Interstellar: Exploring The Cosmos With My Anomaly System-Chapter 77: On Track

"Well?" Astra asked, her voice quiet but expectant as she watched Veira crouch near the ship. The scientist leaned in, her eyes wide behind her glasses, fingers gliding along the cold metal of the vessel’s exterior. Despite the sunlight warming the village, the ship itself remained icy to the touch, an ancient relic dug deep into the granite roads like a buried monument.

Belk, Vagnis, Zelr, Godrick, Freya, and Lailla stood in a semicircle nearby, all watching as Veira silently inspected the strange technology. None of them dared to speak yet, not while the sharp-eyed scientist was deep in thought.

Veira stepped back after a moment, exhaling as she turned to Astra. "If it’s as you say... rebuilding is surely possible, but—" she paused, glancing over her shoulder at the others, then back at Astra, her expression tightening, "this doesn’t work on steam-powered tech. I can tell at least that much."

Belk furrowed his brow. "What does that mean?" he asked, voice low and laced with impatience.

"It means," Astra began, arms folding across her chest as her mind raced, "we’ll have to perfect the battery after all." Her gaze drifted past the others, lost in thought now, speaking more to herself than anyone in particular. "The ones we have now won’t work. Not even if we stacked a billion of them in a chamber. They’d never hold the charge needed."

There was a beat of silence. The air seemed heavier with each word.

"Not to mention," Veira added, lifting her eyes to the ship again, "the risk of the communication system still being functional. If it activates—if it sends anything—unwanted attention could arrive, and fast."

Confused glances darted among the group. Vagnis scratched his head. Freya’s brows pinched with concern. Astra began pacing, boots tapping lightly on the stone. She ran a hand through her wind-tousled hair, mumbling beneath her breath, trying to organize the flood of ideas into action.

Finally, she stopped. "Right. Veira," she said, snapping out of her trance and turning to the scientist, "what’s your answer?"

Veira looked back at the ship one final time before nodding, her expression turning firm and resolute. "It’s clear you’ll be a valuable ally in the future... so," she said, glancing to Godrick—who gave her a reassuring nod—before stepping forward once more, "on behalf of the Kingdom of Science, I agree to our allegiance. From today onward."

She extended her hand. Astra blinked, then grinned and met it in a firm shake. The tension between them vanished as both women smiled.

"We look forward to working with you," Astra said with a spark in her voice.

"Same here," Veira replied.

"We’re back!" Astra’s voice rang out over the bustling square as she and her group stepped into the heart of the village. The golden afternoon light spilled over the rooftops, casting long shadows on the worn granite paths.

A cheer erupted from the crowd, villagers rushing forward with bright eyes and eager smiles. Warriors who had returned from battle days earlier raised their arms in welcome.

"You’re back!"

Sylvi squeezed through the crowd and bolted toward the group, her head slamming into Astra’s stomach as she wrapped her arms around her tightly, knocking the wind out of her.

"I was worried!" she sobbed, Astra’s hand coming down to pat her head softly with a smile.

"Sorry I took so long," she murmured softly to the child as she nuzzled her face deeper into her stomach.

"I assume you brought good news?" Favio questioned, running up to the group to see their success.

Astra grinned and nodded firmly, walking past Sylvi as she began to scribble away.

"We’re going to have to start working right away," she announced, already drawing on a piece of paper before anyone could even question what.

Everyone’s eyes followed her path as she placed the piece of paper on the ground, their curious eyes landing on a sketch of a new project they needed to work on.

"This alliance gave us a major boost in the scientific ladder, so it’s time we finally work on repairing the ship." Everyone spoke amongst themselves at the news.

"We’re replacing the communication system in the ship and rewiring it to this planet first. To do that, we need copper—a whole lot of it—not to mention we need to fix the wires that actually connect to the power supply, then the walls and any cracks in the outer shell of the ship, and finally the power source itself."

"That sounds like a lot..." Zelr muttered under his breath. His eyes scanned the diagram once more, heart thudding in his chest. He wasn’t even sure where to begin. Copper alone would take weeks—months even—depending on the terrain. A cold sweat broke across his brow just imagining the workload that awaited them.

"Well, that’s Astra for you," Vagnis laughed softly.

Belk only crossed his arms and smiled to himself, clearly pumped about the trials in the future.

The murmurs died down as Astra stepped back from her diagram, eyes bright with vision.

"We’ll divide the tasks. I want Vagnis to oversee the copper mining operations—take whoever you need!"

The craftsman nodded without hesitation, already planning who to take with him. Astra turned to the others, her eyes on Sylvi before crouching down to her, resting her hand on the child’s shoulder.

"You and the villagers will be in charge of twisting the copper. Can you handle that?"

"Of course!" Sylvi grinned from ear to ear, her cheeks flushed with pride. "We’ll twist every last strand until it shines!"

Astra laughed, ruffling the girl’s already messy hair until it stood on end. "That’s the spirit," she said, rising to her feet.

"And lastly, Belk and I will look for electricity."

"How’re you doing that?" Vagnis asked, his head tilted to the side in confusion, only to hear Belk’s confident chuckle right beside him.

"Why, right up there of course!" He pointed toward the twin mountains, their peaks ascending into the clouds. Vagnis stepped back at the ridiculousness of it, his face breaking into a cold sweat despite not being the one going up there.

"You can’t be serious—" he choked, looking toward Astra, who nodded.

"The higher we go, the better our chances..."

"We need to seize every opportunity."

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