The Giza Mtuji drifted in silence, slipping into orbit above a scarred, forsaken world. Once a thriving Mahasimu colony, it had been abandoned for over two centuries. Now, its surface was a graveyard—shattered cities lost to time, overgrown ruins strangled by alien flora, and scorched plains seared by a cataclysm that had wiped life from its bones.
The world was dead—or so history claimed.
Queen Saumu stood at the forward viewport, cloaked in stillness, her gaze fixed on the fractured expanse below. The atmosphere was thin, but sufficient. Resources still lingered beneath the dust. More importantly, it offered strategic potential—a forward operations base, a launch point for future campaigns across the multiverse.
But first came the unknown.
"Launch the probes," she commanded, voice calm but unwavering.
Behind her, Admiral Kia moved swiftly, activating the Specter Probes—sleek, psionically-enhanced drones built to slip between defenses, scan landscapes, and transmit findings in real time.
"Deploy a scout team," Saumu continued, turning to her tactical officer. "Stealth insertion. Assume nothing. Be prepared for everything."
Moments later, a squad of Shadowscourge operatives—elite soldiers trained in infiltration and survival—descended in silent, cloaked shuttles. They pierced the atmosphere like whispers, landing deep within the ruins of what had once been a Mahasimu border city.
Systematic Survey
Above the surface, the Specter Probes dispersed, weaving between ruined towers and collapsed streets. Their sensors mapped structural decay, residual psionic radiation, and faint pulsating signals that shouldn't have existed on a dead world.
On the ground, the scouts moved with precision through crumbling corridors and overgrown plazas. Their armor rendered them nearly invisible, and their psionic augments heightened every sense. Shadows danced where no light should fall.
Then Saumu's voice crackled across their comms.
"Report as you go. Exercise extreme caution. If there's any sign of hostiles—withdraw immediately."
Discovery of the Unknown
Sefu, the squad's lead operative, halted before a partially collapsed crystalline structure—its core still pulsing faintly with unknown energy. He raised a hand, signaling a hold, and scanned the readings.
"Commander," he murmured, "I'm detecting something… not ours. There's a pulse—steady, alien, and faintly alive."
As the team advanced, strange symbols came into view—etched into the walls, glowing softly with residual energy. They were unfamiliar, twisted and asymmetrical. Not Mahasimu. Not even Zelith. Something else entirely.
Tension rippled through the squad.
Then, without warning, one of the Specter Probes transmitted a flickering image back to the ship: a silhouette within the ruins. Humanoid—but shifting, flickering, its form both solid and incorporeal. Twin eyes gleamed with a cold, unnatural light.
"Are they intelligent?" Saumu's voice echoed in Sefu's helmet.
Kia's analysis came swiftly.
"Unconfirmed species. Bio-electric signals present. Psionic resonance increasing. They're not passive."
"In fact," another officer added, "their patterns are adapting. Watching. Learning."
Suspicion and Caution
The recon team's scans uncovered more anomalies: advanced materials embedded in rubble—metals unknown to Mahasimu science, traces of alien technology. Perhaps survivors scavenging ancient ruins. Perhaps something else.
Signs of ancient conflict scarred the area—craters, collapsed towers, and vitrified soil from directed energy blasts. Yet it was the aura that unsettled Saumu most. The faint, persistent sensation of being watched. Observed by minds that had lingered long after the fall.
"This world may not be abandoned," Saumu said quietly. "It may be… waiting."
Her eyes narrowed on the alien runes flickering across the main display.
"We may have discovered a new race—or something far older than we understand. Continue scans. Do not engage unless provoked. I want full extraction."
Retreat and Revelation
As the team withdrew, the Specter Probes remained behind, drifting like ghosts through the ruins, transmitting their observations into the heart of the Giza Mtuji's command chamber.
Saumu watched the images as they unfolded—of ruins not quite dead, of presences not quite alive. Of an empire buried beneath stone and silence, but not forgotten. Not alone.
"This world isn't a grave," she whispered. "It's a sentinel."
Behind her, officers exchanged uneasy glances. Something had awakened beneath the planet's surface. Something that had never been part of the Mahasimu.
"This discovery changes everything," she murmured, more to herself than to the room. "We came to reclaim the past… but we may be facing a future we cannot control."
Outside, the shadows of the dead world stirred.