[Starship Scarborough, Transmission 2]

This is Shawn Heart, reporting on behalf of the crew of the Starship Scarborough. We have completed our first walk on the surface of Alpha Centauri Ace. The atmosphere is breathable, as expected. The dust is slowly settling after our landing. Visibility has improved to approximately three miles.

What we initially described as pink soil has been identified as a moss or mold-like life form. We are collecting samples for analysis.

Approximately one mile west of our landing site, a crew member spotted what appears to be [indiscernible noises] land formation on the horizon. It has been described as possibly metallic in nature. A team of six of us are going to investigate.

The thirteen remaining members of the crew are performing general reconnaissance in the areas surrounding our landing site, collecting samples for analysis and preparing to assemble the rover and solar cells.

Along with this transmission, we have included photos from our first walk on Alpha Centauri Ace. Expect our next transmission soon.

[End Transmission 2]

The light from Alpha Centauri A glows as the ball of fire creeps closer to the horizon. After stopping back at the starship so I could send a transmission, we regrouped and formed a small team to set out to meet Lou Dupont.

As we walk into the red, tears sting behind my eyes. I remember the last sunset I saw on Earth. A single tear escapes, tracing a line across my cheekbone. I swallow down the lump forming in my throat. This is the first time a human will ever witness the setting of a star other than the sun—the first starset. It's breathtaking.

The dark silhouette of a man stands out against the rough, rocky terrain of the pink planet. He raises one hand above his head, waving to the five of us.

Star puts her hand above her eyes, forming a visor to shield the light and get a better look.

America depresses the button for his radio. "We see you, Lou," he calls into the receiver. "Over." Then, he raises his hand above his head to wave back.

"Hey, oh!" Lou's voice carries to us as he shouts, foregoing the radios America seems to love so much.

America picks up his pace to a jog. I follow along with Star, the old guy who's obsessed with mold, and Devin Sanders, the fifth member of our little group that set out to investigate.

"Took y'all long enough to get here." Lou Dupont smiles when we reach him, the leathery skin of his face revealing wrinkles caused by years of too much tanning and not enough sunscreen. I peg him as a lawyer of some sort. He probably got involved with the wrong people, dipped his toe in crime, slipped and fell in up to his ears, and now here he is.

Lou points out over the horizon, where the land mass he was talking about stands out against the red sky. "See it out there? Looks almost metallic or something. Or, at least it did. The sun's gone down too much to tell now."

I turn my attention to the distance and squint. In the fading starlight, the landform looks like nothing more than a dark shadow—a hump rising above the surface of the planet like a breaching whale frozen in time.

A wind kicks up with a hiss, blowing dust and grit into my eyes. I shield my face, and my grip on my helmet tightens as I consider putting it back on.

"Shit, it's getting cold," Star mutters under her breath.

"What do you think it is?" Devin crosses his muscular arms over his broad chest. The sleeves of his spacesuit are rolled up to his elbows, and he's taken his gloves off. He looks like he spent at least fifty percent of his time in prison working out. The other fifty percent was apparently spent practicing prison tattoos on himself, judging by the poorly drawn artwork scribbled across his left arm and the back of his hand.

"It doesn't look natural," Devin continues.

"I don't know what it is," America responds, "but I plan to find out."

Star glances back at home base, where we can still make out the outline of our starship. The setting star makes the smooth, metallic surface shimmer pink and yellow. Its glowing outline bleeds into the indigo sky behind it.

"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Star asks. "It's getting dark. Maybe we should head back and wait until morning. It's not like that . . . thing . . . is going anywhere."

"What, scared of the dark?" Devin teases her.

"It's not that." She places her hands on her hips. Another wind blows past, bringing in a breath of icy night air. "We just aren't going to have much time to get a good look at it tonight. Doesn't really make sense to hike all the way out there."

"We have headlamps." America taps the light on the visor of the helmet under his arm. "We'll just take a quick look, and we can come back tomorrow if it's anything of interest."

Star pushes a stray strand of curly dark hair out of her face and places her hands on her hips. "Fine. Let's do this then."

She leads the charge with Devin, Lou and America following closely, leaving me and the old mold guy lagging behind.

I cross my arms in front of myself as a shiver runs through me. Night is setting in, and part of me agrees with Star. Being so far away from our only shelter on an alien planet after dark sets off my agoraphobia like nothing else.

I watch the others as they walk ahead, their shadows stretching out longer and longer against the surface of the planet. My mind wanders back to my conversation with America right before we got Lou's call on the radio. He faked a serious crime to get thrown in prison so he could get on this mission. That means he had to have known about it before hand.

But how? Was he involved in the Interstellar Colonization Corporation somehow?

Had he worked for them?

That's the only thing I can think of . . . unless he lied to me. But why lie?

"You've been awfully quiet," the mold guy suddenly says, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I shrug. "I've gotten used to my own company. The prison I was at wasn't exactly a happy hour." I kick a small stone, trying to block out the memories of nights spent alone in that dungeon. Trying to forget the screaming I heard at night. On occasion, the screaming that was my own.

I'm stronger than that.

"Usually what's going on in my own mind is more interesting than finding out what other people are thinking about, anyway," I finally add.

He releases a breathy laugh. "You haven't been burning to talk to someone? After being locked up in prison so long, I know I have. It's nice to see some fresh faces. Talking to the same people every day." A pause. "It gets old quick."

I smirk, letting out a sarcastic laugh. "I've got bad news for you, then, buddy."

He shakes his head, smiling to himself. "I'll take what I can get. Fresh air." He inhales deeply.

Without realizing what I'm doing, I mime his action, pulling the cool air into my lungs.

"It's been decades since I've tasted it. I don't think the air on Earth has been this fresh since the Cretaceous period." He extends his hand to me. "Elias Young, by the way."

I accept his handshake. "Shawn Heart."

His dark eyes twinkle and shine in the dying starlight. "I'm sorry, I'm not the best with names," he says. "I don't remember everyone from that whirlwind of an orientation we had."

"It's been thirty-two years." I shrug. "I think it's forgivable."

He smiles and lets out a chuckle. "So, I got Devin and Lou. You catch the names of the other two?"

"The guy acting like someone spiked his icing pod with caffeine is America." I nod in his direction. "The girl is Star."

"Star's a pretty name." Elias smiles. Then he shakes his head. "America's parents must have hated him."

I nod. "I almost feel bad for him." We walk in silence for a few minutes. The only sound is the crunching of dirt beneath our feet and Elias's heavy breathing. My heart pounds, and my calves and quads burn. We are ascending a hill of some sort.

A few larger rocks scatter the surface, casting long and lean shadows. I imagine rats hiding within them, scurrying between the nooks and crannies of this barren planet.

My foot slips over a rock, and Elias catches me by the arm, bracing me to keep me from falling.

"Careful, Shawn." The wind steals his words, making them sound distant.

I nod. The mold covering the surface here is thicker, closer to the consistency of algae. In between the larger rocks and divots in the ground, it stretches out like webbing. It climbs upon itself, clawing its way closer and closer to the stars even though it was meant to stay on the ground.

A chill rushes over me, and I pinch my eyes shut for a second.

"I'm surprised you didn't want to stay behind to analyze the samples, Elias," I finally break the silence. "You seemed really interested in this mold, or whatever it is." A bit of algae sticks to the toe of my boot. I fling my leg to kick it off, but it clings on like chewing gum to hair.

"The mold isn't going anywhere," Elias replies. "There'll be plenty of time to analyze it later. Right now, I'm more interested in finding out what else this planet has to surprise us with."

I purse my lips. "Me too."

"What the hell," Devin's voice carries back to Elias and me. I turn my gaze up ahead, where the others have all stopped in their tracks.

"See?" Lou shouts. "See what I was saying? It's definitely metal."

Elias and I pick up our pace to reach where they stand overlooking a small ledge. As I stare out across the alien world,  I realize why we couldn't see the object clearly before. It was in a valley, and we were on a hill. We were only seeing a part of it—the tip of the iceberg.

Now that we are closer, I can tell that Lou was right. It's definitely metallic. Streaks of glittering silver sparkle beneath the thin layer of pink mold that covers its surface. At the edges and curves of the object, the mold has stretched out like a web, encasing it like a spider entraps its next meal. Like a caterpillar forming her chrysalis.

"Is that . . ." Star begins to say, but she cuts herself off.

I glance at the others, waiting for someone else to speak first, but no one dares. America's naturally tan face blanches white as a ghost.

"It's a starship," I whisper.