Chapter 10: Shadows on the Steel
The sharp hum of broken circuits echoed through the silence.
Inside the wrecked command room, Coain crouched beside the damaged Cloaking Module, hands moving quickly with a set of makeshift tools. The air was heavy with heat and dust, but he didn't stop. His arms were smeared with grease, his forehead dripping with sweat, but his focus never wavered.
The engine's core, still faintly glowing in the lower deck, hummed louder with each adjustment he made. He'd routed emergency power from the backup cells, enough to wake parts of the ship from its near-dead state.
A soft green light blinked to life on the Cloaking Module.
Coain stared for a moment. Then slowly reached for the ship's main control panel beside him.
"Let's see if you still remember how to vanish," he muttered.
He flipped a switch and pressed the activation key.
Beep. Beep. Whirrrr.
A low, mechanical sound spread through the floor. The panels vibrated. Then suddenly… the outer screen flashed:
› VANISHING MODE: ACTIVATED
› SHIP STATUS: INVISIBLE
His eyes widened. He jumped to his feet and raced toward the back door of the ship, pushing it open and stepping outside into the gray light of Taiquim's planet.
There it was the wrecked ship, dented, cracked, nearly gutted from the crash but now it shimmered.
And then…
Gone.
From a few steps away, the ship had completely disappeared. Only the shadows of where it once stood remained. The Vanishing Mode worked. It cloaked the ship completely from view.
Coain smiled exhausted, proud, and a little in disbelief.
"Not bad for someone they left behind," he said to himself.
He turned and quickly re-entered the ship. The moment he stepped through the invisible entrance, the world flickered around him the inside still lit by emergency lights, but now protected.
He slid down the rail and headed back to the repair bay, still eager to finish his work.
On the way, he passed the shattered remains of the main corridor. Wires hung like vines. A piece of wall armor had collapsed halfway, forcing him to crawl under it. As he moved through the darkened hallway, something caught his eye.
A sealed panel.
Scratched and dented, but not destroyed. Curiosity pulled at him.
He reached out, wedged a crowbar into the side, and forced it open with a grunt. The door hissed and released a cold draft.
Inside… boxes. Dozens of them.
He stepped in carefully and pulled one open.
His eyes widened.
Packaged rations. Water. Dried meat. Nutrition bars. Dozens hundreds of them.
He opened another box more food, carefully sealed and organized. Hidden. Preserved.
Coain's throat tightened. He stared in disbelief for a moment, then slowly sat down beside the crates.
"All this time…" he whispered. "He was hiding it…"
He thought of the captain. The moment they told him there were only ten escape boards for eleven people. The cold "thank you" before leaving him behind. And now this a full storage of food hidden from the crew.
He let out a bitter laugh.
"No more hiding," he said to the walls. "No more secrets."
He grabbed a packet of bread and dried fruit, tore it open with shaking hands, and ate quickly. It was the best thing he'd tasted in weeks even though it was military rations.
He ate slowly, chewing in silence. For the first time since crashing on Taiquim's planet, he felt like he might actually survive.
He wasn't strong. He wasn't a soldier. He was an engineer. But that meant he could build. He could fix. He could adapt.
He stood up and looked around the storage room.
"This ship will fly again," he said. "Even if it takes years."
He left the storage area and returned to the repair bay, full now physically and mentally. He pulled out his scanner and rechecked the Cloaking Module, now glowing steadily. Then he moved on, finding more broken panels, damaged circuits, melted vents. It would take time, but he wasn't afraid of time anymore.
For five long, quiet days, Coain labored in the hidden belly of the ship.
With only the blinking of dim blue lights and the constant buzz of welding sparks, he repaired panels, recalibrated the melted circuits, and worked the core engine like a surgeon bringing life back to a dying body. Every joint in his body ached, his eyes were sore from sleepless nights, and his skin had grown pale under the artificial glow of the ship's emergency lights.
But he didn't stop.
He had a goal now. Not glory. Not revenge. Freedom.
He would finish this ship, fly it alone back to Earth, quit this nightmare mission, and never let anyone use him again.
While inside the ship's heart chamber, crouched under a steel archway, sparks flying from his welding tool, Coain froze.
A sound.
Boots.
Not just one pair dozens.
The rhythm of marching echoed faintly through the reinforced walls, growing louder by the second. His instincts kicked in. He dropped his tools and sprinted to the control panel, flipping switches.
The ship's lights died.
But the Cloaking Module remained online. The ship was still invisible.
He moved to a side monitor and activated the external camera feed. The screen flickered… and then he saw them.
Taiquim's soldiers.
More than fifty, moving in formation across the barren land outside. Dark armor glinting under the dim sky. Some dragged captives humans tied and bruised, their heads down. Engineers, soldiers… familiar faces. His crewmates. People who once laughed in the cafeteria. People who once called him "the errand boy."
Now they were prisoners, pulled like broken dolls toward death.
Coain's heart pounded.
He gritted his teeth, feeling helpless. He knew there were more survivors out there, still hiding, still breathing. But how many would be caught before they had a chance?
He narrowed his gaze at the screen, watching as the column of soldiers approached the space where his ship stood cloaked. His fingers hovered over the emergency controls, ready to shut down everything if they got too close.
Then
One of the Taiquim soldiers, walking ahead of the rest, stumbled.
He hit something that wasn't supposed to be there. His body bounced back slightly, and he fell to his knee. The invisible hull of Coain's ship had caught him.
Coain's stomach dropped.
The soldier stood, confused. He waved his hand forward and met resistance.
He tapped again. Harder. Then pounded with his fist.
Within seconds, the others noticed.
The leader taller, armored in a silver-chrome chest plate stepped forward. He slowly reached out his hand, letting it hover… and then pressed it against the air.
Solid.
His fingers traced the invisible outline of the ship's hull.
Even without understanding their language, Coain could tell what was happening. The leader barked sharp orders. He gestured at the group with the captives telling them to continue moving toward Taiquim's city. The prisoners were yanked forward. Many limped. A few resisted. One screamed for help.
Coain clenched his fists. He couldn't help them now. Not without exposing everything.
The leader of the soldiers turned back to the remaining troops and gave a final command. A few soldiers knelt around the invisible ship, forming a perimeter. One activated a small triangular device it glowed green, projecting faint pulses around the perimeter.
Another soldier, speaking rapidly into a communication unit, likely sent word back to Taiquim himself.
Coain backed away from the monitor, chest tightening.
"They know…" he whispered. "They know something's here."
He looked around his dark ship, his breath shallow. It wasn't just his project anymore. It wasn't just his escape plan. Now, he was sitting in a ticking trap, surrounded by Taiquim's army.
And worse…
Taiquim was coming.
The very idea made his hands shake.
He glanced at the half-finished engine system and the improvised cloaking module still running on backup power. It wasn't enough. If Taiquim arrived before he finished reinforcing the cloaking, or if they detected the ship's internal heat signature it would all be over.
His mind raced with options.
Fight? Impossible.
Escape? No jetpack. No support.
Hide? He already was.
He sat on the edge of the console, breathing hard, eyes locked on the monitor as the soldiers outside tightened their circle.
He had one advantage they didn't know he was inside.