Elias watched the monitors. The coordinates for V1X 7z 005 began to shift. It wasn't a static point in space; it was moving toward Earth at a fraction of the speed of light. The "005" wasn't a serial number.
A voice, sounding like grinding tectonic plates, filtered through the static. It didn't speak English, but the translator software—built to decode alien mathematics—struggled for a moment before spitting out a single word on the screen: V1X 7z 005
He patched the audio through. Expecting the rhythmic pulse of a pulsar or the hiss of background radiation, Elias leaned back. Instead, he heard the sharp, unmistakable sound of a heavy door creaking open, followed by the wet, rhythmic breathing of something very large and very tired. Elias watched the monitors
"V1X 7z 005, identify," Elias whispered into his headset, his heart hammering against his ribs. The breathing stopped. The "005" wasn't a serial number