The Watcher drifted along Junction-17, a hollowed-out asteroid turned relay hub. Data pulses spiraled through glass conduits, whispering secrets from light-years away. As the sole technician, Anden’s task was simple: maintain the flow.
One morning, a signal deviated—an impossible reroute from an abandoned colony world. It played in murmurs, fragmented words forming a nearly forgotten voice. His mother’s voice. She had vanished when he was a child, presumed lost in a colony collapse.
Anden traced the signal, his hands shaking. Replaying it, he heard her plea: “Out here… waiting… not alone.” A loop, distorted by time.
Connection logs confirmed the signal was bouncing from a nearby relay—one that hadn’t received a new transmission in decades. If the signal wasn’t artificial, then…
Heart pounding, Anden overrode protocol and launched his pod toward the origin. His duty was to maintain signals. But some signals, he realized, shouldn’t just be maintained. They had to be answered.
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