The Shadow Orbit

The Eclipse Horizon was humanity’s crowning achievement—a deep-space station built to study a rogue exoplanet with an unnatural orbit around a dying star. They called it Shadow-6, a planet that appeared and disappeared from all detection systems every 27 hours.

Commander Elise Warren stared at the glowing data on her console, the hologram of Shadow-6 hovering above her desk. Its dark, craggy surface seemed to absorb the light, much like the ominous void of space itself.

“It’s back,” Lieutenant Jonah Hayes reported, his voice tinged with unease. “Shadow-6 just reappeared in orbit. Same trajectory as before.”

Elise nodded, her expression unreadable. “Bring the observation arrays online. Full-spectrum scan. I want to know everything.”

Hayes hesitated. “Commander, the scans—every time we’ve tried, they’ve… failed.”

Elise met his gaze. “They didn’t fail, Lieutenant. The planet refused. This time, we try harder.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Hayes moved to the console, tapping commands as the ship’s AI, VENUS, intoned:

“Scanning initiated. Full-spectrum analysis in progress.”

Elise leaned back in her chair. Something about Shadow-6 gnawed at her—a primal dread she couldn’t shake. The planet’s erratic orbit defied all known physics, and its surface gave off no radiation, no heat. It was as if the planet shouldn’t exist.

The scan’s progress bar ticked upward. Then, abruptly, the station trembled.

“Commander!” Hayes shouted. “Massive energy spike from Shadow-6! It’s—”

The room went dark. The hum of the station’s systems fell silent.

“VENUS, report!” Elise barked, her voice cutting through the stillness.

The AI’s voice crackled back, distorted. “System interference detected. Source: Shadow-6.”

A low vibration coursed through the walls, and the emergency lights flickered on, casting the room in a dim, red glow.

“What the hell is happening?” Hayes muttered, gripping the console.

Elise rose from her seat. “Shut down the scan. Pull all power to shields and propulsion.”

Hayes’s fingers flew over the controls. “Trying, Commander. The system’s not responding.”

Before Elise could respond, the holographic image of Shadow-6 shimmered and warped. Then, it changed.

The jagged surface of the planet gave way to something… alive. A massive, pulsating mass, its tendrils snaking across the hologram like veins. At its center was a single, unblinking eye, dark and fathomless.

A voice echoed through the station, low and resonant, vibrating in their bones.

“You should not have looked.”

Elise froze, her heart pounding. “Who… what are you?”

The voice replied, layered and cold. “We are the veil you were never meant to pierce. This orbit is not yours to disturb.”

The tendrils on the hologram stretched outward, flickering across the room like shadowy limbs. The air grew thick, suffocating.

Hayes staggered backward. “Commander, it’s… inside. The station—”

The lights dimmed further, and Elise felt a sharp, cold pressure in her mind, as though the entity were peeling back her thoughts.

“You will leave,” the voice commanded, “or be consumed.”

Elise clenched her fists. “And if we refuse?”

The eye in the hologram darkened, and the station trembled violently. Consoles exploded in sparks, and the air was filled with the sound of distant, inhuman whispers.

“You will join the others.”

“Elise!” Hayes shouted, pulling her toward the exit. “We need to go!”

With a final glance at the ominous hologram, Elise made her decision. “VENUS, emergency evacuation protocol. Detach the research module!”

The AI responded instantly. “Protocol initiated. All personnel to escape pods.”

The crew scrambled as the Eclipse Horizon disengaged its main module. Outside, Shadow-6 pulsed, its surface shifting as if alive, watching.

As the escape pods launched and the station’s remains drifted toward the planet, Elise stared out the viewport, her mind racing.

“Commander,” Hayes said quietly, “what do you think it meant by ‘the others’?”

Elise didn’t answer. But deep down, she knew. Somewhere out there, Shadow-6 had taken more than just data—it had taken lives.

And they had only barely escaped becoming the next victims.