After a nasty radiation storm rattled the whole shelter, Alex was up late, restless and unable to sleep. He found himself tinkering with the system's interface, poking at settings he usually ignored. That's when he noticed it—a section he'd never seen before, locked tight behind layers of encrypted code. He called Lin over, and soon Mara joined them, curious as ever. The three of them hunched over the terminal, trading guesses and ideas, fingers flying over keys until, with a soft beep, the lock finally opened.
The system's screen flickered, then spilled out a new list of goals: [Locate habitable planets]. [Establish colonies]. [Diversify leadership]. The words felt heavy, like they belonged to someone else's future. But the next message made Alex's skin prickle—a warning about ships on the horizon, some of them friendly, others definitely not.
The next few days were a blur of planning and arguments. Some people wanted to reach out, make allies, maybe even trade. Others just wanted to shut the doors and hope the danger passed them by. Alex felt the weight of every decision pressing down on him. He'd never asked to be in charge, but everyone kept turning to him anyway. The system didn't tell him what to do, but it kept nudging him—little reminders, flashes of advice, a calm presence when his nerves threatened to snap.
When the time finally came, the whole shelter was on edge. Doors were sealed, defenses checked, and double-checked. The kids pressed their faces to the windows, eyes wide as the stars outside shifted and danced, wondering who—or what—was out there in the dark. Alex stood with his people, trying to look braver than he felt, knowing that whatever happened next, they'd face it together.