A harsh wind kicked up across the dusty plains of Argosia, forcing the lone woman to cover her face. In the distance, still several kilometers out, was her destination. She coughed as dirt entered her lungs, and spat out a brown mass. Shaking her head, she pulled the canteen from her belt and sipped the water. She cursed the necessity of landing so far from her target, but she couldn’t risk anyone else discovering it. Not yet, not until she was certain of its origin and purpose.

Trudging into the wind, she pulled out her goggles from her pack and quickly slid them into place. Now able to see, she picked up her pace. With a tap on the right side of the goggles, a heads-up display appeared. One point two kilometers to the tower ahead. Object constructed of a number of metallic alloys, enhanced by carbon nanotubes. No doubt, it was of Architect design.

It didn’t surprise her that it remained undiscovered for so long. Argosia was a mining planet, not the hotbed for archaeological sites. Few people ever traveled to this continent, the last refuge of the native Argosians, as they were deemed backwards aliens too caught up in reverence to nature. She knew otherwise.

Focusing only on her objective, she cut a quick patch to the base of the tower. Well, at least it had once been a tower. She couldn’t tell how far above ground it used to be, perhaps two or three-hundred meters, but now it was barely taller than a two-story building. The ascent would be quite easy. Using her grappling gun, she fired an anchor line above the top of the tower’s rim. It landed precisely, and with a quick signal, the lead buried itself into the tower’s roof.

The roof was simple enough, a large platform capable of holding a dozen or so human-sized bodies, with a central shaft once serviced by a lift. She checked the emergency ladder for stability, confirmed it could support her weight, and began her descent. It was only when she was within that she realized the extent of the discovery.

“Unbelievable,” was all she could mutter. The Architects once again had outdone themselves. Now, all she had to do was make sure this stayed out of the wrong hands.

They built wonders across the known universe and beyond, an ancient race long-since extinct or lost to time. They went by many names: Architects, Builders, Ancients. Their name in the native tongue of the Chorathians, aliens thought to have been direct descendants, Arco’nai. The long-lived, four-armed Altarissians ominously called them The Ones Who Came Before. They left behind wonders beyond comprehension, the younger races quickly claiming for their own.

The study of these artifacts united many races, eventually opening the doorway to the founding of the Confederacy of Free Worlds. A conglomerate of forty-seven governments spread across hundreds of stars, the Confederacy stands as the bastion of hope, unity, and prosperity in a galaxy left war-weary.

Next Chapter: One