Europa, July 16, 2027. 0830 Hours.
Kenji Sato adjusted his headset in the core room, his voice tense. “The signal’s live, Mitchell—it’s coming from Titan.”
Xiaotong Zheng scanned the incoming data, her sleek bun catching the light. Again she immediately understood what's going on. “It’s a message, Mitchell—alien syntax, not Sumerer.”
John Mitchell turned to her, his leadership a steady force. “Can you decode it, Zheng?”
Xiaotong nodded, her focus sharp as she worked. “It’ll take time, but yes. They’re calling themselves the Overseers.”
Anika Sharma reviewed the shard’s logs, her tone urgent. “The Overseers—they’ve been controlling the Sumerer for millennia.”
Elias Moretti pushed up his glasses, his voice shaky. “Millennia? Then why are they contacting us now?”
Yuri Leonov smirked, leaning against the wall. “Maybe they don’t like us crashing their party.”
Rachel Voigt checked her gear, her tone serious. “If they’re on Titan, we’re walking into a trap.”
Li Wei monitored the ship’s systems, frowning. “Fuel’s critical—we can’t make it to Titan without a resupply.”
Sarah Carter glanced at the crew, her voice calm. “We’re running on fumes, John. We need a plan.”
Mikael Heikkinen chimed in over comms, his tone eager. “Europa’s got ice—water for fuel. I can rig it.”
Yuri laughed, nudging Elias with a grin. “See, Moretti? We’re not stranded yet.”
Elias rolled his eyes, but smiled. “Fine, but if we crash on Titan, I’m blaming you.”
Yuri clapped him on the back, laughing. “Deal—let’s make it a smooth ride.”
Mitchell met Xiaotong’s gaze, his trust absolute. “Keep decoding, Zheng. We need to know what they want.”
Xiaotong gave a determined nod, already working. “On it, Mitchell. This changes everything.”