The World Watched; I Salvaged Scrap

Lin swam along the slab and found a fracture on its underside. Beyond it was not a compartment, but an impossible absence. Light entered and did not return. A vibration traveled through his suit and tapped against his bones. The old brass whistle on his chest rose on its cord. His father’s keepsake. A faint blue line lit inside the fracture, aimed directly at it. A strange woman’s voice sounded in his headset. “Navigational key…detected.” Lin stopped breathing. “Uncle Jiu?” “What?” “Someone spoke.” “This channel has only me!” The voice returned, fractured syllables bypassing his ears and assembling meaning inside his mind.