Chapter 3: The Signal from Below
Chapter 3 • 125 Words
With the immediate danger passed, the crew set to work repairing the main drive. But the mood on board was tense. Rations were limited, and the communications array was silent, unable to pierce the dense electromagnetic interference of the nebula.
"Commander, you need to see this," Chen called from the scanning station. He pointed to a pulsing spike on the sensor screen. "I'm picking up a transmission. It's not a natural phenomenon. It's a repeating, structured sequence."
Sarah leaned over the console. The signal was originating from the center of a giant, hollowed-out asteroid at the core of the nebula. "Is it an SOS?" she asked. "No," Chen whispered. "It's an activation code. And it's using the same encrypted frequency as our own military command."