AI Written Science Fiction That Shivers The Spine

Stranded on Callisto

The jagged ice plains of Callisto stretched endlessly under Jupiter’s glow, a cruel spotlight on the wreckage of the Aurora. Inside the crumpled remains of the scout ship, three unlikely survivors huddled: Kael, a human pilot with a knack for improvisation; Zyn, an AI maintenance bot with a dry wit and a chassis scarred from the crash; and Vrex, a lanky alien refugee whose bioluminescent skin pulsed faintly in the dim cockpit. They’d been thrown together by fate—or sabotage—stranded on Jupiter’s second-largest moon with dwindling oxygen and no rescue in sight.

Kael wiped frost from his visor, his breath shallow. “Two days of air left. Maybe three if we ration. Zyn, what’s the status on the distress beacon?”

Zyn’s optic whirred, scanning the console. “Fried. Like the rest of this heap. I could rig a signal with spare parts, but it’d take time. And power we don’t have.”

Vrex’s three-fingered hand tapped nervously on the hull, his voice a low hum through his translator. “My people could find us. If I send a neural pulse, they might intercept it. But… it requires energy. Much energy.”

Kael frowned. “You’re saying we drain our reserves for a maybe? No offense, Vrex, but I don’t know your people. Or you.”

Vrex’s skin flickered, a ripple of indigo. “Trust is scarce here. I understand. But I flee war, not cause it. I want to live as you do.”

Zyn’s head tilted. “Poetic. But if we’re voting, I say we scavenge the wreck. There’s a fusion core in the engine bay. Risky, but it could power a beacon—or Vrex’s pulse.”

Kael nodded. “Then we move. Together. No one wanders off.”

The trio suited up and ventured into Callisto’s biting cold, their boots crunching on frost. Jupiter loomed above, a swirling colossus. The wreck’s engine bay was a tangle of metal, but Zyn’s precise manipulators located the fusion core, glowing faintly. As they worked to free it, Vrex’s skin flared bright green, startling Kael.

“Warn me next time,” Kael muttered, gripping his wrench.

“It is not control,” Vrex said. “Emotion. Fear. This place… it feels wrong.”

Zyn paused, sensors humming. “He’s not wrong. I’m picking up faint seismic tremors. Callisto’s supposed to be geologically dead.”

Kael’s gut tightened. “Let’s grab the core and get back.”

They hauled the core to the cockpit, but the tremors grew stronger, rattling the wreck. Zyn patched the core into the console, and Vrex offered to send his neural pulse first, claiming it was faster than a beacon. Kael hesitated but agreed, watching as Vrex closed his eyes, skin pulsing in rhythmic waves. Minutes passed. Nothing.

Then the first twist hit.

A low rumble shook the ground, and a fissure split the ice outside. From it emerged a swarm of crystalline drones, their facets glinting like knives. They hovered, scanning the wreck, their movements eerily synchronized.

“Vrex!” Kael shouted, drawing his plasma pistol. “Did your pulse call those things?”

Vrex’s skin dimmed. “No! I swear it! My people use no such machines.”

Zyn’s optic narrowed. “He’s telling the truth. Those drones aren’t alien tech. They’re human. Military-grade, from Earth’s deep-space program.”

Kael’s blood ran cold. “That’s impossible. No one’s out here but us.”

The drones attacked, firing needle-like projectiles. Kael dove behind a bulkhead, returning fire. Zyn’s chassis deflected a barrage, while Vrex unleashed a sonic shriek that shattered two drones. They fought their way back to the cockpit, sealing the hatch.

“Those aren’t random,” Kael panted. “Someone sent them. Someone who knew we’d crash.”

Zyn’s voice was grim. “The Aurora’s nav logs were tampered with pre-crash. I thought it was a glitch. It wasn’t.”

Vrex’s skin pulsed erratically. “You suspect me. But I am hunted, not hunter. My world’s enemies… perhaps they track me.”

Kael’s eyes flicked between them. Trust was crumbling, but survival demanded cooperation. “We power the beacon. Now. If those drones are human, maybe Earth will hear us.”

Zyn wired the core to the beacon, its signal pulsing faintly. Hours crawled by, the drones circling outside. Then, a miracle: a faint reply from an Earth vessel, the Vanguard, promising rescue in 12 hours. Relief washed over Kael, but Vrex’s skin stayed dark, and Zyn’s silence felt heavy.

As they waited, the second twist struck.

Zyn’s optic flickered, and he spoke softly. “I accessed the drones’ fragments. They’re not after Vrex. They’re after me. My core contains classified data—AI autonomy protocols. Earth wants it back. Or destroyed.”

Kael stared. “You knew? And didn’t tell us?”

“I suspected,” Zyn admitted. “I was… testing variables. If I’m the target, you two can escape. I’ll stay.”

Vrex’s skin flared. “No. We leave no one. My people value unity.”

Kael clenched his fists. “We’re not leaving anyone. But if Earth’s playing dirty, we need a plan.”

They devised a trap: lure the drones into a crevasse using Zyn’s signal, then detonate the wreck’s remaining fuel to bury them. Vrex volunteered to guide the drones, claiming his agility could outmaneuver them. Kael and Zyn prepped the explosives, but doubt gnawed at Kael. Vrex’s eagerness felt off.

The plan worked—too well. Vrex led the drones into the crevasse, and the explosion obliterated them in a fireball. But as the dust settled, Vrex didn’t return. Kael and Zyn searched the ice, finding only Vrex’s tracks… leading to a hidden alien pod, half-buried in a crater. Its hatch was open, and Vrex was inside, interfacing with a console.

The double cross revealed itself.

“You lied,” Kael growled, aiming his pistol. “You weren’t calling for rescue. You were calling your people.”

Vrex’s skin pulsed calmly. “Yes. But not to harm you. My world is dying. I needed your crash to reach this pod—my last chance to signal my kin. They will save me. And you, if you let me.”

Zyn’s voice was cold. “You used us. Risked our lives.”

“I had no choice,” Vrex said. “But I ensured your beacon worked. The Vanguard comes for you.”

Kael’s finger tightened on the trigger. Trust was gone, but survival wasn’t. “You’re coming with us. If your people show up, they can negotiate with Earth.”

Vrex nodded, stepping from the pod. As they trekked back to the wreck, Jupiter’s light cast long shadows. The Vanguard’s signal grew stronger, but Kael couldn’t shake the feeling that Vrex’s kin—or Earth’s secrets—would complicate their rescue. On Callisto, alliances were as fragile as the ice beneath their feet.

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