Rye had her legs crossed, boots up on the dash of the ship, leaned back in the co-pilot chair. She had a warm cup of coffee in her hands, occasionally taking a sip as she watched the galaxy drift past the portholes. She smiled at the mop of braided red hair that took a seat beside her. Rye handed him a steaming mug she'd been saving for him.
"We're almost there," she said happily, looking at the holographic panel in the helm that displayed their plotted course. Bloth blew on the top of his coffee and took a sip. He closed his eyes and smiled.
"The Allfather has blessed our journey," he said. Rye nodded. The couple months on the ship with Bloodhound had been peaceful ones. Following Carnelian's death, they laid his body to rest inside of a cryopod and released it into space. She held onto his jacket with Gamma eight-four's emblem and hung it up on the wall of the ship. Rye grieved for a several days and Bloodhound was patient and tender. He had a place he wanted to show her and charted a destination over the week after Carnelian's funeral.
Rye and Bloodhound had decided to spend the several week-long journey together outside of the cryopods. They spoke about everything that had happened after the last Apex game. Rye was surprised when Bloodhound said that not only did Caustic get him to safety, he treated the bullet wound and helped track down the ship Rye was on. Bloodhound had imitated Caustic and said, "My debt is repaid, now get out of my sight." It made Rye laugh.
Along the way, there were many periods of pleasant, comfortable silence. They would sit together, holding hands and watching the stars. They would sometimes exchange stories about their respective journeys across the galaxy. Bloodhound would talk about the Allfather and Rye felt like she was starting to understand.
"Where are Huginn and Muninn?" Rye asked at one point.
"With the Allfather, for now. They will return when they're needed," he said.
Bloodhound would also cook with the limited ingredients aboard the ship. She didn't know how he did it, but it was always delicious. She would always insist on cleaning up afterwards. After meals, they would often spar or use the workout equipment in the back of the ship to try and keep in shape. They both agreed that space travel was notorious for degraded physical performance and put in an effort to negate it.
A light started coming into view and the helm began to issue notifications to prepare for landing. Rye and Bloth stood up and secured any loose articles around the ship before returning to the pilot and co-pilot seats and strapping down. The approaching planet had no moons and swirling grey clouds covering a dark surface. There was one area with white lights arranged in a large circle. The ship's electronic voice announced the countdown to enter the atmosphere. 3, 2, 1...
The descent was jolting and Rye clung tightly to the armrests of her chair. The exterior metal rattled and shook as thick thunderclouds whooshed past the portholes and flashes of lightning illuminated the interior of the ship. The ship's autopilot navigated through the storm and towards the circle of light that was visible from space. After it broke free of the violent weather, the ship slowly touched down on a stone platform. It gave one final jerk before coming to a standstill and announced that the landing sequence was complete.
Rye followed Bloodhound's lead unbuckling from the helm seats and gathered her gear. He slid his mask over his face and she did the same with her own. He engaged the airlock of the ship and waited for it to deploy before holding the hatch open for her. She walked through the airlock tunnel and took her first step onto the foreign planet.
The lights she saw from above were all bioluminescent orbs fashioned into tall lamps that surrounded a vast stone brick city that was in disrepair. There wasn't a soul to be seen among the partially collapsed structures. Bloodhound led her through towering archways with those same symbols she saw on top of the mesa and in the lake-side cove carved into them. They left footprints in the dust that was settled on the cobblestone streets. The rumbling thunder above was the only sound that echoed through empty stone buildings. They walked a good while before Bloodhound came to a halt in front of an imposing stone temple, he looked up at the steeple. Rye stood directly beside him.
