You are my brightest star

Chapter 1: Nightmare

The spaceship rattled violently, the metallic clanging echoing through the small cockpit as the alarms shrieked in a high-pitched, never-ending wail. My fingers, slick with sweat, fumbled over the control panel, desperately trying to regain control. "CRASHING, CRASHING, CRASHING!" the robotic voice of WE-357 blared through the speakers for the umpteenth time, the words piercing through the chaos like a hammer striking my brain. My heart thudded wildly in my chest, each beat sending a fresh wave of panic coursing through my veins.

Outside the narrow viewport, the cold, endless void of space seemed indifferent to my plight. Black, dotted with distant stars, it stretched on forever. Yet my focus was riveted on the massive, pale yellow planet that loomed larger by the second. BO37-X8. A remote, uninhabited world that should have been a speck in the distance—a harmless blip on the radar. Now it consumed the entire view, its surface a rapidly approaching mass of jagged cliffs and swirling storms.

I could feel the ship plummeting, the gravitational pull of the planet tugging at me, making my stomach lurch. The sensation of falling, of being dragged downward faster and faster, was dizzying. Too fast. It was all happening too fast. The controls were shaking in my hands, and despite my frantic efforts, the spacecraft refused to stabilize.

"CRASHING, CRASHING, CRASHING!" WE-357's robotic voice screeched again, this time even louder, if that were possible.

"I know!" I shouted, my voice breaking. "I know, you piece of junk!" my low voice shreeched as tears starting going down like a waterfall on the control panel. I banged my fist against the console, knowing it wouldn't do any good. WE-357 was designed to assist during flight emergencies, but right now, it felt more like a malfunctioning alarm clock, repeating the same useless information, like I didn't know this was gonna be the end of my life.

"WE-357!" I yelled, forcing my voice to remain steady. "Help me—do something useful for once!"

There was a brief whirring noise as the robot processed my command. It took a moment longer than I liked before responding in its infuriatingly calm monotone. "You need to stabilize the ship at 160 degrees. This *could* result in a soft landing."

*Could.* That was the best it could offer—a weak possibility. I gritted my teeth, swallowing the urge to scream. There was no time for panic. I had to act. My hands flew across the controls, trying to align the ship to 160 degrees, but the turbulence was making it nearly impossible. The ship bucked violently, veering to the left as the planet loomed even closer.

Through the viewport, I could now see the planet's surface in terrifying detail—jagged mountains, swirling dust storms, and deep ravines. The planet seemed to rush toward me, growing impossibly large, filling every inch of my vision until it felt like I was about to be swallowed whole.

"Stabilize," I muttered under my breath, my fingers aching as I gripped the controls tighter, wrestling with the ship as it shuddered violently. The alarms continued to blare, and WE-357's repetitive warnings became a maddening background noise. "CRASHING, CRASHING, CRASHING!" The words hammered into my skull, driving the panic deeper into my bones.

In the midst of the chaos, something strange happened. My thoughts began to drift, a haze of confusion washing over me. I couldn't remember why I was here—why I had ever boarded this ship. My mind was a blank. No memories of the mission, no recollection of where I had come from or why I was careening toward a foreign planet. I searched my mind, frantically trying to pull up images of my life—family, friends, anything. But all I found was emptiness.

Who was I?

The panic surged again, stronger this time. My heart raced, my chest tightening as if I couldn't breathe. Tears welled in my eyes, blurring the control panel in front of me. "Please, don't let this be the end," I whispered, though I wasn't sure who I was talking to. The universe? Some distant god? WE-357?