Chapter 7: Descent into Hell

The transporter roared to life beneath Tara. From the angle at which she stood, she could see the outline of a turbine spinning within. It glowed with a faint blue tint at the edges as it whirled.

Electrical sparks formed around her feet, growing in abundance and strength with each passing moment. A light zapping sensation tickled her shins and thighs.

No longer than a few seconds passed before the sparks clawed their way up her abdomen, shocking her to the core. Her heart beat faster than it ever had as a searing pain suddenly tore through her entire body. 'This hurts! I feel like I'm being ripped to shreds!'

Out of sight, a voice murmured, "Something's wrong."

It was then that the princess realized Annah was no longer holding her hand.

"Tara! Get out of there!"

Through the raging bolts furiously clashing before her, she saw Annah and Janson lying on the ground at the base of the transporter. The private appeared to be unconscious. Behind them was a distressed Deeke, screaming at his subordinates to stop the machine. Despite their desperate attempts to do so, the electricity continued to course into Tara's body.

"Ann-" Tara gritted her teeth as she struggled to get the words out. "Annah! Help me!"

The princess' cries for help quickly evolved into blood curdling screams of pain. Even with every drop of determination within her body, she couldn't manage to move a muscle within. It was as though the electricity had taken full control in order to prevent her escape.

"Tara!" her friend continued to cry out, "Tara!"

The girl felt her consciousness begin to fade.

"Tara..."

A flash of light engulfed her surroundings. Then everything went black. For a few moments, she sat at the center of nothingness, her mind in shambles.

Then, a new sensation enveloped Tara. Frigid air whipped against her face, forcing her eyelids open. Every part of her body was numb. Ambiguous outlines back lit by an endless abyss of navy danced through her clouded vision. It was as though she were falling toward the nighttime sky.

'What's happening to me?'

One thing was for sure: she was no longer within the confines of the Starbell. The princess attempted to regain a grip on reality, succeeding slowly but surely. The outlines came together and formed coherent interconnecting lines that gleamed amid a dark, bumpy landscape.

Soon, the same sensation that had been battering her cheekbones spread to the tips of her fingers and toes. At that moment, Tara realized she was falling; her body was sprawled out, slowing her descent ever so slightly.

Her mind snapped out of the pensive state. Quickly approaching was the surface of the continent in which she was to land.

'No! This can't be how it ends!' Tara, filled with dread, realized that a horrible mistake had been made. She and her fellow Explorers were supposed to be teleported straight to the ground. But here she was, free falling without even her suit to cushion the incoming impact.

Her eyes welled with tears, which were quickly blown away by the frisky wind that had begun to crack her lips. Her entire body, save her torso which was protected by the undergarments that remained, grew numb once more.

Through her blurred vision, the gleaming lines became rivers as the landscape became rugged with mountains covered in vegetation. Her death was approaching more quickly than her weakened mind could comprehend.

The tops of trees zoomed past Tara's peripheral vision. Before the poor soul could take another breath, the journey was over.

~

Never in the history of the Starbell had its sole transporter failed so spectacularly. The pandemonium that resulted immediately after was, as the remaining crew members described, the thing of nightmares.

"You!" Eren screeched as he stormed into the dock where the moderators were still trying to comprehend their terrible mistake. Deeke winced as the furious admiral lunged at him.

"How could you let this happen?" Eren seethed, his teeth gritted as a flame of pure, unadulterated rage burned in his eyes. Both of his hands gripped the terrified Deeke's collar.

The terrified man stuttered before managing to spit out a few words. His bravado from earlier had completely disappeared. "The transporter. It malfunctioned!"

The device continued to emit small sparks at irregular intervals despite being shut off. Eren glared at it before turning back toward Deeke. "You're gonna need to give me more than that."

"My engineers don't know why! They're running diagnostics as we speak, but that won't help the princess!"

"Bullshit! Pure and utter bullshit, you facetious son of a bitch!"

"Admiral, please—"

Eren shoved Deeke aside, causing the stout man to land brusquely on his back. He then marched over to the subordinates cowering in their seats at the control panel.

"Where is she?" he commanded.

"If I may, admiral." A mustached individual cleared his throat, carefully considered his next words. "We saw this." He pointed to an entry on the main panel's centermost display, which contained Tara's personal profile alongside her mission status.

"The princess' target zone didn't match the coordinates we inputted into the transporter computer. We don't know why this was the case. She must've been reassigned without our knowledge," the man gulped, sweat dripping down his brow. "All I can say is, the transporter must not have programmed to handle such a scenario."

Eren slammed his hand on the panel. "Tell them to search the area. The whole area. She must've been slightly off target."

"Yes sir," he replied, "I'll send a message right away."

"Admiral," a feminine voice sounded from the corner of the room. Eren spun to see Annah with her hands clasped over her heart. Tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Quiet," Eren interjected, "I know you were just trying to save your own skin."

Annah didn't attempt to defend herself. Instead she broke down, burying her face in her hands as she continued to sob.

"An inconsiderate, self-centered excuse of a crew you all are," Eren uttered, voice hushed. The admiral walked toward the window facing the continent, which was mostly obscured by the darkness of space. He placed both hands on the banister and let out a deep sigh.

With a trembling hand, he combed a lock of hair out from in front of his face. "This is all my fault."