Dr. Liora Venn adjusted her oxygen filter as she stepped onto the abandoned sky-rig, floating untethered above the storm-choked gas giant. The rig had gone silent a week ago, along with its crew.
Inside, she found fragmented logs—garbled voices whispering of “something in the static.” The comms flickered, catching her reflection a half-second too late.
Then the voices began. They spoke with her own cadence, answering questions she hadn’t asked. Shadows moved where none should exist. The rig wasn’t empty; it had become an echo of its crew—memories trapped in electromagnetic residue. But now it tried to make her part of it.
She staggered back, yanking free her tether. The rig shuddered, scrambling to hold onto her—familiar voices pleading as she launched toward her shuttle.
Drifting away, she knew she’d stolen their last witness. The ghosts of the rig would fade, unheard, lost to the storm.
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