Brennan absolutely hated the underwater suit. It made her feel claustrophobic, and restricted her movement, and she felt like she couldn’t breathe. It also gave her a weird sense of isolation, as if the other five members of their group were further away than they had any right to be. 

It was dark down here, with the only light source coming from what they had brought along. That, however, did nothing to lift the heaviness of the deep, as shifting beams were cast across the decaying stone walls. And even though the moving shadows always turned out to be fish or algae, they put her on edge. 

And so did Keller. Although Alcyone did not even attempt to telepathically connect to the man – not only because she didn’t really know how, but also because he would definitely not appreciate it – she could see that his mood changed, shifting one from extreme to the other. 

They had been walking through the ruins for what felt like hours. Again and again finding paths they blocked. 

Slabs of stone had crumbled inward, making passage through most of the corridors impossible. The grand achways were choked with debris, leaving them to navigate the narrow, claustrophobic passages that remained.

Still, the temple itself still held an eerie grandeur. The walls were covered in faded carvings that hinted at long forgotten rituals, though the intricacy of the designs had been worn by time and water. 

“This way,” Jara’s voice crackled through the comms. She motioned toward a pitch-black passage. Its entrance was barely wide enough for them to squeeze through. The sight of it made Brennan’s stomach churn, and a cold sense of dread creeping up her spine. The thought of forcing herself through that dark space made her skin prickle beneath the suit.

As a child, Brennan had, for quite some time, been afraid of the dark. Her older brothers had teased her for demanding a night-light well into puberty, and the only reason she could now do without, was Eshrevi. Eshrevi liked her bedroom dark and cold. 

She still put on some light source whenever Eshrevi was working nights. 

So Alcyone tried to convince herself to be brave, to take a step forward, and be the leader she was supposed to be. But before she could gather herself, Keller stepped forward. There was no hesitation as he moved past her toward the passage. His light cut through the blackness, illuminating jagged walls and sealife that would have preferred to remain undisturbed.

“Let’s get this over with,” he muttered as he took the lead without waiting for anyone else to follow.

Brennan bit her lip, feeling like her relationship with their Chief Security Officer was getting worse every second of this curses mission. His cold efficiency and lack of hesitation made her feel small, even though she knew this wasn’t supposed to be a competition. She watched the others follow, feeling a pang of envy at their evident ability to conquer their fears a lot faster than she was. “I’m taking the rear”, she said quietly, pretty sure that no one listened.

The passage stretched on, twisting and narrowing with every step. Her light flickered over the decaying walls, revealing alien, long-legged creatures crawling along the stone. Brennan’s heart was racing – She hated spiders. Even in their regular form, back on land, they made her skin crawl, but down here, they were worse. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to keep moving. 

Her chest tightened with each step. “Almost there”, she thought, without having actual evidence of this soon being over.

But finally they emerged from the suffocating passage into a large, open chamber, and Alcyone took a deep breath. 

But her relief was short-lived, and none of it was left as her eyes adjusted these new surroundings. The chamber had once been grand, with broad pillars and high ceilings, but was now nothing but a hollow, decaying shell.

The walls were faded, cracked, and covered in algae. Once opulent chairs and tables lay rotting and half-buried. And at the far end of the room, scattered near what must have once been an altar, were skeletal remains. People had likely sought refuge in the temple when the oceans came, only to meet their end here.

Did they find salvation, even if not in the physical world?

Brennan had been raised in a religious family, and grown up in a place where visiting one of the several temples was a regular ritual. Even though she wasn’t exactly the poster child of that belief – not after committing to a relationship with Eshrevi – she believed that she too would seek refuge in one of the temples.

Would she find salvation?

Her head was swimming with the images of home, memories of her childhood, first contrasted with, then intermingled with the decay in front of her. 

“Commander, if you wish to remain here, at least inform the group.” 

Keller’s sharp voice cut through her daze, snapping her back to the present. She blinked. Why was it so hard to concentrate? 

She shook her head.” No, I’m good,” she replied, her voice sounding more distant than she’d meant.

Keller scoffed. Clearly unimpressed. He turned his attention back to what he had been doing. Alcyone hadn’t noticed before, but now she saw the others gathered around him, carefully reassembling something… a golden artefact, round and intricate, though clearly broken. The once-polished surface was marred with cracks, pieces were missing, but even in its damaged state, it was almost unreasonably fascinating.

The group continued working. How long had they been at it? Each of them was focused on their task, but to Brennan, the scene felt… wrong. 

Surreal. 

As if she were watching everything through a filter. Like a dream, but not a particularly pleasant one.