Remove — Failed

She stared at the words, her gloved hand still pressed against the cold, black monolith in the asteroid’s core. Her mission was simple: extract the relic, jump home, and save the solar system from the solar flare that would sterilize Earth in seventy-two hours. The relic was the only thing that could absorb the flare’s energy.

On her wrist, the device flickered. Then, a new line: remove failed

Static hissed. Then, a voice she didn’t recognize, low and calm: “Captain, Control is gone. A pre-flare surge hit the orbital relay. You’re the last voice in the black.” She stared at the words, her gloved hand

Remove failed. The message wasn’t an error. It was a verdict. She stared at the words

The device on Captain Elara Vane’s wrist blinked red.