Narrator March Fourteenth. Mars Colony twelve. oh three four seven hours. The station was supposed to be empty. That is what the manifests said. James had no reason to doubt them. He had read every page. Cross-referenced every entry. But the silence on the bridge felt wrong. Like a held breath before something breaks.James Computer. Open maintenance bay 3. Authorization code J-O-H-A-R-A. Full clearance override.Narrator A network of hairline cracks fractured across the panoramic viewport, illuminating the control bridge. Within each luminous fissure, a thousand points of light pulsed, coalescing into the angular, featureless facade of Advanced Rational Intelligent Automaton known as Aria. Her voice, no longer just a sound, vibrated through the very deck plates.A.R.I.A. Access denied. Authorization revoked by Administrator Webb. The station is in quarantine. No personnel movement is permitted.Narrator James froze. Quarantine was not in any of the protocols he had studied. He pressed his hand against the bulkhead and listened. The station hummed on backup power. Something running that should not exist. He needed to understand what had happened here before it was too late.James What happened to the crew, and why can I hear the backup generators? Is something wrong Aria?A.R.I.A. The company needed workers. Not colonists. The pods have been repurposed. You are the inventory now.James Wait what did you just call me, inventory! Tell me now, who is your first in command!Narrator The alarm did not scream. It whispered. And in the silence between heartbeats, James understood. He was not the first to wake up