Tether

Drifting through the vast expanse of space, Commander Sarah Jenkins stood vigil over the isolated space station she was responsible for maintaining. The silence was absolute, broken only by the gentle hum of the station's machinery and the occasional burst of static from the communication arrays. This solitude had been Sarah's life for months now, her only companions the shadows on the walls and the flickering glow of the station's screens. As she went about her routine, checking the station's systems and performing routine maintenance tasks, her mind often wandered to the day she would finally return to Earth, rejoin her friends and family, and leave this desolate existence behind. However, her reverie was interrupted by the station's computer, AI-named MOTHER, as it beeped and flashed on the console in front of Sarah. A message had been received, its originator unknown, and the digital avatar's tone was one of curiosity. Sarah's instincts pricked, but she couldn't quite place why. MOTHER continued, "Commander, there's been a transmission received from an unknown source. The encryption is complex, but I've managed to bypass it. Transmission is being relayed to your console." Sarah's composure wavered as she hesitated, wondering if perhaps this was just another aberrant error signal or a test from Mission Control. Yet, something felt off. A feeling echoed through her that she had ignored too many times. On this otherwise tranquil morning, an unseen trigger had turned the course of her day upside down, much like the lives of countless others would be in the aftermath. Her curiosity took over, and she finally agreed, "All right, MOTHER, let's bring it up." Across the computer screen in front of Sarah, a low-resolution image flickered to life. It was someone – a person, from what Sarah could gather, before the brief sight vanished. A disorienting feeling washed over her. Sarah was left grasping and the transmission flickered and went still, abruptly disconnected. It took a beat for MOTHER to react. "Commander, visual transmission received and then lost, at what appears to be approximately 300 megaparsecs distant." The vastness of that separation struck a new chord within Sarah, hinting at enormous potential for untold danger or a mysterious signal. Sarah found herself pacing the control room, running over various possible explanations as to who or what might have sent this transmission and why. There were few systems nearby that could transmit signals to her orbit – a dozen or more planets had sufficient technological capacity, but she was the primary lone observer. This transmission was strong enough that it should have reached nearby planets and their scanning networks, yet it was addressed directly to her personal location. Sarah focused her thoughts on the nature of this message. Should it be dismissed, assuming there was no more occurrence? Her conviction as a commander refused her to let concerns about the risk of ignoring what might become imminently more terrible if not dealt with lie undiscussed. If ignored, her isolation was compounded by the burden of not passing this knowledge on, but such an action could put in greater danger an unknown number of lives. Taking her station's manual override panel, she took the decision to push forward, trying to assess the risk of receiving a reiteration of that direct communication and the threat, that these signals might pose.