In 2032, a crewed expedition to Mars unearths something very unusual—a mysterious egg buried beneath the red dust. The team brings the egg aboard their ship, the SC-37, hoping for answers. While the crew are away, the egg hatches into two forms: a shimmering crystal and a slimy, rapidly changing alien. The researchers begin experiments with both, but tragedy follows when the air supply to the crew is shut off, and the scientists are killed.
Two months later, the SC-37 is intercepted by a nearby space station, L-5, which then suffers a catastrophic failure of its neutron reactor. The station goes dark and explodes in a cascade of malfunction. A scrappy, mismatched repair crew escapes on the damaged SC-37, bringing with them a new sense of urgency and solidarity as they band together despite their differences. With dwindling supplies and no rescue on the horizon, the five-person group decides to stop at two supply stations to top up what they need. Comfort is scarce, but the crew’s resolve is strong.
As the repairs continue, the alien covertly haunts the engine room and begins to pick off crew members one by one. By the time danger becomes personal, only two remain: Roger Campbell and Dr. Adrian Kimberly. They seal the alien out of the bridge and confront it at length in the engine room, where it has retreated with the crystal. The two discover archived data in the ship’s memory system, a database named Bernice, detailing the alien’s rapid maturation and increasing intelligence. The crystal proves to be more than a curious artifact—it functions as an advanced computer that the alien uses to solve problems, a feature it initially employs to hijack the ship’s systems and block communications, even fooling another nearby vessel into thinking the SC-37 does not require rescue.
Amid a meteor storm that threatens to tear the ship apart, the alien leverages the crystal to project a protective force field, buying time for the crew to stabilize. Roger must venture into the lab to fetch a crate of rations; returning without threatening the alien earns him a cautious, grudging trust from their otherworldly houseguest. As the days pass, the alien consumes data about human evolution and even a Bible stored within Bernice, revealing a surprising curiosity that hints at a deeper motivation.
With hope pinned on reaching Alpha-7, the first supply station, Roger and Adrian realize the ship’s engines must be repaired first to make the journey feasible. They decide to confront the alien once more, hoping for a truce. In the engine room, the creature reveals itself and, to their astonishment, apologizes for its earlier actions. It claims self-defense was its initial motive, and that it misread humans as a threat. Introducing itself as GAR, the alien surrenders control of the SC-37 back to Roger and Adrian. The two decide to forgive and strike a bargain: once Alpha-7 is reached, they will hand over the SC-37 to GAR so it can continue its voyage home. A cautious friendship begins to form as the trio works together to repair the ship.
When the SC-37 finally docks at Alpha-7, Roger assists GAR with loading rations for its long voyage. A gravity tunnel sudden opens—a potential shortcut that could ferry Roger and Adrian back to Earth—but it requires immediate action. GAR understands the stakes and, with a heavy heart, prepares to part ways with its new human friends. It expresses gratitude for their brief but meaningful companionship and uses the crystal to convert Alpha-7 into a vessel of its own, setting off toward its distant home. As they say goodbye, Roger and Adrian seize the moment to head for Earth, their bond with GAR lingering as they edge closer to home.
