Give Back a World

A Survey Service expedition travels to Mercury to reopen colonization, guided by a man who survived a prior mission and hints at unsettling discoveries. The crew explores dark and sunward hemispheres and encounters ancient wreckage from a prehistoric interplanetary war, including dormant automated weapons and preserved remains. Suspicion about the survivor's past and the unpredictability of ancient technology escalate tensions as the team confronts devices that may not be wholly inert. The narrative examines the danger of forgotten armaments, the ethics of claiming a scarred world, and the precariousness of human expansion into hostile, relic-laden environments.