The Centurion's dinette felt smaller every hour they spent on this toxic hellscape.

Luca picked at his MRE, watching the team crowded around the small table. Outside, the acidic storm had intensified, buffeting their shield with renewed fury. The constant static from interrupted communications with the Triumph made them feel more isolated than ever.

Seven people in a glorified tin can, he thought, stabbing at reconstituted beef. This is going well.

"Our survey tools are fucked," Danny said bluntly, pushing away his own half-eaten meal. "The drill lasted what, ten minutes? The atmospheric samplers are corroding faster than we can calibrate them."

Chris nodded, frustrated. "Collection tools can't handle anything from this planet. It's like trying to scoop lava with a paper cup."

"Not only that," Joey added from his medical station, "prolonged exposure outside is draining our suit power cells. At this rate, we'll have maybe six hours of EVA time total."

Ryan looked up from his laptop, where he'd been hunched over with Danny and Chris for the past hour. "Look, the answer is mods," Ryan said, looking up. "We need Hazard Protection. Toxic and corrosive upgrades for the armor. I know we can build them once we get the TL9 schematics fully scanned back on the Triumph."

"Great," Luca said. "What's the problem?"

"Manufacturing." Ryan's voice carried the frustration of an engineer hitting a brick wall. "We can repair shit as we go, but building from scratch? We didn't bring any fabrication equipment."

Luca's multitool sat on the table beside him, packed with flora scans that might be the only useful data they'd collected. "At least the multitools are working. Your mineral scans might save us."

"If we can extract the data," Ryan muttered, gesturing at his multitool's exterior port. "TL9 tech has all the connections, but we haven't figured out how to interface with it yet."

"If we can do that," Chris said, leaning forward with renewed energy, "we can hit the survey requirements for Midnight Veil. Might be enough to satisfy the charter."

Might be. Luca felt the walls of their mobile base pressing in. They had two bedrooms. He'd share his with Emily, while Zoe and Danny took the second. Everyone had a bunk, but it was still a closed environment for seven people on a planet that wanted to dissolve them.

The shield flickered slightly as another gust of corrosive wind slammed into it, making the Centurion squeak and groan.

"We are perfectly safe," Ryan announced, though his voice carried a note of forced optimism.

Luca glanced at the battery gauge. The power level was steady, but finite. "There has to be something here we can use. Like that waxy covering from the plants I scanned."

"Still," Ryan insisted, "our shield is enough to keep the corrosive stuff away. We're in no danger."

Yet, Luca thought but didn't say. The night stretched ahead of them, wind howling against their protective bubble while the Centurion creaked into the darkness.

"Movie night?" Zoe suggested, trying to lighten the mood. "We've could watch Pitch Black..."

The team murmured agreement about movie night, desperate for any distraction from their situation. As they started setting up the display screen in the dinette, the Centurion shuddered under another gust of wind. The lights flickered momentarily, and someone cursed as the video buffered.

"Great," Ryan's voice carried from the main cabin. "Now the storm's messing with our power grid."

Luca pushed back from the table. "I'm calling it early. Long day tomorrow."

The narrow hallway felt even tighter as he made his way to their bedroom, the walls groaning with each fresh assault from the storm outside. Emily followed a few minutes later, closing the door behind her with a soft click that barely muffled the crew's forced laughter from the dinette.

Their bed creaked as she settled beside him, the metal frame protesting under the constant vibration from the wind. The space was small, just enough room for two people if they didn't mind being pressed together.

"What are we going to do, Em?" he asked quietly, his arm automatically wrapping around her as the Centurion shook again.

"It's part of the survey." She leaned into him, her head finding the familiar spot against his shoulder. Her fingers traced the fabric of his bodysuit, a nervous habit that somehow calmed them both. "We hit the thresholds, check out the Varnathi ruins, and get back to space."

The hull groaned around them, acid rain hissing against the exterior plating.

"What about those portals?"

"We might as well check them out." Her voice was soft. "If they're higher level than the ones on New Dawn, they might be worth it. Better gear, maybe more insight into the Varnathi."

Outside, something in the storm system shifted, and the Centurion rocked harder. Luca's grip on Emily tightened instinctively, pulling her closer as the lights dimmed for a long moment before stabilizing.

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"It feels like every portal with the Varnathi is giving us a piece of their history," Emily continued, her fingers tracing the scar that ran from his shoulder to his navel, a reminder of their last encounter with a Viroline's claws. "The System wants us to know about them. Why would that be?"

Her touch made it hard to concentrate on anything but the warmth of her body against his. "I don't know. It's just messing with us."

"No!" Emily shifted, turning to face him in the narrow space, her green eyes catching the dim light. Her hand pressed against his chest, fingers spreading across his skin. "Think about it. First, we had that Vexillari Hive, right? Then that Varnathi military installation and the commander."

From the dinette came the sound of static, followed by Zoe's sarcastic voice: "Oh great, now we're watching a nature documentary. How thrilling."

Luca couldn't help but grin, even as Emily's proximity made his pulse race. "I remember her. I still have that databad and Medal of Valor."

"Right, and what did she say?"

In the uncertain illumination, Emily's face was all sharp angles and soft curves, impossibly beautiful despite their circumstances.

"Our last stronghold," he whispered, the memory clear despite the distraction of her hands on his skin.

"Those were the first two pieces. Then we have that jungle mission where you got this scar." Her fingers followed the raised line of tissue, the touch sending shivers through him. "Just a bit further and..."

"That was hell," he grinned.

"Yeah," Emily breathed, leaning into him. "But we made it through."

The hull shuddered again, and Emily pressed closer, her lips brushing his ear as she whispered, "Right, but what was it? A Varnathi research facility. What is the System telling us? They were doing biological experiments."

Another power fluctuation dimmed the lights, and in the sudden intimacy of near-darkness, Luca found himself losing track of everything but Emily's warmth against him. Her hand slipped back under his suit, exploring his scars and muscle.

"So you're suggesting," he said, "the Varnathi genetically engineered an insectoid race that got away from them?"

Emily paused, her exploration of his chest stilling as she considered the implications. "That's not... wait. Maybe?"

The idea hung between them, heavy with possibility. Outside, the toxic storm continued its assault, but here in their small sanctuary, nothing existed beyond the two of them and the growing understanding of what they'd stumbled into.

"We have enough power cells," Luca continued, his voice quiet against the background noise of the movie. "But the toxic air outside is killing our reserves. We can check out a portal tomorrow, see what we can find, and if it's worth delving."

Emily's head settled back against his chest, her hand tracing lazy circles on his belly while his fingers brushed through her hair. The simple contact felt grounding in a world that wanted to dissolve them.

"We have to be careful, Luca." Her voice carried worry that made his chest tighten. She shifted closer, her body fitting perfectly against his. "We had too many close encounters on New Dawn, and this is even more dangerous. One wrong move, one tear in our suits, and it isn't just the portal. Getting out is half the fight."

The storm intensified outside, making the hull creak ominously. Emily's hand stilled against his heart as fear flickered across her features.

"I know, Em. I know." He pulled her closer, his lips brushing her forehead. "This was the wrong call."

"But we made the call. We're here now." Her fingers resumed their gentle exploration, finding the sensitive spot where his neck met his shoulder. "We need to find those ruins and check them out."

A burst of static from the dinette was followed by more crew laughter. It sounded forced, like they were trying too hard. The sound made their intimacy feel stolen, precious in its fragility.

"Yeah," Luca said. "What do you think happened? To the Varnathi, I mean."

"I don't even think these were their planets." Her certainty cut through his distraction, making him focus despite the warmth of her body against his.

"What? How could they not be?" His hand stilled in her hair. "They still have live signals, the infrastructure..."

"Luca, look around you." Emily's voice carried conviction even as her fingers traced his collarbone. "We haven't seen anything else. No more ruins, no signs of widespread civilization. That level of technology would have been everywhere."

The implications hit him like the storm battering their hull. If Emily was right, then everything they'd discovered was something else entirely.

"Remember what Zoe said in the battleship, when we were working our way down the exterior?"

"No, I was too busy not dying."

"She said we weren't in our own galaxy."

"How do you even remember all that?" Luca asked. "Now that you mention it, she did say that. Still, what do we do, Em?" The question hung heavy in the cramped space. "Go back to Earth and give them the Varnathi vault? The level of technology... the live Varnathi in those stasis pods. They'll do..."

"What, Luca? What will they do?" Emily's touch gentled, becoming protective rather than exploratory. "Dissect them? Tear them apart?"

The power flickered again, casting them in deeper shadows. In the uncertain light, Luca could see the worry etched across Emily's features, the weight of decisions too big for any of them.

"Well, when you put it that way, it..." He stopped, the reality of it sinking in. "You know what? I don't know. I'm not sure we can trust them with the Varnathi."

"And what would you have us do? Babysit them? Wake them up ourselves?"

Emily's hand pressed flat against his chest, feeling his heartbeat accelerate as the full scope of their situation became clear. They were guardians of secrets that could change everything.

"I don't know, Em. I don't know."

Emily shifted against him, her voice going quiet. "We don't even know how powerful they are. If they've been in there for thousands of years like Danny says..."

"Then their technology is way beyond ours. Way beyond TL9." The thought sent a chill through him that had nothing to do with the storm outside. Whatever they'd stumbled into, it was bigger than a simple survey mission. Bigger than anything they were equipped to handle.

A soft knock on their door made them both freeze. Emily's hand stilled against his chest as they listened to the storm howling outside.

"Uh, guys?" Joey's voice came through the thin wall, hesitant and professional. "I noticed both your heart rates spiking on the medical monitors. Just wanted to check that everything's okay in there."

Before either of them could respond, the door slid open with a soft hiss. Joey stepped halfway into the cramped space, medical scanner in hand, his freckled face immediately flushing red as he took in the scene, Luca and Emily tangled together on the narrow bunk, her hand still under his suit, both of them looking thoroughly caught.

Luca felt Emily tense against him, her face flushing in the dim light. The medical monitoring system. Of course Joey would be tracking their vitals.

"Get the fuck out, Joey," Luca called back.

"I'm going to stab you," Emily threatened.

Joey chuckled awkwardly as the door clicked shut. "Okay, okay. False alarm. Carry on."

They could hear his footsteps retreating down the narrow hallway, followed by muffled voices from the dinette, probably Joey explaining the "situation" to the rest of the crew.

Emily buried her face against his shoulder, still laughing. The next shudder from the storm cut her off, the hull groaning around them. For a moment, they lay in silence, both feeling the weight of metal walls and too many ears just beyond them.

Luca sighed. "Privacy's a myth in this place." He looked back at her. "So… are we still getting naked?"

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