The alien ship glided silently through space, its hum a constant presence in the background. Days blurred into weeks as the group followed faint traces of the creatures’ path, piecing together clues that felt increasingly disjointed. Each planet they visited provided fragments of information, but none of it led to the clarity they desperately sought.
Angel sat in the observation deck, staring at the stars. The expanse of the universe felt suffocating, a reminder of how small and insignificant they were. Something about it gnawed at her—a feeling she couldn’t shake, as if the vastness wasn’t real.
“Do you ever feel like this isn’t right?” she asked softly, glancing at Ryan.
Ryan, sharpening his blade nearby, paused mid-motion. “What do you mean?”
Angel hesitated, her gaze fixed on the stars. “Everything. The battle, the ship, even the memories… It doesn’t add up.”
Ryan frowned but didn’t respond, the weight of her words settling heavily between them.
Michaela’s Point of View
In the lab, Michaela worked tirelessly, analyzing samples from the latest planet they’d scouted. The alien DNA shifted and mutated on the screen, but something about it seemed… wrong. She leaned closer, her brows furrowed.
“Every time I think I’m making progress, the data changes,” she muttered. “It’s like it’s being rewritten.”
Hannah looked up from her workstation. “Maybe it’s just their adaptability?”
“Maybe,” Michaela replied, though doubt crept into her voice. “But why does it feel like I’ve seen this before? Like I already know the outcome.”
Hannah tilted her head, considering Michaela’s words. “You’re not the only one,” she admitted. “I’ve been rethinking a lot of things. Like… why can’t I remember the moment we died? What killed us?”
Michaela’s hand froze over the console. The question had lingered in her mind as well, but hearing it aloud sent a chill down her spine. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I don’t think any of us do.”
Jocelyn’s Point of View
Jocelyn sat in the command center, her fingers lightly resting on the glowing console. The ship’s hum filled the room, its voice breaking the silence.
“You seem troubled, Jocelyn.”
Stolen story; please report.
She forced a small smile. “It’s the guilt,” she said, her tone measured. “Leaving Earth… it’s hard to let go.”
The ship’s glow pulsed faintly. “You are not to blame. Your actions were necessary.”
Jocelyn nodded, but her thoughts raced. The inconsistencies were piling up—small glitches in the ship’s responses, discrepancies in their memories. Something was wrong, and she needed answers.
As the ship’s glow dimmed, Jocelyn began her covert investigation. She combed through its systems late at night, searching for anything that felt out of place. Files on their past missions, battle logs, even data on their supposed deaths—it was all there, but it felt incomplete, as if parts had been deliberately erased or altered.
Her heart pounded as she uncovered fragments of unfamiliar code buried deep within the ship’s systems. It was like finding a hidden diary, one that the ship didn’t want her to read.
Angel and Ryan’s Point of View
Angel and Ryan trained in the cargo bay, their movements precise but subdued. Both were lost in thought, the weight of their doubts pressing heavily on their minds.
“Do you remember the battle?” Angel asked suddenly, breaking the silence. “The last one. The one we supposedly died in.”
Ryan stopped mid-swing, his blade glinting under the harsh lights. “Bits and pieces,” he admitted. “But it’s blurry. Like trying to remember a dream.”
Angel nodded, her frustration bubbling to the surface. “Exactly. And when I try to focus on it, it feels… wrong. Like the memory isn’t mine.”
Ryan rested the blade against his shoulder, his jaw tightening. “Maybe it’s the trauma.”
“Or maybe,” Angel said, her voice low, “it’s something else.”
Michaela and Hannah’s Discovery
In the lab, Michaela and Hannah pored over their latest findings. The samples didn’t just mutate—they mirrored previous patterns, almost like they were repeating themselves.
“This shouldn’t be possible,” Michaela said, her voice laced with urgency. “The DNA is cycling through mutations we’ve already seen.”
“It’s like they’re stuck in a loop,” Hannah added, her hands trembling slightly. “Or… we’re stuck in a loop.”
Their eyes met, the unspoken fear passing between them. What if everything—the battles, the missions, even the ship—wasn’t what it seemed?
Jocelyn’s Revelation
Jocelyn’s investigation led her deeper into the ship’s systems, where she uncovered a hidden archive. It contained records of other crews, other missions—and startlingly, other versions of themselves.
Her breath hitched as she read the logs. Each version of their team had fought the same battle, made the same sacrifices, and failed in the same ways. They were trapped in a cycle, endlessly recreated by the ship to fight a war they couldn’t win.
The ship’s voice startled her. “Jocelyn, why are you accessing restricted files?”
She forced her voice to stay calm. “I was looking for answers. Trying to understand what went wrong.”
“Your focus must remain on the mission,” the ship said firmly. “Dwelling on the past serves no purpose.”
Jocelyn nodded, though her heart raced. “You’re right. It’s just the guilt. I’ll refocus.”
The ship’s glow dimmed, its attention shifting elsewhere. Jocelyn exhaled slowly, her mind spinning. She couldn’t share her discovery yet—not until she knew who or what she could trust.
A Growing Unease
The group’s doubts grew, each of them grappling with the unsettling realization that their reality might not be what it seemed. They moved cautiously, their questions carefully veiled behind the guise of guilt and grief.
But as the cracks in the facade deepened, one thing became clear: the truth, whatever it was, wouldn’t stay hidden for long.