At the strange metal.
At the blinking lights that refused to die.
“It was a failsafe,” I said finally. “Built to protect whatever we found. And erase anyone who came back for it.”
The engineer’s face drained. “You mean they…”
“Yes,” I cut in. “They didn’t send us to retrieve something.”
I leaned closer to the screen.
“They sent us to bury it.”
The deck shuddered.
“Incoming sonar contact!” the comms officer yelled. “Multiple signatures closing fast!”
On the radar, half a dozen shapes moved beneath us with impossible speed.
“Full power!” I shouted. “Pull the drone up now!”
The cable reeled.
The drone rose.
The capsule in its grasp.
But one contact shot upward, faster than any sub should move.
“It’s coming straight for us!” the younger pilot yelled.
The ocean erupted.
A column of water blasted up and slammed down on the deck, drenching us, knocking a man to his knees.
