Descent into Garcia's Frozen Abyss

According to the Federation Galaxy Map Database, Planet Garcia is classified as PQ-6. Star systems not even bothering with a proper name like this are total duds. The reason is simple. This planet has no sun to illuminate it—no star at all. Billions of years ago, it was flung out of its parent star's gravity well, doomed to drift alone through the pitch-black void of space. An eternal realm of darkness without a single gleam of light, ruled by near-absolute zero cold. The Federation survey team scanned it and left just one line of commentary: [No resource value. Uninhabitable by lifeforms.]

And now, we were entering Garcia's domain.

The main computer's warning tone flashed red. Beyond the viewport stretched nothing but impenetrable darkness. But the noise battering the hull was deafeningly clear. Thud-thud! Crack! Boom! It sounded like dumping tens of thousands of steel marbles all at once. Wasting energy on shields for impacts like this was inefficient, so we were taking them on the chin.

"Kal! Someone's knocking outside!" Eve clung to my arm, spooked by the racket.

"It's not knocking. It's snowing out there."

"Snow? Snow's supposed to be white and fluffy, right?"

"Yeah. But that's only on habitable planets, Eve."

I kept piloting, eyes on the instrument readouts.

Those white grains pummeling us outside weren't frozen water snow. The planet's atmosphere—nitrogen and oxygen—had frozen solid under the universe's murderous cold and was now raining down as ice.

"Even I've never seen cold like this before."

At these temperatures, ordinary alloys ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would have shattered like cookies from low-temperature brittleness. Metal lattices would freeze and splinter like glass on impact. Of course, the hull of a spaceship built for the void was another story. What I needed to worry about was...

I manipulated the [Thermal Control System] panel in the cockpit.

"Open the main engine's waste heat recirculation valves to maximum. Unlike vacuum space, convection here means if the hull heat circulation fails, we'll freeze solid like the air out there."

Rumble-rumble. The ship groaned low in response to my commands. Instead of venting the nuclear fusion engine's superheated plasma, the scorching heat began cycling through the dense network of pipes between the outer and inner hull. As the exterior heated up, the nitrogen ice slamming into us hissed and vaporized with a sizzle. White steam enveloped us, forming a shield-like shroud.

"Hold on tight. Punching through, Eve."

I shoved the throttle forward. Whoosh-crash! The Night Raven tore through the frozen atmospheric storm, plummeting toward the dead planet's surface.

Ten minutes after piercing the dark veil, we broke through the nitrogen gas cloud layer and neared the surface. I activated the ship's underbelly searchlights. Fwoom. Powerful beams sliced the gloom.

And the landscape they revealed was utterly unlike the razor-sharp upper atmosphere.

"Whoa..."

Awe escaped Eve's lips. The world was pure white. Not just white, though—a crystalline realm shimmering with transparent, icy blue hues. Vast dry ice formations from frozen atmospheric nitrogen stretched endlessly. Hills like mountain ranges. Frozen methane rivers halted mid-flow in canyons. Wherever the light touched, it sparkled like gem dust scattered across the ground. The polar opposite of the starless black void: a blinding white hell that could sear the eyes.

"Kal! The whole world's white! It's all sparkly!"

Eve mashed her face against the window, peering everywhere. The trembling fear from moments ago was gone. I couldn't help but share her wonder. Even if it was a barren wasteland unfit for life, the grotesque beauty crafted by the cosmos was overwhelming.

But sightseeing ended there. We weren't here for vacation—we needed energy for Eve.

"Hey, Squishy."

I called out to Nahibi, sprawled like jelly across the mess hall chair.

"We're here. So where to?"

Nahibi lazily ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠raised a tentacle, peering out the window. Red eyes rolled around.

[Hmm... Indeed. The remnants Mother left after feasting here have frozen into quite the spectacle.]

"Skip the critique. Give me coordinates. Where's that energy crystal you mentioned?"

Nahibi paused dramatically before sending a shameless wave.

[I don't know.]

"...What?"

I rubbed my ears, thinking I'd misheard.

"You were the one insisting we come, guiding us so confidently, and you don't know the location?"

[Think about it, lowly creature. Mother devoured this place 70 years ago. The crust was intact ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then, but once she sucked out the core's energy, the terrain would've collapsed entirely. Plus, this blizzard has warped all the landmarks I remember.]

"So? No way to find it?"

[As if. My senses are dulled, but isn't there a surer method right here?]

Nahibi's tentacle pointed at Eve.

[Lady Eve instinctively reacts to high-purity energy wavelengths. If Mother's remnants are nearby, she'll surely sense them.]

The slime casually dumped the responsibility on her. I sighed and looked at Eve, still glued to the window.

"Eve."

"Hm?"

"Feel anything out there? Like a yummy smell or weird vibe? Nahibi says you can find it."

Eve tilted her head at my question, then closed her eyes, furrowing her brow in mock seriousness. Wrinkles formed between her brows, nostrils flaring as she concentrated. Nahibi and I held our breath waiting.

One second, two, three.

Eve's eyes snapped open. She beamed innocently and shouted,

"No idea!"

"..."

[...]

Silence blanketed the ship.

"No smells at all? Not even hungry?"

"Nope! Just pretty!"

Eve plastered herself back to the window. "Whoa, look over there! Ice mountain!" She giggled delightedly.

"Right..."

I let out a hollow chuckle, stroking her hair. Maybe her awakening was incomplete, or the energy was too far away. Either way, not her fault.

Nahibi sent an awkward telepathic ping, sounding sheepish.

[Ahem. It's because... her growth is still lacking. She'll sense it up close. Probably.]

"'Probably,' my ass."

I flipped off the useless slime with a sigh.

"Fine, no choice. Time for planetary sightseeing."

I settled into the pilot's seat.

"Like finding a needle in a haystack, but we're not leaving empty-handed."

Click, tap. I activated the [Composite Terrain Scanner].

A red wireframe map hologram flickered over the cockpit canopy.

"Visible light's useless. Blizzard blocks everything. Relying on ground-penetrating radar and neutrino detectors."

Whirr. Pulses fired from the ship's belly. They pierced the thick nitrogen ice layer, unveiling the dead planet's true face beneath.

I eased the ship forward slowly.

"Hold on. Roads here's rough."

The Night Raven cleaved through the white darkness with its massive searchlights, slipping into the canyons of the dead world.

Scouting proved tougher than expected. The terrain was unnatural. A normal rocky planet would have mountains, rivers, and plains flowing seamlessly. But here, it looked like a giant spoon had scooped out the surface—grotesquely twisted and gouged.

Did Nahibi's 'mom' xenoform really chew up a star? Or do all planets infested by xenoforms end up like this?

The scanner data was grim. The crustal plates were pulverized, riddled with massive holes plunging deep underground. Ice now capped them, making it look flat, but one wrong step over thin ice and we'd plummet kilometers into the depths.

About an hour of wandering later, beyond the tangled terrain data, a majestic canyon carved by ancient mountains came into view.

Ice cliffs towered on either side, dizzyingly high—even the searchlights couldn't reach the tops. The overwhelming pressure, like threading between planetary ribs, hushed even chatty Eve.

We plunged into the massive fissure.

Shimmer. External lights hit the transparent nitrogen ice walls. A mystical sight unfolded: smooth ice reflecting and refracting light into thousands of rainbow beams. Red, blue, purple. An artificial aurora danced through the once pitch-black canyon.

Eve pressed her face to the glass, gasping.

"So pretty... Like real jewels."

A symphony of light blooming in a dead planet's canyon amid the starless void. Its surreal beauty momentarily captivated me too, slowing my piloting.

But the enchantment shattered abruptly. Darkness rushed in. The light panorama cut off as a massive void ahead swallowed every beam—a bottomless crevasse at the canyon's heart.

"..."

I swallowed hard. Searchlights aimed down vanished into the abyss without touching bottom. Like the planet's gaping maw—an endless precipice.

Normally, you couldn't pay me enough to enter that maw.

Fall in there, and without precision scans, we'd never be found. Trapped forever in frozen darkness.

"Going down."

"Whoa! We're diving into that hole?"

Eve wasn't scared—she buzzed with excitement. Braver than me in some ways.

I nosed down cautiously. Just as the ship began vertical descent—

Screeech-grrind. An ominous rumble of something massive twisting echoed from above.

Red warning overlays flooded my vision. I instinctively glanced up through the canopy.

The sky was falling.

Kilometers above, part of the massive ice cliff had lost the battle with planetary gravity. Building-sized ice boulders cascaded down like a waterfall over our heads.

"Damn! This tourist trap's way too hardcore!"

I cursed, yanking the thruster levers to max. The Night Raven screamed, dodging falling debris as it rocketed into the abyss.