As the dim glow of the ship’s console illuminated the captain’s quarters, Ririanna Vossen jumped awake in her bed. Cold sweats running through her body, while her hands trembled. She looked to Xiaan and it seemed only to agravate her fear. She got up and sat alone at her desk, her normally confident demeanor shattered by the haunting memories of her recent near-death experience. The close call on Hutlar ruins, and her and the crew surrounded by giant slugs and insects only seemed to make it worst. The weight of her fears bore down on her shoulders like an anchor dragging her into the depths of despair.
With trembling hands, she reached for a holographic projection of the celestial map, but her mind refused to focus on the task at hand. Instead, it replayed the harrowing moments inside the cold, derelict Mechu Deru ship, alone, each second etched into her memory with painful clarity.
The echoes of her crew’s voices, filled with panic and desperation, reverberated in her mind, and she could still feel the suffocating grip of fear tightening around her chest. She had fought to keep her composure, to lead her team to safety, but inside, she was crumbling.
Unable to suppress the rising tide of emotion any longer, Ririanna buried her face in her hands and allowed the tears to flow freely. She had always prided herself on her strength and resilience, but now, in the solitude of her quarters, she felt utterly vulnerable.
The weight of her mortality and even worse, Xiaan’s mortality pressed down on her, crushing her spirit with its relentless force. Every heartbeat seemed to echo the ticking of a countdown clock, a constant reminder of the fragility of life.
As the tears subsided, leaving only a hollow ache in their wake, Ririanna glanced up at the star map. The vast expanse of space stretched out before her, offering both solace and a stark reminder of her insignificance in the grand scheme of the universe.
With a heavy heart, she rose from her desk and made her way to the bed once again. She crawled beneath the covers, wrapping her arms around her partner, but sleep eluded her, the echoes of her fears haunting her every thought amplified by the lingering darkness that still resided in her.
In the darkness of the night, Ririanna Vossen, captain of the celestial phantom, found herself alone with her demons, grappling with the profound uncertainty of her own mortality. And as the stars whispered their silent secrets outside her window, she wept for the fragile beauty of life, and the terrifying knowledge that one day, it would inevitably slip away… again.
But no one would ever know of this. No one would know of how scared she was ever since. She would deal with her traumas and fears alone, behind close walls. Her Ego would not allow it to be any other way. She was Silvertail. Fear would not stop her.
So she closed her eyes, and pretended to sleep until dawn.