Shadows of Epsilon

In 2148, the interstellar ark Aether launches on humanity’s first crewed mission to Epsilon Eridani, 10.5 light-years away. The official goal is to survey the habitable-zone planet Epsilon b and prepare a foothold colony.

What the crew doesn’t know is that a faint, repeating signal detected years earlier has been deliberately under-reported by mission sponsors. During the long voyage the signal grows stronger, pulling the ship off-course toward an ancient derelict vessel drifting in the system’s outer cloud. What they find inside is not just alien technology—it is technology that seems to know the crew’s deepest fears, secrets, and even future choices.

As the mystery unravels, the story explores isolation, trust, corporate conspiracy, the nature of consciousness, and whether humanity was ever truly alone. The tone starts optimistic and procedural, slowly tightens into paranoia, then explodes into high-stakes cosmic horror before resolving with hard-won hope and lingering questions.