Page 3 of Honor Bound

As the pod’s hatch sealed behind Mei, a shudder rippled through Julia. Her heart hammered in her chest as she moved to her assigned escape pod. The ship groaned again, a deafening crescendo that drowned out the alarms. She climbed in, her fingers fumbling with the controls before the lid finally closed over her.

“Escape pod launching,”the automated voice announced.

The pod shot away from the ship, and Julia experienced a sensation of disorientation at the burst of speed, flashes of lights, and the sudden darkness of space. Through the narrow viewport at the top of the pod, she saw the Gliese—a glowing silhouette against the dark backdrop of space. For a moment, time seemed to stretch as the ship disintegrated into a brilliant flash of light as they were all pulled through the gateway.

The realization crashed into her with the force of a tidal wave. Her breath frozen, her pulse hammering against her ribs. The Gliese—their home, their mission, their last connection to Earth—was gone. Swallowed whole by the impossible.

She stared in disbelief and awe as ribbons of brilliant, iridescent color, like a living rainbow, encased the pod as it rocketed forward at an impossible speed, the vacuum of space humming with energy. Her analytical mind raced to process the data, but her human side was overwhelmed by a terrifying surge of fear and anguish as she waited for the pod’s sedative to slow her metabolism.

It’s gone. The Gliese is gone.

CHAPTERONE

Present Day

A thick, oppressive silence wrapped around Julia, broken only by the faint hiss of oxygen ebbing toward depletion. Her eyelids fluttered, heavy and resistant, as if gravity itself conspired to keep her in the realm of unconsciousness. A faint, rhythmic pounding grew louder—a heartbeat, hers, pulling her upward.

Her fingers brushed against the pod’s icy inner surfaces, slick with condensation. Each breath left a fleeting mist on the glass, dissipating like the scattered fragments of her thoughts. The sensation rippled through her like the first spark of life in a dormant machine. She groaned softly; the sound muffled by the condensation-coated glass above her. Her thoughts were fragmented, drifting in and out like the fragile threads of a dream unraveling.

Where… am I?

Her chest tightened as her first full breath forced its way in, filling her lungs with stale, metallic air. She coughed, her body recoiling from the effort, but the action jolted her mind into sharper focus. Slowly, painfully, she turned her head. The pod’s interior swam into view—dim, claustrophobic, and tinged with the red light of a warning beacon blinking methodically.

“Warning: oxygen levels at four percent, but no worries, the air outside is breathable,”a cheerful male voice announced.

The warning penetrated her fogged thoughts like a dagger. Julia lifted her trembling hand to wipe away the condensation, the motion clumsy and weak. The fog on the glass cleared in streaks, revealing a world she could barely comprehend. Her pulse raced as a floating island loomed closer, its lush greenery glinting in an otherworldly light.

“Breathe,” she told herself, clenching her fists. “Just breathe.” The young intern’s confidence replayed in her mind, a lifeline she wasn’t sure she could hold onto.

The sight resembled stepping into a waking dream. Islands of rocks, covered in lush greenery, drifted serenely against a pastel blue sky, their rocky bases cloaked in mist. Cascades of water spilled from their edges in endless streams, evaporating into shimmering clouds before they touched the unseen surface below. Vines as thick as tree trunks twisted along the cliffs, their leaves glowing faintly in hues of gold and emerald.

Julia’s breath hitched, caught between wonder and disbelief. The sky above was peppered with soft, cotton-like clouds that seemed close enough to touch. A distant sun bathed everything in a warm, golden light, its rays refracting through the mist to create fleeting rainbows.

Her lips parted in awe.Is this… real?

A violent jolt caused the pod to gyrate wildly around. Her hands frantically sought to find a grip as the world tilted. Her heart raced as a massive shadow passed over the glass. She craned her neck, her movements stiff and awkward, and gasped as a creature descended into view. Its wings, delicate yet enormous, shimmered like molten silver in the sunlight, each beat stirring the air with a gentle hum.

Julia’s stomach lurched when the creature landed briefly atop the parachute, its six spindly legs gripping the fabric with an eerie grace. The pod swayed, rotating sharply to reveal a strange but beautiful alien world before the creature flew away.

“Yo, you might want to plan on getting out of this box soon, Julia. Oxygen levels critical. The good thing is the sensors on this floating coffin confirm the air outside is breathable… probably,”the voice of Kent Addams warned.

Julia’s lips quivered at the young MIT student’s warning. The group had been part of an elite intern team that her father had insisted needed to be part of the mission. Harry thought it was important—to keep things youthful and promote interest for future space exploration.

Her dad might have given them a bit more freedom than she realized if Kent’s message was anything to go by. She hoped the young intern’s calculations and the onboard sensors were correct. One way or another, she was about to find out. She released a nervous, awed laugh when another floating island covered in lush shades of foliage swept by the pod.

“Oh, Daddy. I wish you could see this,” she murmured.

Julia felt as if time bent around her as the escape pod hung in the air, its slow sway deceptively soothing. The gentle movement lulled her into a false sense of calm. She tried not to think of the creature she’d seen, hoping it, and any other natural organisms to the planet, would leave the pod alone if it determined it was no threat and not edible.

At least on the outside,she mused with a choked laugh.

Beyond the fogged glass, the world outside blurred into motion—an alien dreamscape of shifting color and shadow. A gasp slipped from her lips when an enormous shadow swept overhead again, blotting out the sun in an instant. Her heart jolted, and her breath caught when additional shadows followed, larger and more imposing than the first.

Her awe shattered as the pod jerked violently, a thunderous crack splitting the air. The parachute crumpled, twisting under an enormous weight. Julia’s attention snapped upward—massive legs, bristling with coarse hair, gripped the cords like a predator securing its prey.

The pod plummeted, dropping several feet in a stomach-lurching freefall. Julia screamed, her hands flying to brace against the capsule as it swung wildly, spinning in a chaotic spiral. The parachute fabric tore down the middle, and she clung desperately to the interior, her body tipping as the pod tilted to an almost vertical angle.

Through the glass, a vast expanse of blue-green shimmered like a living jewel, stretching beyond comprehension. The sheer scale overwhelmed her like a gravitational force—Earth was a memory, and this… this was something entirely new.

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