a toaster. It's integrated systems architecture—"

"Guys," Luca interrupted, recognizing the familiar signs of their pissing contest. "Work it out. I don't care who takes point as long as everything gets checked."

The two engineers eyed each other for a moment longer before Ryan shrugged. "Fine. But when something breaks because Mr biceps over here doesn't know the difference between a flux capacitor and a power coupling, don't blame me."

Chris's face flushed. "Are you seriously questioning my—"

"Moving on," Luca said firmly. "Zoe and Emily, you have the bridge and communications. I want to know exactly where we are, where we're going—"

"And how fast we're going there," Zoe added, shooting an amused glance at the still-bristling engineers. "Because honestly? I'm still not used to these acceleration readings."

Luca gave her the look. He knew she was just angling for a little attention, maybe some control over the bridge again after the last twelve hours of chaos. She was a damn good navigator. Probably the best one out of any team in the Solar System. Still, he wasn't letting her run the show.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"—and how we're going to get there," he finished, eyes steady on her. "Also, see if you can establish regular contact with Genesis Platform without compromising our position."

"Define 'regular,'" Emily said. "Daily check-ins might be too risky if someone's monitoring transmissions."

"Your call. Just... keep us connected to home somehow."

"Joey, medical bay. Get it set up and operational. Hook up the medical pods. Run full physicals on everyone once you're ready. I want to know if anyone's been affected by the smoke inhalation or stress."

Joey nodded, his ponytail swinging as he turned toward the door. "I'll have it ready in a few hours."

"Danny, science lab. Start setting up your equipment. We still need to go through equipment calibration, adjustments, and make sure the FTL drive is ready when we need it."

Danny's eyes lit up with genuine excitement. "I've been wanting to get my hands on that new spectrometer array. This is going to be amazing."

"That's not… That's fine, Danny." Luca said, "But first, let's get our cabins set up and work our way down the ship."

Luca stopped pacing and looked around at his crew again. "Look," he said, his voice softer now. "I'm not going to lie to you. This ship is a mess. We're flying through an asteroid field with shields that barely work."

A few nervous chuckles rippled through the crew.

"But the main systems are solid," Luca continued. "The fusion reactor is stable, the generator is holding, life support is operational. Dad doesn't build shit, and neither do we. We're going to make this work."

He looked each of them in the eye, one by one. "We're going to turn this bucket into the most advanced survey vessel in human space. We're going to reach Alpha Centauri, we're going to map everything worth mapping, and we're going to come home with data that changes everything."

A soft ping lit up in his interface.

[Objective Complete: Team Briefing Delivered – Contribution Points +500]

Well. At least someone was listening.

Emily smiled, that brilliant expression that made Luca's chest tight with something he couldn't quite name. "Sounds like a plan, Captain."

She was so damned efficient. Luca pulled up his interface and moved to his Adventuring Company menu. Emily had already established objectives for the team and him.

[System Notifications: Objectives Assigned by Mission Control]

 

[Objective Assigned: Habitation Deck Setup] Task: Fully furnish all personnel quarters. Contribution Reward: 250 CP

[Objective Assigned: Team Briefing Delivered] Task: Establish team directives, assign primary roles, and set immediate operational goals. Contribution Reward: 500 CP

[Objective Assigned: Internal Systems Calibration] [Objective Assigned: Chore Rotations] [Objective Assigned: Maintain Morale (Ongoing)]

And so on and so forth, all objectives having to do with getting their ship up and running. The thing about Company Objectives was that either Emily or Luca could create the objective, but the system would dictate the reward. It wasn't an exact science, but the objectives had to impact the growth and prestige of the company directly. That way you couldn't create bullshit objectives.

Which made Emily's last one all the more obvious.

[Objective Assigned: Don't Fuck It Up] Task: Interpretive. Contribution Reward: 0 CP Note: "Just wanted to see if you were still paying attention."

"Real funny, Em," Luca said. Two could play at this game. Maybe he should set up some objectives for her later on.

The habitation deck looked like a bomb had gone off in a storage unit. Crates and boxes were strewn haphazardly across the floor, their contents spilling out in a chaotic mess of packing peanuts and discarded instructions. The charcoal smell of soot was finally gone, a small victory.

Luca stopped in front of one of the cabins, running his hands through his sooty hair and trying to shake off the adrenaline from the tracker hunt. His previously white uniform was streaked with grease, and he could still feel the claustrophobic press of those maintenance tunnels against his shoulders. But they'd found it. The little black device was now sitting in Danny's lab, powered down and waiting for analysis.

The door opened with a hiss, revealing a space that was barely more than a metal box. Eight feet by ten feet of bare bulkheads, exposed ceiling conduits, and a porthole that showed nothing but the endless dark of space. Crates labeled "FURNITURE - CABIN 7" were stacked against one wall like someone had played a very organized game of Tetris.

"Luca?" Emily's voice came from the doorway.

He looked up to find her leaning against the frame, still in her uniform but with her blonde hair pulled back in a loose ponytail that made her look younger somehow.

"Hey," Luca said, setting down the bed frame. "Thought I'd try to make this place livable."

She stepped into the cabin, her presence immediately making the space feel smaller and warmer. "Need help?"

"Always," Luca grinned, maybe too quickly. "Unless you've got somewhere more important to be."

"Nowhere more important than here," she said, and there was something in her voice that made Luca's chest tight. She grabbed another crate and started working at the sealing tape. "Besides, someone needs to make sure you don't bolt the desk to the ceiling."

They worked in comfortable silence for a while, unpacking furniture and laying out the pieces according to the assembly instructions. The bed frame was first, a simple metal rectangle that bolted into reinforced points on the deck. Emily held one end while Luca worked the drill, her fingers brushing his as they positioned each piece.

"So," she said as they moved on to the desk assembly, "what's your theory about who planted that tracker?"

Luca paused, sorting through bolts and brackets. "It had to be someone with access during construction, someone who knew exactly where to hide it. But who?" He looked at her, searching her eyes. "There are rumors Orion Horizons was offering a billion credits for our FTL drive. Titan Dynamics? They'd sabotage their own mothers if it meant breaking the IFC."

"Could even be a rogue UER faction, or one of those nationalist breakaway groups," Emily added, aligning the desk leg. "Any of them might want the Triumph's drive to fail, let the IFC collapse, and force us back under UER control."

Luca threaded a bolt through the desktop. "Exactly. Anyone could profit enormously from seizing or sabotaging our drive. Corporate theft, or simply letting us vanish in deep space."

Emily nodded as he tightened the last connection.

"But you know what I really think?" Luca said, pausing for effect. "I think it was that French corp, les Aventuriers. With their accents and perfect uniforms."

"Stop it," She said, swatting his arm. Her cheeks flared a deep red. "You're just jealous."

"Jealous? Please," Luca grinned, stepping a fraction closer. In his mind, he saw the ghost of Pierre: tall, handsome, impeccably dressed. "Just... wondering if I should start polishing my boots and learn how to properly pronounce 'croissant' to impress you." Or if it would even make a difference.

Emily's lips thinned, and she forced her focus back to the desk. Each bolt she aligned trembled slightly under her fingers. Luca caught the flicker in her green eyes – a fleeting sadness that wasn't there before. "You think you're so much better?" she said quietly, her voice a little shaky. "Don't be so petty, Luca."

The words hit harder than he'd expected. Luca felt his stomach drop, realizing he'd pushed too far. "Wasn't saying that. Just... seems like he keeps his hands clean, y'know? Never gets his uniform dirty."

She paused, her breath catching. Her gaze flickered to his hands, stained with grease, bruised from the earlier emergencies, then away again, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

God, I'm an idiot, he thought. She's here, helping me when she didn't need to be, and I'm acting like a jealous teenager.

"Emily, I—" he started, but she cut him off with a small shake of her head.

"I hope everyone back home is okay," she murmured, changing the subject abruptly. "It's been so long since we heard anything."

The subject change was abrupt, but Luca recognized it for what it was – a lifeline, a way to step back from whatever precipice they'd been approaching. And suddenly he felt like shit for making her uncomfortable when she was worried about home, about family, about everything they'd left behind.

"I'm sure everyone's fine," he said softly, and reached out despite himself, draping an arm over her shoulders. She tensed at first, and for a heart-stopping moment, he thought she'd pull away, but then she leaned into him slightly.

"Sorry," he murmured against her hair. "I was being an ass."

She pressed a hand against his chest, just above his heart, and offered him a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes but was genuine enough. "Yes, you were," she agreed.

The tension between them had shifted, not gone but transformed into something more complicated.

"Hey," she said, her voice quieter now. "We found the tracker. We're alive. Whatever they planned... it didn't work."

Luca met her eyes. "No way it works now. We're moving too fast, nothing in Sol could intercept us, even if they tried." They were out of reach. For now.

"You know what I forgot to pack?" Luca said, changing the subject to something lighter.

"What?"

"My board games." He laughed, but it came out more bitter than amused. "Five hundred million credits in advanced technology, and I forgot the most important thing."

Emily's smile bloomed, that kind of amused sparkle she got when she was two steps ahead of him. "We'll figure something out," she said. "Danny can fabricate dice. Ryan knows a dozen shady card games. And Chris..."

She paused, pretending to think. "Chris can take his shirt off and serve drinks. That's a roleplaying game all by itself."

Luca couldn't help but grin at that. "God, he's so annoying."

They both laughed, and then she nudged him with her elbow. "Who says we need old games anyway? We can make new ones. Yours, mine, whatever we want." There was something in the way she said it that made Luca forget about trackers and sabotage and corporate conspiracies. For a moment, it was just them, building furniture in a metal box floating through space.

He unpacked the last box, pulling out the only personal items he'd managed to bring aboard. Emily had insisted they pack their stuff and leave it on the ship. He had... procrastinated and barely had a single box. Mainly books, some clothes, and the only board game he managed to bring aboard, Risk. Finally, he pulled a framed photograph.

Emily watched quietly as Luca unwrapped it, revealing the image of his family taken just two years ago, before everything changed. Mom and Dad standing together, Matteo and Alessio next to them with matching grins, and him in the back, trying to look taller than he was.

"She would have loved this," Emily said softly, recognizing the picture. "Your mom. She would have been so proud."

Luca placed the frame on the newly assembled desk, adjusting it so the faces caught the light from the porthole. "Yeah," he managed. "She always said the stars were waiting."

The corridor outside was quiet except for the distant hum of the ship's systems. Somewhere below, the rest of the crew was working to keep them alive and moving, but up here, in this small metal room, it felt like they were the only two people in the universe.

Emily moved closer, her shoulder brushing his as they both looked at the photograph. "We should probably get some food," she said eventually. "Everyone's going to be starving."

"Thank you," Luca said as they headed for the door. "For helping with this."

She smiled, that same warm expression that made everything seem possible. "Thank you for letting me."

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