To Checkpoint 1 [file] - Continue

the automated voice crackled, devoid of emotion.

Should Kael at the airlock, or should he discover he’s not alone at the checkpoint?

As he rounded the bend of the canyon wall, the silhouette of the relay station appeared—Checkpoint 1. It sat perched on the edge of the abyss like a waiting gargoyle. If he could reach the terminal there, he could upload the drive and reset the system. Continue to Checkpoint 1 [file]

But between him and the airlock lay a fifty-yard stretch of unstable permafrost, and the wind was picking up.

Kael took a breath, tasted the metallic tang of thinning air, and broke into a heavy, lung-burning run. the automated voice crackled, devoid of emotion

the voice repeated. "Awaiting data transfer."

Kael looked at his oxygen gauge: 12%. The "file" he carried—a physical encrypted drive tethered to his wrist—felt heavier than the lead casing suggested. It contained the terraforming bypass codes, the only thing that could stop the colony’s atmospheric processors from venting the remaining oxygen into the void. It sat perched on the edge of the

His HUD flickered, a dying amber light casting shadows against his face. Then, a sharp ping resonated in his ear—the first signal in three hours.