Then my comm unit flickered. A file appeared. A single 4K video, timestamped now . I opened it, against every instinct.
The lights went out. Emergency reds kicked in. And then the probe did something no cartography drone should be able to do. It began to record —but not light. Not sound. It recorded the quantum states of every particle in the cargo bay. My particles. Choi’s. The steel. The oxygen.
KSJK-002 Resolution: 4K (Full Spatial & Spectral Capture) Status: ACTIVE – DO NOT APPROACH KSJK-002 4K
Silence.
We found the probe exactly where the beacon said it would be. Tucked into the gravity well of a dead star, floating like a polished coffin. The hull was unmarked, which should have been my first warning. Something that’s been adrift for 400 years doesn’t stay pristine. Then my comm unit flickered
The red light blinked on.
I exhaled. Looked at the dead, smoking husk of the probe. I opened it, against every instinct
The vibration changed. It felt like a question.