The interface responds instantly, the data unfolding in neat, efficient layers, but the deeper I go, the less it gives me. The details compress instead of expand, each line reducing the event into something smaller, simpler, easier to accept.
Departure time.
Minimal crew.
System failure.
Loss of control.
Crash.
No recovery.
I scroll back up, then down again, forcing myself to read it twice, three times, searching for anything that breaks pattern.
“No recovery,” I repeat, slower this time, my eyes narrowing.
The words sit wrong.
They sit wrong in a way I can feel in my gut before I can fully explain it.
My chair scrapes faintly as I push back, the sound sharp against the otherwise controlled environment, and I glance around the room. The operators keep working, their movements steady, their expressions neutral, like nothing here deserves more than passing acknowledgment.
“Hey,” I call, my voice cutting across the low noise.
One of them looks up, brows pulling together slightly.
“What?” he asks.
I gesture toward the screen, my hand tighter now.
“You see this report?”
He leans just enough to glance at it, his eyes scanning quickly before he shrugs.
“Yeah,” he says. “Transport went down.”
“And that’s it?” I ask, my tone flattening.
He shifts in his seat, already turning back to his console.
“Deadlands,” he says. “Not much to recover out there.”
I stare at him, the casual dismissal landing harder than the report itself.
“That’s not procedure,” I say.
“It is when command says it is,” he replies without looking at me.
I step closer, planting my hand against the edge of his station hard enough to feel the vibration of the system through my palm.
“No retrieval team?” I press. “No confirmation sweep? Nothing?”
He exhales sharply, irritation creeping into his expression as he glances back at me.
“Look,” he says, lowering his voice slightly. “Shuttles go down out there all the time. Sand eats the wreckage, heat cooks what’s left, and command doesn’t waste resources chasing ghosts.”
“Not like this,” I snap, leaning in just enough to force his attention.
