Fuck.

Fuck.

Qais has been steering this ship, they’ve been trying their best. Whatever immaterial bullshit that is fueling this death trap is pulling them one way, while the pulsing black hole pulls them right back in.

Every moment, every fucking game is the exact kind of nightmare Rush has been having for months–years now really. The bright light of the supernova makes his skin burn no matter how much he tries to ignore it.

Not a single one of them is faring any better.

They stay together, all of them, captain’s orders. Every moment between games they’re sitting on the deck watching the fucking world end around them.

At the center of it all is Jode.

For seasons, since the moment he met her, he’s never seen Jode let out any emotion that even suggested fear.

The moment she held a knife to his throat like he was prey, he knew Jode Crutch was a woman with a very, very strong will.

Even then, stress cracks even the strongest of towers, and he was watching her crumble right before his eyes.

Jode has been wearing his jacket for days. The iffey is clipped to her belt, but even without touching it, she’s radiating that same sickly cyan he saw when she picked it up the first time.

Himself and Jomgy are the only two people willing to get close to her now.

Jomgy keeps a pack of tissues in her lab coat at all times. How she keeps replacing them, Rush won’t ask. But right now, Jode is crying again, and here he is, staring down at the ground next to her.

“Jode, you gotta breathe–”Jomgy tries to be gentle, rubbing her hand against Jode’s back, but she only heaves harder and the tears roll down her cheek.

Jomgy is glancing at him now. The glance is demanding more than anything.

Say something.

Say anything.

“Lady,” Rush begins, “We–you’re gonna make it out of this, okay?”

The wretched sob that escapes Jode’s mouth is the last thing he hears before she storms across the deck.

Jomgy gives him one last disappointed look, shaking her head before running after her.

Rush watches them run.

He itches at his skin.

Sliding against the wall, all he can do is whisper a curse under his breath before he’s back to looking anywhere but the multicolored sky.