Retvik felt unreasonably worried. Not because everything had gone wrong so far, but because everything had gone right. Every single thing, from major planning to tiny, almost insignificant things, had been perfect. Everything. It was almost… unnatural how well everything had gone so far.
Even now that Retvik was floating in orbit, in a tiny tin can connected to a truck-sized satellite, everything was going smoothly. It wasn’t just things like the weather being perfect for lift off, atmospheric conditions being better than perfect, the docking sequence with the satellite being perfect… it was the little things too. Like the fact that Retvik’s space suit fitted him perfectly, that oxygen and nitrogen levels were perfectly steady, that the temperature inside the ship was wonderfully comfortable.
All of these things were fine, but Retvik still felt worried. It was more than being worried now. Retvik felt genuinely distressed. Something had to be wrong at some point, right? Maybe it was just the fact that Retvik had to watch the stupid little monitors, almost mindlessly tapping on keyboards whenever he was asked. This satellite was old, it had some remote systems but it needed to be updated manually. That was why Retvik was there after all, to do said updating. But considering this satellite was considered almost ancient, why was it all in such good condition?
Luckily, there was something that could reliably calm Retvik down. The view. The view was amazing. He could see… most of planet Retha. All spinning away, minding its own business. A mass of rock and water that didn’t care what its inhabitants did. But the view was more than that. Twinkling glimmers of light in the distance. The other planets nearby, both spinning to themselves. Pockets of voidspace, their darkness creating clouds of nothingness between the stars and the galactic glimmers. And most importantly of all, the Retha Star, the sun of their solar system, shining as always.
It was beautiful. Mesmerizing. Almost distracting. Retvik had found himself somewhat drifting off a few times, only to be woken up not only by the various sensors in his suit, but by the whispering 9th Legion soldiers in his ear. They had been keeping track of everything, to the point that they knew when Retvik had eaten, slept and relieved himself.
Maybe that was what was stressing Retvik out. The constant monitoring. It was all slightly unnerving. But it was for the greater good. At least, that was what Retvik was telling himself.
Most likely though, it was the hollow threats the Thantophor had made the day before. Not Retvik, not the 9th Legion were really that scared. The 9th Legion was nigh suicidal as it was, but Retvik knew Arkadin well. The Lord of Decay was never one to lash out. And Retvik genuinely believed he wouldn’t lash out. Not at Retvik at least. The other gods though? Retvik had met them all, but he didn’t know them well enough. Not at all.
Still, Retvik wouldn’t be up here for much longer. All he had to do was wait for this software to finish updating and installing, then he was done.
“Only a few more hours of this, at least…” Retvik muttered as he gazed out of the window. “A few more hours, then I can return home and relax once more…”