Dr. Veronica Strand's Arc

Chapter 1 of 2

Dr. Veronica Strand pressed her palm against the metal wall, watching the neon stripes in her fur shift from blue to magenta. She needed to remember. That's why she was building the archive—recording everything before it slipped away like morning fog. Her fingers trembled as she reached for the recording device. She clicked it on and spoke clearly. "Day unknown. Project goal: preserve every fragment before I forget." The words felt solid, real. She had discovered something yesterday—or was it last week? A structure half-buried in the red soil outside the crash site. Its surface shimmered like oil on water, reflecting colors that shouldn't exist. The walls seemed to pulse with her breathing. Inside, she found empty chambers waiting to be filled. This could house everything. Every recording, every note, every scrap of data she collected daily. Veronica carried the first box of memory fragments toward the iridescent structure. Her boots crunched on the strange soil. The building's entrance opened without her touching it, as if it recognized her purpose. She set the box down carefully in the main chamber. Thousands more boxes waited back at the crash site. The task felt enormous, impossible. Her chest tightened. She counted backward from ten, feeling her pulse slow with each number. The archive would hold it all—weather patterns, crew names, station procedures, everything that kept slipping through her mind like water. She placed her hand on the shimmering wall. It felt cool and alive. This was her answer. This was how she would fight the fog.