Moons of Madness

## Plot

Engineer Shane Newehart awakens on the currently concealed Mars base created by the Orochi corporation. While the crew are out at various stations with other duties, Shane leaves the main base and realigns the solar panels, then heads back to the greenhouse, where he resets the water system. Upon doing so, however, he discovers the work of botanist and biologist Inna Volkova and Lukas VanBuren, an experimental, plant-like biomass; he also hears and sees an obscured figure around the greenhouse. After dumping the water, the biomass transforms into a giant, mutated tree, and Shane is attacked by a semi-humanoid creature made from the biomass. After fleeing the greenhouse, he heads towards the comms tower station, where his friend and partner Declan Delapore is stationed.

When he exits his rover, however, Shane finds a cave materialized out of nowhere from behind him and he enters finding areas within the cave looking like they were torn out of his family house on Earth. He powers various orbs using a strange birthmark on his hand, and makes his way to a cave where he sees The Witch, a strange disheveled old woman that haunts the dreams of the crew, spouting unusual and cryptic words, especially regarding Mars and the Moons Phobos and Deimos. After solving puzzles in a location resembling the basement of his home. He discovers a book connected to a shrine, and he awakens in his rover, the ordeal revealed to be a dream. He ascends the formation leading to the tower, when he sees the supply ship the *Cyrano* crash into the planet. Inside the outpost he finds evidence of Declan’s dropping mental state and sees figures outside as he repairs and boosts the comms. Making contact with the others, Shane flees the outpost as dark figures resembling astronauts begin to follow him.

Returning to the main base, he finds that the Filth has overrun it and killed Lukas, leading him to find Lukas’ research on a venom that could kill the Filth tree. After being forced to run to the greenhouse from outside without a helmet, a weakened Shane manages to poison the water supply and kill the tree by destroying its roots. He is attacked by scientist Inna Volkova, who has merged with the tree, and he puts her out of her misery. While Josephine Wilcox and Declan search the remains of the Cyrano, Shane finds a hidden elevator in the server room leading to a hidden facility beneath the base known only to Orochi and Volkova. Shane discovers evidence of the Filth’s creation and Orochi’s knowledge on the abrupt disappearance of his mother, as well as a facility of androids in storage. He investigates the depths of the complex, finding that the Filth has breached the base; he also discovers blackmail Orochi had against the crew and cloning technology, calling into question the crew’s identities. At the bottom of the facility he finds the meeting room, seeing that they plan to create a moon colony named Eden. After releasing an unknown creature kept in sleep by the base, he has various visions of his mother and their past. Originally studying the occult, Sarah Newhart became under the influence of otherworldly forces after looking into the Necronomicon; a similar effect on Shane occurred when he inadvertently found the book and saw in it as well. Sarah was kidnapped and interrogated by Orochi on knowledge of the beings known as the Dreamers, cosmic monsters in slumber, so they can use their abilities to benefit themselves; however, Sarah escaped and disappeared. After going through various visions, Shane meets the Witch, who is revealed to be the astral projection of Sarah, reaching out after being caught in between dimensions. With some hesitation, Shane agrees to help her stop the Dreamers from being awakened.

After awakening and exiting the main base, Shane heads to a massive stone doorway discovered by Orochi and uses a special key to enter and follow Josie and Declan inside, created by an ancient race long ago to contain the Dreamers. Shane finds Declan and Josie killed by the Filth, which has spread to the massive machine used to keep the Dreamers in sleep. Shane tries to restore the Gaia Engine as the moons Phobos and Deimos rise overhead, but it ultimately fails, and he flees as the structure collapses. With the *Cyrano*’s flight path between the moons resulting in its destruction by corruption of the Filth, the Dreaming Ones were disturbed, and without the Gaia Engine to maintain their sleep when the moons eclipse each other, their awakening is imminent. With the only chance being a failsafe made by Orochi, Shane heads to a rocket module, the *Invictus*, before the Filth can destroy it, and flies into space, but damage leaves him stranded in space with air running out. Realizing that his mother actually had him sabotage the Engine and she plans to have the Dreaming Ones awaken in order for her to escape, Shane either allows the moons to eclipse, causing the Dreamers to awaken and devour reality, or uses Orochi’s failsafe missiles to destroy the moons, saving the world as Shane dies from oxygen loss. Earth is left to ponder on this phenomenon and investigates Orochi.