Time passed differently off-planet.

Even in orbit above Mars, only an hour off Earth's schedule, it was difficult for the crew of the U.N.I.S. Icarus to keep track of the days. It wasn't just the lack of a day/night cycle. There was something about being in a ship, in orbit, that threw a person off.

Captain Artemis Hart was used to it, though. She had been in space for five years. There had been trips down to the surface of Mars, but those had been perfunctory, at best.

She was at home on her ship — even if she would have lost track of the days without the combined power of her XO and the ship's AI.

Still, she was determined to at least get enough sleep. Eight hours a cycle, almost to the minute. The whole ship knew by then that to wake the Captain for anything less than an emergency was to face her wrath.

"Captain Hart." The slightly robotic voice of the ship's AI, Ariadne, came from the implant in her right ear, impossible to ignore.

"Ugh, what is it, Ari?" she asked, her words slightly slurred from sleep. "Better be important."

"Captain, the Archives are showing activity. Dr. Johannson told me to wake you right away."

If anything could wake Artemis up, it was that. She jolted up in bed, wincing slightly as her shoulder pulled oddly.

"The Archives?" she repeated, "What triggered it?"

Even as she spoke, she began pulling on her clothes. The blue and grey fatigues were standard wear for the security forces on the Icarus, and as Captain, Artemis didn't want to be seen as pulling rank by wearing something unique. It was a hell of a lot more relaxed than the Marines had been.

"I don't know, ma'am. Dr. Johannson is interfacing with the Archives now. She requests your presence."

"I'm on my way. Does anyone else know?"

"No, ma'am. Just the ground team working tonight."

"Do your best to keep it that way. We don't need a panic, and the crew needs their sleep. But tell the pilot on duty I'm heading ground side."

"Yes, Captain. I'll see that a shuttle is prepared."

"Is Commander Kozlov up?"

"No, ma'am."

"Wake him. Tell him what happened and that he needs to assume command of the Icarus while I'm on the planet. And instruct him to keep the reasons to himself, for now."

She stood, pulling her trousers up over her hips and buttoning her shirt over her dog tags.

At the door, Artemis hesitated. It was unnecessary... but she grabbed her gun anyway.

* * *

The Icarus was the largest ship ever commissioned. A joint project by multiple countries, most notably the USA, China, and Russia, her purpose was to house the scientists and soldiers of the Daedalus Project, and carry them from Earth to Mars. Now, it only housed the soldiers, and it had an empty, haunted feeling to it.

Especially at night.

Artemis couldn't help the shiver that went down her back at the empty corridors, the sound of her heavy footsteps echoing against the metal floor. Most of the soldiers on the Icarus were asleep at this hour, and the skeleton crew that made up the night shift were mostly at their stations. She passed a few of them, nodding, but keeping her face neutral.

She didn't know what it meant, that the Archives were active, not really. It had been five long years since she had been stationed on the Icarus, hovering over Mars.

Five years and the Archives had laid dormant, while scientists of all kinds poured over every ounce of data they could glean from the labyrinth underneath the surface of the planet.

Artemis didn't really have much to do with it. She oversaw the day-to-day running of the ship, made sure everything on the ground was copacetic, and spent a lot of time running in the gym listening to music.

She was only there for the worst-case scenario, after all, no matter what pretty language the U.N. dressed up her position in.

Because now that they had proof, actual proof that alien life existed, there was the question — were they still out there?

And were they hostile?

Fidgeting had long ago been trained out of her, but Artemis still tapped her fingers against her thigh in the elevator, impatience taking over. The contents of the Archives could change humanity forever, bringing them new technology the likes of which they couldn't imagine.

That was the best-case scenario, and it was one she hoped for. She no longer believed in a higher power, but if she did, she would be praying for it.

The alternative wasn't worth thinking about.

The pilot on duty, Lieutenant Schwartz, had already climbed into the cockpit of the shuttle when she arrived in the bay, yawning as Artemis climbed into the co-pilot seat instead of the back.

"Morning, Lieutenant," she said, short and clipped. "Ready to go?'

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Yes, Captain. She's all warmed up for you."

"Good."

"Can I ask what this is about, ma'am?"

Artemis hesitated for a moment, looking over at him.

"There's been some activity down at the dig site," she said slowly. "I'm not sure what, but my presence has been requested."

Instead of the anxiety that filled her, the lieutenant looked excited.

"Finally! It's taken forever, but I knew they would figure it out."

Artemis raised an eyebrow.

"Er, ma'am."

"Hmm. Well, keep it to yourself for now, lieutenant. I don't want to blow things out of proportion when I don't even know what's happening."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Let's go."

The shuttle was small and sleek, meant for speed. Very few knew that it was prepped to be outfitted with weaponry and that the engineers on the Icarus could modify the shuttles for battle in less than an hour.

Artemis hoped they'd never have to find out.

The trip planetside took almost an hour, and by the time the shuttle landed the Artemis was ready to vibrate out of her chair. The possibilities were almost endless, the ideas of what could have been discovered in that hour filling her mind.

She was out of her seat before the engines were even cut, her mind racing. A young man in a white coat met her as she disembarked, a wide grin on his face.

"Captain Hart," he said, reaching out to shake her hand. "I'm Dr. Kuang. Dr. Johannson is waiting for you in the main chamber. We've made some exciting discoveries, but you really need to see it yourself."

"Lead the way."

The facility built over the entrance to the labyrinth was large enough to house the dozens upon dozens of scientists and support staff that were required of a venture that large. From the inside, it could pass for any standard corporate building on earth. They'd had to build it under the constraints of Mars's environment, and that meant there was nothing flashy. The walls were digital, portraying scenes from Earth, and there was greenery everywhere.

Artemis ignored it all, heading right for the double doors in the center of the entrance hall. They stood wide open, descending into the red earth.

Surrounding it were two or more dozen people, some in white coats, some in pajamas, talking among themselves.

Obviously, news had spread.

"Captain Hart!" Dr. Johannson's heavily accented voice called from just inside the double doors. "Get out of the way!" she snapped at the other scientists, who parted at their boss's word.

Artemis knew Dr. Greta Johannson only a little. As the respective leaders of their departments, it was inevitable for their paths to cross, though they were both too busy to socialize with each other. Still, Artemis knew the doctor's reputation as a no-nonsense kind of person, and could relate.

"Doctor Johannson," Artemis said, stepping forward. "Ariadne tells me the Archives are showing some kind of activity?"

"Yes, yes, come in! You must see it for yourself. There is no use explaining; you would not understand."

Artemis didn't take this as a slight. Dr. Johannson had two Ph.D.'s and was not only the world's foremost astrobiologist, but the world's only xenoarchaeologist. Artemis, who had a bachelor's degree in Political Science, knew when she was outthought.

She followed Dr. Johannson into the labyrinthine passages under the surface of Mars.

"I am to understand you are stationed here in case of an alien threat," Dr. Johannson said suddenly. "If the Archives prove to be dangerous."

"That's what the U.N. fears," Artemis said, not sure where this line of questioning was going.

"Hmph. Nonsense. This is scientific inquiry only. The United Nations oversteps their bounds."

Artemis shrugged.

"As you say," she said, not wanting a confrontation. She understood where Dr. Johannson was coming from, after all. "I doubt I'll be needed in that capacity. I hope not, anyway."

"Well, at least you have some sense," the doctor said. "I was worried when I found out they were sending an American, and a Marine! But you are different."

Taking it as the compliment it was, Artemis deflected. She had mixed feelings about her service in the Marines and was glad to be able to use that knowledge in a peacekeeping operation, instead of war.

"Tell me what happened with the Archives," she said.

"I will be honest with you; we don't know what we did. You got the letter, yes?"

"The one shutting us down? Yeah, I got it yesterday."

The news that they'd run out of funding was unwelcome, but not unexpected. After all, it had been five years.

"It is almost as if the computer knew. The moment we started talking about last-minute experiments and packing, it lit up."

Raising an eyebrow, Artemis quickened her pace.

"As if it's been listening, the whole time?" she pondered.

"Well! I don't know if I would go that far," Dr. Johannson said, sounding flustered. "But some kind if... intelligence is certain at this point, yes."

"Could Ariadne interface with it?"

"I would like to explore that possibility, but Ariadne needs your permission as well as mine to do so. It is one reason I rushed you here."

"Ariadne, what do you think?" she asked the AI, who was suspiciously silent. She had a good relationship with Ari, and encouraged her to speak up. It was odd that she wasn't doing so at the moment.

"I find myself intrigued by the possibility, Captain."

"Let me see what you've found first," Artemis said, after a pause. "I want to know what we're dealing with."

"Entirely fair. Come, this way."

Somehow, they'd made it through the roughly-hewn maze. Artemis was sure she'd never have been able to find her way on her own. Hopefully, Ariadne could guide her out, if it became necessary. But she didn't like the feeling of being trapped.

Artemis had been down in the Archives only once; the first time when she came for an inspection of the facility. It looked much the same as it had four years ago. The stone walls almost seamlessly changed to some kind of steel or titanium, and there were blank screens with no discernible controls throughout the room. At first, she thought the screens were still blank. She could see her reflection in them, her buzz cut, her round face, her grey eyes.

But then she realized they had changed.

When Artemis visited before, the screens had been matte black. No reflection at all.

"And they just turned on?" she said in almost a reverent tone. "By themselves? Have you gotten any more information from them?"

"We have our own computers hooked up through the back, but most of what we've downloaded so far is incomprehensible to us. Some kind of alien language we cannot decipher, at least not in so little time. They will give us more funding, I am sure of it, but I would still like Ariadne to interface with the technology now that it is open to us."

"If Ariadne is willing, then so am I," Artemis said after a moment's thought. She liked the project's AI, trusted her more than some people under her command, and thought that she deserved more freedom and recognition than she got. "What do you think, Ari?"

The Artificial Intelligence audibly hesitated.

"I would like to be helpful, Captain," she said finally. "And I, too, am curious about the origins of the Archives. I have spent a great deal of processing power wondering about them, and the opportunity to learn more is welcome."

"Well, then," Artemis said, surprised at Ariadne's thoughtful response. "You have my permission."

"And mine," came Dr. Johannson's voice. "You should be able to use our existing connections, Ariadne."

"Yes, doctor. It should be just a moment. Connecting to the archives... now."

They waited a moment.

"Ariadne?" Dr. Johannson asked. "Are you there?"

"Yes, doctor," and the breathlessness in the AI's voice should have been impossible. "It's amazing. I can understand it, now. I believe it was built for artificial, rather than human, minds."

That made sense to Artemis. Perhaps the civilization that left it behind had relied on Artificial Intelligence.

But before either the captain or the doctor could question Ariadne further, Schwartz, the pilot, ran into the room.

"Captain! Captain, urgent message from Earth! We're detecting alien spaceships on the long-range scanners!"