The settlers had been on Mars for five years when they found it. Captain Elena Vasquez stood in the excavation site, looking at the object—a metallic sphere, covered in strange symbols, buried deep beneath the red soil.
"Command, this is Vasquez. We've discovered something."
"Copy, Odyssey. What is it?"
"An artifact. It doesn't appear to be human."
The Luminari leader appeared beside her. "It's from the First Ones. They visited Mars long ago."
"What does it do?"
"We don't know. But we need to find out."
Elena led a team into the artifact. The interior was vast, filled wit