Every disaster leaves a scar, but for Commander Elias Vey, the scars aren’t just physical—they are a matter of public record.

Once celebrated as one of the Colonial Defence Force’s most respected officers, Elias is now a man defined by a single, catastrophic failure. Following a court-martial that effectively ended his career, he retains his rank only as an honorary distinction.

Now, he has been assigned to the remote Calderon Geothermal Research Station as head of security. It’s the kind of post you give a man when you want him to disappear.

But Elias is a man who notices things. He notices the hairline fractures in the station’s foundation. He notices the pressure fluctuations that everyone else dismisses as routine. And he notices that the station’s emergency protocols seem to leave the most vulnerable people entirely unprotected.

When the ground beneath the station begins to tremble, Elias will be forced to confront a terrifying question: Can a man who already lost thousands of lives ever trust his own judgment again?