### **Chapter 7: The Beacon**
The ship was eerily silent after the lockdown in Engineering. The alarms had stopped, but the tension lingered, thick and oppressive. Elena leaned against the Maintenance terminal, her hands trembling as she stared at the star map glowing on the screen. Her mind raced with questions. If the signal had been embedded in the *Horizon* from the start, then this wasn’t just a random encounter. It was deliberate. Planned.
“Elena, are you there?” Marcus’s voice crackled over her comm.
“I’m here,” she replied, her voice strained.
“Whatever you did, it stabilized the ship—for now,” Marcus said. “But Reyes isn’t happy. He’s demanding answers.”
Elena let out a bitter laugh. “Of course he is. I’m on my way back.”
---
### **The Crew Fractures Further**
When Elena returned to the control room, the tension was palpable. Reyes stood near the center of the room, his arms crossed and his jaw tight. His faction—five crew members who had sided with him—hovered nearby, their expressions a mix of defiance and unease. On the other side of the room, Marcus and Ava stood with the remaining crew, their faces weary but determined.
“You’ve got some explaining to do, Doc,” Reyes said, his voice low and dangerous.
Elena ignored his tone and stepped toward the main console. “I found something,” she said, pulling up the star map on the central display. The glowing blue point marked their destination, pulsing faintly.
“What is that?” Ava asked, stepping closer.
“It’s a map,” Elena explained. “The signal isn’t just a test—it’s a beacon. It’s leading us to something.”
Reyes frowned. “And how do you know it’s not leading us into a trap?”
“I don’t,” Elena admitted. “But think about it. The *Horizon* launched with this signal already embedded in its systems. That means someone—or something—knew we’d be coming this way. This isn’t random. It’s intentional.”
“Intentional or not, it’s been screwing with us since we woke up,” Reyes said. “You really think we can trust it?”
Elena turned to face him, her expression hard. “I don’t trust it. But I also don’t think we have a choice. If we ignore the signal, we’re flying blind. And if we destroy it, we might lose the only chance we have to understand what’s waiting for us at our destination.”
Reyes shook his head. “This is madness. You’re gambling with all of our lives.”
“And what’s your solution?” Elena shot back. “Destroy the signal and hope for the best? That’s not a plan—it’s suicide.”
“You don’t know that,” Reyes growled.
“And you don’t know that it’s a threat!”
The room erupted into chaos as the crew began shouting over each other. The divide between the two factions was growing wider, and Elena could feel the situation spiraling out of control.
---
### **The Message Decoded**
“Enough!” Marcus shouted, his voice cutting through the noise. The room fell silent, all eyes turning to him. “Arguing isn’t going to get us anywhere. Elena, if this signal really is a beacon, can you prove it? Can you decode more of the message?”
Elena hesitated, then nodded. “I’ve been working on a translation algorithm. It’s not perfect, but it’s getting better. Give me an hour—I’ll see what I can find.”
Reyes snorted. “An hour? We don’t have time for this.”
“You’ll give her the time,” Marcus said, his tone firm. “Or you’ll have to go through me.”
Reyes glared at him but said nothing.
Elena didn’t waste any time. She sat at the console and began running the translation algorithm, her fingers flying over the keyboard. The alien symbols scrolled across the screen, slowly resolving into fragments of text.
As the minutes ticked by, more of the message came into focus. When the final fragment appeared, Elena froze, her breath catching in her throat.
“What is it?” Ava asked, leaning over her shoulder.
Elena read the translation aloud, her voice trembling.
“*You stand on the brink of extinction. To proceed, you must prove you are worthy. The path forward is one of unity and sacrifice. Judgment will be passed.*”
The room fell silent, the weight of the words pressing down on everyone.
“Unity and sacrifice,” Marcus said quietly. “What does that mean?”
“It means this isn’t just about survival,” Elena replied. “It’s about who we are as a species. The signal isn’t just testing our ability to reach the destination—it’s testing whether we deserve to.”
---
### **Reyes’s Ultimatum**
Reyes stepped forward, his expression dark. “So that’s it? We’re supposed to play along and hope we ‘prove ourselves worthy’? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“It’s not nonsense,” Elena said, standing to face him. “It’s a challenge. The signal is forcing us to confront our flaws—to decide what kind of people we want to be.”
“And if we fail?” Reyes asked.
“Then we don’t make it,” Elena said simply.
Reyes shook his head, his jaw clenching. “I’m not risking my life on some alien morality test. We need to take control of the situation—now.”
“What are you planning, Reyes?” Marcus asked warily.
Reyes turned to his faction. “We’re going to disable the signal for good. If it’s controlling the ship, then it’s a threat. And threats need to be eliminated.”
“You can’t do that,” Elena said, stepping in front of him. “If you destroy the signal, you might destroy the ship.”
“Then you’d better stay out of my way,” Reyes said coldly.
---
### **The Countdown Begins**
Reyes and his faction stormed out of the control room, leaving the rest of the crew in stunned silence.
“What do we do?” Ava asked, her voice shaking.
“We stop him,” Elena said firmly. She turned to Marcus. “Get everyone who’s still on our side. We can’t let him destroy the signal—it’s too dangerous.”
Marcus nodded and hurried off to gather the others.
Elena sank into her chair, her mind racing. The signal’s message was clear: unity and sacrifice. But the crew was far from united, and the only sacrifices being made were tearing them apart.
She glanced at the star map on the screen, the glowing blue point pulsing faintly like a heartbe
at. Whatever awaited them at their destination, it was watching. Judging.
And time was running out.
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