A time to die

The narrator, a career spaceman turned first officer, recounts a pair of expeditions to a remote, ore-rich planet after a captain returns alone claiming to have survived a monstrous airborne predator; drawn by promise of wealth and the captain's obsession, a second voyage is mounted, but the captain's monomania leads to lethal consequences, leaving the narrator isolated, repeatedly recording his memories while examining themes of obsession, survivor guilt, and the dangerous allure of heroic myth.