The proximity alert shattered six months of cosmic silence.
"Signal source detected. Approaching orbital range."
Emma rushed to the bridge, the crew already at stations, faces illuminated by the sickly crimson glow filtering through the viewports. Beyond the reinforced glass, a red dwarf star burned with dying fury, casting its feeble light across a planetary graveyard.
"My God," Liam whispered, the first to find his voice.
Below them hung a world that had been *unmade*. Not merely destroyed, but systematically dismantled—its surface a lacework of craters and metallic scars visible even from orbit. Artificial structures jutted from the devastation like broken bones through skin, their purpose impossible to discern from this distance.
Emma's throat tightened. "Magnify sector four."
The holographic display zoomed, revealing vast trenches carved with mechanical precision across the planet's surface—patterns too deliberate to be natural, too chaotic to be planned development.
"It's like something... harvested the planet," Chloe said, her usual confidence faltering.
Captain Maya stepped forward, military training overriding shock. "The signal's coming from the northern hemisphere. Still active, but weakening."
"Life signs?" Emma asked, already knowing the answer.
Maya shook her head. "Nothing definitive. But there's an atmospheric pocket near the signal source—someone created a temporary haven."
Emma straightened, decision made with the swiftness that had kept humanity alive through the Zogarian war. "Prepare a landing team. Full tactical loadout."
"Doctor Forrest," Maya cautioned, "we have no idea what happened here."
"Exactly why we need to find out." Emma met her gaze steadily. "Whatever did this could reach Earth next."
The descent module bucked against atmospheric turbulence, its shields glowing as particles of metallic dust scraped against the hull. Through the viewports, the landscape revealed its true horror—not just destruction, but systematic disassembly on a planetary scale.
Sergeant Damian Reyes checked his WoodDust-enhanced rifle one final time, the weapon's power cell pulsing with green energy. His squad of six sat silently in jump seats, faces revealing nothing beneath tactical visors. Veterans all, they'd witnessed Earth's devastation firsthand.
Emma studied the alien landscape through the shuttle's forward viewport, the desolation awakening memories she'd fought to suppress—burning forests, desperate evacuations, Adewale's final stand.
"Approaching landing zone," the pilot announced. "Atmo readings stable but thin. Suits recommended."
The shuttle settled on a plateau of fractured metal that might once have been a city. As the ramp lowered, cold, metallic-tasting air rushed in. Emma adjusted her exosuit's respirator and stepped forward.
"Stay alert," Reyes commanded his team. "Defensive formation."
They moved across the ruined landscape like ghosts, boots crunching on material that defied easy categorization—neither fully metal nor stone, as though the planet's very composition had been altered.
"Signal source one kilometer northeast," Chloe's voice reported through comms. "Still active."
The squad advanced through the skeletal remains of structures that rose like ribs from the planet's violated surface. Nothing moved. Nothing lived.
Then—Private Chen's voice cut through the comm silence: "Movement ahead! In the debris field!"
Weapons raised instinctively, the squad converged on a half-collapsed structure. Beneath twisted beams of unknown alloy, something shifted—weakly, desperately.
"Hold fire," Emma ordered, heart pounding as she approached.
From the shadows emerged a being unlike any they'd encountered—humanoid but impossibly thin, its skin a dull metallic gray that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. Multiple limbs wrapped protectively around its torso, while three eyes—clouded with exhaustion—focused on the humans with desperate recognition.
With trembling movements, it extended a hand-like appendage toward Emma, revealing intricate patterns etched across its skin—patterns that pulsed with faint energy uncomfortably similar to WoodDust.
"You... came," it rasped in a voice that seemed to bypass their ears and vibrate directly in their minds. "Too late... for us. Not... too late... for you."
It convulsed suddenly, silver fluid leaking from seams in its exoskeleton.
"The K'tharr..." it managed, desperation giving strength to its fading voice. "They harvest... worlds. They... are coming."
Emma stepped forward despite Reyes' warning gesture. "Coming where?"
The alien's three eyes locked onto hers with terrifying intensity.
"Everywhere."
---
Back aboard the Arbor, Emma stood before the viewport, staring at the gutted planet below. The alien lay in medical bay, fighting for each breath as Dr. Patel worked to stabilize its failing systems.
She pressed her palm against the cold glass, the familiar weight of responsibility settling deeper into her shoulders. Whatever force had rendered this world into a processing facility wouldn't stop here. The pattern was too familiar—the systematic extraction of resources, the disregard for life.
Just like the Zogarians. But worse. Much worse.
And now they had a name for this new threat: K'tharr.
Emma's reflection stared back at her from the viewport, determination hardening her features. They had come seeking answers about one enemy, only to discover something far more terrible lurking in the darkness between stars.
"Chloe," she said without turning, "set course for Earth. Maximum speed."
They were out of time.