10. Failure To Communicate -

Elias reached for the override anyway, his mind racing. If he pulled it, they might stabilize. If he didn't, they were definitely dead.

He looked back at Sarah. She wasn't pointing at the horizon anymore. She was drawing a circle in the dust on the glass. A zero. It wasn't "three minutes." It was "three seconds." 10. Failure to Communicate

He checked the external monitors. Sarah was out there. She was supposed to be securing the perimeter sensors, but her tether was frayed, whipped by winds that could strip paint off a hull. She was gesturing wildly, her gloved hands slicing through the orange haze. Elias reached for the override anyway, his mind racing

The intercom crackled, but only static came through. Elias stared at the console, his thumb hovering over the transmit button. Outside the reinforced glass of the observation deck, the storm on Kepler-186f was a swirling wall of iron-rich dust, turning the sky the color of a fresh bruise. He looked back at Sarah