Chereads / Project Solar / Chapter 4 - 4.The launch

Chapter 4 - 4.The launch

The morning sun shone brightly as the Night Wing Sect prepared for the launch of their ambitious project. In the lab, Ria was busy finishing up her work when Sam walked in, looking serious yet supportive.

"Ria?" Sam called.

" I'm just finishing up,Sam. I just have to log out of the system. Just a bit, will you?"Ria said distracted.

"Of course you'd say that."Sam answered.

"Just a bit, but not enough to declare the emergence of a new sect. I also noted that the fertility rates of the land are quite commendable if I had to say so myself."

Sam chuckled. "You always go the extra mile, don't you?"

Ria handed Sam her key card. "Take care of the lab while I'm gone."

As they headed for the launch site, they met Tate, who was in a deep conversation with Will. Tate stopped talking as Ria approached.

"Ria, make sure you follow protocol," Tate instructed sternly.

"Yes, sir," Ria responded, though her playful spirit was evident.

Will placed a reassuring hand on Tate's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her."

The team gathered at the ship, taking their positions for the launch. Will stood at the helm, coordinating everything.

"Fayna?" Will called out.

"All systems running," Fayna replied.

"Lily?"

"System checks are go," Lily confirmed.

"Jin, Greg?"

"The coordinates are all set," Jin responded. "Just waiting for your word, Captain."

"Ria?"

"Area is mapped out, and the ship is ready for takeoff."

Will took a deep breath. "This is Ship H51R, over. Requesting takeoff."

In the control room, the coordinator turned to Tate, awaiting his response. "Sir?"

Tate nodded. "Proceed with the launch."

"Ship H51R, access granted."

"Roger that," Will confirmed.

The ship took off smoothly, flying into the sky. The launch was a success.

"Told you the launch would be a success. Unexplored land, here we come," Will said, smiling at Ria.

That night on the ship, Ria left her chambers to have a drink. Along the hallway, a dark figure rushed by, catching her attention.

"Um, hello? Anyone there?" she called out nervously.

The figure rushed by again at the end of the hallway where the light was dimmer. Ria grabbed a nearby mounted baseball bat off the wall and cautiously approached the area. As she neared the site, her fear grew larger. Once at the site, the figure vanished, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, it's nothing. I was probably just imagining it," she muttered to herself.

"What do you think you're doing?" came a voice from behind.

Startled, Ria immediately got down on her knees and begged, "Please don't eat me! I'm too young to die! I still haven't even tried pineapple as a pizza topping!"

A muffled laughter was heard. Ria slowly opened her eyes and found Will standing there, struggling to hold back a laugh.

"Pineapple as a topping?" he said, mid-laughter.

"We are not discussing this right now," Ria said, embarrassed.

"You really thought the ship was haunted, huh?" Will teased.

"I did not."

"Yeah, right. As you can see, everything's perfectly fine. And best of all, no ghosts to deal with."

After things settled, a crushing sound was heard from the control room.

"Did you hear that?" Ria turned to Will. "Don't you dare say it."

"Not haunted, huh?" Ria said sarcastically.

They immediately headed for the control room and were met with the sight of chaos.

"What in the world?" Ria exclaimed.

The room was filled with monkey demons causing chaos everywhere.

"Monkey demons," Will muttered.

The two tried to get rid of them, but the monkey demons made it even more difficult. One of them stepped on a button, and the alarm immediately went off. Ria rushed for the control panel and looked it over.

"This is bad. The system is all scrambled, and the controls aren't responding."

"And is that a bad thing, or...?" Will asked.

"If we don't manage to regain control, it's only a matter of time till the ship runs out of power and..."

"And what?"

"You can guess the rest." With that, they teamed up and soon defeated all the monkey demons. Ria managed to restore the controls and save the ship. They celebrated with a high five and headed back for bed.

"How the rest of the team managed to sleep through all this, I have no idea," Ria said.

As they left, a chewed-up wire was revealed in a corner.

The next day, the entire ship was in chaos and out of control, with Fayna and Jin trying to fix it all in the control room. The alarms were blaring, and red lights were blinking. The door to the control room opened, and the other four members fell in as the ship shook. All except Will.

"What's going on here?" Will asked.

"The system's crashed and is not responding at all," Jin answered.

"That's impossible," Ria said, getting up. "The system is designed to withstand any form of technological issue and immune to all sorts of attacks. How could it have crashed?"

"See it for yourself if you don't believe me," Fayna stated.

"Fayna!" Will retorted.

"What? Can't blame me if I'm just too honest."

They argued, but their words were cut short as the ship spun out of control. It soon regained its stance. The ship was slowly dragged into a magnetic storm.

"We're alive!" Greg celebrated.

Will made his way to the commanding seat. "It's not over yet." The view of the large storm cloud was displayed. The team took their positions.

"That storm is huge. If we get dragged in, it might as well be a death wish," Ria noted.

"There's only one way to get out alive," Will turned to Lily. "By having a great pilot behind the controls."

"You don't mean what I think you're saying," Lily responded.

"I do. Lily is our only way out of here. We have to pilot the ship through the storm. That is if Lily is up for the challenge."

Lily skillfully piloted them through the storm. Once out, the ship was struck by a sudden large volt of lightning. It immediately lost all power and began to nosedive.

Will realized there was no way out. They had to escape, and there was only one escape pod left. They had to agree on who got to use it. They all voted for Ria, but she was reluctant. Will drew her aside and talked to her.

"I can't do this, Will. I can't leave you and the rest of the team behind. I just can't," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

He lifted up her chin. "Hey, look at me. You have to, Ria. Not for me but for the rest of the team. We all chose you for a reason. The Night Wing Sect can't lose such a great mind; it'll only cause more trouble for the sect."

"But what about you?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"I'll be fine. Once you get out of the ship, the team and I will definitely come up with something and save the ship. For now, I just need to reassure your safety first. You have to trust me on this, Ria."

"I can't let you fix my mistake. I won't leave you and the team behind," Ria broke down.

Will comforted her with a hug and whispered, "I'm sorry," and hit the escape pod button. Ria was forced in by the system, and the doors immediately shut. She tried calling out to Will, but the pod was soon activated and left the ship. As the pod got a safe distance away, Ria watched as the ship fell and hit the forest with a loud explosion. She broke down and fell to her knees.

"Will," she cried. "I'm sorry."

😭

👘❣️Manesta.