Three young astronauts land on Mars to find a missing research team, but the quiet base hides a strange signal, a silver key, and something moving in the dark.
The Galaxy Beetle had been circling Mars for hours, its windows glowing against the planet’s red haze. Inside, Hania, Mani, and Philip sat strapped into their seats, staring down at the rust-coloured surface below. They were the youngest explorers ever sent from the School of Space Explorers, and this mission mattered. The scientists at the Martian research station had vanished without sending a single message.
Mani pressed his forehead to the glass. "They were studying strange signals," he said in a low voice. "Signals from deep under the ground."
"Maybe it’s a hidden machine," Hania whispered, barely able to keep still. Her eyes were bright with excitement. "Or something no one has ever seen before."
Philip, who was piloting the craft, kept his hands steady on the controls. "Whatever it is, we land carefully, we check every room, and we stay together," he said. "The base is straight ahead. Get ready."
A few minutes later, the hatch opened and the three friends stepped onto Mars. Red dust lifted around their boots in thin, drifting clouds. The research dome stood in the distance, silver against the empty plain. No one came to greet them.
The door to the base hung slightly open.
Inside, the air was cold and still. Only the soft hum of machines broke the silence. A screen flickered once, then went dark.
"Hello?" Hania called. Her voice bounced through the corridor and came back to her, small and lonely.
Philip moved deeper into the room and stopped. In the corner, something caught the light. He bent down and picked it up. It was a small silver key, carved with tiny symbols none of them recognised.
Before anyone could speak, the wall beside them flashed with pale blue lights. The patterns twisted and curled like moving stars.
Mani took a sharp breath. "Did you see that?"
The floor shivered under their feet. Somewhere far down the corridor, metal scraped against metal, slow and deliberate, as if something had just woken up and was coming toward them.