Chapter 13
The First Contact
The energy readings intensify, revealing a hidden underground facility. Inside, they find evidence of Theodore's continued research and communication attempts, suggesting he was trying to reach something beyond Earth.
The blue energy pulsed, not just within the cavernous hangar where Project Asteria rested, but through the very air of the Nevada desert. It was a low thrum, a vibration that Benjamin felt more in his bones than heard with his ears, a resonance that seemed to echo the frantic beat of his own heart. Colonel Mitchell, her face a mask of controlled intensity, pointed to a series of flickering readouts on a portable console.
“The energy signature is off the charts, Hawthorne,” she said, her voice tight with a mixture of awe and apprehension. “It’s originating from directly beneath us. Subterranean.”
Agent Torres, ever the pragmatist, was already directing a team of Hazmat-suited technicians towards a section of the hangar floor that