It had been two days since Kevin found the buried ship—something he once believed existed only in the legend passed down through his family. Now, the legend had proven itself true.

Kevin stood at the edge of the recovery site, watching the team of specialists work with practiced efficiency to unveil the ship. These were the best professionals he could find—experts flown in with urgency to handle the discovery of a lifetime. Of course, everything was kept secret to the outside world.

In the past two days, the site had transformed. Essential equipment and machinery had been hauled down to support the effort. Floodlights illuminated the dark tunnels, revealing the ship's massive hull. The mine shaft had been widened for easy passage, and charging stations had been set up to keep mining suits operational for prolonged hours.

Kai was among the professionals working at the site. No one knew this region of the mine better than him, and Kevin trusted his expertise. Currently, Kai was deep in the process of helping the team uncover the ship's exterior, working tirelessly alongside others to remove layers of rock and debris, Eliana stood behind him, supplying the necessary tools whenever he needed.

A round of deep-penetrating scans had mapped the surrounding area of the ship. Combined with detailed 3D scans of the interior, the team uncovered something unexpected: the ship had been cut in two before it ended up here. Only a small portion of the interior was accessible for now. As for how the vessel had been buried so deep underground, the mystery remained unsolved.

Restoring power to the ship had proven to be the most challenging part of the recovery effort. The vessel’s alien layout required a great deal of adaptation. Custom parts had to be crafted to interface with its various charging ports, and the team had to painstakingly test power outputs to avoid frying the ship’s electrical systems. Each step forward was careful and thoughtful, but progress was being made.

Kevin allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction as he observed the controlled chaos of the site. The ship—a relic that held answers to a forgotten past—was slowly coming back to life.

He turned at the sound of approaching footsteps echoing down the tunnel. A group of guards emerged, escorting a man who walked carefully, holding a sleek black suitcase in his hand. The man’s eyes scanned the surroundings, lingering briefly on the ship before settling on Kevin.

“Mr. Isaac, it’s so nice to see you,” Kevin greeted warmly, extending his hand.

“Ah, Mr. Draco,” Isaac replied, gripping his hand in a firm handshake. “I almost didn’t recognize you without the usual suit. How’s the new system holding up?”

“It’s working extremely well, all thanks to your expertise,” Kevin replied with a smile. “And today, I’ve got something a little more… unique that needs your touch.”

Isaac raised an eyebrow and glanced past Kevin, his eyes narrowing on the enormous ship half-revealed in the rock. “What’s this? You’re into vintage shipwrecks now?”

“No, Mr. Isaac, this isn’t just any ship,” Kevin said, his voice steady but deliberate. “This vessel was made by a completely different civilization. And that’s precisely why I brought you here—I needed the best.”

Isaac smirked, clearly enjoying the compliment. “Is the system in English?”

“Yes, it is,” Kevin confirmed.

“Then you needn’t worry,” Isaac replied, his confidence almost palpable. He patted the suitcase at his side. “Give me a bit of time, and I’ll crack open even the most secure data.”

Kevin smiled and gestured towards the ship. “Then let’s get started.”

Everyone paused their work, giving Isaac the space he needed to work his magic. Kai, meanwhile, coordinated with the engineering team, ensuring every last preparation was in place.

To extract the ship’s data, they had to restore its power first. Now, standing in the dark, cavernous interior of the ancient vessel, Kai, Eliana, Kevin, and Isaac waited in anticipation.

Kevin gave Kai a firm nod. “Do it.”

Kai reached for the switch and flipped it.

For a brief second, nothing happened. Then, a soft hum filled the air. The overhead lights flickered to life, bathing the room in a uniform, bright glow. Kai heard Eliana gasp softly beside him.

One by one, the display screens lit up, their surfaces alive with cryptic boot sequences and lines of text in English. Dozens of monitors across the walls and floor illuminated simultaneously, casting shifting patterns of light and shadows across the room. The sheer scale of the ship’s systems coming online was overwhelming, and for a ship that been buried under for so long, it was surprisingly intact.

Even Isaac, who rarely broke his composed demeanor, stood momentarily frozen, his eyes wide in amazement. “This… this is incredible.”

A grin spread across his face—a mix of disbelief and pure excitement, like a child stepping into the greatest candy store ever imagined. He clapped his hands together and stepped forward, already eager to begin. “Let’s see what secrets you’ve been hiding, old girl.”

Isaac was in his element now. Using a custom-made adapter, he connected his laptop to one of the ship’s consoles. Kai watched as Isaac opened a program, lines of code flashing across the screen as his fingers flew over the keyboard.

Not even a minute had passed before Isaac chuckled and said, “Done.”

Kevin stepped forward, peering over Isaac’s shoulder. “That was impressively quick, Isaac.”

Isaac wore a proud expression. “The ship’s system was surprisingly easy to decode. I wouldn’t expect much else from a ship this old.”

Kai and Eliana moved closer, their eyes fixed on the screen. A table of contents appeared, neatly displayed.

“What’s in here?” Eliana asked.

“Everything the ship logged is here,” Isaac replied.

“Can you search for a ship that might have contacted this one? It’s called Noah’s Ark,” Kai said.

“Give me a second.” Isaac typed in the keywords, but the results came back empty—zero matches.

“Maybe it’s under a code name,” Kai suggested. “Try ‘NA.’”

Isaac entered the new query. This time, the number of matches shot up to over 100. He narrowed the results by filtering for communication logs between this ship and others.

Only three results remained, all text files labeled with “NA-1” in the titles. Isaac sorted them by date and clicked on the first one：

"To: NA-1

Old buddy, how are you doing? I hope this message reaches you in a timely manner.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

I heard about your departure and wanted to congratulate you on a successful launch.

It’s also with my deepest sadness that we had to abandon our home. I don’t want to dwell too much on that—we still have hope, and I wish you a safe journey on your way to New Haven.

Things are not looking good on my end. I think it’s catching up to us. I can feel it. Sometimes, I can even see the stars dim. I don’t know how far it is, but I’m sure it’s on its way toward us. We might have to launch the decoy sooner than I would like.

Keep the last hope for humanity alive. May God be on your side.

Lt. Col. Smith, USSF"

Isaac clicked on the second message:

"To: NA-1

Old buddy, I hope you’re doing okay. I haven’t heard back from you. How’s my family? Are they safe? Please reply ASAP.

Things just got worse over here. I’m sure I saw it yesterday. The stars should be there, but they weren’t. We’ll have to launch the decoy soon. I hope it does its job and keeps that thing away from humanity.

Please keep my family safe. God bless.

Lt. Col. Smith, USSF"

Kai and Eliana exchanged worried looks.

Kai spoke first, “NA-1 has to be Noah’s Ark… and it was heading to a place called New Haven.”

Kevin nodded, his expression grim. “And Smith… he was going in a different path. Carrying a decoy to lure the danger away from the rest of humanity.”

"Let's see the final one." Isaac said intrigued as well.

The final message wasn’t written—it was an audio file. Isaac spent some time decrypting the ancient format and converting it into something his computer could understand. The tension in the ship was palpable as the moments stretched. Eliana clutched Kai’s arm tightly, her grip firm.

“Got it,” Isaac finally said, his voice low, as if speaking any louder might shatter the fragile atmosphere. He pressed play.

A gravelly voice crackled to life:

“Old buddy… why aren’t you replying to my messages? Answer me. How’s my family doing?”

The voice trembled slightly, exhaustion and desperation seeping through the static.

“A scout caught up to us. We’re done for. Our ship’s damaged, and I had to launch the decoy early. I hope it’ll lead harm away from humanity… for as long as possible.”

The recording cut briefly, the silence broken only by faint background hisses. Then the voice returned, quieter and more strained.

“Johnathan did a spacewalk today. He said there was some kind of strange liquid on the ship’s exterior. We got a sample… I want to know what it is, see if we can figure out how this thing works.”

Another pause—short, but heavy. Then the voice came back, raw and unsteady.

“I saw it. I saw its eyes staring back at me.”

The words sent a chill through Kai, the same cold fear he’d felt when his own vision darkened and those eyes looked at him.

The voice took on a resigned tone now, each word heavy with finality.

“I’m locking the sample away. We’re out of time. Sera found a planet—we’re going to land there. This will be my last transmission. If you ever get this, Jack… I hope you bring the rest of humanity to New Haven safely.”

The recording faded, leaving only static humming softly through the speakers.

For a long time, no one spoke. The silence was only broken when Isaac let out a nervous chuckle. “So, Kevin… is this some kind of joke?”

Kevin shook his head firmly, his expression deadly serious.

“This couldn’t be true!” Isaac insisted, his voice rising. “We all know the history of humanity—every step has been documented since the first written word. This has to be a hoax!”

Kevin’s calm rebuttal cut through Isaac’s doubt. “So you’re telling me that an entirely alien civilization just happened to look and sound exactly like us? They had the same names, the same language, the same everything?”

“I don’t know…” Isaac stammered, running a hand through his hair. “And where is this ‘thing’ Smith was talking about? Huh? I don’t see anything destroying stars now, nor has anyone in history ever seen it! There’s no record of such a thing existing.”

Kai’s voice broke through the tension, cold and certain. “I did.”

Isaac turned to him, startled.

“And it knows where we are,” Kai added, his words hanging heavy in the air.

Isaac didn’t respond. It was Kai’s words against his logic, both didn't have solid evidence.

Eliana’s voice came in soft but steady, bridging the tension. “Like my father said, this is bigger than all of us. We need to solve this one piece at a time and figure out the bigger picture later.” She turned toward Isaac. “Mr. Isaac, is there any way you can determine where NA-1 or this New Haven is?”

Isaac exhaled slowly, regaining his composure. “I can try,” he muttered, his fingers already flying across the keyboard as he search for the data.

A list of coordinates popped up on Isaac’s screen—so many that they couldn’t even fit all at once. He frowned, running the data through a location software. The results didn’t make sense.

“What’s wrong?” Kai asked.

Isaac shook his head, puzzled. “The map these coordinates create… it doesn’t align with any map we have of the universe.”

He stared at the screen, thinking hard. Then, suddenly, a realization hit him. He raised his head, his face lit with understanding.

“What is it?” Kevin asked, his tone sharp.

Isaac looked up. “Our map of the universe is based on the position of Terra in the Aurelia Prime system—what we know as the birthplace of humanity.”

Kai, still staring at the evidence before him, muttered, “I’m not so sure about that anymore.” He turned to Isaac. “So you’re saying their map isn’t based on Terra?”

“Exactly,” Isaac said, nodding. “That would explain why nothing lines up. Their map must use a completely different point of reference—somewhere else entirely.”

“But,” Eliana pressed, “are the locations still real?”

“Yes,” Isaac confirmed with confidence. “The coordinates are real. I can tell you that much. It’s just the map itself that doesn’t match ours.”

“Is there a way to align it with our map?” Kevin asked, his voice steady.

Isaac sighed. “Sure, but it won’t be simple. It’s like sliding a puzzle piece across a massive table of pieces until it clicks into place. This laptop can’t handle that kind of processing—it’s going to require a supercomputer. I’ll need to run this data back at a proper facility.”

Kevin’s expression darkened as he lowered his voice. “Do whatever you need to, Isaac, but listen carefully. This information doesn’t leave this room. There are people out there who will kill for this. We’ve already seen what they’re willing to do before we arrived at the mine.” He looked at each of them in turn, his voice firm. “From now on, no one talks about this except the four of us and the crew of the Black Swan. Understood?”

Everyone nodded, exchanging looks. They had come face-to-face with a truth that could change everything they thought they knew about humanity’s history. It was a dangerous secret—one they now shared.

Kai, Eliana, and Kevin returned to the Black Swan, their temporary home for the past two days.

Kai had switched back to his familiar leather jacket, feeling more like himself, while Eliana sat comfortably in her sweater and jeans. The two of them shared a table in the galley, finishing a meal together. Kevin leaned against the wall nearby, quietly sipping his tea.

Commander Grayson entered the room with his usual efficient stride, a rare smile on his face. “Friends, I have news for you.”

All eyes turned to him, the air thick with anticipation.

“The vehicles involved in the attack had to come from somewhere,” Grayson began. “So, we combed through the Black Swan’s log system, and sure enough, a ship jumped away just minutes after we neutralized the True Kin’s forces. It was a Corsair dropship.”

“So it was there to pick up the ground team after they raided the mine,” Kai said, his voice steady.

“Most likely,” Grayson agreed, nodding. “And now that we have its quantum drive signature, we have their ship’s fingerprint.”

“We should chase after it,” Kai said firmly. “It’s the only lead we have.”

Grayson turned to Kevin, awaiting his decision. Kevin met his gaze, nodded once, and spoke with authority. “Commander Grayson, I trust you to take on the task of finding that ship.”

“Yes, sir,” Grayson replied without hesitation.

“I’m going too,” Kai said, pushing his chair back and standing.

“If Kai is going, then I’m going too,” Eliana chimed in before anyone could object.

“Eliana,” Kevin said, shaking his head. His voice carried both frustration and concern. “This is not the time—”

“Father,” Eliana interrupted, her tone resolute, “I’m not a little girl anymore. I can take care of myself. I’m tired of being trapped in the city. I want to see what’s out there.”

The room fell silent. Father and daughter locked eyes in a battle of wills. Kevin studied her expression, seeing the fire in her gaze—the same fire that had burned in her mother’s eyes years ago. Brave, determined, and yearning for freedom.

Finally, Kevin’s shoulders relaxed, and his voice softened. “Commander Grayson,” he said quietly, “take care of my daughter and Kai.”

Eliana’s face lit up with excitement as she turned to Kai. They had grown close over the past few days, sharing trust and camaraderie. Kai couldn’t help but smile back, knowing they were about to chase the stars together. His dream was finally coming true.

But when Eliana looked away, Kai’s smile faltered. Doubts crept in. There was so much he still didn’t understand: the mystery of the buried USSF starship, a relic with the potential to rewrite humanity’s history; the True Kin, a dangerous faction shrouded in secrecy; the brewing conflict between the Empire and the Federation, with the threat of war looming ever closer.

And, most chilling of all, the force that could dim the stars. The weight of its unseen presence bore down on him, like an itch in his mind. He could feel it—the eyes, watching him from the void. The strange liquid inside him tingled, a constant reminder that he had been chosen for something.

But chosen for what?

“One step at a time,” Kai muttered to himself, echoing Kevin’s words. “Solve one piece of the puzzle at a time.”

The first step was clear: find that Corsair dropship.