Day 5.
Sector Cleared: 26%.
Patrol routes active.
Defense Grid stable.
Refinery output increasing steadily.
But the signal remained.
Faint.
Persistent.
Outside the main sanitation corridor.
Daniel stood before the tactical projection.
"Snow. Increase sensitivity."
"Boosting long-range detection array."
The faint pulse sharpened.
Not random interference.
Structured.
Patterned.
Commander Aris stepped forward.
"Source is not mechanical."
Lyra narrowed her eyes.
"Energy signature fluctuates biologically."
Daniel blinked.
"…Biologically?"
Snow processed for three seconds.
"Life-sign probability: 71%."
Silence filled the command chamber.
Aris spoke first.
"If life exists within Sector 01, it has remained hidden through five days of sanitation."
Lyra zoomed into a debris cluster.
"There is structural mass beneath that cluster."
The hologram rotated.
Beneath layers of wreckage…
Something intact.
Curved.
Artificial.
Large.
Daniel's voice dropped slightly.
"…That's not a ship."
Snow replied calmly:
"Structural profile resembles planetary fragment habitat shell."
Daniel froze.
"…Planetary fragment?"
The debris cluster peeled away in holographic simulation.
Underneath the scrap—
A partially intact spherical dome embedded into what appeared to be planetary crust.
Aris spoke carefully.
"System Lord. This was once part of a planet."
Lyra's voice lowered slightly.
"Atmospheric readings detected within shell."
Daniel's heart beat once — hard.
"…Atmosphere?"
Snow's voice softened.
"Oxygen-nitrogen composition. Compatible with human life."
The room went silent.
Daniel stared at the projection.
"…Snow."
"Yes."
"Tell me we're not alone."
Three seconds passed.
Long enough to feel heavy.
"Life-sign count detected. Approximately 3,412 individuals."
The air in the command center felt different.
Aris stepped forward respectfully.
"Unknown civilization?"
Lyra zoomed further.
Cultural structures.
Agricultural units.
Low-tech power signatures.
Then—
Daniel saw something that made him freeze.
Architecture style.
City pattern.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
"…Snow."
"Yes, System Lord."
"Cross-reference architecture with Terra database."
Processing.
Processing.
Processing.
"Match probability: 89%."
Silence.
Lyra spoke quietly.
"These structures resemble pre-collapse Terra designs."
Aris' expression did not change, but his voice lowered.
"Are they human?"
Snow answered.
"Genetic probability: Human lineage — 96%."
Daniel stepped back slowly.
"…You're telling me…"
"…There were people here."
Aris nodded once.
"Likely survivors of the original planetary destruction."
Lyra added:
"Hidden beneath debris. Undetected due to signal shielding."
Daniel looked at the scrap field again.
All this metal.
All this destruction.
And underneath—
People.
Snow's voice remained calm.
"They have not detected our full activity. Energy signature from refinery only partially visible."
Daniel closed his eyes for a moment.
"…We were cleaning their sky."
Aris straightened.
"System Lord, decision required."
Options filled the screen.
▣ CONTACT PROTOCOL OPTIONS
Immediate Contact
Remote Observation
Defensive Isolation
Controlled Recon
Lyra spoke respectfully.
"Immediate contact risks panic."
Aris added:
"Isolation risks misunderstanding."
Snow summarized:
"Strategic caution recommended."
Daniel opened his eyes again.
No hesitation now.
"We observe."
"For now."
Aris nodded.
"As you command."
Lyra inclined her head.
"I will begin atmospheric and cultural scan."
Snow adjusted the map.
"Life signs stable. Energy consumption low. Technology level primitive."
Daniel looked at the dome embedded in planetary crust.
"…Terra."
Not Earth.
But Terra.
A fragment of something destroyed.
And somehow—
He had been placed in the same system.
Snow's voice was calm.
"Probability that Supreme Being selected this domain intentionally: High."
Daniel let out a slow breath.
"…Of course."
Outside, drones continued clearing debris.
Unaware that beneath the metal ocean—
Humanity had survived.