Space, as it turns out, is deeply disappointing when you're traveling via a method described as "dimensionally out of phase." There were no majestic nebulas or shimmering stars to gaze at.
The view from the main screen was just... black. A perfect, featureless, soul-crushingly boring black.
"This sucks," Quynh Nhu declared, having finished her fourth chocolate bar in the first ten minutes of the flight. "I was promised a space adventure. This is less 'Star Odyssey' and more 'Watching Paint Dry in a Metal Box.'"
Minerva: We are currently traveling at a velocity that makes the concept of 'light speed' seem like a brisk walk. Displaying external visuals would be disorienting and likely induce existential dread.
"I'll take existential dread over this," Quynh Nhu grumbled. "At least it's a feeling."
Pham Tuan, on the other hand, was not bored. He was actively fighting a losing war against space sickness.
The 'White Rabbit's' warp engine didn't so much 'fly' as it 'violently re-organized reality' around itself, a process that felt remarkably like being put in a blender.
"Are we... supposed to be... spinning?" he asked weakly, his face a pale shade of green that clashed horribly with his usual stony complexion.
Lin Ming, who was piloting, glanced at the console. His mastery of gravity and elemental forces made the flight feel surprisingly smooth to him. "Technically, Tuan, everything is spinning. The ship, the planets, the galaxy. Just try to spin in the same direction as everything else."
[System Advice: This advice is scientifically inaccurate and profoundly unhelpful. 10/10, great work, Host.]
Suddenly, an alarm blared. It wasn't a danger klaxon, but a quirky little chime that sounded suspiciously like a cuckoo clock.
Minerva: Attention. We are approaching a gravitational anomaly. The warp engine is experiencing... minor turbulence.
The 'minor turbulence' felt like the ship had just been drop-kicked by a god. Everything rattled.
Quynh Nhu's carefully stacked snack collection went airborne, creating a zero-gravity maelstrom of potato chips and gummy bears.
Pham Tuan made a sound that was deeply, deeply unhappy.
"Minerva! I thought you said there was a 73.4% chance of a smooth trip!" Quynh Nhu yelled, trying to swat a rogue pretzel out of her face.
Minerva: That statistic applied to the previous flight model. After reviewing the logs, it seems this particular ship, 'White Rabbit 03,' was the one where the chief engineer tried to 'improve' the power core using his wife's food processor and a lot of optimism. Our chances of a non-linear temporal event have just increased to a statistically significant 28%.
Pham Tuan went from green to stark white. "Dinosaurs! I knew it!"
"Relax, Tuan," Lin Ming said calmly, his hands dancing over the controls, skillfully guiding the lurching ship through the anomaly. "We're not going to see any dinosaurs."
Just as he said that, a distorted image flickered onto the main screen. It was a snapshot from outside their dimensional bubble—a lush, primeval jungle populated by giant, lizard-like creatures.
One of them, a massive beast with a tiny head and a terrifying number of teeth, seemed to look right at them and roar.
The screen went black again.
The cockpit was silent. Pham Tuan had fainted. Quynh Nhu slowly lowered the gummy bear she had just caught.
"...Was that a T-Rex?" she asked in a small voice.
Lin Ming gripped the controls, a bead of sweat on his forehead. "Nope. Just... a weather balloon. A big, scaly, toothy weather balloon."
The rest of the trip was a tense affair. Pham Tuan was eventually revived by Quynh Nhu waving a packet of sour candy under his nose.
He spent the remainder of the flight huddled in his seat, meditating on the concept of 'not vomiting.'
Lin Ming, meanwhile, decided to be productive. He handed co-pilot duties to Quynh Nhu ("Just keep it pointed at the big red dot and try not to hit any temporal dinosaurs") and delved into Minerva's data chip.
He learned the names of the Madakaros clans stationed at the Mars outpost—the Iron Skulls, the Void Gazers, the Soul Drinkers.
Each had their own specialties. It was like reading the roster for a very evil, very powerful intergalactic sports tournament.
[New Side-Quest: Know Thy Enemy!]
[Objective: Memorize the command structure of the Mars outpost. Humiliating an enemy is much more satisfying when you can call him by name.]
[Reward: Bonus Battle Will Points for every commander you correctly identify before punching them.]
After what felt like an eternity of boring blackness and low-grade nausea, a new alert chimed. This one was a pleasant, synthesized trumpet fanfare.
Minerva: Arrival in Mars orbit imminent. Exiting warp-phase in three... two... one...
The violent lurching stopped. The soul-crushing blackness on the screen was replaced by the breathtaking vista of the Red Planet hanging in the void, a giant sphere of rust and rock against a tapestry of brilliant stars.
"Whoa," Pham Tuan breathed, his space sickness forgotten.
Quynh Nhu pressed her face against the screen. "Okay. This part doesn't suck."
Lin Ming felt a sense of awe, but his focus was elsewhere. His Spiritual Sense, useless in the warp, could now spread out again.
He felt it instantly—a massive, angry blotch of energy on the planet's surface. It was a fortress of arrogance and power. The command outpost.
Minerva: Engaging stealth systems to maximum. I am a ghost. They will not see us. Beginning orbital insertion and descent to the target coordinates, the 'Valley of the Kings,' a large canyon system several hundred kilometers from the outpost.
The 'White Rabbit' began its silent descent. The plan was to land far away, then travel the rest of the way on foot to remain undetected.
They landed with a soft, gentle thud in the bottom of a vast, shadowed canyon. The ramp lowered, revealing the desolate, alien landscape of Mars. The air was thin, the sky a pale pink, and the silence was absolute.
"One small step for a man," Quynh Nhu whispered dramatically as she stepped onto the red dust, "one giant leap for the 'Let's Go Annoy Some Aliens' club."
Pham Tuan took a step out, then stumbled, surprised by the low gravity. He pushed off the ground a little too hard and ended up performing a slow, undignified somersault before landing in a heap.
"I hate this planet," he groaned.
Lin Ming stepped out, feeling the weak gravity, the thin air, the faint but distinct elemental energy of this new world. It felt... muted, ancient, and tired compared to Earth's vibrant power.
[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT: Welcome to Mars!]
[Environmental Effects: Low Gravity (Jumping is now awesome). Thin Atmosphere (Try not to breathe too hard). Zero Chance of Milk Tea.]
[World-Quest Updated: Martian Misadventures!]
Their insane, ill-advised, and deeply stupid field trip had officially begun. They were hundreds of millions of kilometers from home, standing on an alien world, about to try and burglarize one of the most dangerous fortresses in the solar system.
Lin Ming looked at his team—a sniper tripping over her own feet in low-G, a juggernaut covered in red dust, and a spaceship-A.I. who was probably calculating the precise odds of their imminent demise.
He grinned. Everything was going perfectly.