∴ UMBRA LOG / 7B ⧖ (1.3s)
Non-standard transponder detected. ID string unresolved.
Umbra Tracking Log // Drift Node 7B
The post was quiet in the way only the Deep Umbra ever is — not silence, exactly, but the absence of anything worth listening to.
Two Fae sat the watch for the High Council, boots up on the console rail, sharing a flask that definitely wasn’t on the approved supply manifest.
“Still nothing,” one of them said, flicking a rune across the display. “If this place gets any deader, council are going to start charging us rent. May as well be a holiday home.”
The other snorted. “Hardpoint Black picked the spot. That alone tells you they don’t expect much. If anything was out here they’d send a cruiser.”
From the shadowed corner, the Hardpoint Black observer didn’t look up. Just a quiet presence. Always recording. Never reacting.
The board chirped.
Once.
A single, clean Faetech ping — sharp enough to cut through centuries of static.
A contact in the dark.
The screen populated, then froze.
TRANSPONDER ID: ARCADIA ACTUAL
The flask lowered. Boots came off the rail.
“That’s… that’s not funny,” one of the Fae said, already pulling the logs for a closer look. “Signal verified, it was what it said it was… capitol class, status… flag, ID locked to realm of origin… that’s not possible…”
The observer finally leaned forward, eyes reflecting the glyphs. No expression. No correction.
The signal was gone as fast as it arrived. No vector. No follow-up. No echo.
Just the ID.
The room stayed very still.
After a moment, one of the Fae broke the silence, voice suddenly careful.
“…should we report this?”