122,970 Words

Earth is out of reach. The ark is dying. The world below is awake. Captain Adrian Vale carried 5,500 souls aboard New Dawn through a forbidden passage, concealing that it might never open again. It doesn't. Stranded on the far side of the galaxy with their crippled ark tearing itself apart, lead pilot Tessa Vale must help evacuate thousands to New Hope—a beautiful, dangerous world of luminous rivers, armored predators, and something ancient beneath Blackroot Ridge. This is a focused final beta round for a complete, extensively edited science-fiction survival novel. I'm looking for readers who enjoy colony-building, survival stories, alien mysteries, and character-driven adventure.