Better | Juy 217

Elara felt tears she hadn’t shed in years burn behind her eyes. “How long were you in there?”

She’d logged thirty thousand hours in deep space. She’d watched starfish-like creatures dissolve their own skeletons to communicate. She’d held a sentient crystal that wept when it sensed loneliness. None of it unnerved her like JUY 217. juy 217

The cargo bay lights flickered. The ship’s alarm began to wail—not a system fault, but the external proximity alert. A vessel was hailing them. No transponder. No identification. Just a single repeating message on all frequencies: Elara felt tears she hadn’t shed in years

She checked the ship’s clock. It was 02:16. She’d held a sentient crystal that wept when

Elara’s throat closed. “Who are you?”

And the temperature inside JUY 217 had just begun to rise.

RETURN JUY 217. NO QUESTIONS. RETURN JUY 217.