Chapter Text
"Two... Three... Five.."
There was a pause before James continued hush under his breath as the man next to him in the shuttle kept talking abstinent mindedly.
" Seven...eleven...thirteen.." Of course he had to get stuck in a shuttle ship with someone trying to talk his head off, though the words didn't fully reach James as he counted. Counting; it was something James had found helped with anxious times like these. Sure he was suppose to be confident in his new position as 'Captain' for a whole space station, and he was. It was more over the nerves of drifting in dead space with the chance of salvation somewhere, a big task James was just handed to him by corporate like it was the easiest damn thing in the world. It was bullshit, but atlas he couldn't do anything but his job, which was now to be a captain of a ship and crew to bring the colony to a new home.
James was about to continue with his quiet counting before that shuttle rocked and then shook with some bit of violence to it, causing James to stagger back and regain his balance.
"Ah, we're here! A bit early I may add, say I was thinking about us maybe.... " James didn't stay in the shuttle long enough to hear the rest of what the pilot was saying, the words falling out of his earshot as he made his way onto the main ship. There was a certain buzz to the new environment, crew members jogging back and forth between tasks and the atmosphere felt...lively. James glanced around as he walked into a larger area before getting stopped in his tracks by another man, thoroughly startling him because where did this guy even come from?
"Welcome aboard the Invincible II, Captain. Glad to have you here," the man spoke as he reached his hand out to properly introduce himself with a trusty handshake. James blinked for a moment before letting out a small chuckle and firmly grasping the man's hand in a sturdy shake. The man was dressed in a tan jumpsuit with an orange beret, adorned with different patches and little pins. He had a scruffy stubble beard for facial hair and dark almost black hair that swooped to the side with a few curls and waves. James took a quick moment to scan over the man's form, he couldn't lie and say the man wasn't indeed good looking; he seemed toned in his build and he has a charismatic aura to him that practically screamed confidence. After a good moment to check the man out, James nodded to him and decided it was best to try and learn who the different crew members were and this guy seemed to be first so James mentally logged his appearance for later, whether to remember who he was or for other reason...no one will know. The man's grip was firmer than what James was expecting, but he didn't mind and found it actually somewhat relieving in a way.
"Took you long enough you know, but lemme give you the grand tour before we embark, yeah?" The man flashed James a confident grin as he pulled back his hand and spun on his heels to turn the other way. James couldn't help the stupid grin that was creeping on his lips as he watched this man, at least he was glad the guy seemed to be the life of the ship like a ray of sunshine. James followed closely behind the man as he lead him through the corridors of the ship's interior. Not wanting to interrupt the man's monologue, James opted for being silent as they walked into what's seemed to be a sterilization zone. The ship's computer in the room came to life with a voice speaking out loud and through.
"Bio-scan. Welcome aboard Captain and Head Engineer Mark. Prepare for sterilization."
James scrunched his eyes close as the sterilization started and it had ended just as soon as it started. James blinked like he was just flashbanged before his eyes moved to look to the man. So he was his head engineer, that was good to know.
"First stop, the warp core. It's what makes this sweet baby work... Though we aren't entirely 100% sure how it works.. " Mark stated as he lead James into a central room with a bright blue hue to it, standing promptly in the middle of the room was a large pillar like structure. James figured that had be the warp core Mark was talking about, because not much else was in the room to be it.
"But that's neither here or there, as far as we know it's safe to use... I think.. " Mark trailed off, giving James a small wave of reassurance with his hands and a light grin when he noticed that James was eyeing the warp core with a skeptical look. It wasn't like a bomb, so it had to be perfectly safe, right? Mark shook thought away before he started to dwell on it, last thing he wanted was to worry his new captain over 'what ifs'.
"Anyways! I'm pretty sure it passed inspection with flying colors, we'll make sure it's not like last time," Mark continued, taking a step back from the warp core and bumping into a crewmate behind him. Mark silently apologized before gesturing for James to follow him as he head to the other side of the room to exit the warp core zone.
"Are you sure those colors weren't just red? " James spoke up in a skeptical retort, causing Mark to glancing over his shoulder at James. He was pleasantly surprised to hear the captain finally speak up, though he knew from files and the handy database that James was stated to be on the reserve side for [REDACTED] reasons. Which was weird, Mark has to admit, but that never stopped him from getting to know another fellow crewmate.
"Ha ha, funny. I don't think it was red.... Maybe it was.. I don't know, I didn't really pay attention to it.. " Mark shrugged at James's comment before turning around and walking backwards as he faced the captain, gesturing an hand to either side of the long corridor.
"But! As a precaution, I set out these beauties. In any worse case scenario, we can blow this puppy and the warp core will be seperated from the rest of the ship, " James watched as Mark explained the explosive planted openly on each side of the corridor, even mimicking a small explosion with his hands and voice to get the point across. Which James couldn't lie, it was a bit charming to say the least and had him bitting his lip to keep from letting a laugh out at the display.
-
After much walking and seemingly endless greetings of new crewmates from Burt, who was making sure they don't blow up; to Cecli, who was in charge of the cryo pods and making sure the colonists were in stable condition during the journey. James had gathered most of the information that Mark was throwing at him despite the small hiccup in cryo with Mark and Cecli going back and forth with some banter James didn't tune in for. It was a lot to gather, especially on top of Mark introducing every single member of the crew to James. It seemed simply enough; make sure everything is in working order and then just go to sleep as the warp core worked it's magic, James was sure he could manage it. Plus he was inclined to believe anything Mark told him, he was the head engineer of the ship so he had to know all the ins and outs like the back of his hand, right?
James nodded to a few crew members as they gave him updates of the system and it's stability while Mark quickly skimmed over life support's system, he eventually nodded and gave James a thumbs up with a lopsided grin that followed.
"Seems to be working, all systems are in working order as far as we can tell. We're ready to see our new home, so all thats left is for you to say the word, Captain. " Mark stood off to the side as the metal doors whirled into motion and opened to the main cockpit, the whole crew was grouped together behind the main center console with bright eyes filled with hope for a new start and warm smiles. James slowly walked into the cockpit, eyes on his crew before he felt a warm gentle hand to his shoulder. James glanced over to see Mark holding out a glass of champagne, his hand on his shoulder with a light grip.
"Try not to get them too riled up, I've heard about how your speeches get all up in the feels, " Mark teased and shook James slightly as James took the glass from him with a small weary smile.
"Ha...right..right um, ahem...I just want to say that.." James let out a short nervous laugh, clearing his throat as he tried to think of something to say on the spot. He didn't exactly plan to do a speech and he had a feeling Mark knew he wasn't the type to do the talking, yet he said something about a speech anyways; and James suspicions were quickly confirmed as he caught a glimpse of Mark hiding a smug smirk behind his champagne glass.
"Um... Well.. " there was an awful long moment of awkward silence between James and the crew, the occasional coughing and muttering in the background interrupting the dead silence. It almost felt like it was about to go on forever and James was already preparing for it, but he was saved by a bright red flash from the ceiling of the cockpit followed by alarms and the computer system speaking.
"Warp core engaged, wormhole opening in 30 seconds. All personel report to their assigned cryo-pod."
"It's alright, Captain. I'm sure you'll knock them dead with that speech once we get there, " Mark reasurred as he moved away from James's side to start putting away some of his valuables in his locker, shooting James a quick glance before chuckling and taking the glass he had given James with a quiet 'ooo'. James sighed and couldn't help but chuckle lightly at how badly he fumbled the speech but it wasn't the time to really dwell on it now. With the alarms blaring and Mark stealing looks to him while mumbling and gesturing to James's pod, James couldn't tell whether Mark was doing so to see if he would go to his cryo-pod or just stand there like an idiot, and after a second James waved Mark off and walked over to his pod.
It wasn't exactly the most spacious thing but James supposed he would have to make due with the small space. With a moment of hesitation, James climbed into his pod and he could hear Mark getting into his own while commenting on something he couldn't make out.
"Oh right, I forgot to mention.. It's not a problem of course but before you go to sleep, remember to absolutely do not--" Mark's words were abruptly cut off by the cryo door sealing shut with a low hiss. James shifted as the cool air in the pod reached his cheeks, making him shiver while a chill ran down his spine. What was he supposed to do before sleeping? He hasn't heard the last part of what Mark said, which was probably the most important part.
The ship's computer was counting down the last few seconds left before the worm hole opened up, leaving James with an uneasy feeling that he chalked up to just being his nerves. James closed his eyes as the computer counted down, that was until his eyes shot open as it's voice slowed down and distorted before it started blaring out the last thing James wanted to hear right then.
"ERROR....ERROR...ERROR"
"Shit.. No no, are you kidding-" James cursed as he started to frantically press the screen infront of him, banging his arm harshly against the side of the pod before the screen turned to normal for a second.
"A software update is available, would you like to restart to apply this update?" A voice from the screen spoke, before James could respond he felt his full body get throttled to the back of the pod as a harsh blinding light filled his vision. Next thing James knew, he was falling in some strange blue space that warped and contorted within itself with voices from all angles whispering to him. He couldn't make out what they were saying, they were so loud it felt like they were in his head, talking all at once against his skull. There was too many to try and separate them, too hard to concentrate with all the noise.
Until it stop. And everything went black for a moment. No more warped wormhole or hundred voices overlapping, just one. A singular voice admist the deafening silence.
"Don't give up."