Karen’s boot soles crunch over the congealed remnants of alien biofluids scattered among the wreckage of abandoned starships in the Ω-7 sector, while his fingertips gently trace the perforated blade of this chalk-white dagger. Three years ago, his Interstellar Garrison’s 9th Squad was ambushed here by a massive swarm of insectoid aliens; it was with this very tactical dagger—codenamed “Void Chalk”—that Commander Lester hacked through the composite exoskeleton of the alien hive, creating a lifeline for the squad’s evacuation. Yet when he activated the emergency teleportation device, he vanished into thin air, taking the custom-made dagger with him. Now, this weapon that should have been destroyed along with its bearer lies quietly nestled in a crevice on the wrecked command deck, its serrated edge still embedded with dark-green fragments of alien exoskeleton, and its hollowed-out handle retaining traces of Lester’s familiar biological pheromones. Just as Karen tightens his grip on the hilt, the tactical comm unit on his wrist emits a piercing static burst, and a blurry holographic image of Lester flickers across the display: “Don’t touch it… it’s an alien mimicry decoy…” Before he can finish speaking, a shrill scraping sound echoes from deep within the ship’s ventilation ducts—the metallic clatter of insectoid mandibles against metal—and the dagger’s blade begins to glow faintly, as if responding to the call of some colossal presence lurking in the darkness. Rather than letting go, Karen points the blade directly toward the vent, knowing that this may be his only chance to find the commander—even if what lies ahead is a death trap laid by the aliens.