Chapter 39 - The First Night

With our helmets and EVA suits stored, the crew naturally began spreading out, stretching their legs on solid ground for the first time in weeks. The gravity was just a touch heavier than Earth’s, but nothing crazy, it only made each step feel more real. The weather? Warm, 82 degrees. Danny theorized we were in a summer cycle.

Zoe ran a hand through the red alien grass, watching the way it swayed back, almost lazily. “Weird,” she muttered. “It’s not stiff like Earth grass. It’s softer… thicker.”

“Like fur?” Emily asked, she was helping me unload a folding table from the Peregrine.

“Nah, not quite. It’s just different.” Zoe plucked a strand and twirled it between her fingers before stuffing it into one of Danny’s sample bags.

Speaking of Danny, he was already crouched near the treeline, scanner in one hand, notebook in the other. Joey was with him, flipping open a medkit, probably already obsessing over plants and biology and stuff, or, toxins and invisible death spores, I didn't ask. Maybe I should have.

Ryan had his arms crossed, watching the river. “Water’s moving fast,” he noted. “Might be clean.”

I followed his eyes. The river really was something, wide, clear, shimmering in the soft pink light of New Dawn’s sun. It looked inviting. Romantic, even.

---

“We should set up camp,” I announced. “It’s been weeks since we’ve felt solid ground beneath our feet.”

And maybe we’d do a little more groundwork later, if you catch my drift. Skin-on-skin contact under the stars sounded like a damn good way to welcome ourselves to this planet.

Joey stepped forward, frowning. “Hold on, guys. I know that river looks tempting, but we have no idea what might be in there. Let’s keep our distance for now.”

Fucking buzzkill. Always looking out for our health, ruining my river escapades before they even started.

I sighed. “Good point.” It was time to deploy our camper. “Everyone, move away from the Peregrine, I’m activating the outpost mode.”

The crew backed up as I tapped the control panel. With a low hum, the Peregrine’s hull expanded outwards, armored plates shifting outward, forming a perimeter of reinforced walls. Supports extended, securing the structure, while deployable sensor arrays snapped into place.

Home. Instant, armored, camping.

“Hey, Luca,” Zoe called out, snapping me back to reality. “How about a bonfire? Just like our camping trips back home.”

She had to be reading my mind. She always did.

A bonfire. Flames dancing. The heat of the fire. The coolness of the night air…

Yeah, that could work.

I grinned. “Now that’s an idea I can get behind. Let’s do it.”

Danny, who had been collecting soil samples like a kid in a candy store, visibly frowned. “Is that really necessary? We’re going to pollute the air just as we arrive? I need to take my samples.”

Okay, yeah, that was a little annoying, Danny. He was killing my vibe.

“We can take samples tomorrow,” I replied. “We’ll do some traveling, and you can get what you need.”

Danny scowled but sighed, relenting. “Fine.”

Ryan clapped him on the back. “C’mon, man. Live a little.”

“I am living,” Danny grumbled. “That’s why I want to make sure the planet isn’t trying to kill us.” It was a valid concern.

Still, we had a fire to build.

Emily nudged me. “Where are we even getting firewood?” Right. That.

I turned toward the treeline. The trees were weird, their bark a dark, almost purple color, with thick, curling leaves hanging low. No dead branches, no obvious kindling. But there were fallen logs, wood scattered along the forest floor.

“Chris, Ryan, Zoe,” I called out. “Let’s grab some of those fallen logs. We’re making a fire.”

Zoe cracked her knuckles. “Hell yeah. First fire on an alien world.”

Chris, predictably, smirked. “First thing we do on a new planet? Play with fire. Humanity in a nutshell.”

Ryan shrugged. “If it works, it works.”

Emily sighed. “Let’s just try not to burn the place down.”

I grinned. No promises.

"Beautiful night," Emily murmured, settling down next to me. She wrapped an arm around me. Even through the bodysuit, I could feel her warmth. "Hard to believe we're actually here."

I nodded, an arm around Emily, holding her closely, but wishing I could hold her closer. I looked up at the sky above, the stars and constellations so bright and clear that it was almost overwhelming. The rings of New Dawn hung faintly in the sky, their ghostly arc barely visible.

"It's incredible. Though I can't shake this feeling that we're so exposed out here." I knew the Peregrine would keep us safe, but still, the vastness of this place was a little unnerving. And it was definitely cramping my style.

---

As the night deepened, Zoe drifted away from the group, her mind tangled in the day's events. She spotted Ryan standing near the edge of the firelight, his frame silhouetted against the alien sky. Taking a steadying breath, she approached him, her pulse quickening.

"Ryan," she began softly, touching his arm. "I wanted to apologize for earlier. When I snapped at you during the landing calculations... I wasn’t fair. You were just trying to help."

Ryan turned to her, his blue-green eyes catching the flicker of the firelight. "Zoe, it’s fine," he replied, his tone calm. "We were all on edge. I get it."

Zoe shook her head, not letting him brush it off so easily. "No, it wasn’t right. You’ve been solid this whole mission, and I pushed you away when I should’ve trusted you more. So… I’m sorry."

Ryan’s expression softened, a small smile tugging at his lips. Without a word, he stepped closer, his hand gently brushing her cheek as he leaned in. The warmth of his lips on hers was unexpected but electric, the tension between them breaking like a dam. Zoe felt herself relax into the kiss, her hands sliding up to rest against his chest.

When they finally pulled apart, her breath hitched. "Wow," she whispered, with surprise and amusement.

Ryan grinned, his fingers brushing a stray dreadlock from her face. "I’ve been waiting to do that all trip.”

Zoe smiled, but before either of them could say anything else, a familiar voice broke through the moment.

"You know," Danny called out, his lanky frame swaggering toward them, "I seem to remember being yelled at earlier too. Shouldn’t I get an apology as well?"

Zoe turned toward Danny, a smirk on her lips. "Oh, is that so?" she teased, her hands resting on her hips.

Danny grinned, his black eyes twinkling with humor. "Absolutely. Equal opportunity and all that."

Zoe rolled her eyes, but her smile deepened as she reached out, grabbing Danny by the front of his jumpsuit and pulling him into a quick, playful kiss. His laugh rumbled against her lips, and when they broke apart, he looked equal parts shocked and amused.

"Happy now?" she quipped, glancing between the two of them.

Ryan chuckled, sliding his arm casually around her waist. Danny leaned against her other side, still grinning like he’d won the lottery.

---

I stretched out on the Peregrine’s ramp, the cool metal beneath me a welcome contrast to the humid alien air. Overhead, the alien sky blazed with stars, vivid, chaotic, infinite. Somewhere out there was the Solar System, Earth.

It made me feel small, not in a bad way, but in that holy shit, I’m really here kind of way. Like I’d somehow snagged a front-row seat to the greatest show in the universe, and I still couldn’t believe I had the ticket.

But the quiet? The quiet was wrong.

I frowned, looking toward the darkness beyond our camp. We’d seen shadows moving earlier, creatures lurking at the edges of the treeline, probably sniffing us out. That was expected. That was normal.

But where were the mobs? No portal signatures. No hostile spawns. Not even a whisper from the System.

If this were anywhere in the Solar System, we’d have been jumped by now. The moment we stepped foot off the Peregrine, we should have had some kind of threat, a scout party, an ambush, something.

Instead? Nothing. That was the part that pissed me off.

We’d come to Alpha Centauri to survey the system and all that, but our own motivations? To break through the level 60 cap. To grind, to fight, to push past the ceiling that had kept us locked down. But if the System had never arrived here, if there were no portals, no way to level… Fuck.

I chewed on the inside of my cheek, frustrated.

Maybe the portals were just hidden. Maybe we just needed to find the right place. But the fact that we hadn't stumbled onto anything yet? It wasn’t right.

The quiet gave me space to think. About the crew. About Emily. And, yeah, about how damn lucky we were.

We were just a bunch of 20-somethings with more bad ideas than good ones, somehow managing to pull this off. Another planet. Another goddamn star system. And somehow, we weren’t dead yet. That had to count for something.

I’d been putting this off long enough, but the idea of walking into the Peregrine and laying my sleeping bag on the floor still didn’t sit right with me. Captain sleeping on the floor? Not exactly inspiring. But, you know, “first come, first served,” and I’d decided to make myself the last to come in. Totally strategic, not humiliating at all. Not like anyone would care, but still.

My thoughts drifted, where else? To Emily.

She was... something else. A total knockout, no denying it. The way she moved, like every step turned heads, even in a clunky spacesuit. And her hair? Perfectly wild, even when she tried to tie it up.

But it wasn’t just that. She had this way of looking at you, like she could see straight through the bullshit. Not just smart, she got things. Some people were intelligent but still idiots. Emily wasn’t.

I wasn’t sure how I’d lucked out to be her boyfriend, her boy toy, or whatever the hell I was. But it was hot, it was awesome, and I was definitely in love with her.

Not that I was going to say it out loud. Gotta keep ‘em guessing.

But man, was I frustrated.

We’d had eight days of non-stop physical contact on the Triumph—and now? Suddenly, it was like forced chastity. No privacy, nowhere to be alone, and definitely no chance for any hanky-panky.

Like the universe itself was teasing me and dangling Emily in front of me but keeping her just out of reach.

And to make things worse? There was Zoe. God, Zoe. She was just… chef’s kiss, you know? So different from Emily, but just as irresistible. Slim, flat-chested, but with those long legs, that bubble butt, and those damn dreadlocks. A walking temptation.

A shuffle of footsteps broke my train of thought.

Emily appeared, her silhouette outlined by the soft glow of the Peregrine’s interior lights. Even in the dark, she looked incredible.

---

"You coming to bed, Captain?" Emily leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, that knowing smirk on her lips. She always knew how to get to me.

I groaned, hauling myself to my feet. "Yeah, yeah. Just appreciating the scenery." I stretched, feeling the pleasant ache of the day’s work settle into my muscles. "Besides, don’t you think the captain deserves some alone time? Keeps me mysterious."

Emily rolled her eyes, but there was a smile there. "Yeah, sure. Real mysterious. Staring off into space like a lost puppy." She gestured back toward the Peregrine. "Come on, before someone eats all the blankets."

Once inside, I made a beeline for the forward compartment, rummaging through our stash of gear for my sleeping bag and blanket. The place was cramped as hell, but we made it work. We always did.

I spread my blanket on the floor, wedging myself into the tight spot between the kitchenette and the bunks. Not exactly a luxury suite, but at least I wouldn’t have to deal with anyone kicking me in the face in the middle of the night.

I muttered to myself, cursing my own stupidity for not grabbing a bed earlier. What the hell was I thinking? I wasn’t, obviously. And now here I was, slumming it on the floor.

“What are you doing?” Emily’s voice cut through my pity party, and I looked up to see her standing there with her arms crossed, one eyebrow raised. That eyebrow was deadly, it had this uncanny ability to make me feel like a total idiot with one lift. And yeah, it was working.

“Uh, what does it look like?” I said, gesturing to the floor like it was the peak of luxury. “I’m sleeping here. Floor’s good for the back. Builds character.”

She gave me that look, the one that screamed are you kidding me right now? “No, you’re not. Come on, we’ll share the big bed.”

I blinked, my brain doing a double-take. “You’re joking.” She couldn’t be serious. A shared bed? That was like hitting the jackpot. But also… Zoe. Damn it, why did my brain have to go there?

She arched a brow. "Do I look like I’m joking?"

Before I could respond, a loud cheer erupted from the bunks. Of course. Of fucking course. I groaned, realizing the rest of the crew had been listening in, hanging on every word. Nosy bastards.

“For fuck’s sake, you guys,” I called out, throwing my hands up. I could already feel my face heating up, but I couldn’t stop the grin tugging at my lips. “Don’t you have something better to do? Like, I don’t know, sleeping?”

Ryan’s voice cut through the laughter, dripping with jealousy, probably. “Way to go, Captain! Don’t mess it up!”

I rolled my eyes, muttering under my breath, “You’re just jealous.”

Chris, ever the smug shit, chimed in with a laugh. “Mess what up? He’s already won. The floor’s a huge upgrade.”

“Alright, alright,” I said, standing up and holding my hands up in mock surrender. “Get your heads out of the gutter. Go to sleep, all of you. Some of us have standards.”

As I turned back to Emily, she was grinning at me like she’d just won the lottery. And yeah, maybe she had. Or maybe I had. Either way, I wasn’t about to argue anymore.

The teasing subsided into muffled laughter as I followed Emily to the bed. She had already claimed the middle, leaving Zoe on one side with a blanket practically cocooning her. Zoe’s dreadlocks poked out from the top, her expression full of annoyance and resignation. This was going to be a long night. Sharing a bed with Emily was one thing, but sharing it with Zoe too? That was a whole other level of torture. A delicious, agonizing torture.

"You owe me," Zoe muttered as I clambered onto the other side of the bed. "She snores." Her grin was pure mischief, and she wasn’t even trying to hide it.

"That’s a damn lie, and you know it," Emily shot back, rolling her eyes with a smirk. She didn’t snore, never had. We’d shared enough nights for me to know that much. But Zoe? She lived for the chaos.

"Sure, sure," Zoe replied, her voice dripping with mock innocence as she snuggled into her own spot. "Let’s see if you’re still saying that by morning."

I adjusted my position on the bed, trying to get comfortable. Emily was tucked securely in the middle, her back pressing lightly against my chest, and Zoe was on her other side, sprawled out like she owned the place. I wasn’t sure if Emily had picked the middle spot to act as a protective barrier or if she just liked being the center of attention.

Emily shifted slightly, pushing against me. My arm, draped over her waist, felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. I couldn’t decide if it was nerves or something else entirely, but my entire body was wound tight. She let out a soft sigh, her fingers brushing over mine briefly as she adjusted the blanket.

Meanwhile, Zoe was on the other side, not saying a word but making her presence known in every way that mattered. Her legs stretched out under the blanket, occasionally brushing against Emily’s, and I was hyper-aware of every little shift, every accidental touch. Or maybe they weren’t accidents. Zoe didn’t do “accidents.” She was bold and unapologetic, and she knew exactly how to make things worse, or better, depending on your perspective.

Emily was right there, so close I could feel her heartbeat if I focused, and Zoe was just out of reach. What the hell is this situation? I thought, as I drifted off to sleep.