The storms had finally passed, but down in tunnel four, the air still carried a chill, and you could feel the static hum of electricity on your skin. The excavation site was quiet this early in the morning, the silence broken by the occasional scraping of tools against the stone or the muttering of one member of the research team to another. The ion storms had ravaged the surface for days, but this far down in the cavernous ruins, the oppressive quiet was somehow worse.

Dr. Elan Virex watched from the edge of the excavation pit, staring down at their discovery. For months they had been working this site on Nerathis IV, once the home to a colony or outpost from a long-forgotten civilization. She had expected the usual archaeological markers. Signs of tools, perhaps a refuse pile, or scattered bits of ancient technology left behind. What they had found defied logic.

The chamber was dominated by an enormous structure unlike anything anyone on the team had seen before. Smooth curves blended with jagged angles, the architecture seemingly unaware of Euclidean geometry. Huge slabs, not carved of obsidian or any other material in the standard catalog of xenogeology, but a substance that seemed to shift like liquid shadows in the glow of their portable lamps. Its texture was indescribable, smooth yet moving, as though it was breathing in tandem with the surrounding granite and quartz. Scans returned inconclusive and often contrary readings on its composite.

The structure was just over three meters tall and was etched around the base in curved glyphs that seemed to pulse as the light from the team’s beacons passed over them. They had not yet been able to translate any of these symbols, but they didn’t seem ceremonial or religious. Something about them felt… primal… dangerous. The longer she studied them, the more they seemed to shift and rearrange themselves, but then she’d refocus her eyes and they seemed back in their original configuration. Was it an optical illusion or something more?

Being a quarter Vulcan, Elan knew it was possible she might have some latent telepathic abilities, but in her forty-eight years, none had ever manifested. Still, she could feel something about this newly unearthed structure calling to her… warning her.

“It’s not a temple,” Dr. Virex murmured aloud, almost to herself, as she gently traced one of the glyphs with her fingernail. “It’s a cell…”

Her words hung in the air, the silence of the chamber suddenly deafening and oppressive, as if the chamber itself was holding its breath… waiting for something. In the distance down the adjoining tunnel, she saw her team moving about, unpacking newly calibrated scanning equipment and deep core drills they had brought down into the chamber for further excavation. They were focused on their work, too focused to feel the weight in the air, the terrifying chill on their skin.

Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by the chirp of her combadge. A distant fractured voice came through the interference of the chamber, cutting through the quiet and pulling her back to reality.

“…unidentified vessel appeared out of nowhere, not answering hails. I repeat…”

Dr. Virex ran towards the shaft back to the surface, hoping as she distanced herself from the chamber that the interference would lessen. She activated the grav lift and began the slow ascent up to base. Static continued to play over the com, only the occasional word coming through.

“…identified as a Vaadwaur energy signal, still not answ…” Her heart pounded in her chest as she raced back to the surface.

The Supremacy Heavy Scout descended from the heavens like a predator, its dark silhouette outlined against the bright lavender sky of Nerathis IV. The vessel was unmistakable, elongated, heavily armed for its size, with sharp, jagged contours, a creature built for war.

The research outpost had no defensive weaponry other than a few hand phasers and a myriad of particle beam drilling rigs. Before anyone on the team could react, the air around the base and excavation site exploded in an ear-splitting crackle of energy as the Vaadwaur ship fired. The blinding beam of energy lanced through the air, and the ground beneath trembled from the impact. Equipment was disintegrated, and structures were torn apart. The lift stopped violently, then began to quickly descend back down towards the chamber below.

Somewhere below her, she heard someone shout… no screams… but the sound was drowned out by the ringing in her ears. The lift hit the bedrock below, shattering her leg as she collapsed to the ground. She had to get away from the tunnel, falling debris would follow.

She dragged herself back to the central chamber they had unearthed, maybe other team members were still safe. As she crawled, she saw the structure moving… pulsing as chunks of rock fell from the cavern around her. The last thing she saw before all the portable lamps and beacons failed was the chilling image of the glyphs surrounding the structure glowing a violent red. As she succumbed to the pain, chunks of stone falling on her already battered body, the ringing in her ears stopped… There was the oppressive silence again.

Just before taking her last breath, she heard it. Not a voice, not a word.

A presence.

And it was laughing.