Dr. Elara Voss adjusted the headset, her breath fogging the glass as she stared at the pulsing light on the monitor. The signal had been silent for three years, then suddenly—this. A pattern, too precise to be natural, bouncing off…
The *Aurora* cut through the void like a blade, its hull gleaming under the twin suns of Epsilon Eridani. Captain Mara Voss stood at the observation deck, her gloved fingers pressing against the reinforced glass. Below, the planet Dain-7 loomed—a…
The air reeked of ozone and rust, a metallic tang that clung to the back of Lena’s throat. She pressed her palm against the cold steel of the shuttle’s hull, feeling the faint hum of failing systems beneath her fingers.…