Build a branching interactive story where choices actually diverge instead of reconverging on the same line

Write a branching, choose-your-own-path interactive story with the structure below. The most common failure in generated interactive fiction is that branches look different for one paragraph and then reconverge on the same scene regardless of what the reader picked — I want the choices to actually matter for longer than that.

OPENING SITUATION
The reader wakes up on a supply ship that's just received a distress signal from a research station that officially stopped transmitting six months ago.

FIRST DECISION POINT
Investigate the signal immediately alone, report it to the captain and wait for orders, or quietly ignore it and continue the ship's original course.

DESIRED BRANCH DEPTH
At least two further decision points after the one where the choice was made.

ENDING VARIETY
Four endings: one where the reader escapes alone, one where they escape with a rescued survivor, one where they're stranded, and one where they choose to stay.

RULES
Start with the opening situation and present the first decision as two or three genuinely different options, each implying a different kind of story (different risk, different relationship, different tone) rather than two paths that are cosmetically different but functionally the same scene. Carry the consequences of each choice forward for at least At least two further decision points after the one where the choice was made. — a choice's effects should still be visible or relevant that many decision points later, whether as a changed relationship, a resource gained or lost, or a door now closed that was open before. Before writing the full text, output a branch map showing the tree structure (which choice leads to which node, and where nodes do or don't reconverge) so the structure is checkable before reading the prose. If two branches do reconverge at some point for practical length reasons, make that convergence a deliberate, acknowledged choice you flag in the map — never let branches accidentally collapse into an identical scene without noting it as a decision.

WHAT NOT TO DO
Do not write a decision point where both options are followed by essentially the same next paragraph with a few swapped nouns — if that's the only way to keep the branch manageable, say so honestly rather than disguising it as a meaningful choice. Do not make every path funnel to one single ending; produce the number of distinct endings specified in Four endings: one where the reader escapes alone, one where they escape with a rescued survivor, one where they're stranded, and one where they choose to stay., each reflecting a different accumulated set of choices, not just a different final sentence bolted onto the same outcome.

OUTPUT FORMAT
1. The branch map, as an indented outline or simple tree diagram in text.
2. The full story text, with each node labeled to match the map, and choices presented clearly at the end of each node.
3. One paragraph noting any place branches were deliberately merged for length, and why.