Destiny Among the Stars - Scifi - LitRPG - Adventure

Inside the Peregrine, Danny was still rinsing, the hiss of recycled water steady as ever.

"Danny!" Luca knocked twice against the partition. "What the hell are you doing in there? Conditioning your soul?"

Ryan appeared at his side, fully dressed and annoyingly chipper. He leaned his elbow into Luca's ribs. "Maybe he's exfoliating his inner turmoil."

"Maybe he's crying in there," Joey called from his bunk.

"Maybe he's trimming his pubes."

"God, I hope not."

Another beat passed. More water. More silence.

Ryan grinned. "I swear he's in there reading the ingredients on the soap bottle."

Luca snorted. "Of course he is. It's Danny."

They stood there like that, the two of them, teasing their idiot friend with all the affection in the world. Just another morning in New Dawn. They seriously needed to crack a few windows. The day was warm, and the Peregrine smelled like ass.

Luca's thoughts were still back by the fire last night. Emily's fingers tracing patterns on his chest. Her words. Her laugh. The way her breath had caught when she kissed him, like she'd been holding it in for weeks.

She was his. And he was hers. Whatever else happened, that part was solid.

And Ryan?

Luca glanced sideways at him, still smirking like the charming bastard he was. His best friend, even when he was being an ass about everything. They'd figure out the team dynamics as they went.

"Hey," Luca said suddenly.

Ryan blinked at him. "Yeah?"

"You're on bonfire duty again. When this cycle ends, I want another one lit. We keep the Peregrine locked down and protected while we're out."

He raised a brow. "That's it? No 'don't screw up the fuel ratio this time,' no 'try not to light your eyebrows on fire?'"

"Nah," Luca said, clapping his shoulder. "I believe in you."

Ryan stared at him for a beat like he'd grown a second head. "What the hell did Emily do to you last night?"

Luca grinned and shoved past him as the shower door finally hissed open and Danny stepped out, fully dressed, damp as a sea otter, and already blabbering about water pressure metrics.

"About damn time," Luca muttered, brushing past him. "Hope you left some hot water."

Danny called after him, "I adjusted the thermal regulator for efficiency!"

"You would."

The smell of coffee hit as Luca exited the bathroom.

Real coffee.

Not Ryan's black sludge garbage, which somehow tasted both undercooked and burned, but actual Joey-brewed, properly-balanced Folgers. If the gods of caffeine existed, Joey was their chosen prophet, because he, unlike Ryan, followed directions.

Joey crouched beside the kitchenette, the percolator hissing like a smug little angel. His sleeves were rolled up, eyes half-lidded in that no-nonsense medic way of his. Luca would've kissed him if he didn't think it'd get weird.

"Thank fuck it's not Ryan's coffee," Luca muttered.

Ryan, who was just about to latch the door, looked back. "I heard that."

"I meant for you to," Luca said.

Emily appeared at his side, a fresh mug in each hand. She passed him one, then settled beside him on the dinette, her shoulder leaning on his. Her hair was braided today, quick and a little messy, but it suited her. She leaned into him without a word, eyes half-closed, soaking in the morning like it owed her.

Across from them, Zoe plopped down next to Danny, arm looped around his. She rested her chin on his shoulder, chewing on the end of a protein bar like she was judging it.

"Well," she said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "some of us spent the night outside like wild jungle romantics."

Danny didn't comment.

Emily's lips twitched against her mug. Luca said nothing, but he was suddenly very aware of the way her leg pressed into his.

Zoe's eyes flicked over to them. Pouty. Amused. Just a hint too sharp.

Luca raised an eyebrow. "Jealous?"

She rolled her eyes. "Please. Danny and I had our own fun. Didn't we, babe?"

Danny blinked. "What?"

She kissed his cheek, smirking. He flushed so fast that Luca almost choked on his coffee.

Good for Danny, Luca thought. Keep her happy. Keep her distracted.

Zoe had been shaken badly after the busted scout suit. The panic. The silence afterward. But now she was here, clinging to Danny like she wanted to feel normal again. And maybe she was starting to. Luca sipped again, watching the way Zoe clung just a little closer. Something definitely happened last night.

Good for them, he thought. A little connection, a little healing. Looked like Zoe was finding her footing on her own terms.

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"Alright," Luca said, stretching a bit. "Here's the plan."

They all looked at him. Even Joey stopped fiddling with his med pack long enough to look over.

"We're eighty clicks from the signal," Luca said. "We could head straight there today, but that's a straight-line march into another mess. Everyone's tired. We're sore. We're scuffed up and still need some gear upgrades."

He nodded. "So today? We slow down. Get out there into the forest. Collect samples. Stretch our legs. No rushing, no portal delving. Just survey work. Passive scans. Chill vibes only."

"Chill vibes," Ryan repeated. "That's a tactical term now?"

"Shut up and enjoy the coffee," Luca said.

Emily hummed beside him. "A rest day. I like it."

"You would," Zoe muttered. "You got your beauty sleep."

"Zoe," Emily said sweetly, "you're just mad we got the better camping spot."

Danny choked on his drink.

Joey stood. "Alright, that's enough banter for one morning. Let's finish up, get our gear, and start logging trees or whatever."

Ryan groaned. "There's no waffles left, is there?"

"Nope," Joey said. "Just protein bricks and MREs."

"Sounds familiar," Luca muttered.

One by one, the crew started packing up their mugs, brushing off their suits, and sliding into their gear. Emily lingered next to him, her fingers brushing his knee as she stood.

"You okay?" she asked quietly, just for him.

"Yeah," he said. "I am."

They slipped down the slope, armor crunching soft against damp roots, boots sinking into rich loam. The trees stretched wide here, canopy high and scattered, letting real light pour through for once. Shafts of gold spilled across red-barked trunks and vine-draped outcrops.

It was... nice.

Emily walked beside Luca, eyes scanning the underbrush with her helmet in her hand. Her blonde braids, her plasma blaster holstered but her hand never far from it.

He caught her sneaking a look at him. Again.

"What?" Luca asked.

She grinned, all innocence. "You look uncomfortable."

"I'm wearing a Level 48 bodysuit that I outgrew three years ago," he said, tugging at the material where it clung just a little too aggressively to his ass. "I feel like I'm being slow-roasted in neoprene."

She made a show of eyeing his back. "Mmm. That's because you've got a full tactical wedgie."

Luca turned, offended. "This is a stealth mission."

"This is a wedgie with legs."

"I am a trained Infiltrator," he hissed, activating his Active Camouflage.

The suit shimmered, then he was gone.

Emily blinked.

"Luca?"

He didn't answer. Just tiptoed three feet to her right and waited.

She squinted around, hand drifting toward her sidearm. "Luca, don't you dare!"

He poked her ribs.

"AH!"

She spun, swinging a branch like a bat, and he dropped the camo, laughing his ass off.

"You are such a child," she said, grinning, breathless.

"You started it."

She shoved him lightly, then turned to pluck something from a nearby bush. "Okay, serious now, these look like berries. Blue, soft, no visible mold?"

"Might be edible," Luca said, peering over her shoulder. "Like... emergency rations edible?"

Emily knelt beside the low-hanging bush, grabbing a cluster of pale-violet berries. Each one was round, soft-looking, with a faint shimmer under the morning light.

"They're... juicy," she said, poking one with her gloved finger. "And I'm pretty sure they're not poison."

"We're supposed to test them at the Peregrine," Luca reminded her, crouching beside her. "Y'know, after the death-by-berry scenario is off the table."

She rolled her eyes, plucking a few and dropping them in a small pile beside her knee. "So what, you gonna carry them in your helmet?"

"I didn't bring anything," he muttered. "No pouch, no bin, no nothing."

Emily gave him a slow, smug look.

Luca groaned. "Alright, I'll go grab a bag."

"Oh no, don't let me stop you, Scout Leader."

He stood and stretched, and she did a little fake wince. "Oof. That wedgie's working overtime."

"I hate this suit."

"I love this suit," she chirped, plucking another berry and tossing it in her mouth. "Gives me something to look at."

Luca turned on his heel, muttering as he started jogging uphill through the brush.

Behind him, her voice followed like a verbal sniper round.

"Don't trip over your own ass!"

He didn't answer.

Mostly because he was trying not to trip over his own ass.

"He's lucky he's cute," he heard her murmur. High perception and all. He pretended not to hear her, but she probably knew. She always knew.

The vines were thick, the trail slick with rain, and every step squelched like a sponge full of regret. But he made it back to the Peregrine in under five minutes, huffing and damp, and grabbed one of the mesh utility buckets from the external kit locker.

On his way back, he swore the suit got tighter.

By the time he reached her again, Emily was lounging on a fallen log like she was at a spa. She didn't even look up.

"About time."

"I'm adding 'delivery boy' to my character sheet," Luca grunted, dropping the bucket beside her.

"Make sure you include the speed debuff from your armor crotch."

He ignored her and started helping pick berries.

God, she was annoying.

The last of the Silvane had been carved up, grilled, and thoroughly devoured. The berries, not sweet but not poison either, had been mashed into something vaguely compote-like with a protein bar base and passed around in steel mugs like dessert.

Once they got back home, an ice cream machine was going to be top priority.

They were full. Warm. And for once? Dry.

The Peregrine's shield dome shimmered faintly in the night around them, the rock overhang still shielding them from whatever gusts were rattling the trees. The [Bonfire] crackled, throwing golden light across boots and field packs, fed by split logs Ryan had somehow managed not to ignite himself with.

Chris sat at the edge of the firelight, a tablet in his lap, typing slowly with one hand and nursing a beer in the other.

"I'm gonna write for a bit," he said. "Save me the pleasure of not losing to Zoe again."

"Your sacrifice is noted," Luca said, already unfolding the worn Risk board onto the floor of the bonfire ring. The pieces clicked and clacked in the firelight as he sorted the colors, handing out armies.

Emily had brought out the last case of beer they'd brought down from orbit. Sam Adams Summer Ale. Tasted like crusty bread and sunburns. But hell, it was beer.

Danny went yellow. Ryan was green. Joey, who took this far too seriously, was blue. Zoe picked red, of course. Emily chose black.

Luca, as always, took gray.

"Where's the rulebook?" Danny asked, already suspicious.

"There is no rulebook," Emily said, stretching her legs out.

"I am the rulebook," Luca added, with just enough menace to make them flinch.

He shuffled the cards and dealt out territories, one soldier each. Then, after a roll of dice, Joey opened with the first deployment. Three troops at a time, clockwise. Everyone polite. Respectful.

It always starts friendly, one territory here, another there, everyone collecting cards.

Then Danny, quiet, calculating Danny, made a play for Ukraine, breaking Ryan's control of Asia. Ryan's jaw dropped.

"Bro," he whispered. "I trusted you."

Danny grinned. "You shouldn't have."

And that's when Zoe swept in from Alaska, used her ridiculous northern stronghold to flood Asia, and deleted Ryan from the board.

"I hate this game," Ryan said flatly, standing up and walking in a slow, stunned circle. "I invented bonfire diplomacy, and you betrayed me."

Zoe kicked her feet up, smug as hell. "Should've read the weather patterns, sweetie."

Luca watched it unfold with a grin on his face, Emily curled beside him, her knees drawn up as she surveyed the map like a war goddess. He'd kept her close all day. Too close, maybe. He'd shadowed her through the forest, sat beside her at lunch, didn't let her wander further than ten meters without a "where are you going?"

It was dumb. He knew that. She wasn't his to track like some mission objective. She chose to be here. She'd made that clear.

But after last night, after everything, he couldn't shake the need to keep her in reach. Like if he didn't, something might unravel.

Low Willpower. He needed a moment to invest his points.

Still, he felt... lighter. Settled. Even if it was just for tonight.

Emily leaned into him. "You're thinking too loud."

Luca shrugged, smiling faintly. "I'm always thinking too loud."

She shifted closer, whispering just loud enough for Zoe to hear, "Next turn? I'm taking Kamchatka."

Zoe narrowed her eyes. "Bring it, bitch."

Danny grunted. "We're all gonna die."

Joey sipped his bottle and muttered, "At least let me have Madagascar."

And the night went on like that, with the fire snapping and beer bottles clinking against rocks.

Outside their shelter, the forest pressed closer.