Impossible. Rachel had never served on this ship before.
The screams in the static rose, then faded. For one terrible, beautiful moment, Rachel saw them—Elena, Marcus, Sana—faces in the amber light, mouths open in silent thanks. Then the light died. The walls became ordinary metal again. The Vazar shuddered, sighed, and went quiet. rachel steele vazar
Vance, Tse, Gupta—they hadn’t gone mad. They had been copied. Their consciousnesses were still inside the walls, woven into the lattice, screaming softly in the static. And now the ship wanted Rachel’s mind too. Impossible
She filed her report as “equipment malfunction.” No one ever asked for details. But on long hauls, when the crew talked of ghosts, Rachel would touch the bulkhead and feel nothing but metal. And that, she decided, was the real miracle. For one terrible, beautiful moment, Rachel saw them—Elena,