Augustus pushed through the crowded corridor with Marcus close behind, fighting against the tide of panicked researchers flowing toward the shelter zones. The emergency lighting cast everything in shades of red and shadow, making the familiar tunnels feel alien and hostile. His mind was still fixated on those readings—the energy signature, the multiple epicenters, the sheer magnitude of whatever had struck the ice above them.
When they reached the command center, they found it in controlled chaos. Commander Sarah Voss, the facility's administrative head, stood before a wall of monitors displaying damage reports and sensor feeds. Her face was ashen. Beside her stood Edmund Persson, the military liaison, his posture rigid and alert in a way that suggested this was exactly the kind of crisis he'd been trained for.
"Status," Augustus demanded, moving directly to the nearest console.
"We've got catastrophic damage to the upper levels," Voss said, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands. "The impact occurred approximately three kilometers northeast of the primary facility entrance. The ice shelf destabilized—we're looking at a crater the size of a city block. Seismic activity is still ongoing."
Edmund stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as he studied Augustus. "Dr. Foster. Your assessment?"
"Based on the data, whatever hit us came from above with tremendous velocity," Augustus said carefully, choosing his words with scientific precision. "The energy release is consistent with a kinetic impact event, but the signature doesn't match any meteorite or natural phenomenon in our database."
"Could it be military?" Voss asked, glancing at Persson. "A test gone wrong?"
"Negative," Persson said firmly. "I would have been notified of any operations in this sector."
One of the technicians suddenly turned from her station, her face pale. "Ma'am, Commander—we've lost contact with the external monitoring team. Zoey Huang, David Okonkwo, and James Reeves. They were conducting atmospheric readings at the northern sensor array when the impact occurred. We haven't heard from them since."
The room fell silent. Augustus felt his stomach tighten. Three people. Missing. Possibly dead. And somewhere above them, buried beneath three kilometers of ice, lay something that shouldn't exist according to everything humanity understood about the universe.