Derek stares at the screen and smiles. Most of the ships are moving in the expected trajectory. “How are things on your side, Natasha?”
“Good, everything appears fine, but that was close. The first one we’ve seen in months. You”
Derek grimaces. “I thought I was in the clear, but there’s definitely something up with C4365. Bolux. It must be in trouble.”
Natasha stands up and looks over at him, her brow furrowed. “How do you know?”
“Well, let me put it like this. It’s zigzagging all over the place. And that cannot be good.”
She walks over and stares at his screen for a moment. “No, definitely not. You know what to do. Follow procedure. You can do this.”
“So much for an easy day at work.”
He opens communications with C4365. “Please advise your status. You have deviated from your flight path.” The message is put on continuous repeat.
Tapping the table, he wonders how badly the ship has been damaged and hopes he won’t have to stay on late. There was a good documentary about the planned colonization of Sedna that he wanted to watch. To him, it seemed so much more exotic than his own existence.
A cackling noise came over the communications device. Then a voice started speaking into his headset.
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