a computer generated image of a spaceship in space

On the outskirts of known space, drifting silently between distant stars, the exploration vessel Vanguard had been lost for seven years.No one knew why.It was meant to be a routine mission, scanning new planets in the outer rim. The last transmission, a simple burst of static, was cut off halfway. Rescue missions sent after the Vanguard had returned empty-handed, reporting nothing but a black void where it was last seen. Over time, its disappearance faded into the background--a forgotten mystery in the vastness of space.Until today.A soft beeping broke the silence in the communications room of Novum II, a deep-space research station. Operator Ilia Jones blinked at the display in front of her. A signal was coming in--weak, distorted, but unmistakably from the Vanguard. Her heart raced as she patched the signal through, her fingers trembling over the console.“Command, we have a live signal from the Vanguard,” she whispered into her headset. “Coordinates match… it’s them.”Static filled her earpiece, and then a v