Destiny Among the Stars - Scifi - LitRPG - Adventure

"There must be a beginning of any great matter, but the continuing unto the end until it be thoroughly finished yields the true glory."

— Sir Francis Drake

The night had been restless.

Not because of Zoe shifting in her sleep or Emily's warmth pressing against Luca, though, yeah, that had its own set of challenges, but because something was moving outside the Peregrine.

Scratching and poking around their gear, which shouldn't have happened, because they had their shield up and all that. Luca made sure to remind Ryan of that as they peered out the window at the critters.

At first, Luca thought maybe they were finally about to get their first system-registered encounter, some kind of night predator or scavenger-type mob. Something to fight. Something to prove the System existed here.

But every time he used [Analyze], the results were the same. Nothing.

Just… local fauna. No beast classification. No level. No System signature. And that? That was fucking weird.

Back in the Solar System, everything that moved had a System tag. Even the harmless critters that scurried around planetary outposts had some low-tier classification: vermin, scavengers, and ambient wildlife. But here?

The System wasn't touching them. Like it had never arrived.

They had stood watch for a while, watching the small, quadrupedal things with sleek bodies and flicking tails, their eyes catching the low light like a cat's. They were curious, but not aggressive. Sniffing at their equipment.

Ryan had considered shooting one. Just to see if it would drop loot. But something held them back.

If the System wasn't touching them, then what did that mean? Was it because they weren't threats? Or because this world didn't have System interference?

Back on Earth, after the System arrived, it hadn't just affected people. It had changed everything.

Animals that survived those first brutal months, the ones that fought off low-level mobs, they leveled up. They evolved. Some of them had abilities. Some had stats. Some were even teetering on the edge of sapience. Humanity had kept them from getting too high-level, apex predators weren't going to overtake civilization anytime soon. But level 30-40 beasts? That was a real thing.

Even in controlled zones, you didn't just wander into the wild alone. But here? These creatures didn't even register. Like they weren't a part of the System at all, that should've been a relief, a world where they weren't constantly fighting for survival.

And if that was the case, if Alpha Centauri had never been integrated into the System's grand, universal game of survival. Then this trip would suck. Sure, this planet was ripe for an outpost, but then what?

They didn't just come here to plant a flag and farm potatoes. They had come here because this was supposed to be the next step. The key to breaking the level cap.

At some point, exhaustion won out, and Luca had given up on watching the strange, unregistered creatures.

Luca stirred, the rosy glow of dawn filtering through the small window above. It was a gentle wake-up, not like the jarring alarms on the Triumph. The light painted the interior of the Peregrine in warm colors, bouncing softly off the metal walls and casting long shadows across the gear and clutter scattered around.

He blinked against the light, squinting as he shook off the last tendrils of sleep, and that's when he realized that he was sandwiched between Zoe and Emily. Their warmth pressed against him on either side, the weight of Emily's arm across his chest keeping him pinned like a human burrito.

How the hell did I end up in the middle? He distinctly remembered agreeing to sleep on the edge last night. Emily had practically commandeered the space beside him, and Zoe had curled up on the other side. Somehow, between the night scavengers and the chaos of sleep, they'd all shuffled around, and now here he was, stuck.

Luca carefully slid out of bed, steadying himself against the morning chill. Cold floor, new planet. No way to forget where they are. He glanced back at the bed, watching Zoe and Emily, still cocooned in sleep.

He walked over to the small bathroom, rubbing the sleep from his face.

The Peregrine's water supply was limited. Back in the Solar System, that meant strict rations, maybe six or seven days before they had to resupply. But here? Here, they had options.

If the river checked out, if the water was safe, they could replenish the tanks. That meant they weren't racing against dehydration or body odor. They could stay longer, explore more, and take their time. He let the water run over his fingers a little longer before finally stepping into the shower.

In the cramped kitchenette of the Peregrine, he found the guys already stirring. Early light slanted through the small windows, casting sharp shadows across the metal floor. Ryan and Danny sat at a tiny dinette; their hoodies pulled low, each nursing a steaming cup of coffee. The faint scent of burnt grounds in the air, an aroma that was as close to home as they'd get out here.

Ryan glanced up first, his lips quirking into a sly grin. "Morning, Captain. Sleep well with your women?"

Luca smirked, grabbing a packet of oatmeal from the counter. "Like a baby," he replied, tearing it open and pouring the dry contents into a mug.

Danny snorted, leaning back precariously in his chair, legs kicked up on the table. "Right. A baby," he echoed, his grin broadening. "Must've been so rough keeping the two of them warm all night. We were over here, freezing our asses off in the bunks, while you had your pick of prime company."

Luca poured boiling water into his mug, watching the oatmeal puff up and swirl. "Yeah, real cozy," he said dryly. "You try sleeping between those two. Zoe kicks like a mule, and Emily…" he paused, catching himself. "Let's just say I got about two inches of mattress to myself."

Ryan barked a laugh, nearly spilling his coffee. "Uh-huh. Sure. And what's your excuse for that stupid grin you've been wearing since you walked in here?"

Luca shrugged, stirring the oatmeal with deliberate nonchalance. "What can I say? Some of us are just morning people."

Danny rolled his eyes, though the teasing light in them hadn't dimmed. "Right, because that's why you're blushing like a schoolboy."

Luca shot him a look but couldn't keep a grin from tugging at his lips. "You're just mad it wasn't you stuck in the middle." They were jealous, the dorks.

Ryan leaned back, crossing his arms with a mock-serious expression. "That's true. I wouldn't mind being the meat in that sandwich." He was probably serious.

Luca snorted into my coffee. "Keep dreaming, Romeo."

The laughter faded, and a quiet settled over them, the usual morning banter replaced by a more serious undertone. They had a planet to survey, after all. That was the mission, and that was how they got paid.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Alright, here's the plan for today," Luca said, his voice echoing in the tight space, drawing all eyes to him. Zoe and Emily shuffled in from the room, still shaking off sleep but alert, while Joey and Chris appeared from the storage area in the back, their expressions turning serious as they gathered around.

They were all looking at him, waiting for instructions.

"Em, wanna do the honors and assign objectives?" he asked.

Ryan handed her the tablet with their survey requirements. "Got it," she said as her eyes glazed over, likely focused on her interface and the Triumph Initiative menu.

Luca turned to the map of their surroundings, projected on their large screen, the planet's terrain flickering in shades of red and purple.

"First priority is water." He pointed to the nearby stream, already mapped from their descent.

"Ryan, Danny, and Zoe, you're on water analysis. Test for potability, microbial life, heavy metals, basically, figure out if we can drink this stuff and refill our tanks without growing a third arm."

"Ten water sources Em? Isn't that a bit excessive?" Luca asked, raising his eyebrow.

"That's what the Charter requires to mark the planetary survey a success," she replied, shrugging.

"Fine. Joey, you and Emily are on core sampling." Luca continued, pointing to a marked rock formation near their site. Something exposed and jagged, maybe some weathered sediment deposit.

"Check for mineral composition, trace metals, anything interesting." If they were lucky, they'd find something valuable. If not, well, at least they'd look professional chipping away at rocks.

Chris turned toward Luca, waiting for his assignment.

Luca smirked. "You and I are doing a microbial life assessment. We need a baseline on the ecosystem before we can even think about a long-term outpost." Which was, Luca thought, a fancy way of saying: poke at plants, scoop some dirt, and try not to catch alien parasites.

Chris arched a brow, arms crossed. "And by 'we,' you mean me, right?"

"Obviously. I'll be supervising."

"Naturally."

"I'll add the rest of the objectives so we can check them off as we go," said Emily.

"That's 150 plants and 75 animals total, across five biomes, Emily said. "Let's not miss anything with teeth."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Great, so we're about to rack up what, four hundred thousand CP sitting in escrow until we find more suckers willing to join this outfit."

"That's the plan," Luca said. "We come back with proof of a portal and a habitable world, and suddenly everyone's going to want to join the Triumph Initiative."

"Think of it as motivation," Emily said. "Do the work now, spend the points later when we actually have an HQ established somewhere."

Luca was already moving toward the gear. "Right. Speaking of work... Gear up. We're heading out in ten."

Ten minutes. Enough time to chug the rest of this god-awful coffee that Ryan made. Seriously, Luca was going to forbid him from making coffee ever again.

Before they scattered to gear up, he glanced toward the weapon rack near the Peregrine's storage compartment.

"Grab a weapon," Luca said, keeping it casual. "Just in case."

Emily was already ahead of him, reaching for one of her energy blasters. She strapped it to her thigh, the sleek weapon clipping snugly against the curve of her leg.

He was staring before he realized he was staring. She noticed and smirked. Yeah, she definitely did that on purpose.

Luca cleared his throat, looking away as if it didn't affect him.

Ryan slung his scatter rifle over one shoulder, lightweight but packing enough punch if something decided we looked tasty.

Chris grabbed his energy blaster, giving it a quick check before sliding it into his belt holster.

Before they all scattered, Luca wandered over to where Ryan was hunched over the Peregrine's main console, deploying their local antenna.

Chris stood beside him, watching the screen.

Luca leaned over Ryan's shoulder, watching as he flicked a switch, sending a soft hum through the vehicle. Power cycling.

Outside, the Peregrine's antenna extended, unfolding like a mechanical limb as it activated.

"Alright," Ryan murmured, adjusting the controls. "We should have a 50-mile comms network now."

Chris nodded, leaning in slightly. "That'll cover most of our initial survey zone. Let's see if we pick up anything weird."

With another flick of a switch, a green connected light lit up, showing the system linking up with the geostationary survey satellite overhead.

The display flared to life, the map expanding, stretching across hundreds of miles in sharp detail.

This was the moment.

If there were any portal signatures out there, we'd see them now.

Ryan fine-tuned the filters, dialing in for energy distortions, unstable rifts... any of the telltale signals of a portal. We all watched the screen. Waited.

Then... a blip.

Just for a second. A flicker of something.

"Hold up." Luca leaned in closer. "What was that?"

Ryan's fingers moved quickly over the controls, refining the scan. The blip disappeared. He adjusted the sensitivity and scanned again.

Nothing.

Luca straightened up, his eyes narrowing at the screen. "Zoe! Get over here."

Zoe hurried over, her laptop already in hand. "What is it?"

"Take a look at this," Ryan said, refining the scan. The blip had gone.

Zoe opened her laptop, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she pulled up their flight data. "What kind of signature are we talking about?"

"It was just a flicker," Ryan said, still adjusting the controls. "Barely registered."

Zoe's eyes widened as she scrolled through the data. "Wait... I'm seeing something here. From our hyperspace transit on the Triumph of Darron." She turned the screen toward them. "Look at the energy signature we detected on our way to Alpha Centauri."

Luca peered at the readout. "Is it a match?"

"It's the same pattern," Zoe confirmed, her voice growing more excited. "Same frequency, same energy dispersal. This is definitely the same signal we picked up in hyperspace."

Ryan frowned, scanning again. "But can you pinpoint where it's coming from?"

Zoe shook her head, still studying both screens. "It was barely a bleep. The signal's too weak to triangulate properly."

"But it came from the planet," Ryan said with certainty, tapping the console. "The directional sensors are clear on that much."

Luca frowned, staring at the screen as if he could will it to show something more. "So we know it's here, but we can't track it down?"

Chris glanced between them. "If it matched your hyperspace readings, then it's definitely not just interference."

Ryan rolled his shoulders back, but this time there was tension in his posture rather than dismissal. "The signature's real. It's just... faint. Like whatever's generating it is either very far away or very well hidden."

They all stared at the screen for a few more seconds. The readout ran another pass. Still nothing.

Ryan exhaled, his shoulders slumping. "No more signatures. At least not from this position."

Chris sighed, rubbing a hand over his jaw. "I don't get it. Even in Earth's dead zones, there's at least some ambient System interference. Here? It's like the whole planet's clean, except for that one ghost signal."

Luca felt like slapping the damn thing to see if that would make it do something. They didn't come all this way to find almost nothing. Alpha Centauri was supposed to be the key to breaking past the level cap. If there was only one weak signal that they couldn't even locate...

He pushed off the console, forcing a grin. "Alright. First sweep shows we're onto something. But that just means we need to get closer to find it."

Ryan gave a half-hearted chuckle. "Sure, Cap. Whatever you say."

Chris just folded his arms.

"Alright, team. Grab your gear. Let's get out there and see what this place has to offer." Luca's tone lifted, carrying a hint of excitement. "Big payday ahead if we prove this world's worth colonizing, so let's make it count."