Page 2 of Honor Bound

This time, the steady beep of the monitor pierced the tense silence. Julia exhaled a shaky breath as Mei replaced the oxygen mask over Sergi’s nose and mouth. Sergi’s eyelids fluttered weakly, and his hand twitched. Slowly, with an effort that seemed to defy the odds, he lifted one hand and extended his middle finger toward Mei.

“Still as charming as ever,” Julia murmured, a relieved laugh bubbling up as Mei gently punched Sergi’s arm.

“Too stubborn to die,” Mei muttered, her voice thick with unshed tears.

“Who—says any—thing about—dying?” Sergi rasped through the oxygen mask, his accent heavier than usual.

Before Julia could respond, a distant rumble reverberated through the ship, followed by a series of sharp, metallic groans. Through her commlink, she heard Ash’s panicked voice coming from the bridge.

“Josh, the gate’s tearing us apart!”

Josh’s reply was calm, yet final. “Go forward.”

“Are you insane?!” Ash’s disbelief rang clear.

“Stay with Sergi,” Julia instructed.

Mei nodded, her eyes filled with worry. Julia’s heart clenched at the men’s conversation. Her mind flashed to the simulations she’d run—every outcome, every possibility. None of them had ended well. She released the magnetic boots she was wearing and floated upward. She could move faster through the ship without them on. She glided through the narrow tubes of the spaceship leading to the bridge. A part of her clung to the thin thread of hope that somehow, this wasn’t really as dire as it seemed.

When she reached the bridge, the sight before her took her breath away. The alien gateway loomed on the viewscreen. The six spinning rings seemed alive with impossible light.Colors pulsed like the heartbeat of a sleeping god, each hue shifting in mesmerizing patterns.

Her breath caught. Her body froze. This was no anomaly—this was intelligence at work.Each ring shimmered with a unique hue—nebula blues, fiery reds, golden yellows—all shifting in hypnotic patterns. The scientist within her connected the dots almost immediately.

“Wavelengths,” she whispered, awe momentarily overtaking her fear. “It’s aligning to a destination.”

Josh’s voice snapped her back to reality. He turned to face her, his expression a mask of grim resolve. “Suit up. Get to the escape pods. That’s an order.”

Julia hesitated for only a moment, the urgency in his voice compelling her into motion even as the weight of his words sank in.This is it.

The command to abandon the Gliese repeated in Julia’s mind as she retraced her path back to Mei and Sergi. Mei was already wrestling with the straps, securing Sergi to the weightless confines of the corridor, when she arrived. The ship groaned, a deep, resonant sound of a dying beast, and another violent tremor rippled through the metal framework. Sparks cascaded from an exposed panel, casting fleeting constellations across the cramped space.

“Warning: hull integrity compromised. Oxygen levels critical.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Sergi muttered, pulling at the oxygen mask covering his mouth.

“It’s not,” Julia replied, ignoring Mei’s scowl of disapproval.

She wasn’t sure if Mei’s displeasure was directed at her comment or at Sergi for removing his mask. Now wasn’t the time to contemplate it. The computerized announcement amplified their urgency.

Her breaths came in quick, shallow bursts, fogging the air, when the temperature inside the Gliese plummeted as the environmental systems went offline. She and Mei urgently maneuvered Sergi through the narrow passage. The weightless atmosphere should have made it easier, but every jolt of the ship threatened to tear him from their grasp.

“Almost there!” Mei’s surprisingly calm voice was audible despite the ear-piercing groans of the ship.

Julia barely nodded, her focus narrowing to the blinking lights ahead—the escape pods.

Josh’s distorted voice buzzed through their headsets. “Move faster! The ship won’t hold together much longer.”

Mei’s sharp intake of breath matched Julia’s rising panic. They reached the pods, and with Mei’s help, Julia hoisted Sergi into one. His eyes fluttered open briefly, confusion still clouding his face.

“Rest,” Julia whispered, placing a gloved hand on his shoulder. “We’ll see each other soon.”

Without waiting for his response, she pressed the control to seal Sergi’s pod and turned to Mei. The smaller woman hesitated, her dark eyes meeting Julia’s with unspoken acceptance that they probably wouldn’t survive.

“You next,” Julia ordered.

“But—”

“No arguments.” Julia pushed her gently toward the pod, her tone leaving no room for debate. “Go.”

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