《UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE SUN (VOL 01:THE WATCHERS ABOVE)》 The sun that watches Preface For as long as humanity has existed, the Sun has been an unchallenged certainty. It rises. It sets. It gives life. It demands nothing. A constant. An absolute. But absolutes are dangerous things. They invite complacency. They demand trust. And sometimes, they are lies. High above Earth, past the thinning layers of atmosphere, past the graveyard of silent satellites and abandoned stations, a ship drifts. A research vessel. One of many, scanning the Sun¡¯s surface for anomalies. Aboard the Oblivion Dawn, the Sun was just another object of study, its familiar glow stretching across the ship¡¯s reinforced windows. The crew had long stopped appreciating the sight. Out here, the mystery of the cosmos had been reduced to data points and analysis. Commander Isaac Carter stretched in his chair, letting out a sigh. "I swear, if we get stuck with another solar survey after this, I¡¯m putting in for a desk job." Across from him, Dr. Lynn Harlow smirked. "Oh please, Carter. Not everyone gets the honor of staring at the Sun all day." "Exactly my point," Carter groaned. "Solar flares, radiation spikes, plasma bursts¡ªit¡¯s the same thing over and over." Dr. Julian Reyes, the ship¡¯s navigator, glanced up. "Hey, at least we¡¯re not mapping asteroid fields. That¡¯s real boredom." Carter leaned back. "Still more exciting than this." Lynn tapped her console. "You just hate quiet missions, don¡¯t you?" "Of course," Carter said, waving a hand. "Give me a collapsing star, an alien signal¡ªhell, even a rogue planet swinging by would be more exciting than this." Lynn smirked. "Did you know if Jupiter had been seventy-five times bigger, it would¡¯ve turned into a second Sun?" Reyes groaned. "Oh no. Not this again." Lynn grinned. "Think about it. A twin-star solar system. Imagine two suns in the sky instead of one." "Imagine the heat," Carter muttered. "We¡¯d all be cooked before lunch." Reyes leaned back. "Fun fact: brown dwarfs are failed stars. They tried but never got big enough to ignite." Carter smirked. "So, like Vex¡¯s love life?" From the far end of the control deck, Specialist Ryan Vex sighed. "Oh, ha ha. Real original, Carter." He turned back to his screen. "Some of us actually have work to do." Carter grinned. "Yeah? Find anything exciting?" Vex stretched his arms. "Same as yesterday. Solar wind variations, magnetic field shifts. Nothing crazy." As if on cue, a soft alarm chimed through the control deck. Solar Anomaly Detected. Lynn¡¯s fingers flew over the console. "Wait¡­ that¡¯s weird." Carter sat up. "What is?" Lynn frowned at the data readout. "The Sun¡¯s brightness just dipped. But that doesn¡¯t happen¡ªat least, not like this." Reyes leaned over her screen. "Maybe a sensor glitch?" Vex checked another data stream. "Nope. The energy output is shifting too, like something¡¯s interfering with the light." A silence fell over the room. Carter exhaled slowly. "Alright. We wanted something interesting, right? Let¡¯s find out what the hell is going on." Lynn¡¯s fingers danced over the console as she double-checked the data. The numbers didn¡¯t lie¡ªsomething was definitely off. "It¡¯s not just a dip in brightness," she muttered. "The Sun¡¯s entire radiation output dropped for a fraction of a second. That shouldn¡¯t be possible." Reyes frowned. "Maybe a solar flare on the far side? Could¡¯ve caused a momentary shift in visible light." Vex shook his head. "Nope. Flares spike the output, not drop it." Carter leaned forward, studying the screen. "What¡¯s the current reading?" Lynn sighed, rubbing her temple. "Back to normal, but that¡¯s the problem. Stars don¡¯t just¡­ flicker like that." Carter glanced around the control deck. "Alright, let¡¯s go over possibilities. Could it be an instrument failure?" "Already checked," Vex replied. "All systems are green. If it was a glitch, it would¡¯ve shown up in the diagnostics." Reyes scratched his chin. "What about an object passing between us and the Sun? A rogue asteroid, maybe?" Lynn shook her head. "It would have to be massive to block enough light for our instruments to detect, and even then, it wouldn¡¯t explain the energy drop. The Sun isn¡¯t just dimming¡ªit¡¯s losing power, even if only for a moment." A heavy silence settled over the room. Carter finally exhaled. "Alright. Let¡¯s not panic. Log the event and cross-check with other observatories. If something¡¯s up with the Sun, someone else will notice too." Lynn hesitated before nodding. "I¡¯ll send the data packet to the Helios Network. They should pick it up in their next cycle." Reyes pushed back from his console, stretching his arms. "Well, that was the most excitement we¡¯ve had in weeks." Vex grunted. "Let¡¯s just hope it stays that way." Carter forced a chuckle. "Yeah. Because the last thing we need is a malfunctioning Sun." No one laughed. A soft chime from Lynn¡¯s terminal cut through the silence. "That was fast," she muttered. Her eyes scanned the screen, then narrowed. Carter frowned. "What is it?" Lynn¡¯s voice was quieter now. "Helios Network just responded. They didn¡¯t detect anything." Reyes blinked. "Wait¡­ what?" She turned the screen toward them, showing the latest transmission logs. "According to them, the Sun never dimmed at all." Vex slowly sat up. "That doesn¡¯t make sense. We all saw the readings." Carter¡¯s gaze hardened. "Which means either we¡¯re seeing something no one else can¡­" He paused. "¡­or someone doesn¡¯t want us to." The hum of the ship¡¯s systems suddenly felt louder, the soft glow of the Sun outside casting long shadows across the deck. For the first time since the mission began, Carter felt something unexpected creeping in¡ªthe quiet weight of unease. The Mystery Deepens Carter rubbed his chin, his eyes fixed on the glowing screen. "Alright. Let¡¯s think this through logically." His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it now. Lynn tapped the console again, running a secondary diagnostic. "Our instruments are fine. The anomaly happened. The Sun dimmed. But if no other observatories picked it up¡­" She trailed off. Reyes exhaled sharply. "Could we be in some kind of localized distortion? A gravitational lensing effect?" Vex shook his head. "Gravitational lensing magnifies light. It doesn¡¯t block it, and it definitely wouldn¡¯t cause the Sun¡¯s energy output to drop." "Unless," Carter said slowly, "something is interfering on a scale we don¡¯t understand." A long silence followed. Lynn cleared her throat. "I¡¯m going to recheck archived readings from the past few days. If this happened before and we missed it, it could give us a pattern." Reyes nodded. "I¡¯ll compare it against older solar data, see if there¡¯s any historical precedent for something like this." Carter leaned back. "Good. Vex, I want you to run a deep scan of the surrounding space. Look for anything unusual¡ªdebris, unknown signals, anything that could explain what we saw." Vex hesitated for a second. "You think this could be¡­ artificial?" Carter didn¡¯t answer right away. He exhaled, turning his gaze toward the massive star outside. "Right now, I don¡¯t know what to think." Three Hours Later The control deck was eerily quiet. The usual background chatter of the crew had faded as they buried themselves in their work. Lynn¡¯s eyes burned from staring at the data for too long, but something kept gnawing at her. It didn¡¯t make sense. The Sun had dimmed, just for a fraction of a second. But no other observatory had recorded the event. It was as if their ship alone had been chosen to see it. That thought unsettled her more than she cared to admit. She pushed her chair back, stretching her arms. "Anything on your end?" she asked Reyes. He frowned, scrolling through historical solar data. "Nope. The Sun¡¯s been stable for thousands of years. No records of sudden drops in output like this¡ªnot even in deep-time astrophysical models." Vex looked up from his own terminal. "And I just finished a full spectral scan of the area. No signs of large objects, no unexpected gravitational shifts, no artificial signals." Carter rubbed his forehead. "So let me get this straight. We detected something impossible. Nobody else saw it. And now, we have no idea why." "Pretty much," Lynn muttered. A soft chime broke the silence. Lynn turned to her console, expecting another routine log update¡ªuntil she saw the source of the alert. She sat up straight. "Commander¡­ I just found something." Carter leaned over. "What is it?" She hesitated. "I went back through the sensor logs, running a deep pattern scan." She tapped a few keys, and a visualization appeared on the main screen. It was a series of energy readings¡ªsmall, almost imperceptible. But they were there. Vex squinted. "What am I looking at?" Lynn swallowed. "Micro-fluctuations in the Sun¡¯s radiation output. Too small to notice at first, but consistent. It didn¡¯t just happen once." She turned to Carter. "This has been happening for days. The Sun has been flickering¡­ and we never saw it until now." Reyes exhaled. "Okay. That¡¯s¡­ concerning." Carter stared at the display, his expression unreadable. Then, finally, he spoke. "Send everything we have to Command. Tell them we need immediate verification." He turned back toward the viewing window, eyes locked onto the distant, burning sphere. The Response The transmission to Command was sent nearly an hour ago. No response yet. Carter paced the control deck, arms crossed. The silence was getting to him. Messages to Command didn¡¯t take this long to acknowledge¡ªnot unless something was wrong. Lynn drummed her fingers on the console. "They should¡¯ve at least pinged us back by now." "Could be a relay delay," Reyes suggested, though he didn¡¯t sound convinced. "Or they¡¯re double-checking our findings before responding," Vex added. Carter wasn¡¯t sure which possibility bothered him more. He stopped pacing and exhaled. "Alright. Until we hear back, let¡¯s assume we¡¯re on our own. Reyes, keep monitoring for any changes in solar output. Lynn, I want you running another deep scan. Maybe we missed something." Stolen novel; please report. Lynn nodded, already pulling up fresh data streams. Vex turned to his own console, hesitated, then frowned. "Uh¡­ Carter?" Carter turned. "What?" Vex pointed at the screen. "We just got a response from Command." Everyone sat up. "About damn time," Carter muttered. "Put it through." Vex tapped a key, and the ship¡¯s main screen flickered to life. But instead of Command¡¯s standard transmission format, the screen remained dark¡ªjust a faint, flickering static. A distorted voice crackled through the speakers. "¡ªOblivion Dawn, this is¡ª" The signal cut in and out, barely comprehensible. "¡ªsituation¡ªrepeat¡ªdiscontinue¡ª" The transmission glitched, then abruptly ended. Silence. Reyes glanced around. "Okay¡­ that was weird." Vex¡¯s fingers flew across the keyboard. "Signal was cut mid-transmission. Either something¡¯s interfering with it¡­" He swallowed. "¡­or someone doesn¡¯t want us hearing the message." Lynn¡¯s hands hovered over her console. "I don¡¯t like this." Carter clenched his jaw. "Try to get them back." Vex nodded, re-establishing the comms link. The system chimed, attempting to reconnect. Connection Failed. A pit formed in Carter¡¯s stomach. "Something¡¯s not right," Lynn muttered. "This isn¡¯t a routine glitch." Reyes hesitated. "You think they¡­ shut us out?" Carter didn¡¯t answer. He was staring out the viewing window again, at the Sun. Its familiar golden glow stretched endlessly across space, as if nothing had changed. But something had changed. He could feel it. And for the first time in his life, he wondered if they were seeing something they were never meant to. The Warning Carter¡¯s mind raced. Someone didn¡¯t want them looking at the Sun anymore. And that meant one thing¡ªthey had seen something they weren¡¯t supposed to. He took a slow breath, forcing his voice to stay steady. ¡°Vex, disable the automated navigation override. Get us back into position.¡± Vex hesitated. ¡°That¡¯s a direct violation of¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± Carter¡¯s tone left no room for argument. ¡°Do it.¡± Vex nodded and cracked his knuckles. ¡°Alright, bypassing Command¡¯s lock.¡± His fingers flew over the keyboard. ¡°This is gonna set off alarms.¡± ¡°Then let them ring,¡± Carter said. A tense silence filled the control room as Vex worked. Lynn monitored the ship¡¯s systems, watching for any response from Command. Reyes stood by the main viewport, staring at the Sun¡ªthe thing they were being forced to ignore. Vex grinned. ¡°Got it. Navigation¡¯s back in our hands.¡± Lynn exhaled. ¡°Now let¡¯s see what they didn¡¯t want us to see.¡± The ship adjusted course, creeping back toward the Sun. A new alarm blared. INCOMING TRANSMISSION¡ªPRIORITY 1 Vex¡¯s smile vanished. ¡°Uh¡­ we just got flagged.¡± The screen lit up with the insignia of the United Earth Space Authority. The face that appeared was Admiral Sato, the head of the Solar Observation Division. His expression was unreadable. "Oblivion Dawn, you are ordered to disengage from your current course immediately," he said. His voice was calm, but there was something behind it¡ªa weight, a warning. Carter¡¯s hands clenched into fists. ¡°Sir, with all due respect, we¡¯re detecting anomalies that require further study. We need more time.¡± Sato¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. "That is not your concern. Disengage." Lynn¡¯s heart pounded. Something was very wrong. They weren¡¯t even trying to explain. Reyes stepped forward. ¡°Sir¡­ what¡¯s happening with the Sun?¡± For the first time, a flicker of something crossed Sato¡¯s face. Not frustration. Not anger. Fear. Then¡ªSignal Lost. The crew stared at the screen. "Command just shut us out," Vex muttered. Carter¡¯s pulse thundered. They were on their own now. Lynn¡¯s console beeped. She glanced down¡ªand her blood ran cold. "Carter¡­ I think we just triggered something." The entire ship shuddered. New data flooded in¡ªnot from Command, not from Earth¡­ but from the Sun itself. And for the first time since their mission began, the Sun¡¯s readings didn¡¯t just show strange fluctuations. It was transmitting something back. The Message The ship trembled again, a deep, unnatural vibration that sent a ripple through the hull. For a moment, Carter thought they had hit something¡ªan asteroid, debris, anything¡ªbut they were in open space. Lynn¡¯s fingers flew over her console. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Vex¡¯s screen flooded with data. His usual smirk was gone, replaced by something rarely seen on his face¡ªfear. ¡°This¡­ this isn¡¯t right.¡± Carter stepped forward. ¡°Report.¡± Vex swallowed hard. ¡°We¡¯re receiving a transmission.¡± Lynn frowned. ¡°From Command?¡± Vex shook his head. His hands hovered uncertainly over the controls. ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s coming from the Sun.¡± A silence settled over the crew. "That¡¯s not possible," Reyes muttered. "The Sun isn¡¯t a transmitter. It¡¯s¡ª" "I know," Vex snapped. "But this signal¡ªit''s structured." Carter¡¯s pulse quickened. ¡°Put it through.¡± Vex hesitated, then activated the audio feed. A burst of static filled the speakers, warping and twisting, almost like a voice struggling to be heard. Then, through the distortion¡ªa pattern. A series of rhythmic pulses. Not random. A message. Lynn¡¯s breath caught. "Morse code?" "No," Vex whispered. His fingers translated the pulses in real time. His voice was barely above a whisper. "Who¡­ are¡­ you?" A chill ran down Carter¡¯s spine. He met Reyes¡¯ gaze, seeing the same unspoken realization. Something inside the Sun had just spoken to them. And it was expecting an answer. A Blueprint from the Sun Silence filled the cockpit. Vex¡¯s fingers hovered over the controls, the translated message glaring on-screen. "Who¡­ are¡­ you?" Carter felt his pulse pounding in his ears. ¡°Are we sure this is coming from the Sun?¡± Vex gave a slow, uneasy nod. ¡°No interference. No reflections. This is direct.¡± Reyes exhaled sharply. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense. The Sun can¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°We just proved that it can,¡± Lynn interrupted, her voice tight. ¡°The real question is¡­ do we answer?¡± A heavy pause. Carter glanced at his crew. Every instinct told him this was a line they weren¡¯t meant to cross. Command had cut them off, locked them out, rerouted their ship¡ªall to keep them from hearing this. But now, they had heard it. And whatever was inside the Sun¡­ it knew they were here. ¡°We don¡¯t even know if it¡¯s friendly,¡± Reyes muttered. Vex let out a nervous laugh. ¡°Yeah? And what if it¡¯s not? You think ignoring it is gonna help?¡± Another shudder passed through the ship. Not a system failure, not an impact¡ªsomething deeper. It was almost as if space itself had rippled around them. Lynn stared at the transmission log. ¡°It¡¯s waiting.¡± Carter clenched his fists. If they didn¡¯t respond¡­ then what? He took a breath. "What if we send something neutral? Not words¡ªjust¡­ data." Lynn¡¯s eyes widened. "A star map." Vex hesitated. "You want to tell whatever¡¯s in there where we are?" "It already knows," Carter said. "But we need to know where it¡¯s from. If this is intelligence, it¡¯ll understand that we¡¯re trying to communicate." Reyes gave a slow nod. "And if it answers?" Carter met his gaze. "Then we¡¯ll know we¡¯re not just staring at a star." A moment of hesitation¡ªthen Lynn keyed in the transmission. A basic celestial map of the local star systems. A gesture of understanding. Vex swallowed hard. ¡°Sending.¡± The data vanished into the void. The crew watched the monitors, hearts pounding. One second. Two. Three. The ship¡¯s lights flickered. Then¡ªa response. A return transmission. Data flooded their systems, too complex to read at once. But one thing stood out immediately¡ªthe Sun wasn¡¯t just sending coordinates back. It was sending a blueprint. The blueprint pulsed on the screen like a living thing, a tangled mess of symbols and geometric patterns layered in a way that made no immediate sense. Lynn¡¯s fingers twitched over her console, scanning the data. "This isn''t just a star map¡­ it''s something else." Carter leaned in. "Can you translate it?" "Not easily," Lynn muttered. "It¡¯s not in any known format. But¡­" Her eyes narrowed. "Some of these sequences resemble ancient astronomical models. Older than anything we use today. Maybe even¡ª" She stopped. Vex raised an eyebrow. "Even what?" Lynn hesitated. "Pre-human." A cold silence fell over the room. Reyes stepped closer, staring at the shifting symbols. "You¡¯re saying this¡­ whatever it is¡­ came from something older than us?" Lynn swallowed hard. "I don¡¯t know. But if it did, we¡¯re looking at a signal from something that predates Earth¡¯s history." Carter exhaled. This was bigger than they ever imagined. Something Moves Before anyone could speak, the ship¡¯s alarms blared. UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT DETECTED. APPROACHING FAST. Vex spun toward the controls. ¡°What the hell?¡± Lynn¡¯s screen updated. ¡°It¡¯s coming from behind the Sun. Velocity¡ªimpossible. It shouldn¡¯t be moving like that!¡± Carter''s heart pounded. ¡°Visuals. Now.¡± Reyes patched the external cameras into the main display. For a moment, nothing. Just empty, endless space. Then¡ªsomething moved. A shadow. A shape against the blinding light of the Sun. It was big¡ªfar too big for a meteor, moving with an eerie precision that sent a shiver down Carter¡¯s spine. Vex¡¯s voice was barely a whisper. ¡°That¡­ is not natural.¡± The object shifted, its surface dark and uneven, like a fractured piece of space itself. As it moved, it revealed something even more unsettling¡ªit wasn¡¯t approaching them. It was leaving. And the moment it passed into deeper space¡­ The transmission from the Sun cut off. The Silence After the Signal The moment the transmission cut off, the ship felt eerily silent. No alarms. No interference. Just the soft hum of their systems¡ªas if nothing had happened. But something had. Carter clenched his jaw. Whatever had just left the Sun¡¯s shadow, it was leaving deliberately. And the Sun had responded only after it was gone. Lynn exhaled slowly. ¡°Do we track it?¡± Vex shook his head. ¡°We barely have enough power for long-range scanning, let alone a chase.¡± Carter wasn¡¯t convinced. They had already crossed a line. Ignoring this now wouldn¡¯t erase what they¡¯d just seen. Still, before he could respond, Reyes turned sharply. ¡°Incoming transmission¡ªexternal source.¡± Vex groaned. ¡°Please tell me it¡¯s Command.¡± Reyes frowned. ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s a direct link.¡± ¡°From who?¡± Reyes hesitated, then tapped his console. A face flickered onto the screen¡ªan older man, sharp-eyed, with graying hair and a tired expression. Lynn blinked. ¡°Wait¡­ is that¡ª¡± Dr. Elias Varen. Carter straightened. The name wasn¡¯t unfamiliar¡ªVaren was an astrophysicist, a controversial figure in deep-space research. He had gone silent years ago after publishing classified findings on anomalous solar activity. And now, he was contacting them. Varen¡¯s voice was calm but urgent. ¡°You need to leave. Now.¡± Carter narrowed his eyes. ¡°Excuse me?¡± Varen¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°You were never supposed to intercept that signal.¡± A chill ran through the room. Lynn glanced at Carter. ¡°How do you know about the transmission?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯ve been listening,¡± Varen said. ¡°For years.¡± Silence. Vex folded his arms. ¡°Okay, you wanna tell us what¡¯s going on? Because we just got handed a blueprint from inside the damn Sun.¡± Varen¡¯s gaze sharpened. ¡°It sent you something?¡± Carter exchanged looks with his crew. ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡± Varen muttered something under his breath, then looked straight at Carter. ¡°Listen carefully. If it communicated with you, then it has already chosen you. And that means¡­ it¡¯s too late.¡± Carter¡¯s stomach twisted. ¡°Too late for what?¡± Varen didn¡¯t answer right away. Instead, he glanced off-screen, his face tense¡ªas if someone else was there. Then, barely above a whisper, he said, ¡°They¡¯ll come for you.¡± The transmission cut. Flashback: The Varens Years Earlier¡­ The planetarium¡¯s soft glow painted constellations across the domed ceiling. Kael sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes tracking the slow movement of distant stars. Beside him, a girl with short blonde hair stretched out, lying on her back with her hands behind her head. Unlike Kael, who was captivated by the display, she seemed unimpressed. ¡°This is kinda boring,¡± she muttered. Kael shot her a look. ¡°It¡¯s not boring. You just don¡¯t get it.¡± She smirked. ¡°Oh, I get it. It¡¯s just dots in the sky.¡± Dr. Elias Varen, sitting nearby, chuckled. ¡°And yet, you two insisted on coming here.¡± The girl shrugged. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t have much choice, did I?¡± Elias gave her a knowing smile. ¡°You¡¯re always welcome, you know that.¡± Kael glanced at her. She had been around for as long as he could remember¡ªan orphan raised by one of his father¡¯s old friends. She lived nearby and spent more time at his house than anywhere else. ¡°Maybe I just like the quiet,¡± she muttered. Kael smirked. ¡°Yeah, right. That¡¯s why you never stop talking?¡± She nudged him with her foot. ¡°I talk because you¡¯re boring.¡± Kael huffed but didn¡¯t argue. Their bickering had always been like this¡ªeffortless, familiar. Elias watched them with a quiet smile. ¡°You know,¡± he said, ¡°people used to believe that stars were gods watching over them.¡± The girl snorted. ¡°That¡¯s dumb.¡± Kael frowned. ¡°Is it? We still don¡¯t know what¡¯s out there.¡± She hesitated for a second, then shrugged. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. They don¡¯t care about us.¡± Elias didn¡¯t argue. He simply looked up at the artificial stars, his expression unreadable. For a while, the three of them sat in comfortable silence, watching the universe turn. Neither Kael nor the girl knew it then, but the night sky they loved so much¡­ ¡­was already watching them back. Back to the Present The hum of the ship filled the silent bridge, a low, constant vibration that had once been comforting. Now, it only amplified the tension in the room. Commander Isaac Carter paced near the central display, eyes locked on the black void where the Sun¡¯s light should have been. His fingers drummed against his arm, a habit he had picked up over years of deep-space missions. "Alright," he finally said. "Let¡¯s go over this one more time." Lynn Harlow, still tapping away at her console, let out a breath. "The Sun is still there¡ªtechnically. Our instruments show its gravitational pull hasn¡¯t changed, but visually¡­ it¡¯s just gone." Carter¡¯s jaw tightened. "And that¡¯s not possible." "Not even remotely," Dr. Julian Reyes chimed in, his voice edged with unease. "A total optical blackout? That would mean something is actively blocking or absorbing every single wavelength of light. And if that were the case¡­ we¡¯d be feeling it in other ways." Ryan Vex, arms crossed, frowned at the readings. "If it were a supermassive structure or an anomaly, we should be detecting some kind of interference. But there¡¯s nothing. No radiation, no gravitational fluctuations¡ªjust emptiness." Lynn turned in her chair. "And then there¡¯s the transmission." The room fell silent. Dr. Elias Varen¡¯s voice still echoed in Carter¡¯s mind. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be here.¡± Carter exhaled slowly. "Do we have anything on him yet?" Lynn shook her head. "Still no trace. The signal was rerouted through at least a dozen satellites. But based on the lag, I¡¯d guess he¡¯s planetside." Reyes adjusted his glasses. "He knew about the Sun before we even said a word. That means he¡¯s been studying this for a while." Vex grunted. "Or he¡¯s involved." Carter considered that. It was possible. But if Elias was responsible for this, why warn them? Why not just let them drift into the unknown? For now, there were too many questions and not enough answers. And one question, more than any other, refused to leave Carter¡¯s mind. Who¡ªor what¡ªwas watching them? The Signal from the Darkness A burst of static filled the room. A voice, faint and distorted, crackled through the speakers. ¡°If you can hear this¡­ you need to leave. Now.¡± Carter¡¯s blood ran cold. It wasn¡¯t Elias. It was someone else. And whoever they were, they sounded terrified. Lynn¡¯s hands flew over her console. ¡°The signal is weak¡ªreally weak. Bouncing between multiple relays, but¡­¡± She hesitated. Carter¡¯s patience wore thin. ¡°But what?¡± Lynn swallowed hard. ¡°Sir, the signal¡¯s coming from inside the blackout zone.¡± Silence fell over the room. Vex straightened. ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be,¡± Reyes muttered. ¡°Nothing should be transmitting from there. No light, no energy, no matter¡ªnothing.¡± Lynn tapped a few keys, isolating the waveform. ¡°It¡¯s repeating. The same message, over and over. But the signal is degrading. If we don¡¯t respond now, we might lose it completely.¡± Carter¡¯s mind raced. If someone was trapped in the anomaly¡­ that changed everything. "We send a response," he decided. Reyes glanced at him. ¡°That might expose us.¡± "We¡¯re already exposed." Carter gestured toward the void. "If something out there wanted us gone, we¡¯d be gone. Right now, all we have is a warning and a distress signal from inside a dead zone. If there¡¯s someone in there, we need to know who they are¡ªand how they got there." Vex exhaled. ¡°If this goes south, I told you so.¡± Carter ignored him. "Lynn, send a transmission. Keep it short." She nodded, then activated the comms. "This is Commander Isaac Carter of the ISS Aegis. We received your message. Identify yourself." A second of silence. Then another. Then¡ª A burst of interference. Lynn¡¯s screen glitched. The waveform spiked wildly before stabilizing. And a new voice came through. "¡­There¡¯s no time. You have to go. It¡¯s waking up." Lynn paled. ¡°Sir, the signal just¡ª¡± A tremor rocked the ship. The emergency lights flickered. Alarms blared across the bridge. "Report!" Carter barked. Vex¡¯s hands flew over the diagnostic panel. ¡°Something¡¯s pulling us in!¡± Reyes¡¯ voice was barely a whisper. ¡°But there¡¯s¡­ nothing there.¡± Carter turned to the viewport. For the first time since they arrived, the black void of the Sun¡¯s anomaly began to move. And whatever was inside¡­ had noticed them. Carter¡¯s breath caught as the darkness outside shifted. It was subtle¡ªlike a ripple in still water¡ªbut it was there. "Lynn, cut the transmission!" he snapped. "Already did!" she said, hands shaking as she locked down the comms. Vex cursed. ¡°Thrusters aren¡¯t responding! We¡¯re caught in some kind of gravitational¡ªno, electromagnetic pull!¡± ''Reyes¡¯ screen was filling with erratic data. ¡°The ship¡¯s shielding is destabilizing. Whatever this is, it¡¯s interfering with our systems at a fundamental level.¡± The ship trembled again, harder this time. The stars outside distorted, as if space itself were bending around them. "Options?" Carter demanded. "None that don¡¯t end with us getting crushed," Vex muttered. Carter gritted his teeth. ¡°Then we need to¡ª¡± A blinding flash filled the viewport. For a split second, something huge loomed in the abyss. It wasn¡¯t a structure. It wasn¡¯t a ship. It was something else. Something alive. The moment passed in an instant, the light vanishing as quickly as it had come. But in the sudden stillness, Carter could hear it. A low, pulsing sound. Not from their systems. From outside. A rhythmic, deliberate signal. Like breathing. Carter¡¯s skin went cold. ¡°What the hell is that?¡± Lynn¡¯s voice was barely a whisper. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯re supposed to be here.¡± A final jolt sent them reeling. And then¡ª Everything went dark.