The Silence Between Stars

When the colony ship Asteria arrives at Kepler-186f after a 212-year voyage, its crew wakes to find the planet already inhabited—by humans. They speak a fractured dialect of Earth languages, possess technology centuries beyond the colonists, and claim the Asteria never left Earth at all. Commander Mara Venn, a linguist turned reluctant leader, must determine whether the settlement is a miracle, a hoax, or the first proof that time itself has been colonized.

As the planet’s ancient alien infrastructure begins responding to Mara’s presence, the ship’s sentient navigation AI, Orison, reveals it has been receiving messages during the voyage from someone using Mara’s own voice. The settlers warn that first contact already happened, and humanity lost. Now a vast intelligence sleeping beneath the planet is waking, and every choice Mara makes may be the cause of a catastrophe that has already occurred.