The Dead Horizon

Chapter 3: The First Romp

The blue code pulsed beneath Baiq’s skin, fading as the forge cooled into a dormant, humming block of metallic geometry. Bima stared at her, his grip tightening on the pipe.

"It knows my name?" Bima asked, his voice low.

"It’s not just a name," Baiq said, wiping her hand on her rags. "It’s a serial number. You’re part of the infrastructure, Bima."

"I’m a pilot, not a spare part," Bima snapped.

"Whatever you are, you’re currently starving," Unit 7 chimed in. "My sensors indicate Lalu is three seconds away from trying to eat your boots."

Lalu groaned, sitting up by the forge. "I heard that, you bucket of bolts. And for the record, the boots don’t look very appetizing."

Siti sat nearby, clutching her stomach. "Does the forge do breakfast? Because if not, I’m officially calling a strike."

"I’ve got one ration pack left," Bima said, reaching into his cargo pocket.

Lalu scrambled to his feet, eyes fixed on the silver foil. "Give it here. I’m the one bleeding out. I need the calories."

"You’re not the only one who skipped dinner, Lalu," Siti retorted, stepping between them. "I’ve been digging sand for six hours. Hand it over, Bima."

"Back off, both of you," Bima warned, holding the pack high.

"Oh, look," Unit 7 drawled. "The primitives are bickering over a calorie-dense brick. How evolutionary."

"Shut up, Seven," Bima gritted out.

"Make me," the AI retorted. "Or better yet, stop acting like a caveman and lead."

Lalu lunged, his hand snatching for the ration. Bima dodged, pivoting hard on the shifting dust. "I said back off!"

"I’m hungry, Bima! Just drop the damn pack!" Lalu roared, stumbling forward.

"I’m the Captain!" Bima shoved Lalu back. "And I say we split it."

"There’s nothing to split! It’s one bar!" Siti shouted, joining the fray. "Give it to me, or I swear I’ll bury you in the next trench."

Bima stepped back, his eyes flashing. "Fine. You want it? You want to prove you’re the strongest? Let’s settle this. No weapons. Just a contest."

"A contest?" Lalu wiped blood from his lip, his eyes narrowing. "What kind of contest?"

"A physical trial," Bima said, dropping his pipe. "First one to pin the other to the sand gets the ration."

"Pathetic," Baiq muttered, leaning against the forge. "You’re wasting energy you don't have."

"You’re just jealous because you don't have a ration pack," Unit 7 added. "Oh, wait. New notification. System Challenge: Moral Equilibrium. Objective: Make the Leader Laugh. Reward: High-Calorie Sustenance."

Bima froze, his stance breaking. "What? Make me laugh? Is this a joke?"

"The System doesn't joke, Bima. It just manipulates," Unit 7 said. "And apparently, you’re a hard man to amuse."

Siti tilted her head. "Wait. We have to make you laugh to get food?"

"Sounds like a sadistic game show," Lalu groaned, letting his arms drop.

"I’m not laughing," Bima said, crossing his arms. "I’m starving and I’m surrounded by idiots. Nobody’s getting a laugh."

"Try me," Siti said, stepping forward. She did a ridiculous, wobbly jig in the sand, flapping her arms like a dying bird. "Is this funny? Is this the pinnacle of comedy?"

"You look like you’re having a seizure," Bima said, his face stone-cold.

"My turn," Lalu said, pulling his face into a grotesque, lopsided grimace, cross-eyed and drooling slightly. "How about this? Does this scream 'King of the Sandbox'?"

"It screams 'needs medical attention'," Bima replied.

"This is going nowhere," Unit 7 noted. "Bima, you’re failing the challenge. Efficiency dropping. Hope you enjoy the taste of dust."

"I’m not laughing at your circus act, Seven!" Bima barked. He turned to pace, his frustration boiling over. He took a sharp step, his heel caught in a loose fold of the tarp they’d dragged over.

"Watch it," Baiq warned.

Bima’s feet tangled. He performed an involuntary, full-body pirouette in the air, his arms windmilling violently. He landed face-first into the pile of red sand with a muffled thwack, his legs kicking wildly in the air like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

Silence stretched across the desert, broken only by the rhythmic hum of the forge.

"Did you just..." Siti started, her shoulders shaking.

Lalu let out a choked sound. Then he burst into a wheezing, hysterical laugh. "You... you landed like a sack of scrap!"

Even Baiq cracked a smirk. Siti doubled over, clutching her sides. "That was... honestly the most graceful thing you’ve ever done, Captain."

Bima sat up, red sand caked in his eyebrows, looking utterly defeated. He looked at their laughing faces and felt the heat rise in his cheeks. He couldn't help it. A dry, rasping laugh escaped his throat.

"Fine," Bima chuckled, shaking his head. "That was objectively stupid."

"Challenge Complete," the System chimed, its voice vibrating in his skull. "Humor detected. Reward processing."

The obsidian pedestal suddenly groaned. The blue circuitry flared, and a compartment in the forge slid open. Inside, four vibrant, pulsing bundles of bioluminescent plant life sat glowing with a soft, neon-pink hue.

"Food?" Siti asked, reaching for one.

"Are you sure that’s edible?" Baiq asked, stepping closer to the forge.

Bima picked one up. It felt warm, throbbing slightly in his palm like a living heart. "It’s glowing, Siti."

"It’s either a feast or a terminal poisoning," Unit 7 remarked. "Either way, you’re not dying of starvation. Yet."

Bima took a tentative bite. The flavor was electric, like ozone and honey. As he swallowed, a warm wave of energy flooded his veins, repairing the exhaustion in his muscles.

"Well?" Lalu asked, staring at his own bundle.

"It tastes like... home," Bima whispered, looking at the pedestal. "But it’s not from Earth."

Suddenly, the pedestal’s projection flickered. The hologram of the ruined Earth vanished, replaced by a flickering map of the sector. A red dot blinked rapidly, miles away in the dunes—a signal.

"Someone’s calling for help," Baiq said, her eyes turning cold. "And they’re using a frequency that shouldn't exist anymore."