Chapter 3: Princess and Admiral

~ Two days earlier, aboard the Starbell. ~

The clock had struck the fifty second and a third quarter. At least, that was what Eren saw in his peripheral vision above a screen of text too verbose to bother reading. It would soon be time for their first expedition. Any non-urgent message from Central Command would be merely repeating every word he had told his crew a thousand times already.

"Is the princess ready?" he asked, not bothering to look at the lieutenant with whom he spoke. His gaze remained fixated on the spectacle of a planet outside of the bridge windows.

"I believe so, sir," Marcus replied. The lieutenant glanced at his superior from where he sat slumped on the cushioned chair, with his feet perched precariously close to the control panel. "She's in her quarters as we speak."

Eren nodded. Even though the seasoned admiral had hundreds of missions under his belt, the view from the safety of The Starbell was like nothing he had ever seen. The delicate, untouched planet glimmered and shined in the star's light. From the moment their ship fell into its orbit, Entity M3096 was practically begging to be explored.

The ship had been orbiting M3096 for forty eight of its lunar cycles, closely monitoring the properties deemed too intricate to observe from Kasai. Interestingly enough, the lifeless moon was the blue planet's only other companion, unlike their home world, which competed with neighboring moons for dominance over the gas giant.

Now that Central Command had given them the green light, it was time to deploy the Explorers. Eren was anxious, but managed to conceal his concern to avoid jeopardizing crew morale. There existed only one individual he confided in.

Fortunately for him, that person's quarters were but a short walk from the bridge. "I'll be back," he instructed the lieutenant as he turned and hurriedly headed down the steps toward the exit.

"W-wait, sir!" The young man suddenly straightened up but remained seated.

Eren halted and let out a deep sigh. He turned to face his subordinate with his lips curled inward in annoyance. "Yes, lieutenant? What is it?"

"You know Central Command is wary of your relationship with her."

The admiral scowled. He didn't need a subordinate to warn him. Without another word, he continued on his way, glaring at the lieutenant before slamming the metallic hatch shut.

~

The princess heard a knock on her door, mimicking the opening line to her favorite melody. That alone indicated who it was that had graced her with their presence. With the swipe of her hand, the hexagon pieces that made up the door dematerialized.

"Eren!" she greeted warmly, "Please, come in."

"Thank you, princess," he replied. As he stepped over the threshold, he glanced around the cramped bedroom which she had called home since their journey began. Seldom washed clothing hung from anything even slightly resembling a hook, and sandstone fragments, fossilized insects, and other exoplanet memorabilia collected by previous Explorers lay scattered across the floor.

"I know what you're thinking," she admitted defeatedly as the door rematerialized behind her, "I need to be more composed, especially before this mission."

Eren glanced at the vanity mirror on the other end of the room, which was stained with a message she had written to herself. It read something that the princess had been loathing for months:

Mission: Explore the central continent of M3906.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was written with bright red lipstick that had long since dried. Next to the mirror were thousands of pages of notes stacked haphazardly. The topmost sheet depicted hand drawn images of Kasai and M3096 accompanied by barely legible writing. To Eren, the latter planet was clearly better suited for life. But as the newly promoted chief planetary scientist, Tara was among the few with the authority to decide for certain.

"You really simplified your objective." He paused before turning toward her. "Though I should point out that you'll be studying life on Entity M3096, not Entity M3906," Eren chuckled, "Unless you'd like to be the first person to set foot on a brown dwarf."

The princess sighed. "Just add that to the huge list of screw ups I've made in this lifetime alone." A sudden burst of anger bubbled up within her. She reached for the nearest book and chucked it at the mirror, shattering one of the overhead light bulbs. "I was going nuts just thinking about everything at stake!"

"Hey, calm down." He reached up to caress her freckled cheek. Despite his countless attempts to veto the decision, the title of Chief Planetary Scientist was forced upon Tara when her predecessor was tragically killed in an accident. The best he could do now was comfort her. "You've spent centuries preparing for this. You're more prepared than anybody I've ever known."

"I know," she said as she placed her hands on his, "I'm sorry. It's just that I've been having nightmares."

"About the Devil's Mouth?"

"Mhm." She paused before taking a deep breath. "My mother told me that father's sacrifice ended the yearly ritual that our people were forced to endure. So on that day, when those monstrous black holes reappeared, I thought it was some terrible dream."

Tara winced as the events of Armageddon flashed through her mind. Billions of lives were lost in the matter of minutes, consumed by the almighty celestial demon that painted the sky darker than the night.

"But you're here now. We all are," Eren reminded her, "We're ready to explore this new world that we may call our new home soon enough."

Before the princess could utter another word, a furious pounding hammered on the door. "Admiral! You're needed in the bridge!" a voice yelled out.

Eren turned away. "I'd better get going. We'll speak again soon. Until then, take care Princess Tara."

The bright lights of the hall flooded the dim room, blinding the princess briefly. She squinted as she gazed at his chiseled silhouette standing in the entryway. "Take care, Eren."