The Nineteen Eighty-Four‘s data recorder was a hex-ovoid shaped piece of equipment designed to survive the ship’s destruction. On it would be a detailed record of its last moments, and – most importantly – a single-use ansible intended for distress signalling.

I grabbed hold of it and ran the thruster pack to get us moving towards the shuttle. This would be the key to everything – what had destroyed the ship, for what reason, and where to go next.

The shuttle was still distant when something happened. At this distance it was impossible to miss the ansible spinning up to operating speed – before I could react, it reached activation energy. The transceiver head punched through into hyperspace, conducted its task, and spun down again in less than one thousandth of a second.

But what had it done, and who had sent the message?

A familiar silhouette appeared inside the dark maw of the shuttle’s open passenger bay.