Millions of apologies for the late update! Truly, I'm sorry. I haven't forgotten about this story and I'm not abandoning it. But, I'm taking a little break till my exams are over. I spend way too much time reading stories on Wattpad these days and now that exams are close, I need to worry about curing that addiction. So, no time to write. But don't worry, the next update will be up around New Year, or so I hope :D

Thank you all for your support and patience. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

DISCLAIMER: Plot-mine; Characters- Richelle Mead

I get jelaous,

I get mad,

I get worried,

I get curious,

That's only because I care...

Pilot astronaut Rose Hathaway

To let go, is a gift. A treasured, rare gift. The art of letting go isn't easy. It's not easily triggered, except for when faced with the enormity of the creation.

For, what is man when measured against nature?

Back on earth, I took nature for taken for granted. The grey skies, the swirling black rivers, the pungent fumes mixed with fresh drops of rain...everything.

But not here.

Never here.

The black ocean of nothingness doesn't let you forget.

My professor would always say, "Space is to place what eternity is to time". The words haunt me each time I stare out of the window of the spaceship. Each time I look, observe, take in the absolutely alien but strangely familiar surroundings.

You'd think this view of the endless black sea would get tiring after a while.

But no.

It's impossible to not marvel at it.

Each day I'm reminded that we were nothing.

Man is nothing.

Nothing against the distant sources of gas glowing against the darkness. Nothing compared to the myriad particles floating away, caught in an invisible tide, moving and moving without any particular destination.

What were my troubles when held up against this powerful universe?

I know that this line of thinking is dangerous. It's the first thing we astronauts are cautioned against.

Do not lose sight of your goal.

And yet, it's nice to forget about it all for a while. Viela, cotopa, Sietera, Dimitri...

Always Dimitri.

It's incredible how my head could be floating in the clouds but a mere mention of his name could ground me so firmly.

Crazy, really.

Did I even-?

I jumped, jarred out of my thoughts when a loud creaking noise filled the tiny alcove that had been my refuge for nearly two hours now.

It was the sound of a door being opened slowly.

Irritated at the thought of having company and losing some much needed private time, I watched warily as the door opened completely to reveal-

Adrian.

He emerged from the darkness of the fuel chamber, looking lost in thought.

It took a moment for him to register my presence.

When he did, he froze up, his emerald eyes filling with apprehension.

I felt my lips turned up into a slow smirk, my gloomy mood evaporating rapidly.

"Were you really checking the fuel stats?" I asked him innocently, resisting the urge to laugh when he gulped and eyed the exit. "Or were you looking for a possible hideout for your...sexual escapades?"

Adrian's face turned red, taking me back to yesterday evening when Dimitri and I had caught him in the corridor outside Tasha's room. I hadn't had a chance to say much then, partially because my mind was in a Dimitri-induced haze and partly because Dimitri didn't allow me much time to tease Adrian.

He may have chosen to stay with me but that man has always tried to control the damage my scheming could inflict.

But I was making up for it by teasing Adrian at any and every chance I got.

"Are you ever going to let this go?" Adrian asked me hopefully.

"Never." I declared, jumping down from my perch on the window sill.

Adrian sighed then turned serious as his emerald eyes locked with mine. He slowly took two steps closer, putting him right in front of me.

I narrowed my eyes, wondering what he was about to do.

"Little pilot," Adrian said in a low voice. "You can tease me as much as you want. But you know-you must know that Tasha means nothing to me."

"Of course," I chuckled lightly. "It's just hooking up, right?"

Adrian, unfortunately, didn't seem to grasp my joking. He looked pleased, grateful even.

"Why do you look relieved?" I asked him bluntly, ignoring the warning bells ringing in my head.

Adrian grinned lazily. "Just wanted to confirm. I can't have you thinking I like Tasha more than I actually do."

I frowned. "Why would you care? I mean, I know you've been trying to get into my pants since forever but that's not a problem anymore. You've got a girl to finally-ah, satisfy your needs."

Adrian scowled, his cheerful mood evaporating instantly. "Come on, Rose. You must know that I don't want to just hook up with you."

"You don't?" I asked him, grinning madly. "That's a relief."

Adrian shook his head, looking put off. "That's not what I meant. Of course, I'd love nothing more than to spend an awesome night with you."

I punched his shoulder as his eyes turned dreamy.

"But my point is that I want more," Adrian told me firmly.

"You want to-what, date me?" I mocked but a voice at the back of my head told me that I might not like the answer.

To my great surprise, Adrian nodded. "Of course."

Wait, what?

I scoffed. "Since when are you the dating type?"

"I can be," Adrian said, lowering his voice and stepping uncomfortably closer. "I will be if you want me to be."

I immediately took a step back, freaked out by the look in his eyes.

I never expected this.

Adrian wasn't supposed to like me.

He couldn't.

I'd always figured that his flirting and all that extra attention he paid me was to achieve one goal - to get me to sleep with me. To think that his attention meant more, that he wanted more was too much to handle.

"Rose, I mean it." Adrian continued, moving closer as I moved backward instinctively. "I want you. In all possible ways. I will spend the rest of-"

"I suggest you step away from her right now, Adrian." Came a low, honey-like voice; gruff around the edges and firm in it's command.

My tiny niche suddenly seemed too small.

Dimitri...

Sheesh! Get a grip, woman!

Adrian turned to look at Dimitri who was leaning against the door, looking sinfully handsome with his arms folded over his chest.

How much had he heard?

But that didn't matter.

What mattered was the fire burning in those deep brown eyes.

Dimitri's face was set in a hard mask, his features betraying nothing. But I could detect the firm clench of his jaw, the stubborn set of his chin.

The stiffness of his shoulders.

He was angry.

Fury rolled off him in waves, heating up the alcove.

"What's it to you?" Adrian asked him rudely.

I turned to glare at Adrian.

The fool didn't realize that he was digging his own grave.

No one messed with Dimitri when he was so angry.

Well, no one but me.

Dimitri arched an eyebrow, his gaze deceptively cool but his body betrayed his irritation. When he spoke, his voice was so cold that I barely recognized it. "You're harassing her."

Adrian scoffed. "I repeat: what's it to you? You couldn't care less about her. You both fight like rabid dogs. It's quite clear that she hates you!"

Something shifted in Dimitri's eyes then.

Something deep.

What Adrian said had struck a cord...

"How dare you?" I spoke in a low voice, barely repressing my anger. I clenched my fists as Adrian took a step away from me in shock, not expecting my reaction. "How dare you say that, Adrian? What happens between Dimitri and me is none of your business. It does not concern you."

"But Rose-" Adrian protested.

I cut him off. "No! Don't say anything more. You crossed a line, Adrian. I haven't given you the freedom to form opinions on my behalf."

Adrian looked away in anger, his face set in a scowl.

"But know this," I said in a low voice, irritation lacing every syllable. "Dimitri is and will always be my best friend. Nothing will change that or diminish his importance in my life."

Adrian took one look at my face and marched out of the door in anger.

It was only then that I realized that Dimitri had left.

I felt like someone had punched me in the chest. The first blow...

When did he leave?

Had he believed me when I said that he would always be my best friend?

Had he even listened to me?

I collapsed to sit on the floor when another thought struck me: Did Dimitri believe that he means nothing to me?

Navigating a spacecraft through the heavens has been compared to sailing a ship on turbulent seas or driving a vehicle on rocky terrain.

It's difficult, period.

When embarking on such a journey, top level concentration is needed. Something I'm usually capable of.

But usually, I don't have a pissed off Dimitri close by.

Dealing with a furious Dimitri was a new experience for me and I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't quite know what to do.

Dimitri was rarely angry. Even when he was, it wasn't directed at me.

I've never been on the receiving end of his wrath.

Ever.

Hell, I didn't even know why he was so angry.

Yes, I get that Adrian's comments must have stung but why is he directing that anger at me?

But I had to admit, I preferred to think that Dimitri was angry because of Adrian's words because I didn't want to entertain the possibility that he might be hurt by what Adrian had said.

That he really did believe that I hated him.

He didn't, couldn't, think like that, right?

He must know what he means to me...

Not knowing what to do or how to react, I simply pretended as though everything was fine, despite the clear indication of a storm brewing inside the man who meant more to me than anyone else.

I couldn't deal with this now...

"Everybody set?" I asked through the microphone attached to my collar, trying to focus on the task at hand.

When I heard the murmured assents through the speaker, I turned to Dimitri and nodded.

Dimitri's palm tightened over the left gear, the only acknowledgment that he'd seen my nod.

If he kept this up, he'd been in danger of having an encounter with my fist. I was confused by what I was feeling and frustrated because of his behavior. And hurt that he was ignoring me like this.

"Requesting manual control," Dimitri's deep voice murmured in my ear, through the headset that I was wearing.

"Manual control granted." came Mia's voice, sounding serious for once.

I took a deep breath as I gripped the main gear, adjusting the screen in front of me and checking the stats.

Time to switch to professional mode, Rose. You have a job to do.

"On the count of three," I said, sparing a glance at my crew who were suited up in non-explanatory spacesuits like mine and were buckled up in their seats.

They looked nervous but that was to be expected.

We were setting off to a planet on which we had negligible data. But it was our best bet.

The planet Ridhi, our destination, was the only planet besides Sietera that we knew about in the Ceres system. Sietera and Ridhi had been the only two planets in the entire Andromeda galaxy to have been visited by humans, centuries ago using a similar wormhole like ours. While the mission to Sietera had been successful, the exploration of Ridhi had not gone well. The astronauts who had visited the planet were never heard of again...

Using the initial data they'd transmitted, we were hoping that it would be a source of viela.

"Mia, a display of reference trajectory, please." I requested, squinting when the screen to my right lit up with the calculations.

"Christian," I called, knowing he'd understand what I wanted.

"I'm on it," he replied, verifying the trajectory calculation.

"Adrian, Tasha. Handle the orbit determination calculations," I ordered. "Mia, begin retraction procedure."

The Klasana shuddered as Mia did as asked.

"Here we go then," I murmured. "Sit tight, guys."

"Bye, Sietera." Lissa said softly, straining her neck to look out of the window.

"It's up to you now, Mia." I said, leaning back on my seat.

"Trajectory programmed in," Mia said crisply. "Starting the engines. Beginning departure procedure."

The ship shuddered, as if bracing itself against a tsunami. Slowly, it rose up, inch by inch. As the ascend began, so did the stifling pressure associated with it.

I felt as if someone was pounding on my skull. My shoulders groaned, sagging under the pressure as a nauseous feeling took over my senses.

I couldn't breathe.

Flashes of light appeared before my closed eyes, the kind that made you dizzy. Or were they symptoms of dizziness?

Whatever it was, the entire exercise has always been pure torture.

But it was over quickly, fading off as abruptly as it had started.

And we were off.

Headed towards the unknown...

"Rose, take control!" Dimitri's command jerked me back to the task on hand.

"Right," I nodded, taking control of the gear. "The journey will take a while. Two days, tops. Why don't you all go and rest now?"

Before anyone could move, Dimitri was out of his seat.

He exited the Control Room before I could get another word out.

I winced as a door slammed shut, feeling as if he was shutting me out for good.

The second blow...

"That was-" Christian paused, shocked by Dimitri's unfamiliar behavior. "-unexpected."

"Don't you need him here?" Lissa asked me, gesturing to the controls.

Yes, I do need him here, Liss. But not for steering the spacecraft.

I didn't say it out loud though. I simply shook my head. "No. It's pretty much straight-forward movement until we arrive at Ridhi."

"I'll check up on him," Tasha said, leaving the room before I could say anything.

Shit! That was the third blow...

Swallowing the heavy feeling that had nothing to do with hurtling through space in a metal box, I urged everyone to clear out so that I could be alone.

I needed to give myself a prep talk and concentrate on my work.

I just need to keep Dimitri out of my thoughts.

Easier said than done.

Once Mia and I managed to steer the spacecraft along the defined trajectory, I didn't have much work to do. The spacecraft was programmed to follow the trajectory and I only needed to take control after entering Ridhi's environment.

Or, in case of unforeseen circumstances.

Lady luck had decided to side with us, however, and the Klasana managed to sail smoothly until we reached the exosphere of Ridhi.

One by one, the crew marched back in.

Dimitri came in last, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

I tried to ignore the hurt that came with the realization.

"Positions, everyone!" I ordered through the microphone, my voice hardening as I tried to control my emotions. "We'll be entering the atmosphere of planet Ridhi in about five minutes."

As the Klasana drew nearer to the dark golden planet of Ridhi, the tension in the control room went up by several notches.

My palms started sweating as my heart raced.

My mind conjured up horrific possibilities of bypassing Ridhi's atmosphere. We didn't have enough data, dammit! It was a touch and go situation, one we were forced into.

Who knew how hostile this planet could prove to be?

Jeez, when did I get so pessimistic?

Determined to not fall prey to the negativity poisoning my mind, I took a deep breath and pulled the gear, decreasing the velocity of the ship.

The gravitational pull of Ridhi may be too much or too little to pull the spacecraft forward. If I added more speed, the consequences would be disastrous.

"Brace yourself," I whispered to the crew, seconds before the Klasana pierced through outer atmosphere of Ridhi.

Wails rang throughout the ship the very moment we entered Ridhi.

I fumbled, nearly losing my grip on the gear in shock. For, stretching before me was a planet of fire, for lack of better words.

Everything seemed to be blazing. Distant peaks of what might be mountains smoked, their appearance a nasty brown and red. Sparkles flew right in front of the windshield. Soft golden winds blew over the planet, the air a dense mixture of red and gold.

All this I saw in a heartbeat, my mind quickly returning to the wails sounding throughout my ship.

The screen in front of me, right below the windshield lit up with bold red words emblazoned over them.

CAUTION: OVERHEAT

Shit! Shit! Shit!

"We need to cool down the ship!" I shouted, eyes scanning the far ground for a landing spot. "Go, go!"

"What do we do?" Lissa cried as Christian and Adrian stumbled away from the control room to fix the problem.

If it could be fixed.

"Use the reserve ammonia tanks!" I yelled, fighting to control the spacecraft. The gravity was too strong and we were careening towards the ground at breakneck speed. "Dimitri, Tasha. Go! Take the ammonia supplies and go to the Thermal Control Room. Christian will handle the rest. Go, Now!"

"Rose, I need to be here." Dimitri said firmly, his profile illuminated by the golden fire raging outside.

"No," I groaned, fighting to keep my eyes open in the harsh light. "I can do this. Christian needs you."

Dimitri hesitated.

"Damn it, Dimitri. I can handle it." I shouted, steering the ship to the side to avoid a smoking, volcanic mountain.

Dimitri nodded and gripped my shoulder quickly before leaving the room.

I tugged on the gear with all my strength, knowing that I needed to slow down the Klasana. "Lissa, take Dimitri's seat. Pull out the lower panel and press the red button!"

Lissa scrambled to do just that when the Klasana tilted, finally bowing down to my command. But I'd exerted too much force and as a result, the ship titled but slowed down.

Just as Lissa sighed in relief, the ship bucked and hit something solid to the right.

My heart stopped.

Lissa's scream echoed through the room as the ship groaned.

Snapping into action, I yanked the chair overhead and traded my gear for the double handed control. When I yanked on it, the ship aligned itself, coming to a grinding halt mid-air.

"Mia, initiate the landing procedure." I gritted out, eyes locked on the solid mass of land a few miles away.

More sparks hit the windshield, obstructing my visibility.

I couldn't allow it to deter me.

After what seemed like forever, Mia and I managed to land the Klasana on the solid ground of planet Ridhi.

The moment Mia announced a successful landing, I was out of my seat and running to the thermal control room, Lissa on my heels.

My crew was there.

Shit! I hope no one's hurt.

Throwing open the door, I barreled into the room - only to come to a screeching halt.

No, no! This couldn't be happening...

Someone was on the ground, their head cradled in Tasha's lap. She was hysterical, shouting at Christian to do something while Adrian fumbled to pull out the first aid kit that we kept in every room.

The scene was exactly what I'd feared.

My worst fears had come true.

Someone was hurt.

Not just a someone but my best friend.

My best friend was hurt.

Or worse.

AN: So, what do you think? Adrian's hurtful words, Rose's reaction (if anyone notices, she says the exact sentence that Dimitri told Rose in Frostbite) and Dimitri's attitude. Poor guy, though. He's hurt, both physically and mentally. Will he make it? ;)

Mean cliffy, yes, but I'm sure you'll love the next chapter. Maybe a long pending kiss? :P

Review and maybe you'll see some romitri time in the next chapter ;)

P.S: I'm sorry for the technical stuff included in the chapter but that's just my inner geek coming out. :D

I used to dream of being an astronaut before reality set in, sort of. I'm sure it's different in other countries but in India, especially the south, it's mostly Medicine or Engineering. Education is taken very seriously around here and everyone wants to be a doctor or an engineering. But it's not that my dreams are broken. I could have pursued Astronomy if I wanted it but fate intervened and I found myself studying computer engineering :D