CHAPTER 6 — Part III – The Awakening Signal
527 Words
The hum of the relay faded behind them as they returned to the Lysa.
Aiden sealed the hatch and dropped the recovered data core onto the console. Its metal casing was scorched and humming faintly, as if it still remembered the voices inside.
Sera connected her wristband. “The encryption pattern is ancient. I’ll need to run it through the translation matrix.”
“How long will that take?”
“An hour… maybe two.”
Aiden sank into the pilot’s chair, watching the stars drift by outside. The silence of space felt heavier now — filled with the weight of everything they’d just heard.
“So,” he said quietly, “your ancestor helped lead the Concord.”
“Yes.”
“And someone close to him betrayed it.”
Her hands trembled slightly over the controls. “Maybe even someone in my bloodline.”
He looked at her. “Whatever we find, it doesn’t define you.”
She met his eyes, voice steady. “Maybe not. But it defines why I fight.”
The console beeped softly — a progress bar slowly filling.
Aiden leaned back, running a hand through his hair. “You ever think about what happens after all this? After the war?”
She tilted her head. “There was a word your people used — peace. I would like to know what that feels like.”
He smiled faintly. “I could show you.”
Her lips curved in a small smile. “You already are.”
The moment lingered, fragile and warm — until the console screamed.
A burst of static tore through the cabin, followed by a deep, pulsing tone. The lights flickered. The Lysa shuddered as if something vast had brushed against it.
Sera spun toward the display. “The relay… it’s broadcasting!”
“I thought it was dead!”
“It was. But when I accessed the core, it reactivated an old distress signal—”
A new voice filled the cabin, faint but unmistakably alive:
> “This is Concord vessel Ophion. Repeat — this is Ophion. If anyone can hear us… we are still here.”
Aiden froze.
Sera’s eyes widened. “That ship was destroyed two centuries ago.”
“Then who the hell just answered?”
The signal repeated, stronger this time.
> “We need assistance. The Dominion… they found us.”
Sera’s fingers flew across the console. “Coordinates incoming.”
Aiden stared at the star map as the data appeared — a cluster of stars glowing red. “How far?”
“Two jumps. Maybe three.”
He tightened his harness. “Then we don’t waste time.”
“Aiden, it could be a trap.”
He looked at her, determination burning in his eyes. “Or it could be survivors.”
Outside, the Lysa’s engines flared. The stars stretched into lines of light as the ship vanished into the void once more.
But far behind them, among the ruins of the old Concord fleet, one of the shattered ships slowly turned — its dormant systems flickering awake, blue eyes opening in the dark.
Something was watching them leave.
- Writer
