Chapter 12:The Crew’s Unease

The tension on the Ecliptica had become a palpable force, weighing heavily upon all of them like the alien atmosphere of Zerathis. From the day the ruins and the core were unearthed, a cautious optimism had turned into a sense of simmering apprehension. The crew, once cohesive in their intent, were now seemingly fractured into fragmented private wars of fears and doubts.

Aelara sat in her quarters, eyes fixed upon the holographic display before her. Minor malfunctioning and unexplained occurrences were, quite frankly, piling up. The ship's systems, hailed as the pinnacle of human engineering, were failing in ways that just didn't make sense. Power surges, communications blackouts, and fluctuating environmental controls-Aelara thought of only a few of the inconsistencies that had plagued them. Worse still were the whispers: stories exchanged among the crew in hushed tones about strange noises in the corridors and fleeting shadows that shouldn't exist.

Aelara leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples. She prided herself on being a steady leader, someone her team could rely on no matter the circumstances. But even she couldn't ignore the growing sense of unease creeping through the ship.

Her door chimed, breaking her thoughts.

"Come in," she said, straightening her posture.

The door slid open, and Elias Hart, the lead scientist, came in. His normally calm face was betrayed by a quivering energy. He stepped inside, clutching a data pad tightly in his hands.

"Captain," he started off in a low tone, "I think we need to talk about the core."

Aelara gestured for him to take a seat. "What about it?

Elias hesitated before speaking. "I've been going over the data we collected, and there's something… unsettling about the energy readings. It's almost as if the core isn't just a machine—it's alive. Or at least, it's operating on principles we don't fully understand. Its signals are interacting with the ship in ways I can't explain. The malfunctions we're experiencing—they could be a direct result of our contact with the core."

Aelara's jaw tightened. "Are you suggesting we brought something back with us?"

"I'm not sure," Elias admitted. "But we've disrupted something and the ship's systems are reacting to it. More concerningly, so are the crew."

Aelara's gaze sharpened. "What do you mean?

Elias shifted uncomfortably. "I've been noticing changes in behavior. People are more on edge, quicker to anger. And some are experiencing vivid nightmares—dreams they can't explain, but they all seem to share a common theme: shadows, whispers, and the feeling of being watched."

Aelara frowned. She had dismissed her own restless sleep as a result of stress, but if others were experiencing the same thing, it couldn't be a coincidence.

"I'll look into it," she said firmly. "In the meantime, keep analyzing the data. We need answers, Elias. The crew is counting on us to keep them safe."

Elias nodded and left, leaving Aelara alone with her thoughts.

This was most evident in the mess hall: what had previously been a loud room filled with crew members eating and talking turned quiet. Few spoke above a whisper; no one laughed. People sat in small, isolated groups, speaking in hushed tones or staring blankly at their food.

Liora Drax, the chief engineer, sat at one of the corner tables, absentmindedly pushing her meal around on her tray. She glanced up as Hana Xu, the navigator, approached and slid into the seat across from her.

"You look like hell," Hana said bluntly.

Liora snorted. "Thanks. You're not exactly glowing yourself."

Hana shrugged. "No one is. This place is getting to all of us."

Liora leaned forward, lowering her voice. "Have you felt it? Like… like there's something wrong with the ship? Not just the systems, but the atmosphere itself?"

Hana nodded reluctantly. "It's like the air is heavier. And the shadows… I keep thinking I see movement out of the corner of my eye, but when I look, there's nothing there.

Liora shivered. "You're not the only one. Some of the techs in engineering have refused to go into certain sections of the ship alone. They say it feels… wrong, like they're being watched."

"Do you think it's connected to Zerathis?" Hana asked.

"Absolutely," Liora said without hesitation. "We shouldn't have gone down there, let alone messed with that core. We don't understand what we're dealing with."

"Do you think the captain knows?

"She has to," Liora said. "But what can she do? We're light-years away from home, stuck in a ship that's starting to feel like a coffin."

Aelara called a meeting in the command center, gathering the senior officers to address the growing unrest. The tension in the room was palpable as they took their seats around the central holo-table.

"I won't beat around the bush," Aelara said, starting off. "The crew is on edge, and for good reason. Since our encounter with those ruins on Zerathis, strange phenomena have been happening nonstop. Our mission is dangerous, but the state the ship is currently in is unacceptable."

Liora spoke up, "With all due respect, Captain, it's more than the ship. It's us. People are acting different-angrier, more paranoid. Whatever we encountered in Zerathis, it's messing with our heads."

Elias nodded. "I agree. The core emitted a signature unlike anything we've ever encountered. It is possible that with such prolonged exposure, it affects us psychologically."

"Do we have a solution?" Aelara asked.

Not yet," Elias said. "But I recommend we minimize exposure to the data we collected from the core. If it's the source of the interference, we need to isolate it."

"And the crew?" Aelara pressed.

"I've already recommended mandatory psychological evaluations," Hana said. "But we need to address the root cause, or it's only going to get worse.

Aelara exhaled loudly, the frustration evident in her tone. "Very well, run the tests, and keep me informed of any findings. Until then, we have to keep order. I will not let this mission fall apart."

Despite their efforts, the unease continued to grow. The once-bright corridors of the Ecliptica seemed darker, the hum of the engines more ominous. Whispers spread like wildfire, fueling paranoia and fear.

In one particularly chilling incident, a young technician named Marcus claimed to have seen a figure in the engine room-tall, shadowy, and silent. When he approached, it vanished, leaving behind only a lingering sense of dread.

"I know what I saw!" Marcus insisted, his voice trembling as he recounted the story to Liora. "It wasn't human. It didn't move like us. It was… wrong.

She did her best to reassure him, but the unease within her made his claims hard to wholly discount.

In her quarters, Aelara stared out the viewport at the stars lying ahead. The beauty of space used to be a sight to inspire; it was cold, uncaring. She couldn't shake this feeling welling up within her-that something was out there, waiting for them.

Her musings were interrupted by a soft knock at the door.

"Come in," she said.

Elias entered, his face grim. "Captain, I think I found something."

He laid a data pad on her desk with a series of core readings on it. "These patterns-they are not random. They are a message. And it is not just a warning. It's a … summons."

Aelara felt her blood run cold. "A summons for what?"

Elias hesitated. "I don't know. But whatever it is, it has already started.

As the hum of the Ecliptica grew louder, reverberating through the ship like a heartbeat, Aelara realized their mission had taken a darker turn. The unease aboard the ship wasn't just fear; it was the prelude to something far more dangerous, something they might not be able to escape.