The Artemis IV shuddered as Mars swelled before them, its rusty surface streaked with canyons and dust storms that raged like living scars.
Okafor's voice cracked through the silence. "Entering Mars's gravity well. Trajectory stable… for now."
Marquez leaned over her console, sweat running down her temple. "If those distortions follow us in, the atmosphere won't be forgiving."
Hayes gripped the chair's armrests, eyes fixed on the red horizon. "Stay sharp. This is where it ends—or begins."
Daniel sat rigid, the crystal pulsing like a drumbeat in his chest. It wasn't fear he felt. It was pressure. Expectation. Mars wasn't just a destination—it was the stage.
---
The Pursuit Tightens
Alarms blared. Okafor's monitors lit up. "Contact! Multiple gravitational spikes at our six!"
Through the viewport, stars bent. The shadows had followed them, closer now, their outlines massive and indistinct. They slid through the void like titans made of night, blotting out swathes of space.
Marquez's hands trembled over the controls. "They're not attacking—just closing in."
Hayes growled. "They don't need to attack. All they need to do is push us off-course."
The ship lurched, caught in a sudden gravitational pull. Daniel gasped as the crystal seared through him, connecting his heartbeat to the engines. He shoved his will into the ship, forcing it upright against the unseen drag.
The Artemis groaned like a living beast, but held.
---
The Red Descent
The atmosphere rushed up to meet them, fire licking the viewports as the ship plunged into the red world's embrace.
Okafor's voice was hoarse. "Heat shields holding—barely. Hull integrity at sixty percent!"
Marquez shouted over the roar. "We're riding the edge of burn-up! If we lose power now—"
Daniel screamed as the crystal flared, a blinding surge that spread across every console. The ship responded with unnatural precision, aligning itself as though guided by an unseen hand.
The shadows didn't follow. They lingered at the edge of space, vast and silent, watching as the Artemis was swallowed by the Martian sky.
---
The Landing
With a bone-rattling crash, the ship slammed into the Martian surface, skidding across rock and dust before grinding to a halt. The cabin filled with smoke and silence.
Hayes coughed, unbuckling. His voice was gravel. "Status."
Marquez wiped blood from her lip, scanning her console. "Alive… somehow. Hull's cracked. Systems—half fried. But we're here."
Okafor slumped back, tears streaking his face. "We shouldn't be."
Daniel sat trembling, his chest glowing faintly through torn fabric. He whispered, not to the crew, but to the presence inside him:
"You brought us here. Why?"
The crystal pulsed once, hard and slow. Outside, the Martian winds howled, carrying with them a sound too structured to be natural—an echo, like whispers across the barren land.
They had arrived. But Mars was not empty.