Holsten Mason wakes from suspension on the Gilgamesh, fighting claustrophobia as Isa Lain oversees his revival. She informs him they have been traveling for 1,837 years and that ship systems report a roughly four percent chamber failure among the passenger “cargo,” acceptable for the timescale. Lain reveals the reason for his early revival: a detected signal.

They join Commander Vrie Guyen in comms, where Holsten learns the faint, repeating message likely originates from the mapped destination system noted in Old Empire records. The ship had followed ancient star charts, so a transmission there implies a relic or remnant of Imperial activity rather than a living colony.

Holsten applies known Imperial decoding schemes and identifies the language as Imperial C. Cleaning the signal reveals a concise distress beacon—“Come and get me”—suggesting recoverable technology awaits even if people do not. The discovery briefly unites the trio in hope that their gamble has paid off.

Guyen orders preparations to decelerate and to wake additional key crew in time, with at least a century’s travel remaining. Holsten negotiates half a watch awake to see the stars, then later, in the cupola, Lain joins him. They share a brief, wordless intimacy before resuming duty and the return toward stasis.