Laz worked late into the next shift, scouring the ship's memory banks for any hints about the origins of the signal. He'd decrypted the logs of the original Vigilant crew, hoping to find something useful, but most of the files were encrypted beyond his reach.
Then, just as he was about to give up, he found it. A single unencrypted file buried deep in the ship's archive. It was a video—no timestamp, no author.
He clicked play.
The screen flickered to life, showing a crew member from the original Vigilant. Her face was tense, eyes wide with fear, and she spoke in a low, hurried voice.
"If you find this… don't respond. The signal—it's alive. It's not like anything we've ever seen. It… it reaches into your mind. It finds your weaknesses and exploits them. It twists reality… don't let it into your head. Don't listen."
The video cut out abruptly, leaving the words to hang in the air. Laz sat back in his chair, heart pounding.
Kaelen and Mira arrived moments later, and Laz replayed the video for them.
"I've seen this before," Kaelen said quietly. "That symbol from the signal. It's the same one she drew on the walls of the cryochamber before… before they disappeared."
Mira's gaze hardened. "Then we need to act. Now."