Chapter 1

Emma has never belonged, not at home, not in the world. So when the United Nations opens applications for its first deep-space exploration program-one that will send humanity beyond the Milky Way, she sees her chance to escape everything she's ever known.

Faking her way into the program with nothing but brilliance and her AI companion, Emma joins a group of elite recruits training for the unknown. But when a simulation spirals out of control and secrets begin to surface, Emma and her new teammates are faced with a terrifying question:

Was this mission ever about exploration... or survival?