The one on the top cage looked at her. It tilted its head. And then it spoke.
But the damage was done. That night, the tapping grew louder. And the whispers began. Not just her name anymore. Fragments. Confessions of murdered spacers. Coordinates to lost treasure fleets. A child’s last word to a mother she would never see again.
She stumbled back, slammed the cargo door, and ran to the bridge.
Voss’s face went pale, then hard. “You weren't supposed to see those.”