Back on the Odysseus , Thorne finally broke. The Magellan had been studying a dormant alien structure. Inside, they found a perfect sphere that mirrored consciousness. But when they touched it, it didn’t copy minds—it copied deaths .
“Captain… the ping was sent twelve hours ago. From your personal terminal.” kia ddms
She reached out and touched his cheek.
Voss didn’t answer. He’d seen that acronym once before, in a classified briefing that didn’t officially exist. Back on the Odysseus , Thorne finally broke
“Captain Voss, this is Admiral Okonkwo. We received your distress ping. Glad to see you’re all right. Awaiting your full report.” But when they touched it, it didn’t copy
Captain Elias Voss stared at the screen. His ship, the Odysseus , had just dropped out of FTL near the edge of the Cygnus Void. They were supposed to rendezvous with the research vessel Magellan . Instead, they found debris. And this transmission—looping every 4.7 seconds.
Voss froze. He hadn’t sent any distress ping.