The sky above Kethra-9 pulsed with hues no human eye had ever known—shifting bands of violet and amber that rippled like liquid glass. Commander Rhea Voss adjusted her helmet’s visor, the internal comms crackling as her team spread across the rocky plain. The airship *Aetheris* lay wrecked behind them, its hull split open by a storm that shouldn’t have existed. Rhea’s boots crunched over jagged stone, each step sending up puffs of fine gray dust that clung to her suit like ash. She glanced at the scanner on her wrist: oxygen levels stable, but the planet’s magnetic field was interfering with their instruments. “We’re alone here,” she said, her voice flat. Lieutenant Jaxon Cole, crouched beside a cluster of crystalline growths, didn’t look up. “Unless the rocks are plotting against us,” he muttered, poking one with a gloved hand. It shuddered, emitting a low hum that vibrated in Rhea’s bones. The biologist, Dr. Elira Vey, stepped forward, her face obscured by the shadow of her helmet. “These formations aren’t natural. They’re… responding.” A silence settled over the group. Rhea frowned. “To what?” “Something’s here,” Elira said. “Something watching.” The comms flared with static, then a distorted voice: “Commander. We’ve got a problem.” It was Engineer Tarek, his tone clipped. Rhea turned, spotting his figure in the distance, crouched near the ship’s remains. “What is it?” “The engines. They’re… pulsing. Like they’re alive.” Rhea’s jaw tightened. “Get back here. Now.” But Tarek didn’t move. His helmet illuminated the darkness as he stared at the engine core, which now glowed with an eerie blue light. The hum from the crystals grew louder, resonating in Rhea’s skull. She took a step forward, then froze. The ground beneath her boots shifted, not physically, but *visually*—a ripple spreading outward like water disturbed by an unseen hand. “Everyone, back to the ship,” she ordered. “Now.” But the others didn’t move. Jaxon was still staring at the crystals, his face lit by their glow. Elira had her hand on a rock, her fingers curled as if in prayer. Tarek’s helmet light flickered, then died. Rhea’s pulse thundered in her ears. “This planet isn’t just hostile,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “It’s *aware*.” The crystals pulsed again, and the sky above them darkened, the violet bands collapsing into a single, oppressive shade of black. Something moved in the distance—too fast to track, too large to ignore. Rhea’s hand went to her sidearm, but she knew it wouldn’t matter. The airship was gone. Their comms were dead. And the planet was waking up. “We need to run,” Jaxon said, his voice tight. “Or fight,” Elira countered, her fingers still pressed against the crystal. “It’s not a choice,” Rhea said. “It’s a question of *how*.” The ground trembled, and the crystals erupted in a cascade of light, their hum transforming into a deafening roar. Rhea didn’t wait to see what came next. She turned and sprinted, her boots slapping against the stone as the world around her dissolved into chaos. The last thing she heard was Tarek’s voice, distant and broken: “It’s inside us now.”