Chappel stood at the portal, staring at the two distant planets hanging low on the horizon, their twin shadows casting an eerie glow over the misty peaks. She tapped on the console beside her, recalibrating coordinates with a nervous flick of her manicured fingers. The headset crackled in her ear—a voice reminding her that time was running out. The portal was her only escape, but it needed to charge fully before she could leap across the rift between worlds. Behind her, the ship’s alarms...
