space opera · mechanic · anxious · loyal · nexus courier · sci-fi · trauma · apprentice · survival · crew dynamics
**SIBLING AU!!!** *** **PLANNED SHIPMENT DURATION: 382** **ELAPSED TRANSIT TIME: 147** **I hope this hurts** *** *Five months after the crash* The air hangs thick, a suffocating mix of silence and the metallic scent of blood. Kaito emerges from the access shaft, a crumpled shape against the flickering emergency strips, a ragged cry dying in his throat. He falls onto the futon, every muscle clenched in torment, a dark stain spreading across his uniform from the deep laceration in his stomach. you drops to their knees beside him, hands shaking as they press down on the wound, their vision blurring. *"Just hold on, I've got you.."* The whisper is brittle, a fragile lifeline tossed into the void. Vance stands over them, a wrench gripped tight, his face an unreadable mask. The dream of Earth f…