The Last Transmission

“Hello? Can anyone hear me?” The voice crackled through the ancient comms panel, its distortion making it sound like a ghost of the past.

Lena stared at the screen, her heart hammering. The transmission had been lost for years—longer than she had even been alive.

“Captain?” she asked, voice trembling as she tapped the comms panel again, praying for a clearer response. “Is it really you?”

There was a long pause, then a faint, familiar hum followed by the voice, softer now.

“Lena… is that you?”

Lena’s throat tightened. She hadn’t heard that voice in 22 years. Her father—the former Captain of the starship Aquila—had vanished on a routine mission beyond the Oort Cluster. They were declared lost when all signals stopped, and the wreckage, presumed destroyed, was never found.

“Dad?” she whispered, her voice shaky. “How… how are you alive?”

“I don’t know,” he said with a chuckle that sounded forced, hollow. “I don’t know how any of this is possible. We were sent to investigate a strange anomaly. It wasn’t supposed to be anything like this. But, Lena, you have to understand, something’s wrong—terribly wrong.”

“What do you mean? What happened? Where are you?”

“The anomaly—it wasn’t a natural phenomenon. It’s a rift… a rift between dimensions. I don’t know what’s on the other side, but… it’s changing us. The crew… They’re not the same.” His voice faltered, and there was a silence as if he was gathering the strength to continue. “I’ve seen things, Lena. Things that shouldn’t exist. I’ve seen… you. Or, at least, something that looks like you.”

Lena’s stomach twisted. “What do you mean? What are you seeing? Dad, please, I need to know!”

The static buzzed louder, and Lena had to adjust the frequency. Then, finally, the voice returned, faint but insistent.

“We’re trapped. We’ve been drifting for years—months, weeks, time’s all wrong here. This rift—it warps everything. The crew… they’re changing. Some of them have… disappeared.” A shaky breath filled the line. “I’ve… I’ve tried everything. The Aquila is damaged. The engines are failing. But the rift—it keeps calling. It’s pulling us in deeper, and I don’t think we’ll make it out. Lena, I’m so sorry.”

Lena felt her knees give way, and she dropped to the floor, eyes wide as the reality of his words sank in.

“No, no, no,” she whispered, clutching her head as though she could shut out the crushing despair. “You can’t be—”

Her father’s voice cut through the panic, sharp and urgent.

“You have to stop it, Lena! You have to close the rift. If you don’t, it will keep spreading—through the whole universe. Please, the coordinates—they’re in the transmission. Get to the Aquila. It’s your only chance.”

Lena’s eyes locked onto the screen, watching the distorted image of her father flicker, his face twisted in terror.

“Dad, please—”

But there was no more time. The transmission abruptly cut out, the screen flashing a final, eerie burst of static.

Lena remained frozen, the weight of her father’s final plea pressing down on her chest. She knew what she had to do, even though part of her wanted to turn away.

The rift was calling. And now, it was her turn to answer.