Mars, July 15, 2027. 0930 Hours.
The Sumerer chamber quaked, rune-lit machines snarling like beasts. John Mitchell braced against a pillar, his past failures clawing his mind—lost crews, broken promises. Not this time. “Moretti, hack that panel, now!”
Elias Moretti’s fingers flew over the rune controls, sweat dripping. “It’s fighting me, Commander! Like it’s alive!”
Yuri Leonov blasted a drone, plasma torch flaring. “Alive? Tell it to die quieter!”
Xiaotong Zheng’s tablet sparked, linked to the artifact. “I’m stalling the grid, but it’s adapting!” Her voice cut like a blade.
Rachel Voigt reloaded her flare gun, eyes darting. “Walls are closing, Mitchell! Thirty seconds!”
Anika Sharma’s comms hissed from the outpost. “Runes say ‘vault locks.’ It’s protecting something!”
Mitchell’s scanner screamed, drones circling. “Protecting what, Sharma?”
“A core,” Anika replied. “Sumerer tech, maybe their mind.”
Kenji Sato’s voice crackled. “Signal’s spiking! It’s targeting us!”
The hologram reappeared, Sumerer figure looming. “Intruders, your end comes.”
Yuri smirked, torch ready. “Big talk for a ghost.”
“Moretti, status!” Mitchell roared.
Elias grinned, panel sparking. “Got it! Doors pausing!”
Xiaotong’s tablet beeped. “Grid’s down—ten seconds!”
The chamber stilled, drones freezing. A hidden door groaned open, revealing a glowing vault, runes pulsing like stars. Xiaotong stepped forward, awed. “This… it’s their archive.”
Rachel’s flare lit the vault, showing crystal data spires. “Jackpot or trap?”
Elias whispered, “Knowledge. Their whole history.”
Mitchell’s gut churned. Knowledge could save or doom them. “Zheng, scan it. Leonov, guard the exit.”
Yuri nodded, torch up. “No ghost’s crashing my party.”
The hologram flickered, voice cold. “Touch the core, and awaken judgment.”
Xiaotong’s scanner hummed. “It’s active, Mitchell. We can’t leave it.”
He locked eyes with her, resolve iron. “Then we take it.”