Stranded In Space Days 1-19 Complete Elysium -

Four pods. Twelve people.

We spent the rest of the day arguing: Is it a rescue? A trap? A natural phenomenon? No one knows. But for the first time in 13 days, I saw hope in people’s eyes. Real hope. The dangerous kind.

The shuttle launched at 19:00 GST. I watched the Elysium shrink behind us — a silver seed in an endless black field.

I asked Valdez about it. She looked at me for a long time. “We are the dry run, Kaelen. The difference is, the dry run was supposed to go home afterward.”

Valdez found me there. Didn’t say anything. Just sat down next to me.

Mira came to me afterward. “You’re the one who writes things down,” she said. “Promise me you’ll write the truth. Even if it’s ugly.”

Not human.

I sat in the airlock for an hour, suit on, helmet in my lap. Staring at the main airlock door like it was a mouth that might decide to open.

Mira knelt beside it. “They built this place. Sent the signal. Waited.”

One person must stay. Merge with the crystal. Power the fold. The rest go home.