The wreck of Target-One floated in the void. Silent, gutted, its open sides resembled the ribs of a colossal beast. A swarm of debris surrounded it, glimmering faintly like a crown of broken glass. And there were the bubbles. Iridescent spheres the size of adult mammoths drifted with the hypnotic grace of cosmic jellyfish. Meriem, in her suit, adjusted her sensors. The silence inside her helmet was broken only by the steady hiss of her own breath.

- Emerta, final report before capture, Marcus ordered, his voice sharp over the intercom.
- Environment stable. For now. No internal movement detected since the last scan. Cartesia. Confirmation of the nature of the bubbles?
- Affirmative. Temporal bubbles identified. Contents: fragments of space-time from an uncharted galaxy. Level of quantum instability: high. Recommendation: extreme caution.
- Instability? That's an understatement, said Aliou, rubbing his hands on his pants.
- That's why we're here, replied Meriem, her eyes fixed on the airlock.

She adjusted her helmet. The three Brahma drones glowed with a bluish light of anticipation. In a few moments, they would follow her into the void. She thought of her daughter. Three years . Three years of birthdays, feverish nights, and unanswered questions spent hunting ghosts like these. These bubbles, this pure data... it was her only chance to make up for everything, to justify her absence, which weighed like a stone in her chest. And to save their reality.

- EVA sequence initiated. Pressure: stable. Biological signatures: nominal. Good luck, Dr. Iqbal.

The airlock opened onto nothingness. A gentle push, and Meriem floated in absolute silence. The sound of her blood in her ears suddenly became deafening. She slowly moved away from the ship, and Target-One revealed itself in all its tragic immensity. The starlight caught reflections on its twisted metal wounds.

- I must admit that I feel incredibly small in this space, she whispered, not to the team, but to herself.
- How I wish I could be there with you, replied Emerta's soft voice.
- I'm sure that when we get back, Eden will treat you to a vacation at a resort.
- Then I can't wait to get back.
- These bubbles... some of them contain... landscapes... I see one with blue mountains... I wonder what world it was captured from.

A Brahma drone activated its projectors. The beams pierced through a nearby bubble, revealing fragments of a crystalline city suspended in a purple sky.
- Cartesia, run a spectral analysis.

A few seconds later...
- Fragments of time...layer analysis complete...Result : Alpha colony, location unknown. Dating: approximately 40 centuries.

Meriem touched a silver bubble with her hand.

- Soft...like silk...cosmic silk. Brahma-Alpha? Begin the scan based on the professor's calculations. Once finished, send me the report. We need 30 bubbles.

The largest drone beeped and deployed a force field. Smaller drones rushed toward Target-One, scanning the bubbles.

- Thanks, Alpha. Emerta, update the capture map. That wreck is blocking half the field from my view.
- Right away, Doctor.

She took a few seconds, tapping on her keyboard.

- So what do we have?
- Processing, Doctor... I have an optimal path for twenty... twenty-three... twenty-five bubbles. Maximum.
- Twenty-five bubbles? What about the remaining five?
- Too deep. Inside a main cavity. The drones won't be able to extract them from outside. You'd have to go in manually and drill through the hull.
- That's not ideal, admitted Meriem. Aliou? Any brilliant ideas?
- The hull is at least two meters thick and made of an unknown alloy. We could try cutting it with a laser, but that would take twenty minutes. And you would have to be inside to guide the drone. The risk...
- Transfer the new trajectory to me, Emerta. We'll retrieve the twenty-five that are accessible, then we'll see about the rest.

The procedure unfolded with surgical precision. The drones, like heavenly shepherds, gathered the time bubbles. Meriem watched them work, her heart heavy. In a few days, she would have something to silence her critics, something to justify every minute stolen from her family. She imagined her daughter's face, no longer closed with disappointment, but open with pride. Mom saved the world.

- We have to go back, Doctor. Immediately.

Emerta's voice was flat, without inflection. It was more frightening than a scream.

- What's wrong?
- The scanners show an energy wave heading straight for us. It's emerging from an uncharted subspace rift. ETA : seven minutes.
- Seven minutes? But... the capture is almost complete.
- Dr. Iqbal!

Marcus' voice cut through the channel, sharp as a blade.

- Dr. Iqbal. Come back on board. Our shields won't be able to withstand this wave of energy. Calculations are underway to find a safe location. We don't have fifteen minutes.
- Ten, then. No, five will be enough to capture the remaining bubbles.
- Your impatience is going to kill us! Do you hear me? KILL.US Come back. On. Board.
- No, she growled. We're not leaving here without the remaining bubbles. All this work... all this wasted time... No.

Meriem hurried toward Target-One. She refused to waste any more time. Marcus tapped the point on his dashboard.

- Stop being selfish, Doctor. You're putting yourself in danger. You're putting us in danger.
- I'm not important. I'll do my part here even if I die. Professor Tashen can do the rest.
- Come back on board. Your oxygen supply won't last.
- I can't, Meriem interrupted.

She fired her thrusters with a sudden movement, heading not toward the ship, but toward the dark gash in the wreckage where the last bubbles glowed. She was deaf to everything except the frantic beating of her heart and the frantic countdown in her head. Four minutes. I can do this.

- She's not responding, Aliou exclaimed in panic.
- Emerta, take control of the Brahmas. Now, Marcus barked.

Meriem was completely unaware of the danger. She saw the three Brahma drones emerge from the wreckage and head straight for her. Two were loaded, their nets filled with fifteen bubbles. The third was empty. Before she could react, its mechanical arms closed around her chest with relentless gentleness, immobilizing her.

- Let me go! No! She struggled futilely as the drone, piloted by Emerta's iron fist, carried her back to the ship.

The drone dropped her off in the airlock with offensive delicacy. Meriem jumped up, striking the wall with her glove. As if her future have been stolen. The airlock closed with a pressurized hiss, and the hum of the thrusters instantly rose to an urgent roar. She didn't have time to reach her seat. The ship took off violently, and she was thrown against a wall, clinging to a handrail.

In the cockpit, the light was streaked with red. The screens flashed in rapid succession.

- Give me all the juices ! Everything! Marcus yelled, his jaw muscles bulging.

The ship, all elegance lost, growled like a wounded beast. The artificial gravity acted up, causing Meriem to sway. Through the porthole, she saw Target-One, their landmark, begin a slow, horrible rotation.

That was when the light changed.

A spectral blue, silent and absolute, flooded the space. There was no explosion, only a wave of light that extinguished the stars. The giant planet below seemed to freeze, its millennial storms suspended in sudden weightlessness.

The wreckage was hit head-on. The giant carcass, silent for eons, growled. A deep, visceral sound spread through the void and made the hull of their ship vibrate despite the distance.

Before Meriem's eyes, her face white with terror reflected in the window, Target-One tilted, dragging thousands of debris and the last bubbles down with it. The trail of orange plasma created by its entry into the atmosphere lit up the cockpit and the faces of the team for several long seconds: Marcus, pale with concentration; Aliou, his lips murmuring a prayer; Emerta, her fingers nimble on the controls despite the imperceptible tremor in her hands.

The hum of the main generator had replaced the roar of the engines. In the narrow corridor, Marcus blocked Meriem's path.

- You almost ruined everything. Of all of us, you're supposed to be the most level-headed...

His voice was low, hoarse, worn out by adrenaline.

- These bubbles are worth...
- Nothing. They're worthless if we're not alive to use them.

The silence between them was heavier than the avoidance gravities. Meriem crossed her arms, staring at the metal of the bridge. She knew he was right, and that was the most bitter part.

A few minutes later, in the dimly lit briefing room, the atmosphere was tense but focused on action. After some apologies, they went back to work. Data about the planet scrolled across the central screen.

- The wave forced us to go far, but it also swept away the data sent by long-range detectors, Emerta analyzed calmly. Our best option is to land on the planet. The atmosphere isn't breathable. But we may found a way around. Cartesia has performed several tests at my request.

- The problem is fuel for the maneuver and life support for forty-eight hours, Marcus growled, hands on his hips. 
- With the detour we had to take, we're in the red.

Aliou raised his hand.

- I've... submitted an automatic resupply request to Cassiopeia Station. A cargo drone is already on its way. They'll have to make several trips back and forth, but Eden will pay the bill. And they say they're capable of making precise drops. And we also have the Ezperanza.

All eyes turned to him. Marcus let out a breath, somewhere between exhaustion and deep relief.

- Aliou, sometimes your obsession is a gift. The Ezperanza is exactly what we needed. We'll be able to explore the wreckage that fell to the surface.

- I told you all that I had a bad feeling about this.
- It does deserve congratulations.

The decision was made. The conflict was put on hold, overshadowed by the pragmatic urgency of survival. They had a vehicle, shelter, and the smoking remains of a mystery at their feet. Meriem looked out the porthole at the orange spot of the planet slowly growing larger. But something else was waiting for them below. Something she hadn't anticipated.