Dr. Liora Vex adjusted her oxygen mask, scanning the luminous fog of the Black Expanse—a vast, gravity-defying dust cloud orbiting a dead star. Her research vessel, Radian, floated weightlessly as she decoded signals from the cloud’s core.
Then, it responded.
The pulses formed patterns—language, thought. It had been watching her, learning. Liora’s heart pounded as she transmitted a greeting. The response came swiftly: **Do not go. You are all that remains.**
Her breath caught. She was alone, years from any colony. Could this being know something she didn’t? Had disaster struck home?
She hesitated, then typed: **I must return. There are others.**
A pause. Then, sorrowful pulses. **No. Stay. Connect.**
Liora shivered. Was it deception, or had she truly met something kindred—something just as lonely? She stared at the vast, pulsing void and, for the first time, hesitated before setting a course for home.
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