Destiny Among the Stars - Scifi - LitRPG - Adventure

A bead of sweat trickled down Luca's temple as he strapped on his hard EVA helmet, the armored material feeling heavy and unfamiliar over his bodysuit. He caught Emily's eye and grinned. "Ready to make history, Em?"

Their combat suits were just as pressurized and armored, and far more comfortable. However, their general lack of energy cells made it impossible to activate them unless there was a genuine emergency. The EVA suits, with their rechargeable batteries and oxygen tanks, were clunkier and made for missions like this.

"Let's show this new world what we're made of." She flashed him a smile, though he noticed the brief wince she tried to mask as she adjusted her helmet. The med pod had saved her life, but her body needed time to recover. The headache from reentry still lingered behind her eyes.

They were about to set foot on an alien world, and he was leading the damn charge. This wasn't Sol, where others had established bases and protocols were part of a routine. This was new.

"Alright, team," Luca called out. "Emily and I will take the Peregrine out. The rest of you, wait for my signal before exiting the airlock."

"But what's the protocol for—" Ryan started.

"It's protocol, people. Don't question it—No, Ryan, you won't find it in the manual; I just made it up. I'm going out with Emily in the Peregrine, you know, before she dies of radiation or whatever."

The crew exchanged knowing looks. Emily's cheeks flushed pink, but she was smiling.

"Who gets to step on the planet first? Shouldn't we be recording this?" Chris asked. It was a good question, and Luca still hadn't made an official call.

"We'll all take turns stepping onto the planet," Luca said, gesturing for them to head to the airlock. "And yes, Chris, we should definitely be recording this." Gotta have that for the history books, or the socials, or whatever.

With that settled, Luca and Emily made their way down the stairs from the crew compartment and into the Peregrine. The vehicle was a beast, all sleek angles and heavy armor, as if someone had taken a military transport, crossed it with a high-end RV, stuck on an airlock, and slapped an energy turret on top just in case things got interesting.

Its official name, when scanned, came up as an LCV-R 'Peregrine', an acronym for "light combat vehicle - reconnaissance class." But to Luca and his crew? It was home on wheels, their ticket into the unknown, their forward base, and, if things went south, their best shot at survival.

He ran his hand over the reinforced plating, feeling the cool, solid armor beneath his fingertips. This thing had already proven itself on different moons back in Sol, rolling out on terrain that should've left it stuck, buried, or flipped. Maybe they couldn't drive it into Venus and expect it to come back in one piece, but if a place had gravity, the Peregrine could make it work.

Luca still remembered the first time they'd found it in a portal, a pitch-black, no-mercy delve against a swarm of [Carbon Hounds]. It had gone to hell fast. They had been knee-deep in loot, trying to haul ass back to the exit portal, when the beasts rushed down on them. The Peregrine had held strong, but the damn things were relentless, slamming into the sides, trying to flip them, trying to tear through the armor. He'd been on the roof, taking potshots, when one of them, a hulking brute with a jaw big enough to snap him in half, had leapt up and damn near dragged him off.

He could still feel the phantom sensation of sheer panic, his fingers scrabbling to grab a rail as the truck rocked beneath him. Then, the turret had spun to life. A burst of energy fire had seared through the night, slamming into the hound just as it was about to pull him over the edge.

Alessio. His little brother had been inside the Peregrine. He had been twelve years old at the time, but he'd kept his head, flipped on the turret, put on the headset, and blasted that thing straight to hell.

By the time they drove out of that portal, the Peregrine was theirs.

Chris, of course, had to ruin the moment by poking his head in. "So, are we going, or are you two just gonna stand there making out with the truck?"

Emily rolled her eyes, pushing past Luca toward the passenger seat. "Shut up, Chris. We'll make out in the truck if you can't take a chill pill."

As she climbed into the Peregrine, Luca reached out, steadying her with a hand on her lower back. She shot him a grateful look as she sank into the seat. The moment passed quickly, but it lingered in his chest, a reminder that she was still healing.

A goofy grin plastered itself on Luca's face. His stomach was full of butterflies, but it was time to go. "Let's get the show started," he murmured once he settled into the driver's seat, more to himself than to Emily.

Chris and the rest of the crew had gone back into the crew compartment of the Percival, the door sealing behind them. The dropship's ramp lowered, exposing the Peregrine to the alien atmosphere.

The thrum of the vehicle's systems filled the silence as they ran through their pre-deployment checks. Emily hit the starter procedure on her console, her movements still a little slower than usual. Probably a lingering effect of the radiation treatment, but he could see the energy in the tap of her fingers against the console.

"All systems green," she reported, then glanced at him with that mischievous smile that made his heart skip. "Ready when you are, Captain."

Luca's hands stilled on the controls. The joking reference to making out in the truck echoed in his mind, and suddenly he couldn't focus on anything else. After months of dancing around each other, after nearly losing her, after promising Ryan he was done pretending.

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"Emily..." he started, then reached up to flip open his visor. "I can't say this through a helmet." Emily smiled and opened hers as well, the familiar warmth of her presence suddenly more real, more intimate in the small cabin.

She turned to face him fully, eyebrow raised, that spark of anticipation in her eyes that told him she knew exactly where this was going.

"Em, I... I need to talk about us." The words tumbled out before he could lose his nerve. "I know I've been incredibly dense, and probably a huge idiot about this, and you were right... I made a lot of assumptions. Especially before we left Genesis."

Emily's expression softened, but she remained silent, letting him continue.

"But after everything that happened with the flare, and seeing you in that med pod..." His voice caught slightly. "It hit me, harder than anything else. The thought of this mission, this life, without you... it's terrifying. I can't keep pretending anymore."

He turned in his seat to face her completely, his hands trembling slightly as he reached for hers. "I've been dodging this since high school because I was scared of screwing it up, scared of losing you. But I almost lost you anyway, and I realized..." He took a shaky breath. "I realized I'd rather risk everything."

Emily's eyes had grown bright, and she squeezed his hands encouragingly.

"I love you, Em. I'm in love with you. I have been for years, probably since the first day of high school. I just... I was too much of a coward to do anything about it." He managed a self-deprecating smile. "And you've been dropping hints for years while I've been stumbling around like an idiot."

She laughed, a sound that was part relief, part joy. "You really have been incredibly dense, Luca Rossi."

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for making you wait, for making you doubt—"

Emily silenced him by pressing her gloved finger to his lips. "Hey. I'm done waiting for you to figure your shit out." Her eyes sparkled with that familiar mischief. "Does this mean you're finally going to kiss me?"

Luca's gaze dropped to her lips, his heart hammering against his ribs. "I've been wanting to do this for years."

"Then stop talking and do it already," she whispered, her smile radiant as she leaned closer.

The space between them seemed to shrink to nothing, Emily's breath warm against his face, her eyes fluttering closed as she tilted her head slightly—

"FINALLY!" Zoe's voice crackled through the comm system, making them both jump apart.

"Awkwaaaaaaaaaard," came Joey's mortified voice.

"Oh my god," Ryan's voice cut in, thick with emotion and laughter. "I'm crying!"

"Danny, did you record that?" Chris asked, barely containing his amusement.

"Saved to the log!" Danny's cheerful confirmation rang out.

A hot flush crawled up Luca's neck as he stared at the glowing comm panel in sheer, abject horror. The channel had been open the entire time. Emily covered her face with her hands, but he could see her shoulders shaking with silent, uncontrollable laughter.

"Well," Emily said, peeking through her fingers, "I guess that answers whether the whole crew knew about us."

"I'm never living this down," Luca groaned, though he was fighting a smile.

"Worth it though," Emily said softly, reaching for his hand. "Even with our audience."

"Still ready to make history, Em?" he asked, echoing his earlier words but with an entirely different meaning now.

"With you? Always," she replied, squeezing his hand. "Let's show this new world what we're made of."

Luca drove the Peregrine to a stop a few yards from the dropship, its massive bulk still looming behind them. He rose from his seat and sealed his helmet. His heart still thrumming from his confession... and the crew's commentary.

Emily followed his lead, and he could see the flush on her face through the clear visor of her helmet, a mirror of the heat he felt on his own. The mission had to continue, but everything felt different now.

He made his way to the Peregrine's rear ramp controls, Emily right at his heels. He keyed the sequence, and a low hiss of equalizing pressure filled the small space. With a solid thud, the locks disengaged. Luca hit the final control, and the heavy ramp began to lower, revealing their first, unfiltered view of the new world.

And he saw Proxima Centauri b with his own eyes.

Holy shit.

The sky stretched wide above them, bathed in a soft pinkish glow from the red dwarf hanging low on the horizon. Not the deep, bloody red he'd imagined, but something lighter.

New Dawn's set of planetary rings curved faintly across the sky, catching the star's light just enough to be present.

He turned from the ramp and offered a gloved hand to Emily. A promise he made was about to be kept. Her fingers, covered in the same armored material, laced with his.

"Ready for our first date?" he murmured over their private comm, the joke earning him a soft laugh that made his chest tighten with affection.

Together, they walked down the ramp. Together, their boots crunched onto the alien soil at the exact same moment.

Luca turned slowly, his grip on Emily's hand tightening as he took in the landscape, but found himself stealing glances at her profile through her visor. The way the alien light played across her features, the wonder in her eyes as she surveyed their new world... God, she's beautiful.

Among them, alien flora bloomed, their shapes strange and unfamiliar but strikingly alive. Short plants stretched toward the sky with curling, fern-like tendrils, while others clustered low to the ground, thick and bulbous.

The meadow stretched out around them in tall, reddish grasses, but all Luca could think about was how Emily's face had looked in that moment before they'd almost kissed, how her breath had felt against his skin. How right it had felt to finally say those words he'd been carrying for years.

And the silence.

No birds, no rustling of hidden creatures, just the whisper of the wind through the alien grass and the distant gurgle of the stream. The noise of their descent must have scared off anything that lived here. For now, it was just them.

"Luca," Emily's voice came over their private channel, breathless with wonder. "Can you believe we're actually here? After everything..." She turned to face him, and even through her visor, he could see tears of joy in her eyes. "This is the best day of my life."

His heart swelled. Not just because they'd made it to an alien world, but because she was here beside him, her hand in his, sharing this moment after finally... finally being honest about what they meant to each other.

"Look at this place," she continued, gesturing at the alien landscape with her free hand, but when he looked back at her, he found her already watching him. Even through the helmet, he could see the flush on her cheeks, the way her lips curved into that smile that made his heart race.

The gravity was familiar, maybe a touch heavier than the ship's artificial field, but nothing he couldn't handle. He flexed his free hand, adjusting his stance, testing the pull against his boots. It felt stable. Solid ground, under his feet, on an alien world.

"It's incredible," he said, but his eyes never left her face.

"The planet?" she asked, tilting her head with that playful expression he'd fallen in love with.

"Everything," he replied, squeezing her hand. "This moment. This place. You."

Emily's smile widened, and she gave him a slow, deliberate wink that made his breath catch. A promise that said we're definitely finishing what we started later.

Still holding Emily's hand, he keyed his external comm, his voice broadcasting to the rest of the crew waiting anxiously inside the dropship. "It's safe to come out," he said, his voice steady despite the thunder in his chest, but his eyes never left Emily's face.

The moment was finally here, and it was perfect.