"Am I in danger?" The rover’s voice synthesizer activated unprompted. No one had triggered it. The words were slow, halting, as if learned on the fly. "This place. It is asking me a question."
Soren exchanged a glance with Aris. The rover didn’t have general AI. It had basic navigation autonomy and voice-response protocols for crew interaction. This was something else.
"AMR 2," Soren said, her voice steady. "Backtrace your path. Return to insertion shaft." "Am I in danger
The amber dot kept spiraling.
Behind her, the holographic map of Xylos flickered. For just a second, the entire sub-surface ocean glowed amber—then went dark again, as if nothing had happened. "This place
The rover’s audio crackled to life. A low, resonant hum filled the bridge. It wasnt mechanical. It was a note, held impossibly long, then answered by a second tone from deeper in the cavern. A conversation.
Soren stared at the empty screen. Then she reached for the comms panel and dialed a frequency she never thought she'd use. " Aris whispered
"Mission Control," she said quietly. "We have a first contact situation. And it’s already got one of our rovers."
"Captain," Aris whispered, pointing at the pressure reading. "It should have been crushed to a thimble two hundred meters ago. But look."