Old Colony

Otis Hale signed up for one last job.

He knew the mission was one-way: a colony expedition to a world at the edge of human space, where older settlers would build a foothold the young could one day inherit.

At first, it looks like exactly what they were promised: harsh terrain, failing systems, and too much work for too few hands.

Then the world starts breaking the rules.

The colony begins to uncover signs that this planet is more than a bad bet and a death sentence. Hidden structures. Impossible technology. Phenomena no briefing ever mentioned. And the deeper they dig, the less this looks like a simple settlement mission.

Otis came to build shelters, fix machines, and do his part.

But on a world full of buried secrets and unexpected second chances, he may have found a new purpose.