“I’m fine. Hard to explain what I’m seeing. It’s…” I trail off, shining light on my feet as I step forward. The floor is made of a spongy substance, soft enough that my suit’s metal boots leave footprints as I move, though they spring back up to uniformity a few seconds later. I approach the wall and tentatively press my fingers against it. It doesn’t have the same give as the floor, but the material seems to shiver beneath my fingers. Perhaps it’s a trick of the light. “Alien,” I murmur to myself, too quiet for the comms to pick up. I leave the wall and move farther into the ship. Perhaps I should be scared, but I can’t fight my curiosity.

“Do… see… objective?” Magda’s voice crackles in my ears, more distorted than before.

“Not yet.” I pause as I reach a circular hole in the wall. Beyond it is a larger chamber, but my suit is too big to step through the entrance. I scrutinize it for several long seconds before reaching a decision. I’m aware of every second that ticks by with us so close to enemy territory, and I don’t want to remain in here any longer than necessary. The quicker we get this done, the quicker we can leave. “I need to dismount,” I say, hoping my team will pick up enough of what I’m saying to understand. “Think my comms will cut off when I go deeper. If I’m not out in ten minutes, come find me.”

“Sarge, shouldn’t we…” The rest of Magda’s argument dissolves into static.

I raise my hands to my head and hold them on the pressure pads until my helmet clicks out of its locked position. When I raise it, silence awaits me. Cool air licks my sweaty skin. The wind whistles outside the ship, but the sound is distant. In here, everything is still and quiet. After a moment’s hesitation, I fully open my suit and step out onto the spongy floor with merely my boots and uniform as protection, grabbing my portable comm and helmet as I go.

Despite the cold air slipping through the open hatch, it’s strangely warm in here. A ship that’s been buried under ice for stars-only-know how many years has no right to be this warm inside.

I step through the circular entrance into the larger chamber of the ship. Judging by its size, this must be the equivalent of the main deck. Like the rest of the craft, the floor is pliable, the walls softly rounded, a stark contrast to the hard metal angles of a human vessel. In a normal ship of this size, my breath and footsteps would echo in the emptiness. But here, a thick silence blankets everything.