The sky crackled as something tore through the clouds above Copper 9 — not a disassembly drone, not a ship, not even a meteor.

Just a streak of blue light and wind.

A crater smokes quietly at the edge of a dead forest. Drone parts lie scattered around it — not from battle, but from the force of the impact.

Inside the ruined woods, somewhere beyond the ash and synthetic snowfall, something’s moving. Fast. Confusingly fast.

And no one knows what it is.

The Disassembly Drones haven’t noticed yet. Worker Drones are whispering. The planet is cold and dying. But whatever landed isn’t from this world.

And it isn’t supposed to be here.