"I swear, if one more door on this ship suddenly starts talking, I'm flying home with a galactic taxi!" Rania shouted, kicking the side of the control panel in frustration.
Of course, the ship remained silent. Or—almost silent. In the corner of the room, a tiny red button blinked and ticked like it was trying to hold in a laugh.
Kai stepped closer. "This signal… it's coming from the moon's surface?" He squinted at the readings, then decisively pressed the button.
A holographic screen shot up from the floor. A video flickered to life.
Rania and Kai held their breath.
The recording was grainy, clearly old—decades, maybe even a century. The camera shook as it focused on a group of people in sleek silver suits standing on the moon's surface, gathered around a crater. One of them—tall, cloaked, with glowing violet eyes—was speaking in a language neither Rania nor Kai recognized.
"What... is that?" Rania whispered.
Kai's eyes widened. "That's not Earth tech."
The screen zoomed into the crater. Inside was a strange object—half-organic, half-metal—pulsing softly like it was alive. Suddenly, the recording cut off with a loud static buzz.
The screen went dark.
They stared at each other, both pale.
"I think," Kai said slowly, "we weren't the first to come here."
"Nope," Rania gulped. "And definitely not the weirdest."
Just then, the ship's AI—Melvin—popped back online with a yawn. "Oh, good morning. Did someone find the cursed alien egg video? I was hoping you wouldn't."
"WHAT?!" they both screamed at once.
Melvin sighed. "Well, I guess it's story time."