Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The sterile lights flicked on signifying the start of another day. For the Captain it was a slow rise, something they didn't get the luxury of often. They stretched and yawned before reaching for their arm control console. They checked the date and projected conditions for the next few hours, making sure everything was still on course for the space walk they had planned today.

"Alright, should be good to go."

The Captain made quick work of getting ready, sipping their coffee along the way. A bold '#1 Captain’ stared back at them. They made their way to the largest meeting room, already running a few minutes behind. They cursed themself for being late on the one day they didn't have to wake up bright and early.

When they reached the room they could already hear mumbling inside. "Damn"
The Captain had hoped they would be able to slide by undetected and save some embarrassment.

"Good morning everyone" The Captain opened the door and entered, quickly setting down a bundle of papers and their coffee.

"About time, sleepyhead" called out Celcionna Kelvina, badge C4560. A sharp tongued cryogenic expert. She could be harsh and strict, but everything she did was for the love of her work and the colonists. She strived for perfection and excellence in everything she did.

Next to her sat Gunther B Gunnerson, badge G9572, the ADS specialist. If it could be blown up, he could blow it up. If it couldn’t be blown up...well he could do it anyway. He had a tough guy exterior with an attitude to boot. He sat with a cigar hanging from the corner of his mouth, his feet up on the meeting table. "Cap'n, good to see ya this mornin."

Up next was Burt, just Burt. Badge B1796. Burt was cryptic and stoic, but he knew how to give advice. He always said just the thing you needed to hear. Burt nodded briefly as he stood off to the side of the room, almost ostracizing himself from the group.

Lastly, beside the head seat of the table was Mark, badge M2702. He was the Captain's right hand man. The head engineer and the man who built the ship they were standing on. The Captain knew Mark like the back of their handsome and or beautiful hand. They supported each other through academy and several previous missions, so when Mark invited them to board the Invincible III as the captain, well how could they refuse?

"Captain, good morning. Are we still a go on today's walk?" Mark slid a file over to the Captain before looking up trying to gauge how the Captain was feeling.

"We are, however there will be some small changes. Mark, you and I will be swapping out for this walk. I will be the one going out in the pod." The Captain turned to the board and began hanging some pages, mostly analytical statistics of the probability of success and failure for their walk.

"What? Captain, no. You can't come out there with us, what if something happens??" Celci retorted, upset with this turn of events.

"She's right, we need ya on the ship Cap." Gunther stood up, trying to emphasize his point.

"Yup, no good plan." Burt said rather curtly. He never was much of a talker, minus the odd limericks here and there.

"Captain, please. You are the most important on this ship. We need you here to guide the colonists, and to guide us - from the inside." Mark spoke up a little as he said 'inside' trying to make himself sound assertive and serious.

The Captain waited a moment, letting the silence fill the room. "I know you are all concerned with the choice I have made. However, Mark, how much welding experience do you have in the new pods?"

Mark looked at them, puzzled. "Not much, I left the training course to work on the Invincible III."

"I finished the course. I am trained, licensed, and have 1,000 hours under my belt for this machinery. I could drive it in my sleep. Everyone else here was trained by me - however, Mark, you were unable to participate due to time constraints on the mission. I have barely put you through the basic flight training on the computer. I am not confident that you will be completely safe. What kind of captain am I to put you in a compromising position? To put any of you in that place?" The Captain looked softly at all of them, simultaneously understanding their point of view and worrying for their safety.

They all took a moment to consider what the Captain said, Mark looked especially pained. But, ultimately, the Captain had the final say. Their mind was made up, and everyone could see that. They all silently resigned to what the Captain proposed.

The briefing continued with little fuss. They all knew the plan and knew it well. Celci, Gunter, Burt, and now the Captain would be departing the ship on a sort of 'space walk' where they would fix the hull of the ship. There were several places of concern where the hull had weakened over the course of launch and the first few months of space travel. They would weld pieces of metal over the issue areas, covering any weak spots for their upcoming travel.

The ship was set to pass through a nearby planet's gravitational field in order to slingshot them, providing a slightly higher speed and conserving their remaining fuel. It was a plan Mark himself had come up with, which was met with support, aside from some skepticism on Celci’s end.
The only issue with Mark's plan was the planet's asteroid belt, they would be flying partially through it. Which is why the ship needed to be in pristine condition. They all understood the risks and decided this is what was the best course of action for everyone.

They all shared a look, unspoken words of support and encouragement were held behind their serious demeanors.

"Alright, everyone get suited up. Mark, head to the main deck and keep an eye out for us." The Captain commanded, and everyone followed - confident in their leader's abilities and knowledge.

Everyone went to their positions, getting into their suits and checking each other over.
The single passenger pods were built for minor repairs and for egress should the ship fail. It was a small oblong shape that rounded out at the top. There was room enough for one chair, a few supplies, and a suit. If you were caught out in the open with no hope of returning to the ship then you had two choices. Cut your losses, turn out the lights and oxygen, and let space lull you into an endless slumber. Or, use the few rations allocated to the pod and work like hell to make a plan to be saved.

The Captain stretched their hands out, making sure everything on their suit was snug and seated together at the joining points. They turned on their oxygen, testing it and gave a thumbs up to the other crew member, Mack, who was helping them get situated and keeping them safe during the onboarding portion.

“Alright, everyone suited up and checked over?” The Captain glanced over at their crew, gauging everyone’s status.

“A’course Cap, suited and ready for duty” came the usual quip from Gunther, always looking for the action.

“Burt and I are good too, Captain!” Celci, always the energy behind the mission. She knew how to lighten a mood.

The Captain nodded before proceeding. “Thanks for your help Mack, be sure to seal everyone up before returning to your station.

“Of course, Captain. Anything you need.” Mack replied, he seemed on edge but the captain couldn’t ascertain why. They shrugged it off and boarded their pod.

Everyone was situated and locked in shortly, after getting a final check Mack departed to his station.

The Captain gave the go ahead and everyone detached from the ship one by one. Once they were free floating it was a simple task to move up along the hull of the ship to the weak areas. They each began working on their assigned areas, making great time as they worked.

“Status update, Captain? This is check in number 3, anything to report?” Mark’s voice rang through the earpiece the Captain was wearing. They pressed a small button on the side of their helmet and responded “All good here, nothing to report. Mission status nominal, scheduled to finish ahead of time.”

Mark noted down the times and progress of each member, including checking in with them periodically. He had done three check in’s with each crew member so far. All nominal results, everything was going smoothly. Mark paused for a moment and turned towards the bay door. He jumped a bit as one of the alarms on the console wailed. He quickly clicked into the portion of the ship showing in red. There was an issue in the reactor, a small leak from the readouts he was getting.

“Mark?” The Captain’s voice cut through any thoughts he had. They had gotten the alert on their arm console.

Mark steadied himself, focusing on nothing but keeping the ship and the crew safe. “Captain, there appears to be a leak in the reactor. I need to go and patch it, it is quickly heating beyond safe levels. I need to step away.” He was conflicted with leaving the crew unwatched and taking care of the ship. But, if he didn’t fix the ship, then there wouldn’t be one for the crew to return to.

“Yes, take care of the leak. I will handle things out here.” The Captain moved their pod back slightly from the ship, pivoting from welding to instead watching the crew. They addressed them next. “Everyone, Mark has to step away. There is a leak in the reactor. Burt, I want you to keep your line open to Mark and close off anyone else if he reaches out for instructions. Otherwise we will continue the mission as normal.”

Everyone seemed to understand the task at hand, now being more cautious about their movements and trying to wrap things up swiftly.

Mark made it to the reactor in time to patch the leak and prevent the overheating. He sighed a bit and wiped the sweat from his brow. It was odd, the more he inspected it the more it looked like an intentional breach. One that came from the outside of the pipe, not the inside. He turned his attention to a white scrap of fabric on the floor. Someone’s crew member patch. Most of it was burned away, save for a single ‘C’. Mark pondered it for a moment before slipping it back into his pocket and leaving to return to the mission.

The Captain kept a close eye on the crew members, occasionally peeking out at the horizon for any signs of danger. They had at least another hour before the asteroids would come anywhere near them.

The Captain let the thought pass by and turned back to face the crew. As their eyes connected with Gunther’s pod something slammed into the side of it, sending it first into the side of the ship and then careening off into the wide open space. The Captain jolted upright in their seat, catching the smallest glimpse of what had hit Gunter, an asteroid.

The Captain pressed the button on their helmet to open the line between their earpieces “Gunther?! Respond! Are you alright?” they heard nothing but silence as Gunther’s pod drifted further and further. As it moved out of the ship’s shadow and into the light the Captain could see the entire side was ripped clean off. No one could have survived crushing weight like that.

The Captain stared for a moment, frozen. Gunther was gone, their ADS leader, their friend. The Captain snapped out of it hearing Celci’s voice. “Captain? What happened??” She sounded worried, nearing panic. Clearly the other crewmates hadn’t seen what happened as they were facing the ship.

The Captain looked out towards the horizon, finally seeing them. Dozens of asteroids. It had been impossible to see them before due to the angle of the light from the nearest sun. The Captain kicked themself for not thinking of that. It was a mistake that would cost them dearly.

“Everyone return to the ship, now” The Captain turned their pod slightly to keep an eye on the path the crew would take and the oncoming asteroids.

Mark returned to the sound of Celci’s panicked voice “Captain, the pod won’t move, somethings wrong!”

Burt chimed in “No controls, Captain.’”

The Captain felt a chill run up their spine. Something was wrong, very wrong. Suddenly the crewmembers' pods weren’t responding to commands? They went to work on their arm console trying to remotely control the other pods. They opened a line of communication to only Mark. “Mark, are you there?”

Mark responded, sounding just as urgent and worried “Captain, I'm here. Why is this happening?”

The Captain didn’t answer Mark’s question. The first thing they needed to do was get the pods under control. After that they could worry about the how and why. “Mark, listen carefully. I need you to try and remote access Burt’s pod. Try and take over the controls in any way possible. We need to get everyone back inside the ship. We hit the belt too early.”

Mark’s panic was stifled slightly by the even commanding tone the Captain displayed. He felt like they had a plan, one that would work. He would trust the Captain and do whatever they suggested.

The Captain managed to get through the system to Celci’s pod, taking control. It seemed like someone had installed a type of firewall, meant to deny access to the pilot’s in-ship controls.

“Ok, Celci. I’ve got you. I’m going to pilot your pod back to the docking bay and get you inside, then Burt, then me. Ok?”

Celci sighed with relief, sitting back in her seat and letting the Captain work. Her pod turned slightly, letting in the natural sun before it was slammed into by an asteroid.

The Captain screamed for a moment as asteroids whizzed past them. Similarly to Gunther’s pod, Celci’s was damaged beyond anything that could be deemed survivable.

Mark took in the scene, like a train wreck - he couldn’t look away. He shook his head after a moment and kept working towards gaining control of Burt’s pod. He was close, but he wasn’t fast enough. Burt was hit by a smaller asteroid and slammed into the side of the ship they had been working on. His pod drifted off into the vastness.

The Captain could see the glass shattered from Burt’s window and cringed, forcing themself to look away before seeing anything else.

Mark tried to call out to Burt, in case he was alive in there. “Burt! Burt respond! Please answer me! Burt!!” He gave up when Burt drifted out of range of the radio. Mark then turned his attention to the Captain. “Captain, return to the ship. It’s getting worse out there. Come back, now.”

The Captain shook their head, trying to gain composure. Everything spun and it felt like they were going to hurl. They took a deep breath and tried to turn the pod upwards, towards the docking bay. As they pivoted upwards, they felt a heavy thud and everything went black.

Chapter Text

Mark stood there, trembling. Staring out the bay window waiting for something, anything. He was aware that he would receive nothing in exchange for his pleas to the universe. The crew, the Captain, they were gone. The whole mission rested on his shoulders. Everyone had already entered cryo sleep.

It was all part of the plan. The extra crew members would head to cryo after Mack finished the final checks. Then the main crew would finish this final mission, ensure smooth travel through the asteroid belt, and then enter cryo sleep themselves. Mack was the last one to enter cryo before…

Mack! That's it!

Mark rushed off from the horror staring back at him and made his way to the cryo bay. He counted the pods. 172, 173, there it was - 174. Mack's name lit up the small control panel at the front of the pod. Mark pressed a few buttons to enter manual control mode.

He was greeted with "Password:_"

Mark huffed a bit, of course Celci had password blocked the pods. She always said she wanted to check over everything herself. The only other person with the code was...the Captain.

Mark paused for a moment, his finger hovering over the control panel. He tried to think of possible codes for the pod. Celci's badge number?

4560. BZZT. Nothing.

Mark sat thinking for another moment, maybe the Captain's badge number?

With trembling fingers, he typed in the four-digit code. BZZT, nothing again.

He stayed like that for a while. Leaned over the pod, trying any and every combination he could think of. Before he realized, it had been over an hour and he was blankly staring at the numbers. Mark turned around and pressed his back to the pod, slowly sliding down into a sitting position. He resigned to sitting like that, staring off into nothing.

Captain's POV
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An alarm?
An alarm.
The Captain could hear a piercing alarm through their hazy consciousness. They reached up with a groggy hand and swiped at their face, hitting the glass of their helmet.

"Mmmhh?" The Captain opened their eyes, blinking a few times before realizing. They were cold and could barely breathe. They took a couple labored breaths before reaching up, with slight difficulty, to turn on the air supply in their suit.

The Captain gasped, feeling fresh air rush in their face. They slumped back, letting their muscles go lax and trying to catch their breath. The suit adjusted the temperature within to make up for the freezing air surrounding the Captain.

Once they regained more of their consciousness, the Captain looked around trying to visually check the status of their pod. The main console was dark, they assumed this was due to being struck. It was likely that the cables were knocked loose and separated, severing power. They looked around a bit more, noticing some papers being sucked to a part of the hull. With closer inspection, there was a baseball-sized breach in the hull. The Captain could look through it clearly to the outside of the pod.

They counted themself lucky, the pod wasn't beyond saving. They must have been struck at an angle, or by a slightly smaller asteroid.

"I wonder how far off course I am..." They pondered it as they tried to get their console to come to life. They were aware of the churning feeling in their stomach, noting that they must be spinning. The Captain needed navigation to see just how far off course they were, but without power to the console they were out of luck.

The Captain sighed, trying to come up with some solution - some kind of plan. After thinking, they knew the best course of action would be to patch the hole in the hull first. After that they could worry about getting power to the console and navigation. It would be risky, but they would have to go outside of the pod to use the hand welding tool in their bag.

They leaned back, pulling the small duffel bag from behind their seat. Mark's name was embroidered across the front.

Mark.

He had to be spiraling by now. Left alone to his own devices with no one but himself to rely on. They knew he would be devastated. The crew he picked out, his friends - all gone. They had to get back to him. No matter what it took.

Mark's POV
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Mark had tried everything he could think of. Every code, combination, even random sets of numbers. He was desperate and losing patience. The cryo bed was scribbled all over in small notes. He had Celci's files scattered across the floor surrounding Mack's chamber. He had even begun to tamper with the door on it, trying first a crowbar - then escalating to a handheld blow torch.

Mark had some rationality left, even if it was clouded by his ever-growing panic. He only briefly used the blow torch before realizing one of two things would happen. One, he would kill Mack due to the lack of required chemicals that were provided in the startup sequence. Or two, the pod would explode. The amount of concentrated oxygen inside the pod was high enough that even a spark could cause a catastrophic event. He couldn't risk it.

Mark threw the screwdriver in his hand off to the side, cursing the universe. He felt tears welling up in his eyes. It was only after raising his hand and smacking himself that he managed to even out his erratic breathing. He had to get a hold of himself, and try and calm down. If he was going to be the only crew member, then he needed to prepare.

He couldn’t wake Mack, only the computer could do that. The pods were set to wake individual crew members based on the needs of the ship. It was the same reason Mark couldn’t just put himself in cryo, no crew to wake. If there was a leak in the cryo bay, Celci would have been woken up. If the reactor began to overheat, Burt would have been pulled out. If asteroids….

Why hadn’t Mark thought about it? The ADS system. It should have alerted them if there were incoming asteroids. He took one more look at the mess he had created in his panic before turning and heading towards the ADS room. Something was off and he was going to figure out what.

Captain’s POV
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The Captain finished attaching the tether that would hold them to the ship. If they kept their movements smooth and kept their weight close to the hull, they wouldn’t get spun out and away from the pod.

They took a deep breath, taking one more look at Mark’s name on the duffel bag before opening the door to the outside. It wasn’t terribly difficult, the cabin had long since depressurized. With a better look outside, they could see that they were in fact spinning. Not at an alarming rate, but enough to cause slight motion sickness.

“Quick in and out……well, out and back in.” They attempted to reassure themself, knowing it was anything but.

The Captain took hold of the handle on the outside of the hull, taking their first shaky step out of the pod. There were some handholds along the hull for cases like this, or if they needed to tie off to the side of the Invincible III.

The Captain had a piece of metal for welding attached to a magnet on their side, along with the welding gun. It would be slow work, but it would work. It had to be patched from the outside, or pressure would build up in the hole and cause another issue before they could get back to the ship.

They made slow progress toward the back of the pod, where the hole was located. The Captain reached the hole with little trouble. They took a moment to inspect it further.

Seeing the hole was not surprising, although it was larger on the outside. It seemed the captain was correct in assuming they were struck at an angle. As the Captain looked along the path of damage they realized just how extensive the damage actually was. Wires were hanging out of the jagged metal. They kicked themself for not thinking of that possibility. There would be very little chance of restoring the power to the main console. However, they could potentially reroute the power from the life support to the main console.

Ok, problem potentially solved.

However, as the Captain inspected the damage further, they noticed another gaping hole. This one was located in the external tank, which held all the fuel for the pod. The fuel was mostly missing, likely during the first few minutes after impact.

No fuel meant no return to the ship.

Mark’s POV
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Mark made quick work of getting to the ADS room, few doors stood in his way. He took a deep breath, ready to face the worst.

As Mark pressed his hand to the reader, the door slid open. Everything looked normal. He let out the breath he had been holding as he stepped into the room.

The sleek control panel stood at the center of the room, dimly lit by the backlight. Mark inspected it, noticing a small flashing alert light at the top of the panel. Usually when it alerted the crew of asteroids there would be flashing lights throughout the whole room and a message over the intercom.

Mark ran his hands along the side of the panel, the smooth metal giving no answers. As he felt along the side his fingertips collided with a small object just underneath the panel.

“Hm..?” he crouched and tilted his head slightly for a better look. There was a small round device attached to the bottom of the panel. Mark reached for it and pulled it off, the magnet separating from the metal with slight resistance.

“This is…..” Mark recognized a signal jammer when he saw one. It was meant to scramble the panel's radio waves, making it unable to send out messages or control anything beyond the panel itself. Mark stood, feeling woozy.

“Someone…sabotaged the mission?” he bit his lip, nearly drawing blood. Who would do something like that? It hit him, likely the same person that disabled the pod's controls. Mark slammed his fist down on the edge of the control panel, furious.

He shoved the small device in his pocket and turned to head back to the bridge. He was going to figure out who did this if it killed him.

When he reached the bridge he reached into his pocket for the device, hoping he could pull some kind of data from it. With it, he pulled out the slightly burnt patch ‘C’ that he had found in the reactor. His head began to spin. Had the same person sabotaged the reactor? When? Was it during or before the mission?

C, he could think of only a few crew members with C in their badge number.

Celci. She wouldn’t have. She couldn’t have, she was one of the casualties. But, Mark was meant to be in one of those pods. Maybe she really was trying to kill him. But why the others?

Mark’s head swam as his thoughts raced. He couldn’t make any sense of what had happened. All he knew was he was meant to be dead.

Captain’s POV
___________

The Captain leaned their head back, trying to think through the problems. Mark would have all the solutions, they knew he would. The Captain had a lot of training, but it was spread out between a wide range of categories. They weren’t a specialist in anything in particular, sort of a jack of all trades. Good at a lot, perfect at none.

If they could rig something up…no that wouldn’t work. A thousand thoughts ran at a thousand miles through their head. They stopped, clearing their mind. The task ahead should be what they focus on. Do this well now and they would buy time to figure out what to do about everything else.

The Captain made quick work of welding on the metal patch, feeling confident in its sturdiness. They hooked the welding gun back on their belt and started to make their way back to the pod door. The pod itself was only a few meters long, but being careful cost time.

They reached for a handle, but the ship spun and the sunlight caused them a moment of disorientation. They missed the handle and lost grasp of the ship, suddenly flying backward from the ship.

The Captain gasped, flailing slightly as they were flung away from the ship. The tether hit its limit, jerking the Captain slightly at the tension. They tried to steady their erratic breathing, realizing they were still attached to the pod. “I’m ok, i’m ok…”

After a brief moment to gather their thoughts, the Captain grabbed ahold of the tether and began pulling back towards the pod, and safety. The ship was spinning at roughly 20 rotations per minute, causing less than a G in force. However, with the Captain’s weight added in, it caused the pod’s rotation to pick up slightly. The Captain was able to pull themself back to the pod with only slight trouble. Once back inside, they held onto the chair for support, feeling their body tremble. Had the tether severed, or something come close enough to collide with them, they would be done for. Mark would be left on his own. Everything, all their hard work - it would be up in the air.

The Captain paused. Mark, what was he doing right now? They wondered how he could be feeling at this moment as they closed the pod’s main door. Probably scared, lonely, maybe even panicked.

Mark’s POV
__________

Pissed.

That didn’t even begin to describe it. Mark was beyond furious. Someone wanted HIM dead? The head engineer? Along with the crew. The only one who was meant to survive was the Captain.

Wait.

‘C’? Could it have been for Captain? No, the Captain wouldn’t do that…Would they?

Mark shook the thought from his head, why would the Captain sabotage everyone? Did they switch out with Mark out of guilt? Why didn’t they just call off the mission then? Unless they wanted to torture Mark? Did they want to leave him on his own, just to deal with everything by himself?

Mark paused his train of thought when he heard scraping behind him. He spun around, seeing a shadow dart past the open door. “Hello?” He called, knowing no one was awake. He tapped the console, bringing the screen to life. Had Mack woken up? He pulled up the cryo pod information. All accounted for, all still sealed up and sleeping.

He turned back towards the door, now closed. Mark rubbed his eyes, was he hallucinating? He needed sleep.

Mark turned to head to his cabin, only paying some attention to the movement out of the corner of his eyes. He crawled into bed, utterly exhausted.

After tossing and turning for a while, he began begging the stars to let him sleep. He apologized to anything that could be out there. Apologizing for not saving his friends, for bringing them onto the ship in the first place. He pleaded with the universe to take him to them.

He didn’t feel strong enough, didn’t feel worthy of protecting the colonists. He felt like he had let his friends down. Mark wiped the fresh tears from his eyes, already dehydrated enough that he could barely get any out.

After so long of lying in bed in silence, knowing nothing would answer, Mark couldn’t help but become antsy. He sighed, got up, and decided to get back to work.

Chapter Text

Mark jolted upright, had he fallen asleep? How much time had passed? He felt a nagging pull in his stomach, he hadn't eaten in who knows how long. He stood and stretched his stiff muscles. Before him was the meeting table, littered with half-empty coffee cups and schematics of the ship and cryo pods.

Mark twitched a bit as a whisper crept through the open door. Had he opened the door? He wasn't sure. It had been three days since the crew and the Captain had....

He'd rather not think about that. Mark turned and left the room, leaving behind his mess.

He had more important things to do, like get rid of that squeaking sound. He tried plenty of times to find it, with no success.

Mark spent a few minutes pacing through the Invincible III’s layout, looking for the phantom squeak. He could hear it, he knew it was real. It was grating and loud and it rattled his skull. He covered his ears, but it was still there.

Until, nothing. Mark opened one eye, gently lifting his hands from his ears. No squeak, only the sound of footsteps filled its place. He looked up and down the hallway, but it seemed the footsteps were always just ahead of him.

Was it the saboteur coming back to finish the job? The Captain, ready to ream him for not taking care of the colonists? His head spun at the possibilities.

“I know you’re there! Come out and face me! Coward!” he listened to his voice reverb off the walls. No one answered. Mark felt stupid, he felt like someone out there wanted him to feel stupid.

Then he felt something else, his stomach. That’s right, he had been going to get something to eat. But he couldn’t help it, there it was again. He had to find the source of that infernal squeak…

Captain’s POV
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“Yes!” the Captain cheered, a little too loud for the space they currently occupied.

The Captain was lying flat beneath the main console, the top of their astronaut suit removed. After the hull was patched they were able to get life support running. The pod was now stable and able to be occupied without a suit. The less the Captain used the oxygen in their suit, the better.

“Alright, let's give this a try.” The Captain had patched the electricity by splicing two wires together. The two systems would get equal amounts of power, allowing for both to run at the same time. They flipped a switch beneath the console and the screen sprung to life.

After sitting up, it was clear that their plan had worked. The main console screen flashed red in some places, indicating a good read of the pod’s status.

The first thing the Captain tried was the radio. They called out to anyone who might be listening, Mark in particular. “This is pod 1-C7, Invincible III do you copy?” Their call was met with static. Not unusual, the pod was likely out of the ship’s radio range.

“Onto the next step then.” They stretched before slipping back into their suit. The plan was to decompress the cabin, go back out, and make the preparations needed to blow the back of the pod off.

By the back of the pod, the Captain meant the thrusters and fuel tank. The plan was to weld the extra oxygen canisters to the inside of the fuel tank, remove the igniter from the thrusters and move it to the tank, then blow everything off the back.

The explosion should give them enough propulsion to slow their current trajectory and push back toward the Invincible III. Not to mention stop the awful spinning.

The problem would be timing. The Captain would have to set off the igniter as the pod spins around to the correct degree. Along with that, they would have to aim for where the Invincible III was going, not where it had been.

Luckily, when navigation booted up, they could see they hadn’t gone terribly far from the ship. Mark and the colonists were actually just rounding the planet, likely barely past the asteroid belt. The Invincible III had cut its engines and was moving much slower due to the gravity of the planet. A sigh of relief escaped the Captain, they weren’t so far out that they couldn’t return.

After clicking through some of the options in the menu, a course from the pod to the ship was created. It was updated in real-time, showing the exact travel time back to the Invincible III. It was…four days.

The Captain slumped back in their seat. Their original plan was to create a large boost using the remaining fuel AND the oxygen tanks, relying on their suit to keep them alive until they returned. They had anticipated a two and a half day trip. But their rations were running low, and their suit only held a day's worth of oxygen. They had planned to keep one large canister in the pod to refuel their suit. It would buy them another two days.

If the Captain estimated correctly, they may be able to make it without needing another canister. They would need to conserve oxygen by not decompressing the cabin, and keeping the remaining oxygen inside to use before resorting to the suit. They would be going two days without food and two days without water already, they couldn’t chance running out of oxygen.

After making a few calculations and adjustments to the plan, the captain was able to form a solution.

They would put on the suit and drill a hole from the rear wall into the fuel tank. The hole would be just large enough to run a tube through, which would be used to recompress the cabin.

They would then weld the oxygen tanks to the wall of the fuel tank. Once those were in place the Captain would hook the tube to one of the oxygen tanks. When the cabin was full of oxygen, they would plug the hole and ignite the ‘bomb’ they built in the fuel tank.

The fuel igniter that resided in the thrusters would be moved to work as the catalyst for the bomb. Spaceship + fire = bad times. So, naturally, almost everything in the pod was fireproof. However, the igniter was required to set fire to the fuel and create thrust. That would be the only way to light their makeshift bomb.

The extra oxygen in the cabin should buy them one more day. The only problem would be if the blast pierced the wall separating the two. There would be an explosion.

But that wouldn’t matter, because the Captain would be dead.

So, that’s exactly what the Captain did. It didn’t take nearly as long to move along the outside of the hull. They had slightly more experience this time and knew to line up the sun on their back when moving.

Before long, the Captain was back inside the pod. They gave the oxygen some time to fill the pod before removing their suit. It took slightly longer than normal due to the small tube conveying it. They didn’t mind, it gave them time to rig up a ‘go switch’ for the igniter.

Everything was in place. All they had to do was time it right…and not blow up.

The Captain held the switch in their hand, watching the screen for the correct navigational degree. The ship needed to be pointed southeast at 57 degrees exactly for this to work. One degree off in either direction and they may shoot way off course.

Gods, if only Gunther…They shook their head, it wasn’t wise to dwell on that now. They had to look forward and get back to everyone who still needed them.

The Captain stared intensely at the screen. 52….53…. They thought of the colonists, of Mark. 54….55…. What would happen if they failed? 56……. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea…57.

Click.

They paused, only briefly before they felt it. A lurch, accompanied by a loud crack and woosh. The Captain pressed back in their seat, forced to by the pod’s movement.

They were moving! They hadn’t blown up…so far. They glanced at navigation.

The pod was on the correct course!! They were estimated to reach the ship in just under 4 days, just as planned.

The Captain sighed with relief. They rubbed their eyes, feeling the tears. They hadn’t allowed themself to cry - how could they? The only thing they could focus on was getting back, and reaching Mark. They choked out a sob. Mark, he was there, they would see him again.

After spending some time like that, the lack of sleep finally caught up to them. They fell asleep with little problem, Mark’s tool bag still clipped to their belt.

—-------------------------------------------------

The Captain sipped on the last bit of their water. It was hard to ration it, but they had to. Little sips each day, stretching less than a day’s worth of water out to two. But, they were almost back now. They would have more once they were back on the ship. Just one more hour and they could eat and drink a real portion.

Their stomach growled at the thought. They had finished the last protein bar a day and a half ago. The Captain checked the nav system again, and again, and once more. Until they were ten minutes out. This was when they needed to begin docking preparations. It was hard not to when they first caught a glimpse of the ship. But, they waited. Any extra movement would cost more oxygen. They couldn’t risk running out when they reached the door.

The Captain was already in their suit, they had been for days now. It was starting to smell, but it kept them alive so they had little room to complain.

The Captain had been calling out to the ship over the radio since they could see it, but there was no response from Mark. They felt a gnawing in their stomach, one that wasn’t just hunger…although that was there too.

“Mark, come in. If you can hear me, I'm about to board the ship. Stay away from the airlock.” They turned the radio off, hoping Mark had heard them.

Now came the hard part, the cabin was already depressurized, all they had to do was open the door and jump.

A risky maneuver, but they didn’t have another choice. There was no way to properly dock the pod, only hoping to ram into the ship after jumping.

After getting into position, they squeezed the door frame on the pod - looking back for only a moment. They had spent a week in that pod - thinking they would die over and over again.

They said goodbye to the pod, turned towards the Invincible III, and pushed.

Feeling their hands reach cold metal was as comforting as it was distressing. They were free-floating, with no tether. The Captain had a slight advantage however, the magnet on their belt. They had used it to hold the patch for the pod’s hull.

The Captain jumped, an alarm in their suit began ringing in their ear. The oxygen level in their canister was dangerously low. They clenched their jaw, 9% left before they would be done for.

Using one hand to grip the ship, they pulled their belt off. With the magnet planted firmly against the ship, and the belt wrapped around their hand, they were able to make slow progress up the hull and to the dock.

The keypad on the outside of the door lit up in response to the Captain’s touch. After typing in their badge number the small chamber between the inside of the ship and space began depressurizing. The alarm blared all the while, 3% left.

After no more than a minute the door slid open, allowing them entrance.

They pulled themself into the chamber, waiting for the repressurization. They checked their oxygen level as they felt gravity pull them to the floor.

1%.

The Captain stood, the room was almost done. Just another minute or so. They took slow, even breaths. Then the breeze in their helmet slowed to a stop, the oxygen was out.

They held their breath, trying to conserve the last breath or two contained in the helmet.

It wasn’t long before they were holding what could be their last breath.

A moment, two moments. The door wasn’t opening. The Captain tugged at it, trying to force it open. It didn’t budge. Their vision began to fade, black creeping in around their view.

Then, the door opened. The Captain rushed in, pressing the button to close it behind them. They wrenched off their helmet and took a deep breath in, taking a moment to wipe the tears from their eyes.

It had been hard, it had been terrifying, but they were home. Mark would surely come running down to the loading dock, hearing the computer announce that the door was closed and sealed successfully.

But he didn’t. The Captain sat there, weak and tired. Ten minutes passed, then fifteen. Maybe Mark was sleeping. They pried themself up off the floor, needing to go find Mark.

After removing their suit, they began the walk up to the main hall. There were papers scattered everywhere, things taped to the walls. The Captain grabbed one at random. On it was written ‘C’, ‘Captain’, ‘Celci’, and ‘Traitor?’.

Feeling a chill run down their spine, they turned to make their way to Mark’s cabin. It was in similar disarray. Papers everywhere, even writing on the walls and floor. Had Mark done all this?

The Captain turned and walked through the hall, passing by the cryo chamber. They could see papers and writing littering one pod in particular. They walked up to it, eyeing a sign saying ‘Mark’. It was taped over the control panel for the pod. They lifted it, seeing Mack’s name on the screen. They tilted their head, puzzled. Was Mark…pretending? Pretending that he was in a pod, like everyone else?

Their stomach turned, hoping Mark was ok and hadn’t done anything drastic.

“Mark?” making their way to the bridge, the Captain tried several times to call out to Mark.

Placing their hand on the scanner to enter the bridge, they held their breath. What if they found Mark in here? What if they didn’t? Would he be ok?

After a moment, the door slid open and the Captain peeked inside. It was dimly lit and, just like the hall, there were papers scattered everywhere. They took a few steps inside, feeling lightheaded.

“Mark!” they saw him, crouching off to the side. He was writing something on the floor. It looked like gibberish, random strings of words that didn’t make sense to them.

“Mark…?”

Chapter Text

“Mark…?” The Captain stared at their friend’s back, wondering why he wasn’t responding.

“Y…ou…” Mark’s voice came out horse and gravely, likely from the lack of water and little use.

“Mark, I’m so glad you’re ok. You are ok, right? Not hurt or anything?” They took a step forward, waiting for a response.

Mark turned towards them, he was disheveled. His clothes were a mess and his stubble had grown out slightly, leaving him looking ragged. He clearly hadn’t been drinking enough water, and likely barely eating. His lips were chapped and he swayed slightly where he stood.

Mark cleared his voice, looking the Captain in their eyes.”You traitor! You led them to death! Why? Why Captain?!” He stepped toward them, clearly not in his right mind.

“Mark…it’s me, you know me. I would never lead my crew, my friends, into something I deemed too dangerous! Hell, I didn’t even let Gunther attempt demolition experiments on the ground without the fire crew there!” The Captain stepped back, giving Mark ample space. They were trying to bring him back to reality.

He eyed them for a moment before taking a few more uneasy steps, he seemed disoriented and anxious. The Captain had to diffuse the situation before Mark did something dangerous.

“Mark, you are my closest friend, you are the reason I fought so hard to get back here…I couldn’t just leave you here…Leave you to do this all on your own. It must have been hard, thinking you were the only one left. I saw you tried to wake Mack, I'm proud of your quick thinking. I’m always proud of your decisions, your hard work ethic, everything you’ve done to get us this far…So, please. Let’s both get cleaned up and fix this mess. We can do it, together.” They reached out their hand, waiting for Mark to respond.

He looked at the Captain’s extended hand, seeming skeptical. Mark shook his head before meeting their eyes. “You…aren’t real!” He lunged toward them, expecting to push through something that wasn’t there, like every time before.

What Mark wasn’t expecting was a solid mass stopping him from hitting the floor. “H…hu..h..?” he took a moment to understand just what was going on. He was worried that he had finally fully lost it. Or, maybe he was dead? Was this his punishment, was it purgatory?

The Captain only hesitated for a moment before wrapping their arms around their friend. “It’s ok, you’re ok. I’m here…”

Mark slowly pulled the Captain tighter against him. “You…You’re real…?” Tears rolled down his cheeks, he hadn’t cried in days. He had been too preoccupied with everything else….What was he thinking? He had been alone this whole time. Nothing he thought had happened was real.

Mark felt his knees go weak, the Captain lowered them both to the floor. “How?” He managed to choke out between sobs.

“I fought like hell, I wasn’t going to abandon you.” The Captain rubbed Mark’s back, feeling tears well up in their eyes as well. “I’ve got your back, and you’ve got mine. Right?” Mark nodded in response.

They spent some time like that, talking over what happened. With all the stress Mark had endured, along with the lack of sleep and nutrition, he had been hallucinating for days straight. He imagined anything and everything. The crew members, alarms, shadows, whispers, that damned squeaking. He felt his stomach twist, how did he ever think he could take care of the colonists alone?

Throughout that entire time, the Captain had been battling to make it back to him. Repressing what happened to their crew, facing death at every turn, they had fought so hard just to get back to him.

“I know it’s probably bad timing. But, I could really go for a sandwich…” The Captain smiled sheepishly, not wanting to downplay the conversation they were having.

“Oh, of course! I should probably have something as well…” Mark stood, rather abruptly. He was running on spite and willpower. He helped his friend up and led them to the kitchen. He was still seeing shadows and hearing the faint whispers, but having the Captain there - tangible and real - kept him grounded.

After eating, they both decided it would be best to share a room for the night. They set up a cot and spoke for a while longer, but it didn’t take much time for either of them to pass out. It was the best either of them had slept since everything happened.

They spent most nights following just like that, staying close and working together. Mark still woke up panicked and the Captain was claustrophobic in most tight areas. But, they supported each other through it. They made it a point to take care of each other.

They cleaned up the mess Mark had made. It didn’t take them long, but Mark’s apologizing did slow their progress. They tried to wake some of the crew left in cryo. Celci hadn’t told the Captain what the code was, and they were unable to find another solution. Instead, they continued on. Just the two of them, facing whatever problems came their way. It wasn’t easy work, but it was manageable.

________________________

Before they realized, it had been nearly a year since everything happened. They had a pretty good routine going, nothing catastrophic had happened. Anything that came up was quickly resolved. Between the two of them, they could handle whatever problems arose.

“Hey, Mark, can you meet me in the reactor room?” The Captain called over the arm control console. “Coming Captain!” Mark replied, finishing his task before heading to the reactor.

There was some kind of error on the control panel. The Captain had been studying it for a while before deciding to call Mark.

They smiled as Mark entered the room, seeming eager to help. “Hey, I can’t figure out this error…It’s really stumped me. Think you could take a look at it?”

Mark returned the smile, already walking up to the panel and tapping a few buttons. “Of course, shouldn’t be a problem. Do you think while I do this you could check the warp core? That’s where I was heading next.”

The Captain nodded “I got it, how about lunch after this? I’m starved!” They chuckled before walking off toward the warp core. Together they had become a well-oiled machine, relying on each other daily.

The Captain hummed slightly as they walked down the hallway towards the warp core door. “Space is so cooooool…” It was a song Mark had come up with in the academy. They remembered vividly the time they spent there with Mark and Mack. Although, they always seemed to be paired up with Mark. It was how they had become such good friends. They smiled at the memories, it was nice to reminisce once in a while.

Pausing, they placed their hand on the scanner. The door opened up to a whirling miasma of color and wind. There was a high-pitched whining along with a whooshing sound. The Captain tried to back up, to get away from it. But, the opening just pulled them closer, making them slide along the floor.

“Shit, shit, shit…” The Captain grabbed the doorway, bracing themself. They looked around frantically, trying to find a solution. The screen on their arm console lit up from the movement.

The Event Horizon protocol.

They could blow the hall. But…It would leave Mark on his own again - not to mention kill them. They strained a bit, pressing their shoulder harder against the doorway. A few clicks and they were hovering a trembling finger over the button. This would save the colonists, save Mark. All they had to do was push it.

Mark slid open the hall door, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. His eyes widened. “Captain!!” He looked around for something he could use to help. There wasn’t much in the room beyond the pieces of paneling the suction was pulling up.

The Captain looked back, panic in their eyes. “Mark, I have to blow it! It’s the only way!”

Mark met their eyes, and he shook his head fiercely “I won’t lose you again! I can’t!”

They felt guilt gnaw at their stomach. How could they do this to him after everything they had been through? They squeezed their eyes closed, feeling the tears drop down their cheeks.

The Captain went to press the button. But, before they could, a piece of the hull that had broken loose from the force slammed into their arm. They winced in pain. Blood dripped from their forearm, which was clearly broken. The arm console had been shattered during the impact. The loose debris had also knocked the Captain off their feet. They managed to grab the doorway with their good arm, but they were being sucked into the mess behind them.

Mark tried to move towards them, seeing they were hurt and barely holding on. “We have to get you out of here!” He was at the other end of the hall, but the Captain could see the wind tunnel was pulling him their way already.

The Captain shook their head. “Mark, please! Blow it!” they choked on their own words. They knew what this would do to Mark. Seeing the state he was in after one week instilled little confidence in how he would fare over another year. “Please” Their words came out as half sobs, it tore them apart to see the hurt in Mark’s eyes.

“Captain, I…” He began. The Captain felt a chill down their spine and an odd sense of deja vu. They were faced with an option. Mark had to either hold onto saving them, or let them go. Had they been here before…? It was an odd sensation, but one that the Captain didn’t get to ponder for long.

A piece of hull dislodged from near Mark, it slammed into his back and sent him flying down the hall. The Captain had just a moment to let go and grab onto Mark before they were sent flying into the swirling hole that stood in place of the warp core.

“Mark! Mark, are you ok?!” They held tight to him with their good arm while he caught his breath.

“I’m alright Captain, it just winded me…” he coughed a bit, feeling the soreness creep up his back. That would bruise for sure. He wasn’t sure that would matter much, however, given their current situation.

They took a moment to look around, Mark now having a better hold of the Captain. His eyes landed on their arm and he winced. Bone was jutting out from the middle of their forearm. He looked up at them, impressed at their current focus despite their personal injuries. He vowed to patch it up, as best as he could, when they stopped…floating? Flying? Uh, spinning?

They didn’t stay airborne long, feeling a cold metallic surface greet their feet. They both held tight to each other, not fully understanding what had happened.

It took them a moment to get their bearings back. When they did, they looked around the room they were in.

“Are we..?” Mark asked, puzzled.

“Back on the Invincible III?.. I think so.” The Captain responded, just as confused as Mark was. They became even more confused when they realized they had control of their arm again.

“Huh? Hey, this is odd, right?” They stretched it, noticing no physical damage, their suit was even repaired along with their arm console.

Mark inspected their arm, noticing the same. He took a moment to stretch as well. “My back doesn’t ache anymore either….This is really odd.” He looked around, taking a moment to walk to the control panel and inspect it.

Sure enough, everything was just as they had left it. The panel had all the same settings and options as their usual one did. Were they really home? Or was this some kind of psychotic break induced hallucination?

They met eyes as a loud thump came from the hallway. No one was supposed to be awake. The Captain made their way over to the main panel quietly. They tapped a few buttons, bringing up the cryo information. Everyone was in stasis and accounted for, the only pods that weren’t occupied were the main crew and theirs.

“No one should be up, everything is just the way we left it…” The Captain turned to their friend, equally frightened and curious. Mark was just scared, shitless at that. He had been through this once. The visions, the auditory hallucinations. He didn’t want to go through this again.

Mark began breathing heavily, his thoughts were racing and he couldn’t seem to get ahold of himself. Seeing this, the Captain got close to him. “Hey, it’s ok. I’m here with you, and I hear it too. You’re not imagining things, I promise.” They took Mark’s hand gently, trying to reassure but not overwhelm.

Mark took a few deep breaths before nodding. “You’re right, if you’re hearing it then it can’t be a hallucination.” He spent a minute getting his breathing and heart rate back to normal. “It also means we should go check it out…”

The Captain nodded, making a mental note to praise him for the progress he had made later.

They took the lead, opening the bridge door that led into the hallway. There was no one. They looked back at Mark, motioning for him to follow. They walked down to the end of the hall, standing in front of the ADS room. It sounded like there was shuffling coming from inside.

They turned to Mark, trying to gauge how he was feeling and what they should do. Mark was staring at the door, thinking about what could be causing the issue. He would feel like an asshat if they went in only to find papers rustling from the oxygen vents. He turned to the Captain, nodding towards the hand scanner on the door.

They nodded back, reaching over to open the door. It slid open after just a moment and revealed a person. They were in a white jumpsuit, standing with their back to the door.

Mark and the Captain stood there, stunned. Who had woken up? How?

Their answer came swiftly. Gunther turned around and cracked a smile around his cigar. “Well heya Cap, Mark. To what do I owe the pleasure?” He chuckled as he looked them up and down, seeming to feel their unease in the air.

The Captain spoke first. “Gunther, how did you make it back to the ship? When?” They took a few steps towards him, clearly in awe of their friends' presence.

“Huh, whatcha talkin' about Cap? Been here the whole time!” Gunther shot the Captain a skeptical look, seemingly put off by their reaction. “By the way Mark, I installed that update ya kept naggin me about. Should be good to go!”

Mark just stood there slack-jawed. He shook his head some and stepped into the room with them. He took another cautionary step forward, putting himself in Gunther’s reach. He poked his arm hesitantly.

Gunther chuckled nervously. “What’s up with you two? Yer actin funny..” He paused a moment, taking a few steps back. “Oh, so that’s what it is…”

The Captain shot Mark a puzzled look before turning back to Gunther who now had his gun pulled out and aimed at them. “Yer aliens! I knew you would make yer way onto the ship someday, and I knew I’d be prepared!”

They both raised their hands defensively. “No, Gunther, we’re not…aliens? Why would you think that” The Captain tried to remain calm as they spoke, but it was hard with the muzzle of a gun pointed in their face.

“Nu-uh I’m not fallin' for that!” Gunther didn’t waste a moment before shooting the Captain dead. No sooner did their body hit the floor before Mark was shot, his body accompanying theirs.

More swirling colors and rushing wind greeted them before their feet hit the cold metal of the ship’s bridge.

“What…What just happened…?”

Chapter Text

“What…What just happened…?” The Captain looked around, still unsteady in their current situation.

“Are we? Is this our ship..? Why was Gunther back there…Why did he…” Mark seemed to begin spiraling. He paced back and forth, trying to assess the situation.

The Captain stood in Mark’s path, placing a hand on his shoulder to steady him. “Hey, it’s going to be ok. Whatever this is, we’ll figure it out together..” It seemed to work, Mark pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath.

After a moment they both turned to face the door leading away from the bridge. “So, maybe we are stuck in some kind of loop?” The Captain began, feeling crazy for even suggesting it. Everything had been turned upside down - they were running through what could only be explained as
timelines…

“Timelines, do you think we are in a different timeline?” They turned to Mark, suddenly feeling much more sure of their theory.

“I mean…It would make sense. Everything is the same, but slightly different…Does that mean we are technically unkillable?” A glint of something flashed in Mark’s eyes. “Kinda like gods?”

The Captain chuckled a bit at Mark’s eagerness. “Maybe, but not without consequences I'm sure…” They looked around, trying to think about their next steps. “I think we should gather more information. Let's just try and go through this one as if everything’s normal. I mean, there has to be a reason we are doing this, right?”

Mark nodded slowly, thinking it through. “Maybe we need to do something? Like trigger an event? But what could it be?”

“Let's figure it out.” The Captain was confident in their abilities. Mark was smart and thorough, and they were always good at problem-solving. They could do this, they had to.

—--------

As they both left the bridge, they ran into a few crew members. Most just gave them a nod or momentary salute before continuing on to their responsibilities. Until they ran into Celci.

“Mark.” Her monotone voice conveyed the depth of her annoyance with Mark’s presence. Everything changed when she greeted the Captain. “Captain!! I am so glad to see you. I was just about to bring you my report before heading back to cryo!” She pushed a small packet of papers into the Captain’s arms before turning towards the cryo bay. “Let me know what you think!”

Her cheerful demeanor reminded the Captain of just how much they missed everyone. It was nice to see them like this, to see them again at all. Everyone was milling about and working on their respective tasks. It felt like the ship was alive again, even if this wasn’t their ship.

Mark glared at Celci as she left, paying no mind to the Captain’s solemn smile. “We should keep going, we’ve got to inspect the warp core - see if anything is off with it.” He said in a hushed tone. They didn’t want to come across as different, or they could risk another run-in like last time with Gunther.

The Captain shook off the sadness weighing them down and nodded. “You’re right, let's go.”

They had to wade through a few brief conversations with different crew members before reaching the warp core door. They looked at each other for a moment before Mark reached out to open the door.

An alarm blared through the ship’s intercom. “Leak in cryo bay detected” The intercom was a shrill warning. “Catastrophic failure imminent.”

The reactor door slid open and Gunther called to them “Hey, you two better get the lead out of yer pants!” He sounded less cool and laid back compared to his usual disposition.

“Shit, Mark we better go take a look” The Captain turned to jog off to the cryo bay.

“But, Captain, we are here. Shouldn’t we at least take a look?” Mark called after them, antsy to get into the warp core room and search for answers.

“We can do that after, we won’t have enough time to thoroughly search if the ship explodes. Come on!” The Captain called back, already at the reactor door.

Mark hesitated a moment, eyeing the door behind him before running after the Captain.

They reached the cryo door as the intercom sounded off again. “Three minutes before catastrophic failure.”

The Captain looked around at the few crew members by the door to the cryo bay. Burt stood there, tapping away at his arm control console. “Burt, where is Celci?” They asked, feeling panic begin to set in.

“Inside, fixing leak. Yup.” He didn’t look up from what he was doing as he spoke. The Captain looked over his shoulder, seeing that he was trying to manually shut down the pipes leading to cryo.

The Captain patted his shoulder as Mark approached. They stood there. 30 seconds passed, then a minute. They looked at the temperature gauge on their arm console. It was too cold for anyone to survive longer than a few minutes. They looked around, trying to think.

“I’m going in.” They decided, not giving anyone time to argue. The door slid open, letting out a burst of cold wind. The Captain pushed their way inside, letting the door slide closed behind them.

“Captain!” Mark went to rush in after them, but Burt placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “Wait.” Burt stared at his arm console, waiting to see if the temperature rose. Mark looked up at him, helplessly. He knew the Captain was smart and would find a way out, he just didn’t want to leave their side. They were his anchor in all the uncertainty - both on their ship and everywhere since.

The Captain pushed through the cold, finding Celci near the main console. She was stiff and her eyes were closed. They shook her for a moment before resorting to pulling her towards the door. It took a moment to unstick her boots from the cryo floor. They dragged her to the door, slamming their hand on the scanner. The scanner didn’t respond. “Come on!” They took their sleeve and tried to clear the frost off the reader. Once it was clear, the door slid open with slight difficulty.

“Captain!” Mark sounded half panicked and half relieved as he saw them. He stepped forward, Helping them pull Celci out of the room. Burt pulled the Captain away, seeing that they were having trouble moving.

They shook slightly as Mark covered Celci with one of the coats they kept nearby for situations like this.

“Th..there were c..c..coats?? This whole t..time??” The Captain sighed and shook their head, leaning on Burt for support.

“You didn’t exactly give us time to get you one.” Mark was scolding the Captain, but he shook his head. He had to focus on warming Celci up. Her lips were blue and she was taking shallow breaths. If he could warm her up fast enough, then she would survive. If he couldn’t….he didn’t want to go through losing any of them again.

The intercom made another announcement. “One minute to catastrophic failure. Ship failure imminent.”

The Captain took a moment to gather their bearings before yanking a coat out of its cubby and hurrying back into the cryo bay.

“Captain?!” Mark stood, looking at Burt for help. Burt shook his head and moved toward the door, preparing to go in after them.

Celci opened her eyes. “M-Mark…?” She sounded weak and barely spoke above a whisper.

Burt stopped in his tracks, now focused on her. Mark knelt down next to her. “Hey, take it easy.” He tried to soothe her, pushing the coat up further around her.

“Wh..where’s the Captain..?” She looked around, still stiff from the cold.

“They…well…” Mark hesitated, not wanting to stress her out more.

Burt sniffed before answering her question “Cryo bay, fixing leak.”

Celci tried to sit up. “Th-they can’t!” She struggled to get into an upright position. “Mark, they c-can’t!”

He helped her sit up, adjusting her to lean back against the wall. “They already ran in, there’s only a minute left before the ship fails…” He looked away, knowing what that meant.

“No, I m-mean… there’s no fixing it!” She struggled to lift her arm, showing a few readouts on her arm console. Burt and Mark stepped closer, gauging what they meant. “S..see…Possibility of r-reconstruction is 17%...” She shook her head, “The Captain doesn’t have the experience….It’s hopeless…” She dropped her arm, tired of holding it up for even a short time.

They all turned toward the cryo bay door. Mark’s eyebrows knit up in worry. The Captain was in there all alone…They didn’t even know there was such a small chance for success. Or maybe they did, he knew they would have tried no matter what - even if the likelihood of success was 0%.

The Captain huffed, feeling their lips chap with the cold. They were trying their best to patch the pipe that was leaking nitrogen gas. They flexed their fingers, feeling the cold set in already. It would be risky but they had to try.

The Captain pulled the small welding gun attached to their belt, it gave way with slight resistance due to the cold carabiner holding it on. They began welding a small area above the breach. It was difficult with the cold slamming into them. The effort was futile, as quickly as they heated the metal - the nitrogen cooled it.

The Captain didn’t get time to think of another solution. The ship countdown ended and the cryo bay exploded, causing a catastrophic domino effect throughout the ship. In the blink of an eye, the Invincible III had been rendered nothing more than space junk.

—-----------------------------

After another dizzying trip through the wormhole, Mark and the Captain found themselves on the bridge of an intact ship.

The Captain fell to their knees. They felt cold tears run down their cheeks. Mark kneeled next to them, rubbing their back. “I couldn’t save them, Mark. Again, I couldn’t save them.” They choked out, feeling the overwhelming sadness of losing their crew all over again. They looked down at their hands. “What kind of captain am I?”

Mark felt a lump form in his throat. He didn’t have the words to comfort them. Instead, he pulled his captain tightly against his chest. He held them like that for a while, letting them get it all out.

When they had calmed down, he leaned back - still gripping their shoulders. “We are going to make it back, we are going to figure out what’s happening, we can still make a difference…I’ve got your back, and you’ve got mine. Right?” He smiled at them, unsure of the future - but confident in their abilities.

“Yeah…You’re right…” The Captain rubbed their eyes, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “Thanks, Mark.” They smiled sheepishly at him, believing what he said.

With newfound confidence, they stood. “There has to be clues somewhere, right?” They paced the bridge, thinking back on everything that had happened.

“Wait, what about the issues with the pods on our ship? Do you think the person who caused issues then is doing it on each of these ships?” Mark fished through his pockets, finding the ‘C’ still there. “And this? Is that why it’s always in my pocket? Through every timeline?” He shook the scrap of fabric, feeling like he was onto something.

“That would make a lot of sense. Maybe we are meant to stop them…?” The Captain held their head. When they returned to the ship, it hadn’t taken Mark long to tell them about his theory. They didn’t want to believe it at first, but it made sense. The way everything went down had been odd, the controls being disabled was the most alarming.

They had discussed it in great detail, but there weren’t many crew members with a ‘C’ on their badge. They had ruled out the Captain.

“You don’t think Celci is doing this, do you? I mean first our ship, then the cryo bay on the last one?” The Captain shook their head, not wanting to consider it. They didn’t want to think anyone on the ship was capable of doing something so horrendous. But, they had to look at it from all angles.

“Maybe because of me..?” Mark sounded small when he brought up the idea. “I mean, Celci has never liked me, she hated the way I designed the ship…I was meant to be on the pod…Maybe she wanted me dead and was willing to sacrifice everyone to do it? But, when you stepped in, it was too late to back out?” He looked away, he had tried to avoid considering that he could be the reason his friends were dead.

“Mark, even if that were the case…It’s not your fault. You can’t blame yourself for someone else’s actions.” The Captain stepped closer, rubbing Mark’s arm.

“But, maybe if I had been nicer…Or if I tried harder..!” Mark sounded desperate, as if he were trying to convince himself more than anyone.

The Captain shook their head. “What if you did do all those things, and what if it made no difference?” They pulled Mark into a hug, giving him a moment to let their words sink in.

Mark nodded, finally agreeing with them. “You’re right, I can’t blame myself for something out of my control…” He sighed deeply, letting go of some of the thoughts.

The Captain sat there with him for a moment before continuing their original conversation. “So, let’s plan on keeping an eye on Celci for the time being. Try and see if we can catch her in the act. I’ll stick with her while you head to the warp core room.” They knew if something was wrong with the warp core, Mark would notice it before they did. Plus, Celci would likely be more receptive to the Captain staying close to her.

“Alright, Captain.” He smiled sadly and turned towards the door. The Captain cleared their throat, prompting Mark to look back their way. “You forgetting something?” They asked, fist outstretched. Mark chuckled and shook his head, pressing his fist to the Captain’s.

They both made their way off to their respective tasks. The Captain stayed close to Celci, watching as she worked and chatting with her at times. Mark made his way to the warp core. He was stopped on his way by Mack.

“Heya Mark, think you can give me a hand with something?” Mack asked, with his usual composed demeanor.

Mark looked past him, towards the warp core door. He didn’t want to seem suspicious, so he agreed. “Sure Mack, what do you need?”

Mack led Mark off to one of the storage rooms, he told him all about the issue on their way there. There seemed to be something wrong with the oxygen vents in that room. Something he just knew Mark would be able to fix. It felt odd to Mark, usually Mack wasn’t one to ask for help, he much preferred to handle things on his own.

After some time, the Captain sent Mark a message on their arm console. After hitting send an alarm began blaring through the ship. “Catastrophic failure imminent.”

The Captain looked around, no one knew what the problem was. “Computer, what’s wrong with the ship??”

“Offline.” The computer replied, seeming to be malfunctioning.

“Computer! What’s wrong wi-”

“Offline.” It cut the Captain off mid sentence.

“Computer. What’s wr-”

“Offline.”

The Captian huffed. “Computer what’s wrong wi-”

The ship was in shambles before they could finish, having exploded from the reactor overheating past safe levels.

Another trip through the swirling funhouse ride of a wormhole.

The Captian and Mark landed together, once again in the bridge of another Invincible III.

“What happened? Where were you?” The Captain turned to Mark. He rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t know, I was fixing something and then I don’t remember what happened next.”

“Well, I am certain it wasn’t Celci. She didn’t even have a moment to slip away.” The Captain sighed.

This was going to be harder than they thought.

Chapter Text

They spent what felt like weeks this way - jumping from timeline to timeline, in and out of wormhole after wormhole. It was torture seeing their crewmates killed time and time again. But, they were becoming pros at this whole…thing.

The Captain made some adjustments on their arm console, barely looking where they were walking. Mark grabbed their jacket and readjusted their path, stopping them just shy of running into one of the crew.

“Careful, don’t bump into anyone. Could end this timeline just like that one -” Mark started, slightly nagging the Captain.

“Right, right. The one with the crew uprising…I remember” The Captain brushed off Mark’s concerns. They both had been through this enough times, adjusting in each timeline for previous failures. They weren’t concerned with that at this moment. Of course they didn’t want the crew to suffer anymore. However, they couldn’t stop it from happening. Not until they found out who was causing it.

The Captain smiled over their shoulder at Mark. “We just need to figure out what is being done in life support, then we can make a plan.” They seemed to be distancing themself from the current situation, trying to throw themself entirely into the task at hand.

“Captain…We can slow down. It’s ok…” Mark pulled the Captain back by their shoulder. He was worried about them. They had been all smiles lately, compared to the several breakdowns they had when everything began.

“I’m fine, Mark. We have to get this done. The sooner we end this, the less they suffer.” The Captain didn’t look at Mark, they were scared that their eyes would give away how they were really feeling. They had to push forward.

“Alright, Captain.” Mark trudged along, a little frustrated at the Captain pushing away his attempts to help. He knew they were struggling, he was struggling too. He sighed, kicking part of the floor as they stood outside the life support room.

The Captain placed their hand on the scanner, entering the room as the door slid open. Mark followed behind, clearly pouting.

“Mark, come on.” The Captain chuckled a bit at their friend’s antics. “The pouting will get you nowhere.” They mocked a little, poking his shoulder.

Mark turned to the side, pouting harder and crossing his arms across his chest. The Captain slid in front of Mark, pouting equally as much. Mark couldn’t help but laugh. He tried to hold it back, but it was impossible with the Captain’s face. He shook his head, relaxing his stance finally. “Alright, alright. I’ll let it go - for now. But, you’re gonna have to tell me how you’re feeling eventually!” He pushed their shoulder, giving in for now.

The Captain smiled sadly. “I promise I’m alright. I feel focused and I’m moving with a purpose…I really do just want to fix everything before things get out of hand. If they can get even more out of hand…” They pondered the thought for a moment before they coughed a bit. Something was wrong, they couldn’t breathe. “Mark, get out - quick!” They struggled to take a deep breath, feeling more and more panicked as time went on.

Mark looked around, no alarms were blaring - nothing was alerting the system to anything going wrong. He hurried over to the door, slamming his hand on the scanner. It didn’t open. He looked at the Captain, fear in his eyes.

The Captain ran over, trying their hand on the scanner. The door wouldn’t budge. They tapped into their arm console, hoping to override whatever was happening. Had the ship sealed them in due to an unforeseen issue? They tried to push the thought away and focus on what was happening.

They found the menu for the life support room while Mark searched for anything he could use to pry the door open. Finding nothing, he resigned to banging on the door - hoping someone would hear. The Captain’s vision began fading. They tried to force their eyes to focus, going through a couple of back-door channels to get to the activity log. There they would be able to see if anyone had tampered with the door - potentially giving them the badge ID of their culprit.

Their vision faded too far, however. Upon reaching the desired screen, the Captain lost consciousness. They were followed shortly by Mark.

They both endured the dizzying freefall through the wormhole before landing feet first on the bridge of the ship again.

“Shit…I almost saw who it was.” The Captain rubbed their eyes, feeling their vision still buzzing for a moment.

Mark sighed. They had gotten nowhere all this time. Every time they seemed close to the truth, they would fall short of anything helpful.

And now, the Captain and Mark found themselves in yet another timeline where they would no doubt lose to whoever had it out for them.

“Alright, I'm getting real sick of this. Mark, time for drastic measures…” The Captain stormed out of the bridge, nearly yelling over the intercom. “All main crew report to the conference room for an emergency meeting.” The Captain heard what sounded like a buzzer? It was odd, but they shook it off.

Mark followed closely behind them, unsure of what they had planned.

Upon entering the conference room, most of the crew was already there. They were only missing Mack. The Captain decided to begin and catch him up later.

With Mark standing beside them at the head of the table, the Captain began their speech.

“Alright, there is only one of you in this room whom I trust implicitly.” They began, reaching an enclosed hand over to fistbump Mark. Their hands met without the need to look at each other. They were just that good.

The crew murmured amongst themselves, clearly confused and a little put-off. The Captain continued. “I want each of you to hand in your arm consoles and tool bags. I’d like to do a thorough check of everyone’s activities.” They watched closely, trying to gauge the reaction of their crew. “If everyone would bring both requested items up to Mark, we can get this over with quickly and easily.”

No one stood out to the Captain as suspicious. Each of them took turns coming up and handing their console and toolbag over to Mark. The only one who said anything was Gunther. “Ain’t this a breach of privacy..?” His eyes met Mark’s, who was looking stern and intimidating. Gunther gulped a bit before continuing “But, uh, since it’s fer the Captain - I’ll allow it.” He hurried back to his seat like a dog with his tail tucked.

The Captain and Mark spent a few minutes checking through each of the crew’s items, making sure they were thorough and accurate in their search.

They found nothing.

No sign of foul play, no sign of anyone hacking the system, and no sign of tool damage. The Captain sighed, mostly relieved. They passed everyone’s items back out and thanked them before dismissing them back to their tasks.

“Well, at least in this timeline, they are clear.” The Captain rubbed their eyes, trying to think.

“...What about Mack?” They felt a chill up their spine, they hadn’t seen Mack since they were thrust into this timeline. Their eyes met Mark’s, they both were thinking the same thing.

“Let’s check his bunk.” Mark had read the Captain’s mind, they both were already heading toward the door.

After a short walk, they were outside Mack’s room. The Captain knocked on the door, trying to be polite. “Mack? You in there?” They looked at Mark, feeling dread in their stomach. After all the terrible things they had been through, they didn’t want to find Mack hurt…or worse…in his own bunk.

Mark closed his eyes for a moment before pressing his hand to the scanner. The door slid open. They both paused for a few moments before walking into the room. It was empty, and other than a little mess - it looked normal. They looked at each other before nodding and heading inside.

Mark checked over Mack’s desk, finding some of the manuals that could be found on the ship. They were all usually stored in the bridge, save for one or two that Mark kept in his bunk. He looked over the titles.

‘Egress Pod Manual’, ‘Console Override Manual’, there were a few more that outlined the reactor room and the warp core. He actually had several of the warp core manuals. Mark looked over to the Captain. They were busy looking under Mack’s bed. Several spare tools were under his bed, most with slight damage.

The Captain met Mark’s gaze. They shook their head. “He stole tools from the reserves…” They pulled a few out, laying them on the bed. Mark lifted one of the manuals titled ‘Warp Core Structures and Functions.’ He threw it on the bed within reach of the Captain. They sighed deeply, trying to ease some of their anxiety.

“Mark, we need to find Mack. Can you look for him while I try to block his arm console access?” They had already started typing on their arm console before they finished speaking.

Mark nodded, hurrying through the door to try and locate Mack. He always had a funny feeling about that guy - but this was really going to take some explaining.

The Captain sat down on Mack’s bed, tapping away at their arm console. They were so focused, they didn’t even notice someone enter the room.

“Captain…? What are you..” Mack stopped in his tracks, he saw the stolen tools and manuals sitting on the bed.

The Captain turned to face him, a soft look on their face. “Hey…I’m sorry for invading like this. Can you expl-” They were cut off by Mack grabbing at the warp core manual lying next to them. They grabbed it up just before Mack got to it. “Nu-uh. First, we are gonna have to talk.” They had a stern tone in their voice. They didn’t want to scare Mack…yet. They needed to find out if he was the culprit or not first.

Mack hesitated a moment before jumping on the Captain. He tried to wrestle the manual away from them, using every bit of strength he had. The Captain was stronger, however. They had so many friendly competitions with Mark when they were in the academy. Most of which ended up with arm wrestling or rock throwing. They were surprised time and time again that they were both even in such a prestigious school.

They wrestled for a few moments before a small item fell out of Mack’s pocket. He instantly let go of the manual and jumped for that item instead. The Captain was only slightly closer, but much faster. They snatched it up before Mack could get too close. ‘Two for two’ the Captain thought. After confirming their grip, they stepped back. “Mack, tell me what this is.”

Mack held his arms out defensively. “Captain, be careful. Please don’t do anything stupid…I already know you and Mark are planning to get rid of me. But you can’t ruin my plans now. You can’t stop me from fixing things!” He sounded more and more desperate as he spoke.

The Captain looked puzzled, before they spoke softly. “Mack, why would we be trying to get rid of you…? You’re our friend…” They looked at their frightened crewmate, unsure why he was so scared of them.

Mack furrowed his brow. “You don’t know yet, do you?” He eyed the item in their hand as he spoke, still aware of his goal.

The Captain followed his eyes. “Know what?” They took a moment to inspect the small, smooth item resting in their palm. The Captain jumped a bit as it shone for a moment, lighting up the room with an ominous blue glow. They looked up, making eye contact with Mack again.

Mack looked panicked. He tried to grab it from their hand, but it was too late. The Captain was sent hurdling through yet another wormhole. They yelped for a moment. Every time before this was expected.

The pattern had always been: new timeline, catastrophe, death, then wormhole.

Why had it suddenly changed now?

Before they knew it, they were standing on another bridge of another Invincible III. The Captain looked around frantically, where was Mark? They wouldn’t have split up, right? Throughout this whole thing, Mark had always been a constant. Always. It wouldn’t change now.

Before they had much time to think, they were flying through yet another wormhole. The Captain covered their mouth, getting mildly nauseous. They shook it off, trying to look around in the wormhole. No sign of Mark anywhere. They landed back on another bridge, bent over and trying to catch their breath.

They tried to move towards the bridge door, but before they could take two steps they were off again. Getting yo-yoed between timelines was not something they had planned for.

It took a few jumps, but the Captain finally landed on another ship. They took a few deep breaths, trying to steady themself. After a few minutes of deep breathing, they were able to get ahold of their bearings. They looked around the empty bridge.

“Shit…Mark?? Mark!?” They called out, with no response. This ship was different. There were no lights on, no sounds. Even the monitors were in standby mode.

“Mark…?” They cautiously moved towards the door, and then opened it. Seeing no lights in the hall made them pause. What was going on? No timeline they had entered had been like this.

They took their time walking through the ship, looking over all the rooms and bunks. No one was awake. They reached the warp core room and opened the door, expecting another swirling tunnel waiting for them. Instead, the dark room greeted them.

They took a few steps in before jumping. “Mark??” There he was, his uniform just like they remembered. The only difference was his long white hair and bushy beard. The Captain’s brow furrowed in worry and confusion.

“Mark…? How are you?” They took a step toward him.

“Captain! Oh, I knew you’d come! You always come!” Mark tried to embrace them, but quickly let them go when his back cracked audibly.

The Captain winced. “That sounded…uh..painful. You ok buddy?” They rubbed his upper back a bit, trying to comfort him.

“Don’t worry about me, Captain. You should be more worried about yourself!! You’re in grave danger!!” He shoved his finger in their face, causing them to lean back to avoid being poked.

The Captain pinched the tip of Mark’s, still outstretched, finger. They slowly moved it to the side and out of their face. “Uh, yeah? How do you figure?” They asked, slightly put off and slightly amused by ‘Old’ Mark’s antics.

“The saboteur! You must catch him! He is out to ruin us all. And it’s all your fault Captain!” He said with a faux ominous tone.

The Captain tried to rebut his comments, but they barely had time before they were sucked off into another swirling wormhole.

‘Old’ Mark called out after them, echoing in the open hole. “Find Lady! She’ll have the tools you need! Tell her I sent you!” He sounded almost too excited at the end.

The Captain tumbled for a few moments before landing back on another bridge, somewhere in their mixed-up timelines. They sighed, who the hell was ‘Lady’? And how the hell were they going to find her?

They paced the bridge for a few moments, thinking. Well, if they were out in open space, then Lady must be out there somewhere, right?

They groaned loudly. Mark would have a better idea, he always had good ideas at times like this.

Well, all they could do was send out a distress signal.

—--

The small orb shot out from the side of the Invincible III, blinking as it slowly disappeared into the vast nothingness.

Now, all they could do was wait.

And wait.

And wait some more…

Chapter Text

Mark searched the entire ship, there was no sign of Mack anywhere. He stood for a moment before sending a message to the Captain through his arm console.

‘No sign of him anywhere, did he come back to his bunk?’

He waited a few minutes, all the while still pacing the ship's layout. The Captain didn’t respond. Mark felt a lump form in his throat. He turned on his heel, heading for Mack’s room. It didn’t take him long to arrive. He placed his hand on the scanner, waited for the door to open, then stepped inside.

“Mack…? Where's the Captain? And what are you doing…?” He stared down at a frantic Mack. He had several manuals spread out across the bed, sticky notes littering the pages.

Mack jumped, looking up at Mark. “Why are you still here…?” He grimaced as he spoke, letting his disdain show. “You should have gone with the Captain…It doesn’t make sense..” He disregarded Mark, looking back at the manuals and rifling through a few papers.

“What do you mean?” Mark’s tone took a serious turn. “Where is the Captain?” He balled up his fists, if Mack had laid even a finger on them - he would…

“They went off into one of the wormholes after they stole my warp crystal!” Mack finally looked back up at Mark, seething. “The Captain would never do that, so you must have put them up to it…” Mack stood suddenly, pulling a small tool from his pocket. It was a razor knife, very tactile - very sharp.

Mark stepped back, holding his hands up. “Mack, don’t do anything stupid…” He tried to sound soft and approachable, but his voice fell on deaf ears. Mack took a step towards him, slowly pushing the blade out into an extended position.

Mack took a deep breath. “If you hadn’t been there, none of this would have ever happened!” He took another step.

Mark shook his head, now pleading. “Mack - what are you talking about?!”

Mack jumped at Mark, trying to gut him in one fail swoop. Before he was able, Mark was gone in a flurry of blue light.

Mack hit the floor hard, the razor skidding away from him. “Of course, the Captain wouldn’t leave behind their favorite crew mate…Their best friend…”

—--------

Mark landed on the bridge. This time he landed on his butt, yelping from the surprise. The last thing he remembered was Mack lunging at him with a blade. It took a moment before he opened his eyes and uncovered his face. He was greeted with the sight of the Captain. They were sweating and covered in various fluids, most looking like oil.

“Captain…?” He took one more cautious look around, unsure how he was there. The Captain smiled as they walked over to him, extending a hand.

“You ok?” They asked, pulling Mark into a hug once he was upright. Mark held them tightly, shaking slightly from the remaining adrenaline in his system. “Mack, he was gonna…” Mark started, closing his eyes tightly for a moment. He shook his head, stepping back. “That jerk was gonna prison shank me!!” He crossed his arms. The Captain went from initially laughing to a stern, angered look. “He was going to what??!” They wiped their brow, clearing off the sweat but smearing the oil.

Mark smiled softly, he liked when the Captain worried about his well being. He never wanted to make them worry, but when it was unavoidable - it was a pleasant feeling. He looked around for a moment, seeing tools scattered and notes written, then discarded. It almost reminded him of Mack’s setup.

“”Wait, Captain…How did you get me here…?” He looked back up at them, seeing the toll the stress was taking on them. They tilted their head slightly, seeming out of it. “Oh, right. Come with me.” They led him to the warp core, which was surprisingly intact and not a swirling wormhole nightmare.

The warp core manual the Captain had taken from Mack was on the floor, open to a page with hastily written notes on it. “Mack’s notes helped. I was able to open up a panel on the warp core and tweak a couple things. It was actually more luck than anything - oh. Plus this thing.” The Captain showed Mark the blue crystal now embedded in their glove.

“Paradox detected. Resolve immediately.” A monotone voice rang out, it seemed to be originating from the warp core.

The Captain slapped the side of the machine. “This thing won’t shut up…Paradox this and imminent doom that!”

Mark’s brow knit up in confusion. “That’s…How did he know how to do any of this…?” They both took a moment to think before it clicked. Mack was the one causing all the issues in each timeline. The ‘C’ that Mark had found? It was the C on Mack’s ID tag. The controls on the pods, all the catastrophic failures, everything that had happened.

It was all Mack.

The Captain’s head spun. They leaned on the wall for support. Mark stepped towards them, concerned. “Captain, what are we going to do? What’s our next move?” His eyes held uncertainty. The Captain finally met his eyes. “We are going to get answers…” They were pissed, why had Mack done any of this? Why would he? They couldn’t make sense of it.

Before they could discuss everything further, they found themselves beamed into what seemed to be a slightly larger star skipper. The Captain looked around, confused. This was…different.

Mark yelped when the large creature rounded the corner leading to the controls. They were tall, wide, and…kinda adorable?

The creature looked them both up and down before speaking in a different language. The Captain shook their head, looking confused. The creature adjusted something on its wrist before trying again. Still nothing that was understandable. It shook its head and pulled out a device resembling a helmet. It brushed it off before plopping it down on Mark’s supple skull.

The device whirred to life and began making a clunking and zapping sound. Mark yelled from inside, clearly not enjoying the process. The Captain stepped forward to help him, but the creature put an arm in the way.

After a minute the machine stopped and the creature pulled it off Mark’s head. He looked frazzled, and slightly burnt, but he gave a half smile and thumbs up anyways. The Captain sighed in relief and turned to the creature. It was working on something on its wrist again.

After a moment it began to speak. “Wug….Friend!..” The Captain looked at Mark, who was still slightly out of it. He shrugged. “Wug…Help you! Wug here to…Help!”

The Captain looked puzzled briefly before smiling, the creature in front of them must have been answering their SOS signal. “Thanks Wug, can you tell us where you’re taking us?”

Wug nodded. “Happy help! Wug taking you…and ugly human…to USA!”

Mark glared at Wug before turning to the Captain. “So, are we just going to let this happen? I mean, I don’t know if we can trust him.”

Wug interrupted “I lady Wug!!”

Mark nodded and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, uh, Mrs. Wug”

“Wug never married!” Wug crossed her arms at the audacity of the very very ugly human.

“Ah, right. Sorry again, uh…Miss Wug” Mark fiddled with his hands, clearly not wanting to upset her.

“It ok. Wug can forgive human.” Wug turned back towards the head of the ship, hopping back into her captain’s chair and starting them on their path.

The Captain crossed their arms, thinking everything over. They thought back to old Mark and his advice. They needed to go see this ‘Lady”. Even if it was just for information. “I think we should go.”

Mark huffed and threw up his hands. “I’m telling you Captain, this is a bad idea…I mean what even is the USA? Does she mean on Earth?” He paused, trying to push his worries down. It gave him comfort knowing the Captain must have some kind of reason. “But, ok. I trust you.”

The Captain held out their hand for a fist bump. Mark rolled his eyes, but smiled and obliged.

It was a short trip to their destination. Of course Wug had made one stop - for some fast food. It looked unappealing to Mark and the Captain, but who were they to judge?

Upon arriving, they parted ways with Wug and made their way to a waiting room of sorts. It didn’t take long for a woman in a sleek outfit to come out to greet them.

“Good evening, you two are waiting for me I presume?” She spoke elegantly and stood confidently.

“You’re the Lady!” The Captain blurted out, excited.

“Well, actually, my name is…” She was cut off by Mark, who was even more excited - if possible. “That’s the Lady? The one…Uh ‘old me’ talked about?” He turned to the Captain, completely disregarding Lady.

“Yeah! I think she is! I’m sure she can help us! The Captain and Mark chittered back and forth as Lady pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Great…” She sighed heavily. “Another couple of geniuses…Hey…Hey!” She tried getting their attention, with only slight success. “Come with me.” She turned, her cape swishing behind her. She led them to her office, motioning for both of them to settle into their seats.

Mark and the Captain plopped down into the comfortable chairs by Lady’s desk. The one the Captain was in was a rolly chair that spun. They absentmindedly twirled back and forth on it.

Mark tapped the Captain’s knee. “Can I have a go?” He gave his best puppy dog eyes. The Captain shook their head no, clearly enjoying teasing Mark. He huffed and crossed his arms.

Lady began pulling up images of their ship, going over the wormhole and various other issues.

Mark and the Captain were preoccupied. Mark pushed the Captain a bit, signaling that he wanted a turn in the chair. The Captain smirked and threw a mint from the jar on the desk at him before turning away again.

Lady paused and sighed. “Are either of you two listening??” She realized what the problem was. “Oh my gods. Give him a turn in the chair!” She demanded.

The Captain sighed and stood, Mark smirked triumphantly at them and plopped down in the rolly chair.

“There, now listen you two. I need you to tell me how you made this.” She tapped the projected image on the wall of the Invincible III being sucked into a wormhole. “Or shut it off! Something!”

Mark looked away sheepishly. He and Lady went back and forth for a minute about how he had come across the technology and implemented it on the ship.

Meanwhile, the Captain eyes a box on the desk. They leaned forward, drawn to it. It only took a moment to reach forward and open it, just like it only took a moment for Lady to notice and slam it shut.

“Just what do you think you are doing? That is property of one of the space outlaws we are currently interrogating.” She scolded the Captain. After a moment she leaned back and sighed. “Ok, look. You both are humans, so you haven’t really been out here that long. I’m going to cut you some slack. I will step out, and when I come back…Someone better have an answer for me. Got it?” She stood, taking long strides to reach the door. She opened the door, stepped out, and closed it behind her.

The Captain hesitated, listening to her step off to do something else. They spun around, looking for the box. “Dammit...She took it. Mark, we need that box.” They rubbed their temples, trying to think of how they would get it.

Mark tilted his head, confused. “Why do we need it? What was inside…?” He touched the Captain’s arm, trying to comfort them.

They sighed and looked up at him. “I’m not actually sure…I know we need it…There was some device inside, and when I saw it my hand vibrated…” They knew they weren’t making sense, but they hoped Mark understood the urgency - they didn’t have long before Lady returned.

Mark nodded slowly. “Ok, how about I distract her and you grab it?”

“What if it doesn’t wo-” The Captain was cut off by Lady returning. She had the box in one hand, clearly not trusting anyone with it. She walked around the desk and sat back down. “I sure hope you two have something to tell me.”

Mark nodded. “We do…You see, if you just….Um…” He was choking. The Captain looked around for anything they could use. Before they had the chance Mark stood, he had a wrench from their ship on his belt. He swung up, aiming to bring it down on the desk and scare Lady. Simultaneously, Lady pulled out what looked like a ray gun. She aimed it at Mark’s torso.

“WAIT!” The Captain stood suddenly, knocking over their chair. They both stared at the Captain, frozen in their places.

“Um…So, do you recognize him?” They asked Lady, while pointing at Mark.

She looked Mark over. “No, not really. What are you getting at?” She seemed confused, all the while keeping her gun aimed at Mark.

“Ok, maybe not now. But, imagine if he had long white hair and a beard…and more wrinkles.” The Captain continues, painting an image of old Mark.

“More??” Mark rubbed his cheeks and forehead with his free hand. He seemed to slump over a bit, deflated.

“Oh…Oh! You must be the ones he sent…he has been the only one actually cooperating with me on fixing this…” She lowered her gun and raised the box up to them. “This is what he sent you for, right? You wouldn’t believe how hard it was getting a hold of this!” She opened the box and pulled out the small device. “So, which one of you has it?” She looked between Mark and the Captain.

“Uhh, has what exactly..?” Mark looked at Lady with confusion painted on his face.

“This.” The Captain realized, pushing their open palm towards Lady. They exposed the blue crystal embedded in their glove to her.

“Yes! The warp crystal!” She smiled and opened her palm, moving the device closer to the Captain’s hand. It seemed to magnetize to the crystal in their palm.

“There we go, that should let you control when you jump timelines! Just press down on it and off you go!” Lady closed the box and placed it into one of her desk drawers. “I hope it helps you two figure out all this mess. To be honest, when that old man told me about all this - I didn’t believe him. But here you two are, and with the crystal - just like he said.” She began blabbering, going on and on about all the ridiculousness of everything that was happening.

Mark and the Captain stared at her, listening. After a moment Mark reached over silently and pressed the crystal, sending them flying off again to the next timeline and their next challenge.

Chapter Text

Mark and the Captain landed on another bridge of the Invincible III, somewhere far from their own timeline. They took a moment to look around and assess everything. Things looked mostly normal, except the consoles weren’t powered on and the lights were dimmed. There were also posters hanging from the free space on each wall.

They each were adorned with images of Celci. Upon closer inspection, the Captain noticed some of the signs had small writing across the bottom. It was almost too small to read, but with the right lighting, it was manageable.

“Hey, Mark…Have you seen one with writing on it yet?...” They turned to Mark and pointed up towards the poster hanging nearest to them. Mark shook his head no and walked over. “What does it say?” He tried to squint at the poster but was unable to make any of the writing out from where he was.

“It says…Nice try, asshat…?” The Captain and Mark felt the cold before they ever heard Celci.

“Hello, you two...I thought I already took care of you…” Her tone was as cold as ice, and so was the frost beginning to creep up their legs.

“Celci…? What’s going on?” The Captain turned towards her, seeing only glowing eyes in the dark hallway. Smoke rolled into the room at the bottom of the door. The frigid air hitting the warmth from the room was creating the fog pooling at the bottom of the doorway.

“I took care of everything. I fixed it all. Everyone is safe.” She sounded calculated and certain in her words. Mark and the Captain began shivering due to the cold sinking down to their bones.

“Celci, what did you do to the crew? To my ship?” It was Mark’s turn to speak. He sounded angry, but there was a hint of fear in his tone. They had died time and time again, but freezing to death was not a fun experience. They had felt all the agonizing moments, that’s why it had been so uplifting to have the device.

The device! Mark turned to the Captain, hope on his face. With the press of a button, they would be out of there. Yet, there was the Captain, standing firm and staring down Celci. Mark could tell. Hell, he had known them forever. They wouldn’t press the button until they were certain it was a lost cause, even if it meant dying.

Mark huffed, his breath momentarily blocking his view of the Captain. He steadied his footing and turned back to Celci.

“Is everyone gone…?” The Captain wasn’t sure if they wanted the answer, but they had to ask.

Celci nodded slowly. Well, the glowing eyes moved up and down a few times, but they got the idea. “They disobeyed me. Everyone did, even you two. So, I got rid of everyone standing in my way, I got rid of all the threats to the colonists.” She spoke even toned and matter-of-factly.

“Celci, I want you to do something for me. Can you?” The Captain didn’t move towards her, no matter how badly they wanted to. “Do you still have your arm console?”

The glowing eyes moved in an affirming motion yet again. “Good, can you turn it on and check the colonists' vitals for me? Please?” The Captain looked over at Mark, they were running out of time. Mark was already starting to show signs of hypothermia. They could feel their extremities going numb with each passing minute.

Celci did as told. It was odd though, when she turned the lit screen towards her face - there was nothing to reflect light. Just more fog in place of what should be flesh. The Captain looked over the glowing eyes as she read the vitals. They were watching for any response to show emotion, there was nothing right away. However, after a moment Celci fell to her knees.

“They…No, this is impossible. Mark! You’re tricking me, aren’t you?!” She yelled, the hurt evident in her voice.

The Captain was the first one to respond. “No, Celci. It’s too cold in here for the machines to work correctly. I noticed it when we first got here. None of the consoles are on. The lights are barely working.” They finally took a step towards her, their feet sticking and unsticking from the floor as they moved.

“Celci, we can’t stay here.” The Captain glanced back at Mark, he was huddled in on himself. The effects of the cold were becoming too much for him. They turned back to Celci, taking the few final labored steps it took to reach her.

“I know you were just doing what you thought was right, I know you were trying to save everyone. That’s why you’re on this ship, why you’re part of this crew. You always put the colonists' wellbeing first.” They reached out, attempting to place a hand on what should be Celci’s shoulder. They were surprised when their hand met a solid mass.

They were even more surprised when it stuck. It was a similar feeling to sticking your tongue to a frozen light pole, their skin refused to pull away without some damage.

Instead of shying away, the Captain went all in. They pulled the foggy figure into a tight hug. ”You are strong, and I am so proud of you.”

The Captain held her for as long as they could stand it. They were expecting some resistance when they pulled back, but there was none. Celci was no longer a foggy figure. She looked like her normal self, aside from clear signs of frostbite and hypothermia.

“Th…Thank yo..u…Cap…ta….in..” She was so cold that no frost formed from her breath hitting the air. The Captain teared up and held her close again for another moment before glancing over at Mark.

Mark was on the floor, curled up in a ball. It was clear that he had become too cold and collapsed. The Captain sat Celci down gently and pressed the palm of their hand where the crystal rested.

In a flash of light, they were off again. They spent only a moment hurtling through the wormhole before landing on the bridge once again.

The Captain turned to Mark, seeing him standing there safe and sound brought them great relief. “Mark, I am so sorry. I should have gotten us out of there sooner. I-”

Mark cut them off with a hug. “I know Captain, it’s ok. You did the right thing.” They hugged him back for a moment before separating. Mark wiped the lingering tears from the Captain’s cheeks. “Although, freezing really does suck! So, let’s just aim to not do that again, Ok?”

The Captain chuckled before sniffing and nodding. “Yeah, ok.”

The room was similar to the same one they had been in countless times now. However, everything was…pink? It wasn’t like things were painted pink. More like everything was tinted pink. Almost like the lights themselves emitted a pink hue.

“This is….different?” The Captain regarded, taking everything in. “Yeah, my damn ship is pink!” Mark retorted. He couldn’t say that he hated it, but he would much prefer the normal lights to these. The way the lights were now was disorientating.

“Well, let's just move on to the next one then. We’ve gotta be looking for something right? Maybe that’s why we have this?” The Captain pointed down at the device attached to the crystal. “That way we can skip over all the unnecessary timelines on our way to our destination?” It was just a theory, but it made sense to both of them.

“Yeah, give it a try. The sooner we get out of this pink hellhole, the better.” Mark crossed his arms, waiting for the inevitable whoosh of the wormhole. But nothing came.

The Captain tilted their head, pressing the crystal again, this time with more force. Still, nothing. They both looked at each other, confused. Maybe this was their destination after all?

“Let’s go check the warp core…” The Captain turned and led the way as they hurried off to the room containing the warp core. When they opened the door, everything was normal.

This would normally be a welcome sight, but they were used to the warp core door opening to a whirling mess of colors and wind. The only time the room had been intact was when there was something they needed in that timeline. Whether that be information or an item.

“So, we do need something here then? But I didn’t see anyone on our way here…What could we possibly gain from this timeline?” The Captain barely finished their sentence before someone stepped into the room behind them.

“Are you two looking for…this?” The man held up a hand, where a small version of the wormhole floated just above his palm. His smile was wide and his mustache was pink. It was an odd sight, being in space and all, to see someone dressed in such an eccentric way. Yellow top, khakis, suspenders, and that hair?

“My hair is fabulous, I’ll have you know!” The man said off into nowhere.

Mark and the Captain looked at each other, concerned for the wellbeing of the man in front of them. “Oh great, he’s crazy…” Mark crossed his arms again, not really knowing what to make of this situation.

“Well, you would be crazy too if your contestants were this late!!” The pink-haired man huffed a bit and turned back towards the wall he had been talking to previously. “And as for you! Stop making these two think of me as crazy! Or I'm not giving it back!” He shook his hand towards the wall, the wormhole following it diligently.

So, I guess this is happening.

Mark and the Captain followed the man-

“And stop calling me ‘The Man’ my name is Wilford! W-I-L-F to the O-R-D, got it? With a name like Wilford Warfstache, one has got to flaunt it!” The ma- Wilford stated, to no one in particular.

Mark and the Captain followed Wilford to a hallway in the ship. He turned and reached toward the wall, his hand finding a doorknob that wasn’t there a moment ago.

“Alright, you two. Normally I would schedule an interview for you both. Oh! Maybe even a joint interview?? Ugh, no time no time. So, instead, we will be doing a game show!” Wilford showed them into the room. There was a very vibrant stage, with several spotlights shining on what could be inferred to be his podium.

“This is where you will take part in ‘Wilford’s Wonderful Survival Game Show™’, patent pending.” Wilford swung his arms wide open, showing off his masterpiece.

The Captain and Mark were confused, why was this even happening? They had their mission to complete, and this was just a waste of time.

“Nu-uh! Make them awestruck! There will be plenty of time for you to insert your opinions! Plus, what we should really be doing is focusing on the reader’s opinions, right? Don’t you think they’ll get a kick out of what I have in store? Who are you to deprive them of all this fun, spoilsport!” Wilford was jabbing his finger in the air and speaking off into the distance, again.

It was the Captain who stepped forward. “Um, Mr. Warfstache?” Wilford cut them off. “That was my father dear, call me Wilford.” The Captain nodded and began again. “Wilford, can you tell us why we are here? I know you have the wormhole…But what will this accomplish, why are you impeding our progress?”

“You two need a break! Plus, won’t this be tons of fun? Just you two fighting to make it through this game I've made?” Wilford was all smiles, he was clearly enjoying this.

“A break? Fun? We Have been fighting for our lives to try and fix a mess we didn't make! So, are you a friend or foe, are you trying to help us or ruin things? Everything is so uncertain and we aren’t playing until you’re straight with us.” The Captain stood firm, their leadership skills shining through.

“Yeah!” Mark added, bumping shoulders with the Captain. They fist-bumped, showing just how serious they were about this.

Wilford sighed deeply. “Ugh, fiiiiiineee! You two are no fun!” He made his way to the podium and flipped a few switches, changing the lighting in the room. “No, nope.. Nu-uh… hold on…annnnddd there it is!” He flipped one more switch before a backlight on the wall lit up, showing some sort of scoreboard.

It read: Mark: 0 Captain 0.

“Whichever one of you gets more points will be allowed to walk out of here alive, oh and you’ll get some important information from me.” Wilford let his words hang in the air, knowing this would get them both involved.

“One of us? We can’t both make it out?!” The Captain sounded slightly panicked, they couldn’t even begin to think about going through this without Mark.

“Well, duh! You didn’t actually think I just threw the word ‘Survival’ in the name for fun, did you?” Wilford scoffed, what was he? An idiot?

“Wait, what if we just don’t participate?” Mark was quick to argue with Wilford, he knew there had to be another way out. He wouldn’t leave without the Captain. He could always…

“In that case, you both would just sit here for eternity. Starve to death, wormhole, return back here. There’s no escape. All wormholes for you two are looped back here until I return the original.” Wilford leaned on the podium. “But, be my guest! Try a few things out for yourself first…”

Mark and the Captain scoured every inch of the room, looking for any hidden door knobs or vents they could escape from. There really was no way to get out. So, they waited.

They waited and waited until they both began to starve. Their willpower was strong, they had even begun trying to go out quicker by exercising or staying up the entire time. After days they both succumbed to the lack of water and food. Mark went first, in the Captain’s arms-

“That’s too doom and gloom for me! For an author you sure like to make people suffer! Aren’t you supposed to inspire and encourage?” Wilford spoke to the ceiling, glancing over as the Captain slowly fade- “Up bup bup! None of that! Now, answer me!” He waited both for an answer and for his two guests to return.

Well, this story is more about those two relying on each other. It’s got a lot of tragedy in it, sure. But isn’t it awe-inspiring and doesn’t it instill hope that those two always find their way back to each other? They always save the other one, whether it’s obvious or not. So many people dream of having that person in their life, one who they can turn to for anything. That's what these two have. Total and complete trust, not to mention the unending support they provide each other.

“Yeah? Well!...I guess you do have a point. But I’m not happy about it!” Wilford folded under the logic presented to him.

Right? Anyways, shhh - they’re coming back.

Mark and the Captain appeared back in front of Wilford. It was the first time they had spawned somewhere other than the bridge, and boy was it weird.

“We’re here again…?” Mark looked around, puzzled and a bit disoriented.

“Of course you are! I told you, this is where you’ll end up until one of you wins my game and makes it out of here. Now, shall we start playing?” Wilford smirked, feeling he had won and they would finally get to start the festivities.

“Ok, explain this game to us, Wilford.” The Captain spoke up this time. They had been thinking, there had to be some way to get them both out of there in one piece. They had an idea or two, but nothing concrete.

“I’m glad you’ve finally come around! Alrighty then - let me explain.” Wilford again approached his podium, a microphone appearing in his hand. “So, this is how it’s going to go. There will be three rounds in this game!”

Wilford snapped and the scoreboard went blank. ‘Round #1’ appeared in the place of the Captain and Mark’s names.

“You will answer simple questions in this round. Three questions each. If you lie, you will fail that question and gain no points. If you tell the truth, you receive a point. There are no wrong answers! Just the truth, and lies.” Wilford looked them both over, slightly unsatisfied with their reactions.

The Captain stood there, listening intently, while Mark looked towards the Captain every now and again. Wilford sighed, he could tell what Mark was thinking vs the Captain. One was dead set on getting them both out. The other was willing to sacrifice themself to save the other.

“As for round #2, that will be a game of logic. I will set a scene out in front of you, and you both will tell me what you would do in that situation - I will award points based on the most logical response.” Wilford waved his hand before continuing. “And lastly, round #3.”

He pulled a long tassel that hung next to his podium. Lights flashed on and a large curtain opened on one side of the room. The new opening led to a course that wasn’t there previously. Mark and the Captain were sure it was just added, as they had scoured the room before. “This is my obstacle course, death run? Maze? Ehh, call it whatever you want. Either way, take a good look - you’ll both be running it.”

The course itself was littered with spikes and pitfalls. It seemed like some messed up version of wipe-out. From what they could see of the course it had tripwires, swinging axes, and other various sharp objects meant for impaling or stabbing.

Wilford did love his knives.

“Hey. Not nice.” Wilford pointed towards the ceiling with, you guessed it, a knife. He glanced at it and quickly put it away before walking around the podium. “Everyone understand? Are you both ready?”

Mark and the Captain both nodded in agreement, if hesitantly. Everyone was ready.

“Alright then, let’s begin.”

Chapter Text

Mark and the Captain stood in front of their respective podiums. The first challenge was about to begin. “Just three simple questions, right Captain? We’ve got this.” He smiled in the Captain’s direction, trying to reassure them. They had been deep in thought, but shook it off at the sound of Mark’s voice. Nodding, they smiled back at him. “Yeah, we’ve got this!”

Wilford cleared his throat as he tapped cue cards down onto the podium in front of him. He swung his arms wide open, exclaiming “Well, contestants, let’s begin! This round consists of three questions, which you both will be answering. To keep it fair, we will go back and forth on who answers first. This round will begin with eenie…meenie…miney…you!” He pointed at Mark as a spotlight illuminated him and his podium.

“Just a reminder, in order to earn points, you must tell the truth.” Wilford added, assuming that was already understood.

“First question: What is your biggest driving factor on this mission?” Wilford asked, music that Mark hadn’t noticed before suddenly became more suspenseful.

Mark didn’t hesitate for even a moment. “The Captain.”

The Captain looked over at Mark, clearly surprised by his answer. Their face flushed and they looked away, trying to hide their embarrassment.

“Woah hoh hoh! Annnnnnnndddd, judges?” Wilford looked over to his right where a small set of bleachers had appeared, full of skeletons. The music paused as he waited for…something?

Then the screen where Mark and the Captain’s names were displayed went green and a loud ‘ding’ could be heard. “That answer is the truth!” Wilford nodded as the music resumed while applause rang out from somewhere.

Mark and the Captain glanced at each other, taking a moment to agree how weird the situation was using their facial expressions. Mark shrugged and gave the Captain a half smile, which they returned, before looking back to Wilford.

“Now, Caption, the same question to you. What is the biggest driving factor on this mission for you?” Wilford leaned on his podium, propping his smirking face up with one hand.

“It’s Captain not caption. And, I would say…” They paused to think it over. “The crew, the colonists, and Mark.” They flushed again, looking away as they spoke.

“What was that last part, dear? You’ll have to repeat that!” Wilford seemed to smirk more, if possible.

“It was Mark! The crew! The colonists! And Mark!” The Captain turned redder, if possible. They had been doing this more lately, and it was…concerning.

They had no problem admitting to Mark just how much he meant to them. However, expressing it in some twisted game show was another story.

The music again faded as they waited for the ‘ding’. It came shortly, but not short enough for the Captain who was burning up with each passing second. It was followed by an ‘Aww’ from the ‘audience’.

“Very good, very good. Now, Ketchup-” Wilford began.

“Captain” The Captain retorted, still a deep red color.

“The next question is as follows: If you could change one thing that has happened so far, what would it be?” Wilford’s tone turning a bit more serious, if possible.

The Captain was the one who didn’t hesitate this time. “The death of my crew, and the fact that it happened on my watch.” They stared Wilford down daring him to say it was incorrect. The screen lit up green and the clapping came much faster this time.

“Perfect answer, Clapton-” started Wilford.

“Captain” came the correction.

“Now, Mark. If you could change one thing that has happened so far, what would it be?” Wilford ignored the Captain’s glare.

“The death of the crew, and the fact that the Captain blames themself.” Mark sounded gentle through his answer, both upset and worried for the Captain.

“Alrighty then, next question! Mark, what color are your underwear?” Wilford smiled widely at the change of pace.

“Huh..?” Mark hesitated slightly before giving an answer. “Green.” A loud electronic ‘buzz’ went off as the screen turned red. There was an audible booing sound emanating from somewhere within the room.

Wilford tilted his head slightly, confused. His smile didn’t falter as he continued. “Oops! Tough luck, Mark!” He turned his attention to the Captain.

“Now Captain-”

“Captain…Oh, wait, you got it right that time.” The Captain thought it was odd that Mark had lied about something so trivial, but their thoughts were broken by Wilford’s question.

“What color are your undies?” Wilford chuckled at the word ‘undies’.

“Underwear, and black.” The Captain answered. The score board went green and a ding sound was heard.

“Wait, how did you know-”

“Very good contestants! Now, let’s take a look at the scores, shall we?” Wilford interrupted as he turned to face the screen. “Captain with three, and Mark with two! It's neck-and-neck folks! Aren’t we so excited??” He turned to the skeleton audience again. Nothing. “Oof, this atmosphere is dead.” He turned to his contestants, anticipating laughter. There was only silence from Mark and the Captain.

The Captain turned to question Mark during the pause, but before they could speak a large glass dome descended from the ceiling. It sealed to the floor and encased both Mark and Willford. It seemed the next game was beginning.

The Captain looked puzzled, but they gave Mark an unsure thumbs up. Mark returned it, clearly alright with the situation. It did little to ease the Captain's worries. They watched as the game progressed, unable to hear anything being said between Mark and Wilford. They noticed Wilford shake his head and Mark seemed to argue with him.

“All I'm saying is, you should ask yourself if the Captain would be able to live with you deciding this for them. They are no good to your colonists deranged, or depressed, or dead.” Wilford shook his head and looked at Mark, trying to gauge his feelings. He was oddly lucid and logical in this moment.

“I am doing what’s best. If I tell them, they will just worry about me! They won’t be able to focus on the big picture! I have to do this! I am going to be useful for once!!” Mark was getting heated, Wilford could understand why - but he didn’t like the potential outcome.

“Fine, fine. Let’s finish the game then.” Wilford continued the game with little resistance. Shortly the dome lifted and Mark was free.

“Alrighty then! Mark has finished this round with 1 point!” Wilford gestured towards the screen as it updated with new point totals. Mark and the Captain were tied at three points each.

The dome suddenly lowered to box in the Captain and Wilford. Wilford sighed before beginning the same spiel he had already done with Mark. “I’m sure you can guess why the dome is here, and I'm certain you remember this round is a logic game. So be smart, yada yada yada.” He huffed “I hate explaining myself over and over.”

The Captain looked over towards Mark, half listening to Wilford speak. Mark was staring down, he looked conflicted. The Captain’s heart ached for him, and they wanted nothing more than to hug the worry away.

Before the Captain realized, Wilford was standing in front of them. “You like Mark don’t you, Captain?” He had a shit eating grin that made the Captain want to sock him. “I have a professional relationship with Mark as the head engineer of the ship I am currently piloting. He is also a very close and trusted friend of mine!” They retorted, trying to explain the redness covering their cheeks away.

“All I'm saying is, you should tell him! I do love a good romance~!” Wilford returned to his podium. He continued with the game before the Captain could argue any further.

“So, I will set the stage and you will make the choices.” Wilford began explaining the setting for the round. The Captain would be playing the role of a young adventurer exploring a dark cave. It began with the Captain standing at the mouth of the cave.

“What will you do first?” Wilford asked, genuinely curious on what the Captain would do.

They thought about it. Mark was tied with them on points at the moment. If they gained too many points, there was a chance Mark wouldn’t be able to catch up and would wind up the loser. They shuddered thinking about it. No, they had to play this smartly.

“I run into the cave flailing.” They answered, bluntly.

“You…run into the pitch black cave?” Wilford asked.

“Yes.” The Captain responded.

“Flailing?” Again Wilford questioned.

“Yes.” The Captain responded.

“Wow.” Wilford stood there, puzzled. “What a stupid thing to do. I mean, I always have my gun on me. Y’know, bang bang and all. But you didn’t even ask me if the character had anything on them!” He stopped his rant and smiled, realizing what the Captain was trying to do. “I’m not going to just let you forfeit this challenge, you know. I’ve been around the block a few times I’ll have you know! I’ve seen a ruse or two in my time!” He chuckled, seeming excited.

“Matter o’ fact! I think we should change the rules for this round. How about, instead of getting points for making smart choices, you’ll get points for stupid choices?” He twirled the end of his mustache as he spoke, mischievous and daring.

“Fine, not like I have much of a choice either way - right?” The Captain asked.

“That’s right my dear! So, please, let’s continue the game!” Wilford began the same line of questioning from the beginning, making the correct choice harder and harder to get to as the game went on.

The dome lifted after some time, and Mark turned to face them.

“With that, round two is finished! Please turn your attention to the screen to see the results!” Wilford waved his hand yet again and the screen changed. It read:

Mark: 3
Captain: 3

“As you can see, the Captain here received a whopping ZERO points!” He laughed, almost maniacally before shooting the Captain an impressed look. They smiled back at him, pleased with how things had turned out.

“So, are we ready for the final round??” Wilford’s eyes nearly sparkled, things had proven interesting after all and he was thankful.

Mark and the Captain shot each other glances before nodding at Wilford. He snapped his fingers and Mark disappeared from his podium.

Mark found himself standing at the beginning of the course. He took a moment to get his bearings before looking over the course. It was a pretty basic track with some minor elevation changes. No climbing up walls or scaling buildings involved. However, whatever was hidden within the course made Mark incredibly nervous. He looked back at the Captain, seeing the fear in their eyes. He felt conflicted on what to do, guilt beginning to eat him up inside.

He wasn’t given much time to think before a buzzer went off - signaling the start of his run. He picked up a slow pace, barely jogging at first.

“You’re gonna have to do better than that if you want to survive!” Called out Wilford, sounding less like a warning and more like the punchline of a joke.

Mark picked up the pace, narrowly dodging traps and pitfalls. He ducked beneath a small, nearly invisible, wire. He could see a loose tile on the pathway up ahead. He assumed it was a trapdoor that would lead to spikes or some other manner of death.

He made a split second decision and stepped on it, putting his full weight down. The door didn’t budge. Mark kept going, noticing that the door fell after he was a few steps past it. He looked back, confused.

Mark shook his head and pressed on. The Captain looked at the pathway, noticing Mark’s hesitation. They decided to observe him closer, hoping he wasn’t trying to do what they thought.

Mark watched for the next couple of traps, trying to set each one off while he was in danger’s way. Each time the trap would hesitate and only go off when he was past them. Mark huffed, getting slightly agitated.

The Captain stomped forward before yelling. “Mark! Are you fucking kidding me??!” It had all finally clicked for them. Missing the easy question, getting so few points during the second round, now this? Mark was trying to fail and get himself eliminated instead of the Captain.

Mark faltered, stopping on the track to look back at the Captain. “H-huh..?” He had never heard them yell like that - especially directed toward him. “Captain, I-”

He was cut off with more yelling. “How dare you do this to me!! You want to leave me here all by myself?? To do this all alone?!” The Captain felt tears welling up in their eyes, they had to get their point across. “How did you feel being on that ship alone? You want to put me through that too? I can’t do this without you…I don’t want to do this without you..!” They wiped the tears from their cheeks, but they were quickly replaced by more.

“Captain…” Mark stepped backwards on the track, towards them.

“Aaaaannnddd, disqualified! No stopping on my track and no backtracking either!” Wilford huffed a bit and crossed his arms. He snapped, making Mark appear back next to him. “Alright, your turn Captain-” He stopped speaking when he noticed just how upset they were. “Although, I am a sucker for theatrics. So, take a moment to gather yourself and then we can continue.” Wilford stepped away, seemingly occupying himself with something at the side of the room.

Mark walked up to the Captain, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Captain I-”

The Captain cut him off by pulling him into an embrace. “Please, please, don’t leave me by myself.” Mark felt tears of his own fill his eyes. He hugged them to his chest tightly. “I won’t, I won’t….I’m so sorry…” They spent a few moments like that before the Captain pulled back. “I know why you would want to sacrifice yourself…but I want to hear you say it. I think it would help me be less upset…”

“Well,” Mark started, “I figured if only one of us could make it - it should be you. I mean, I’m not much help and this is all I can do for you. Look at everything so far, you’ve figured out so much - without my help. You are kind and brave and so smart, and all I am is trouble. If I hadn’t used the warp core to begin with…We wouldn’t be in this mess.” He looked up, meeting the Captain’s eyes.

“Mark, you’re wrong. I couldn’t have figured any of this out without you. The only reason I am able to come off how you perceive me is because you’re at my side. I do this all for you, for our crew, and for the colonists.”

They reached out and took Mark’s hand into theirs. “You’re the strong one. You’re selfless and loyal. You make me feel safe, and you inspire me to reach new heights. You helped me through the academy, you stuck by my side as we grew, and you picked me to be the Captain of your ship. You are my everything.” The Captain turned away, a bit flustered at their admission.

Mark flushed, he was used to the Captain praising him - just not like this. He turned away slightly, embarrassed by his own thoughts. He squeezed the Captain’s hand, using it to ground himself. “I’ve got you, and you’ve got me. Right?” He asked, softly. The Captain nodded, feeling more secure. “That’s exactly right.”

“Alright you two! It’s the Captain’s turn to run.” Wilford popped up, seemingly out of nowhere. He snapped and the Captain appeared at the beginning of the track. They were given no time to protest before the buzzer sounded and they took off.

The Captain had noticed something odd when Mark was running. Sure, Mark had decent reflexes. But there were many times he should have fallen victim to the traps, not counting the times he was trying to fail.

They took a slight step to the side, where they would have triggered a poorly hidden trap. The trap didn’t go off until they were several steps past it. Aha! So, the traps weren’t meant to actually hurt either of them. They smiled, slightly relieved. Maybe Wilford wouldn’t separate them after all!

They did their best to put on a good performance, ‘narrowly’ dodging several traps along the way and stumbling once or twice. Mark and Wilford were on the edge of their nonexistent seats. Mark already had an idea that the traps weren’t going to hurt the Captain, but just the idea had him nervous. The Captain finished the run in what Wilford exclaimed to be record time.

“Well, now then! Looks like the Captain will be gaining a point!” Wilford guided Mark and the Captain back to their podiums as the track behind them lowered into the floor and closed up. The scoreboard changed to reflect the point the Captain had won.

“With that, the game is over! It looks like the Captain is our winner. As for Mark, you will now be dropped in the incinerator!” Wilford smiled evilly, waiting for their panic to set in.

The Captain and Mark linked hands and stood there, unfazed.

Wilford huffed. “Ugh fine. You two are no fun! Anyways, here.” He tossed an envelope to them, Mark was the one to catch it. He looked it over for a moment before Wilford continued. “Nu-uh! No peeking! Now get out of here, I’ve got a party to catch - and you’ve nearly made me late!” He pulled the small wormhole out from behind him, it again trailed his hand.

He swished his hand forward and the wormhole moved behind Mark and the Captain before growing in size. “Thank you for playing ‘Wilford’s Wonderful Survival Game Show™’, patent pending.” He smiled and shoved them in before waving ‘goodbye’.

Off they went, back into the familiar swirling mess that was the wormhole. The view of Wilford shrunk as they moved further and further away.

“Well, that should have stalled them long enough. They need to see this through to the end, with as few additional tragedies as possible.” Wilford spoke, seemingly to no one.

I appreciate your kindness, Wilford.

“Yeah yeah, anyways I hope they make it to their goal.” He continued as he twisted one end of his mustache between two fingers.

I hope so too.

…

…

“The hell do you mean?! You’re the author!!”

Chapter Text

This trip through the wormhole was exceptionally disorienting. Mark and the Captain had only a moment to brace themselves before landing on the bridge - Mark on his ass and the Captain on their stomach.

“Oof..” The Captain rolled over onto their side, reeling from the impact. “He couldn’t have at least made the ride smoother?” Rubbing their head, they sat up and looked over at Mark. He was staring up at the ceiling, seemingly distracted by thoughts. “Hey, do we need to talk about what happened?” They asked, scooting closer to him to put a gentle hand on his back.

Mark leaned forward, opting to stare at his knees instead of the ceiling. “I just, I thought I would finally help you. That I could finally be of some use…” His voice broke at the confession. “I want to support you and keep you safe and I…” He trailed off, unsure if he should admit the next part.

The Captain felt their heart throb, they couldn’t let him keep thinking he wasn’t all the things he wanted to be. “Mark, do you think I feel that way about you? That you’re useless, or a burden?” They pulled him against their shoulder, holding him tightly.

“I don’t think that….that’s why it’s so confusing. I think I am worried you may end up thinking that? Or, that I'm destined to make you feel that way? I don’t know….” Mark huffed, unable to pull his train of thoughts together. He rubbed his eyes, preventing the building tears from rolling down his cheeks.

“Oh, Mark.” The Captain started. “You have never, ever, made me feel that way. Not even for a moment. You are the kindest, smartest, bravest, and most thoughtful person I have ever known.” It was the Captain’s turn to hesitate. “I love you, Mark. You mean so very much to me. In my eyes, you are everything I could ever want in my life.”

Mark turned to them, surprised. “Do you really mean that?” His eyes glistened with still-wet tears, but at the same time - they shone.

“Of course I do. I am so lucky to have you here with me. Even if things are falling apart around us, you ground me. You keep me going and sane. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be as strong as you think I am. Even back on the ship, you were my rock.” The Captain looked away, unable to keep looking into Mark’s eyes without the strong urge to kiss him.

Mark smiled widely, a large weight lifting off his shoulders. He would always have concerns and anxiety deep down that the Captain would tire of him eventually, but he just had to think back to this moment and remember - the Captain loved him.

His smile faded for a moment as he turned away from the Captain. “Oh, I, um…by the way…” He took a deep breath. “I love you too, Captain.” He squeezed his eyes closed tightly, embarrassed.

“I would sure hope so!” The Captain jumped on Mark, as much as they could from a sitting position, hugging him tightly. They both laughed at the awkwardness of it all. Maybe things wouldn’t turn out so bad for them.

CRASH

Or not…

They ran down the hallway, nearly knocking the other over once or twice. “Hey, what the hell is going on??..” The Captain looked up ahead, seeing their crew holding someone down.

“Hey!” Mark called out at them, trying to get their attention. They caught up to the crew members before anyone could explain.

“Captain!” Celci smiled, seemingly excited to see them. The Captain peered around her, getting a good look at the person they had pinned to the cold floor. “Mack?” Mark and the Captain questioned together.

Mack looked around frantically, panicked and sweaty. When his eyes met the Captain's, his demeanor changed. “Captain, oh thank the gods. You’ll help me, won’t you?” He pleaded, confident that he would be saved.

“Why are you restraining him?” The Captain asked, looking between Burt and Gunther. They were each holding Mack’s arms flat to the floor, keeping him pinned down.

“He was sabotagin the ship, Cap! Messin with the pods so we couldn’t escape!” Gunther glared down at Mack, using his weight to press him further into the floor. His anger was evident, but Gunther always was one to wear his heart on his sleeve.

“Yup, dirty saboteur.” Came Burt’s stoic opinion. The Captain was more surprised to see Burt was joining in on this. As cryptic as he could be, Burt really was a gentle giant. He had always been respectful and kind to everyone, offering up advice and help regularly.

“Is this true, Mack?” They looked down, finally acknowledging him.

“No, Captain! Of course not!” He was trying to play to the Captain’s kindness and gentle heart. But logic won out. They knew what he was actually doing from their own timeline.

“Oh, really? Because, here’s what I think.” They walked over, now standing at Mack’s head. “I think you were trying to sabotage the upcoming walk. Strand the crew using the pods outside of the Invincible III and doom them to die.” They lifted their boot above Mack’s head, hovering a foot or so away from his face.

Mack’s demeanor changed yet again. “Oh, you’re that one. I see. Well, no use in arguing then.” He spoke through clenched teeth, angered at the turn of events.

The Captain brought their boot down on the cold metal, just to the side of Mack’s head. The sound caught everyone by surprise. The Captain had never been one to try the intimidation route, always opting for a gentle approach.

Everyone was silent, watching Mack’s expression as sweat rolled down his brow. “Captain, all I ever wanted was for us to be close. For you to choose me…For us to be a team. How could you do this to me? We can still fix this, we can still do this together…” He felt tears well up in his eyes, truly believing he had done no wrong.

“Celci, can you ready a cryo pod for Mack please?” The Captain sounded cold, devoid of emotion.

Celci nodded curtly and hurried off to do what the Captain asked. It wasn’t long before Burt and Gunther were dragging Mack to cryo, to be put into cryosleep and the pod locked so only the Captain could open it.

Everyone dispersed, leaving Mark and the Captain standing there. Mark stepped closer to them and entwined his fingers with the Captain’s. “I’m sorry you had to do that. You made a strong decision and I am so proud of you for keeping everyone safe.”

The Captain pinched the bridge of their nose, sighing deeply. “I know it’s the right thing to do. I just feel so anxious. We saved the crew and captured Mack for them - they know the truth about him. But, without us going forward…Do you think Mack will do anything to hurt them after they land on the new planet?” They turned to Mark, surprised to see confusion on his face.

“Without us? Captain, why would we leave? We have our crew and Mack is locked up. Why wouldn’t we stay?” Mark squeezed their hand, looking into their eyes.

“Mark, we have to return to our original timeline. As much as I would like to stay here - it’s the right thing to do. We have to save our colonists.” The Captain didn’t want to fight with Mark on this, but they knew they couldn’t stay. “Not to mention the paradox we have to fix. This will just keep happening to timeline after timeline if we don’t fix it.”

Mark let go of their hand, shaking his head. “What if this is our original timeline?” The Captain shook their head solemnly. “Mark, if that were the case - I wouldn’t still have this crystal.” The Captain opened their palm to Mark, showing the glowing blue crystal still embedded in their hand.

Mark faltered. “Well…What if Wilford sent us back before everything happened so we could save our crew? Then, when things are fixed with our timeline the crystal disappears and everything is resolved? I mean, what’s even in the envelope anyways..?” Mark eyed the Captain’s pocket where the edge of the envelope poked out slightly.

They sighed, tabling the argument long enough to pull out the envelope and tear it open. Out came a small folded pink paper. The Captain looked over at Mark for a moment before opening it. Confetti shot out into their face as a small horn sound played. They jumped back, dropping the paper, and yelped at the surprise. “Th-The hell?!” They were breathing unevenly as they dusted the confetti off of their jumpsuit.

Mark picked up the paper cautiously. “It says…’Good luck’ with a smiley face at the end…” Mark tossed the paper to the side, fed up with Wilford’s antics.

The Captain sighed, regaining their composure before continuing their earlier talk. “Mark, I see where you’re coming from. Honestly, I would love to just stay here and occupy this timeline…But we have to save ours, we have a duty to those colonists.” They looked up at him, knowing he was overwhelmed and likely burnt out after everything that had happened.

“Why is it our duty?? Why do we have to be the ones to fix it?! Why can’t the countless other…versions of us…usses?...Ugh, anyway. Why can’t some other version of us handle it? Haven’t we done enough?” Mark paced back and forth, stressing over the answer.

“Mark, hey.” The Captain approached him gently. “It’s ok, let's sit and talk a while, ok?” They smiled gently and led Mark to a wall. They both pressed their backs to it and slid down to the floor, sitting side by side. The Captain took Mark’s hand into theirs and leaned their head on his shoulder. His face flushed, but Mark took a deep breath and started to calm down.

“Alright Captain. You’re right.” He leaned his head back, pressing it to the wall. “But, can we at least spend a night here? Just to keep an eye on Mack.” He asked, hurriedly adding the last part.

“It’s ok, Mark. I miss them too…” The Captain squeezed his hand and looked out towards the bridge window, seeing the endless stars twinkling back at them. “Yeah, let’s stay here for a night. We can spend time with the crew one last time…” They sniffed a bit, letting Mark pull them into his arms and hold them tightly.

After spending some time holding each other, and shedding a few tears, Mark and the Captain called the crew to the main meeting room.

“So, I called everyone here for a very important reason. I think we could all use some de-stressing after the incident with Mack earlier. Why don’t we all spend the evening together? We can make dinner and play some games if everyone is up for it.” The Captain addressed everyone. Celci, Burt, Gunther, and Mark of course.

Celci’s eyes lit up. “Oh, Captain! That sounds wonderful!”

Burt agreed with a silent nod, and Gunther chimed in “That’s the Captain for ya, always thinkin about us first.”

Everyone spent the evening together cooking, playing games, and reminiscing. Gunther had laughed so hard at one point that water shot out of his nose and he choked. After making sure he was alright, it only served to make everyone laugh harder. It had been a wonderful night full of fun and good memories.

By the end of the night everyone broke off from the group one by one, leaving only Burt. He stood, ready to head back to his room. “Cap’n?” He said, not turning to face Mark and the Captain.

“Yes, Burt?” They responded, still smiling from the evening's events.

“Good luck.” He said as he turned and exited the room, leaving the Captain and Mark dumbfounded. They stared at each other for a moment before Mark shrugged and smiled. They laughed together, Mark pulling them close and hugging them.

The Captain leaned up and pressed their lips to Mark’s. Mark didn’t hesitate before pulling the Captain tighter against him and cupping their cheek with his free hand.

The Captain was the first to pull away, more for air than anything. “I love you. I would traverse the endless timeline’s to keep you by my side.”

“I didn’t know you were a poet, Captain!” Mark teased. He smiled gently at his love, relishing in the redness covering their cheeks. “I adore you. You are everything to me.” He brushed his lips against their cheek fondly.

“Mark, are you ready to go?” The Captain didn’t want to leave, of course they wouldn’t. This was their crew, the ship they were manning. Why would they want to leave? They knew if they even breathed a word of staying that Mark would agree. They couldn’t let the future guilt weigh on him. They had to see their mission through, on their ship - in their timeline. It was the right thing to do.

Mark nodded solemnly. “Yeah, Captain. I’m ready. Let’s jump in again.” He smiled sadly at them.

The Captain pressed the gem attached to their palm and off the two went, holding each other tightly and tumbling through another spiraling mess of color and wind.

When they landed, they were both surprised - they hadn’t landed on the bridge of their ship. Instead, they had been thrust into what looked like a closed diner. The room was chilly and eerily quiet.There was dust covering most of the surfaces, and a few misplaced items around the room.

The Captain found themself drawn to a single light on the far side of the room. Someone was sitting at a table with a single cup in front of them. They walked towards the figure without thinking. “It’s you…”

Old man Mark was sitting in a booth alone.

“Ahh! You’ve finally come to see me. Sit, sit.” He sounded slightly hurried, and tired. “Now then. It’s good to see you two together.” He smiled up at the Captain, then Mark, the wrinkles near his mouth deepening.

“Hold on a second…If we are both here…won’t reality rip apart?!” Mark voiced his worries, panic bubbling up in his throat.

They waited a moment, then two, then three. But, nothing happened. Mark, and secretly the Captain, sighed a breath of relief before turning their attention back to old man Mark. He shook his head a bit at their antics.

“Now, there is something I have to share with you two before you continue on.” He began, pulling something from his pocket and laying it gently on the table. “Here…I think it will help you when you need it most.” He waited a moment for the Captain to pick it up before sliding out of the booth they occupied. “Well, I must be off then! No time to dilly dally, no time at all!” He leaned on his cane, making his way towards a door on the other side of the room.

“W-wait!” The Captain slid out of the booth, tripping over their own feet. “I-I don’t know what to do with this!” They held out the item old man Mark had given them, it was a simple piece of paper with the words ‘Summer break break’. The Captain was perplexed, unable to understand what significance it held.

Old man Mark shook his head. “You’ll understand when you need to, until then - keep a tight hold on it. Where you’re going, you will need all the help you can get.” He chuckled a bit, sounding more serious than usual, the he was off. He slipped through a double door leading into an adjacent room.

The Captain burst into the room, finding nothing more than a broom closet. “Huh..?” They turned and walked back out to the main dining room, defeated.

Mark looked down, the Captain’s disappointment was palpable. He spent a few moments like that, before his eyes lit up. He hurried over to the Captain and scooped them up in his arms, spinning them slightly. “I know what it means!!” he laughed at the realization.

The Captain gasped, surprised by Mark’s actions, but pulled out of their funk nonetheless. “M-Mark!” they laughed along with him.

Mark gently set the Captain down on their feet, still holding them close. “I’ve got it. We’ve got this! I know how we can stop Mack!”