“Saturn is gonna kill us. This was a horrible plan.”

Jupiter grinned, “Maybe, but it worked didn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Uranus agreed, staring at the ship, floating aimlessly through space. The power was out, and only the emergency generator still worked. It was only a matter of time now. Within a few hours, the last of their oxygen would be gone, and the humans would no longer be an issue.

The plan was simple. Jupiter and Uranus knew how Saturn really felt about the humans, even if he would claim otherwise. They weren’t mad - well, actually they were. But not so much at Saturn. It was humanity’s fault. They were deceptive and manipulative and convinced so many Planets of their innocence. If it had worked against Mars, Venus, and even Mercury, it’s no surprise it worked against Saturn too.

It was sad, but both knew they couldn’t dwell on it. Jupiter created a plan quickly. FIrst, he told Saturn it was his job to keep the humans from going farther. 

“Well, if you want them to live, you’ll figure it out.” Jupiter had said, “Do you understand?”

Saturn stared at him for several long seconds, and Jupiter’s heart twisted. He saw the betrayal in his eyes, and he had never wanted to be the cause of it. Never. He knew Saturn was the first to comfort him all those years ago, after their mother’s death. He knew Saturn was the first to be there when Earth’s death brought him to his knees. He knew that Saturn was always the one he could count on to be there for him.

And now, Jupiter had to forsake him.

“Loud and clear.” Saturn’s voice came out in a monotone. No emotion present, before he vanished into the deep expanse of the universe. It took all Jupiter had within him not to go after him.

“... You sure this is gonna work?” Uranus had asked several seconds later, “I mean, if it doesn’t… He’s not gonna be happy.”

“It will.” Jupiter had promised. “It has to.” They had to make Saturn do this, they had to put him into a compromising position where his true feelings would be revealed to Mars, Mercury, and Venus. Saturn was stubborn, and would flee if he was found out. He would be gone for a long enough time for Uranus and Jupiter to finish the humans off without a pointless fight breaking out between the three.

Staring at the darkened ship now, Jupiter knew he was right. Soon, this would all be over. Soon, Saturn would come home. 

Then, it would all be worth it.

***

The lights were blinding. The alarms were deafening. Screams echoed across the halls. Panic overtook all aboard.

Thomas kicked himself off the doorway, pushing himself down the hallway. The ship’s artificial gravity had been turned off, as had everything else declared non essential to life. Whether that was a blessing or a curse was still to be determined; right now Thomas had only one goal in mind: He had to get downstairs as quickly as he could. Down there, they had the cryosleep chambers.

They were made of the strongest materials found on Earth, and had been specially designed to power themselves for centuries. If the ship failed, then that was their only hope. They were the emergency back up, made for events just like the one being faced now. He had to get there.

Grabbing ahold of a pipe on the corner, he swung himself towards the stairs and continued downwards. The alarms made his ears ring, but he knew they would soon turn off. They took up energy too, and had been programmed to only last for several minutes in the case of a horrible emergency like this. The only technology that would remain online would be the lights and the oxygen generators.

“Well maybe you should’ve listened to that one Planet’s warnings, you ever think about that? Huh?” Giovanni’s voice read out Thomas’ thoughts, and the captain suddenly found himself missing the AI’s snarky comments. They could be pretty annoying and distracting, but they were also comforting. He would give anything for his friend to come back online again.

Thomas reached the door just before the alarms silenced themselves. He swung the door open and breathed out a sigh of relief; it looked like the rest of his crew had already made it.

“Thomas!” Joan flew towards their friend as soon as he got in, throwing themself at him in a tight hug. Thomas hugged back, afraid this would be the last chance he ever got. “God, you got me worried. Don’t do that again!”

Thomas laughed, though it was only out of stress. “Okay, I promise.” He released his friend, and scanned the crowd. Everyone was there, and Emile was helping other members get into the chambers as they spoke. Some were already filled - those people hadn’t ever awakened since the journey had begun on Earth - but that was okay, they had enough made for everyone, plus a few extra. They would be okay.

“Thomas, get over here, I need to talk to you.” Remy’s words interrupted Thomas’ thoughts. The navigator grabbed his friend’s arm and pulled him off with him before he got a chance to reply, so there wasn’t much of a choice there. Thomas went with him quickly, and they stopped in the corner of the room.

“Was this Jupiter and Uranus?” Remy whispered harshly, “Because if it is - where the hell are the other Planets?? What happened to ‘keep going, we’ll protect you!’”

Thomas shook his head, “I have no idea, Rem… Mars was here earlier, and so was Saturn. Saturn told me to go back home again and I told him no! That was when the ship first  began to shake…” He looked at Remy sadly, “We were wrong. This was him. He was never on our side.”

Remy clenched his teeth, “F.”

“Guys!” Emile shouted, and the two looked over to him. Joan waved to them, slipping into their own chamber. “We gotta go, come on!”

Thomas nodded, and the two pushed off the wall and headed over towards Emile. Joan’s chamber closed soon after they mumbled out a quick, “Don’t wake me up until this problem is over,” and Emile helped Remy in next. It took a bit longer than Joan’s had, since the two seemed to make even the long silence dramatic and romantic. Thomas smiled softly, partially grateful that Giovanni wasn’t there to shout at the two to ‘just kiss already!’ as they stared at each other lovingly before Remy’s chamber was firmly shut. The moment would probably have been ruined.

“Ready, Thomas?” Emile asked, smiling gently once Remy was frozen. Thomas took a moment to look at him, and suddenly realized how tired he looked. There were subtle tear stains on his cheeks, and his eyes were bloodshot. A twitch of his hand showed Thomas just how worried the doctor was, even if he wasn’t going to show it. He knew that Emile never wanted anyone else to worry about him.

Emile Picani was strong, but he didn’t need to be strong enough for both of them.

“You get in next, Emile.” Thomas decided, putting his hand on his friend’s shoulder. Emile started to object, but Thomas continued, “I can do it for myself, I know how to. And I’m the captain anyways so… this is an order.”

Emile smiled, reaching up and pulling him into a tight hug. The fact that he didn’t take another moment to protest made Thomas glad that he chose this. His friend buried his head into his shoulder, and Thomas felt the fabric grow wet with tears. 

“Thank you.” Emile’s voice was soft, emotion seeping out of it as easily as he let his own tears fall. His words were simple, but his tone carried more relief than a thousand blank “thank you”s ever could.

Emile pulled away then, and stared at Thomas, more serious than he’d ever looked before. “Promise me you aren’t going to try to play the hero. Get to sleep and let us all stay safe, okay? When the rescue signal reaches Earth and they come get us, you need to be on that ship, okay?” 

Thomas nodded solemnly. Satisfied with that promise, Emile climbed into his chamber and shut his eyes slowly, frost creeping up until it completely covered the inside of the glass. He disappeared into unconsciousness.

The ship was dark and quiet now, and the only sound to be heard was Thomas’ own breathing. The alarms had long since been silenced, and the lights were dim and flickering on and off. All was abandoned. Thomas inhaled deeply, trying to pull the everfleeting amount of oxygen in the air deep into his lungs.
    He knew this could be his last time doing so. The ship could be destroyed, or lost. The emergency signals would stay on for many years, but what if that wasn’t long enough? What if they were never found? What if they were lost forever?

In theory, the Planets would be able to save them. But they were still nowhere to be found. Thomas didn’t have much hope in them. So far, their promises had turned out to be lies… well, most of them had. Saturn’s words were the only ones that had come true.

Thomas had no bigger regret than not listening to him.

He looked around the room for one last time, wishing that it had a window. That would have been nice. The universe was beautiful, splashes of purples and pinks and blues swirled together to create entire galaxies, stars speckling the background and flashing brightly, while light passed through the expanse in amazingly powerful waves. The mystery of what was just waiting to be discovered was the only thing that rivalled the physical beauty. Moons were full of geysers, planets were filled with rocky mountains and gorgeous lakes, and stars shined like the heavens. These great mysteries were what drove him to work hard, to truly escape the confines of gravity and explore the great expanse of space.

If he could have one last wish, it would be to see that beauty just one last time.

Thomas shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He needed to go; the clock was ticking. He grabbed a hold of the handle on Emile’s chamber, beginning to push himself over to his own. But he stopped. He took a moment to stop and look throught the clear lid that was now covering his friend, hiding him from the horror of the present. He looked so peaceful, and the tiredness had left him. There was no stress to be seen, and Thomas was grateful for this; being stuck in a single moment of heaven was bliss, but there was no worse fate for someone than to be stuck in hell for the eternity that was a single second.

Pleased that Emile was safe, Thomas continued to check on the others. He looked across the room, looking into the chambers one by one and meeting the closed eyes of each of his friends. Remy, Joan, Talyn, they were all there, and so was everyone else in the crew. They shared the same peaceful look the doctor had, and Thomas smiled. They were okay. He had to believe they would be okay. They would wake up. They would be safe. They had to be. 

With those assurances, Thomas pressed on. He took a hold of the top of his own chamber, and began to pull. It opened silently and easily, and a small light in the back lit up a light green as it did so. It was time.

Thomas reached out to pull himself into the chamber, but his hand froze. He couldn’t move any farther. He tried to open his mouth to speak, but found it had frozen shut too. He felt the impulse to take a deep breath, instincts screaming at him to quicken his breathing, but he didn’t. He couldn’t comprehend why his body was disobeying orders, but his breathing began to slow instead. Was he not getting enough oxygen? Was there something in the air? He wasn’t in the cryosleep chamber yet, so why on Earth was he paralyzed? What was happening? His mind spun with questions as his body froze, but soon the thoughts began to slow too. A cloud seemed to cover his brain and block out any worries he had. He couldn’t think. 

He felt his eyelids grow heavy, and could hardly hold them open. Not that it mattered; by now he was past the point of thinking. He was past the point of caring. What was he even trying to do again? 

As his mind dimmed, he focused on the one thing he could see as his eyes slowly fluttered shut. The green light, glowing ever brightly in the machine he was staring at. Hey, wasn’t he supposed to be inside that thing? Oh well, it probably didn’t really matter anyways. Sleep was sleep, and all he longed for was the peace that was found in that darkness.

The green light blinked on.