Chapter 1: How did we get here?

This is certainly an interesting way to die.

Falling into a star. Who knew that this would be my end? What a shitshow.

My name is Alexander Wayward and I am going to die.

As the outer plating of my ship breaks apart I wonder about how I got here.

How did I fuck up this bad? 

Did I fuck it up during the jump? No, I double and triple-checked the coordinates.

Did the drive core cook off during transit? Again no, temps were stable…

So what in the fuck happened!?

I mentally ran through each possibility. Reaching no conclusion in my quest to figure out which fuck up led to this…

Fuck… What a mess…

I guess god hates me. It's really the only possible answer.

Become an explorer they said! It will be the experience of a lifetime they said! What a fucking mess.

Soundlessly the ship broke apart around me. The heat of the star melting metal and cooking electronics. I sat quietly in the cockpit of my small explorer ship, the UNE Beyond Hardship. I knew it was only a matter of time before I too would be boiled alive. In preparation for the inevitable, I played with the energy pistol in my lap. I planned to go out on my terms instead of having my organs boil.

It is really beautiful though. There are worse ways to die I guess. When I go to hell at least I will have a great fucking story to tell.

I marvelled at the ebbs and flows of the surface, the tech in my helmet letting me see with great clarity the thing that was about to kill me. I watched as great plumes of fire erupted from the surface of the great beast.

For several minutes, I simply stared at it. Making peace with my death.

Then wordlessly I reached for the pistol in my lap. Aimed it towards the star’s surface and as my last act of defiance against a cruel and uncaring universe, I pulled the trigger.

Energy shot out from the barrel of the pistol. Breaking through the screen in front of me and flying off to eventually impact the star. 

Go fuck yourself you big ball of hydrogen.

I stared at it. As if I was waiting for it to answer back.

You are reading story Star Break at novel35.com

Sorry, mom… I don't think I'm going to survive this one…

I waited several minutes. Watching as the star got closer and closer. Then as before I picked up the pistol in my lap and turned up the energy setting to max.

If I'm going to do this I might as well try to give myself the least painful death. I sure as shit don't want to give this fucker the satisfaction of killing me.

“Go fuck yourself! You gigantic cunt!” I screamed in my helmet.

I put the barrel of the pistol to my temple and slowly began to pull the trigger, but suddenly inspiration hit me.

Fuck! Maybe I can get the fuck out of here!

I threw away the pistol and unlocked my seatbelt. I scampered up into the back of my ship towards where the drive core was located.

Maybe if I overload the drive core I can warp myself to a section of empty space. It’s fucking suicide, but it's the only chance I've got. Mom didn't raise a quitter.

I rushed to the back of the ship as it slowly got hotter. As the Beyond Hardship began to disintegrate around me. A plan began to form in my mind. Like a man possessed I ran through the tight corridors of my now doomed ship. Climbed through a hatch and arrived in the engine room. There in the middle of the room sat a large spherical object.

Hell yes! The drive core is still intact.

I began ripping apart the walls. Fortunately, a portion of the backup generators were still active.

Overloading the drive core is going to fry most of the backup generators. If I'm lucky one will survive or at least be intact enough for repairs.

The ever-building heat inside my suit pushed me to work faster. Unplugging and rewiring. I was redirecting all of the ship's power to the drive core. I was going to do the jump of the century or go out with a bang.

I worked harder than I ever worked before. The desperation of the situation spurred me onward at a breakneck speed. The ship’s breakdown increased in speed as I worked. Soon the engine room’s plating began tearing apart, slowly revealing the great beast that wanted to boil me alive.

As I finished the last of my preparations I took a glance at the great beast. In my hands a button that would overload the drive core once pressed.

For a second I stared at it. Then I pointed a middle finger at the great beast and pressed the button.

And the universe screamed. Reality tore, and the void lapped at my feet. For but a second it was as if I could perceive the whole of reality at the same time. My vision inverted as I touched the flows of the universe. My senses went haywire as I took in the majesty of the universe.

No human was ever supposed to enter jump space with just a suit. Those who tried invariably went either insane or died from a stroke, and I believe I understood why. No being could glimpse at the great majesty of the universe and come out unchanged.

And as the moment passed I heard a crack, a hiss, and unending silence…