No one.
Maria Santos sat alone in her office and wept.
---
The Cave — Deep Below
The creature rested in the darkness.
It had found a deep chamber, far below the surface, where no light had ever reached. The walls were wet with groundwater. The air was cold and still. It was like being back in the moon, buried in the dark, waiting.
But this time, it was not alone.
The bear family's memories swam in its consciousness. The taste of berries and fish. The warmth of the sun on dark fur. The fierce, protective love of a mother for her cubs. The creature examined these memories with something approaching curiosity. It had never been a mother. It had never loved anything. It had only hungered.
But now it understood.
It understood the bonds that held humans together. The love between parent and child. The loyalty between friends. The trust between crewmates. It had tasted these things in Evans' memories, in Lena's, in Chen's, in Thorne's. It had tasted them in the mother bear's flesh.
These bonds were weaknesses. Exploitable weaknesses. It would use them. It would wear the face of someone loved and trusted. It would come to its victims in the night, and they would welcome it with open arms.
It smiled in the darkness.
Above, the soldiers searched and found nothing. The jungle reclaimed the crash site. Vines grew over the twisted metal. Animals returned to their territories. The world moved on, unaware of the ancient evil that had come to rest in its heart.
But the creature was patient.
It had waited billions of years.
It could wait a little longer.
---