In the cold, silent expanse of deep space, the towing vessel USCSS Magellan's Hope goes about its routine work: hauling cargo from one end of the system to the other. Its seven-member crew—captain, engineer, pilot, and support staff—are accustomed to the monotony of interstellar travel, the hum of reactors, and the flicker of faulty fluorescent lights. But when they are dispatched to a seemingly routine salvage coordinates, they discover something far beyond their expectations.

A derelict alien ship drifts in the void, massive and ancient, its hull scarred by unknown forces. Its architecture is organic, curved, and unsettling—nothing like human engineering. And it is broadcasting a signal. A repeating pattern. A warning? Or an invitation?

Against better judgment, a boarding party enters the alien vessel. Inside, they find a chamber filled with leathery eggs, each pulsing with inner life. When one of them opens, a creature emerges—pale, limb, terrifyingly fast—and attaches itself to a crew member's face. Within hours, something new is born. Something that hunts.

The creature stalks the Magellan's Hope, picking off the crew one by one. It moves through vents, hides in shadows, and strikes with predatory precision. The survivors fight back with whatever they can find—welding torches, plasma sidearms, sheer desperation—but the thing is relentless, intelligent, and adaptive. It learns. It evolves. It kills.

As the body count rises, the remaining crew realize they are not just fighting for their lives—they are fighting to keep a nightmare from reaching Earth. The final survivor manages to broadcast a desperate warning before the creature claims her, too.

Weeks later, the science vessel Prometheus arrives, drawn by the signal and the promise of discovery. Its crew ignores the warnings, driven by corporate ambition and scientific curiosity. They board the alien ship. They find the eggs. And they make the same fatal mistake.

The creatures spread. The Prometheus falls. But before it dies, it captures several eggs and escapes into the black, carrying the horror toward an unsuspecting humanity.

ECLIPSE is a story of isolation, terror, and the consequences of human arrogance. It explores what happens when we reach too far into the unknown and find something that reaches back. In the tradition of deep-space horror, it reminds us that in the void between stars, we are not alone—and whatever is out there is hungry.

The creature that emerged was smaller than the one that had killed the Magellan's Hope crew—smaller, faster, and far more numerous.


They came from the eggs in waves, leaping at the scientists, attaching themselves to faces, punching through helmets with their blade-tipped tails. The security officers fired wildly, hitting nothing, hitting each other, hitting the eggs and releasing more creatures.


Mercier watched it all from the center of the chamber, his face a study in conflicting emotions. Terror, yes—but also wonder. Also awe.


"It's beautiful," he whispered, as a creature launched itself at his face. "Perfect."


The transmission from his helmet camera continued for another forty-seven seconds after his death, recording the creature's emergence from his chest in gruesome detail. Then it, too, went dark.


On the Prometheus, Captain Nilsen watched the feeds die one by one, her expression unchanging.


"Captain," her sensor officer said, his voice shaking, "I'm reading multiple lifesigns leaving the alien vessel. They're heading for the ship. For us."


"Seal the airlocks," Nilsen ordered. "Full quarantine protocols. No one in or out."


"Captain, there are still survivors down there—"


"There are no survivors." She turned from the viewscreen. "Prepare to break orbit. We're leaving."


"Signed waivers, all of them. They knew the risks." She sat in her command chair, hands gripping the armrests. "Get me a channel to Corporate. Tell them we have a situation. Tell them we need reinforcements."


Nilsen was silent for a long moment. When she spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper.


"Tell them we've found something extraordinary. Tell them it's everything they hoped for and more."


The Prometheus broke orbit thirty minutes later, leaving the alien vessel and the derelict tug behind. But not empty-handed.


In its cargo bay, in a specially designed containment unit, three eggs pulsed with inner life.


The signal from the alien vessel continued its endless repetition.


BEEP... pause... BEEP... pause... BEEP...


Chapter 16 - Chapter 16: Harvest