Hs7p60hcuwtn

: A high-priority distress flag— Hostiles Contacted, Unknown . wtn : The final sign-off— Witness The Night .

: A navigational coordinate pointing to the 60th parallel of the Persis Nebula. hs7p60hcuwtn

The terminal flickered with a rhythmic, pale blue pulse, casting long shadows across the deck of the Aethelgard . On the screen, twelve characters sat in cold, stark silence: . The terminal flickered with a rhythmic, pale blue

The bridge grew colder as the realization set in. This wasn't just a code; it was a tombstone. Someone, decades ago, had looked into the dark between the stars, saw something they couldn't name, and fired this string into the void, hoping that one day, someone would be left to read it. This wasn't just a code; it was a tombstone

He leaned forward, his fingers hovering over the haptic interface. "Break it down," he whispered.

Thorne looked out the viewport at the swirling gases of the nebula ahead. The code was no longer just a string of letters and numbers; it was a warning. And according to the sensors, they were exactly where the "p60" said they should be.

The terminal blinked once more, the code vanishing to make room for a single, incoming audio feed. "Now," Thorne said, "we listen."