The space around them had been washed away, replaced by a cloak of near total darkness. Only a small cloud of stars remained behind them now, each vanishing one by one. The Paradoxical Discovery had crossed into the Rift, and slowly it was engulfing them. A black sky surrounded them, and whatever lay beyond them was cloaked in shadow. The darkness itself seemed to shimmer, like sunlight reflecting off of water. As the stars vanished they would be cut off from the outside world. Cut off from normal space and time, cut off from normal reality itself. Their vessel’s only company was to be whatever secrets lay beyond their view in the Rift.

Around him, the ship’s bridge was now a flurry of activity. Across the ship, the crew everyone seemed to be preparing, with a sense of dread of what was to come. The science teams had begun to puzzle over the anomalous data they had already begun to receive. Medical staff had begun to ready themselves for the flood of Rift-induced cases that were inevitably soon to come. Those on the sensors watched every scan with intense focus, waiting for the signs of anything that appeared within the anomaly.

For most of the crew, this would be only their first time in the Rift, Jora himself included. If they were lucky, this would only be their first journey into this place. Most never would have chosen to be here when they signed up for the Exploration Corps, and most with the choice sought to never return again.

They all would hear the stories and the rumours about the Raonteid Rift. Paradoxical encounters, ships flung across time and space, rumours of incomprehensible life sighted deep inside. The fact had become hard to separate from the fiction, with the truth often stranger than the fiction. While its mystery intrigued some, far more would prefer to stay far away.

At the helm, Lieutenant Tevri Tratha had taken control of Navigation. They had been forced to disable the automatic control as they entered the Rift. From the corner of the navigator’s desk Jora could see the navigational computer trying to work. The system struggled to make sense of its surroundings, failing to comprehend the information it received. He watched the system glitching, as it collapsed under the contradictory navigational data that surrounded it. Tratha seemed troubled, even more than typical for this crew. The Garenti was young, fresh out of the academy and assigned to the crew last minute. This mission into this place was the poor kid’s first assignment.

"Is everything alright, Lieutenant Tratha?" Jora shouted in his direction.

The Lieutenant jumped in surprise, sitting up in an alert posture. "Y-yes Captain. Everything is normal. Erm, everything is as e-expected for the situation." He rubbed his forehead, "I-I…"

"Let me guess, Lieutenant Tratha," Commander Spathi interrupted with a light chuckle. "Getting a headache?"

Tratha seemed to be getting nervous at the attention. "Y-yes, sir. H-how-"

Enrax grinned, with another laugh. "Psionic drone. Pretty normal out here, we’ll all start feeling the effects soon enough. Headaches, irritability. Great for our productivity and morale. As far as the science is concerned it’s all in our heads, so they tend to gloss over it in the briefings. Go to the medbay after your shift if you need it. They can’t stop the effects, but they can at least help with them."

The Lieutenant nodded wordlessly, nervously returning to his duties. As he looked away Enrax frowned, glancing at sensor readings before muttering to himself. Jora opened his mouth to speak, but the Commander seemed to notice his concern.

"It's nothing. Probably. Nothing worth worrying about," he said, rambling. "I have to go check on something. Don't worry about it."

He faked a smile as he hurried away, doing little to ease Jora’s doubts.