Their Ghosts all started chattering at once, and Lisbon-13 stepped away from his compatriots to hear his own.

"Scanning. No sign of complex life besides you three. Widening the scan parameters. I got bupkis."

"Look for any kind of transmission, or a nearby audio device," Lisbon-13 ordered. "We're getting sound without a source."

"Got it," his Ghost said, but then it wobbled in the air. "Whoa. Don't got it."

Lisbon-13 grabbed his Ghost before it could fall. In the grotto, their Light faded.

He heard Rekkana ask, "Yardarm, Lisbon, you OK?"

"I'm fine," he said. And he was. Something strange—something alarming—was happening, but Lisbon-13 felt no fear.

As the gloom faded to black, Lisbon-13 set his shoulders. Whoever—whatever—it was had spoken. It would speak again.

Lisbon-13 stood against the dark and waited to have words.