Lore: Ghost in the Machine
“I hear it. Like a... rhythmic banging. Clang. Clang. Clang. Like a hammer on thick metal.”
“I tracked it once. Tried to find it. I got close, and the banging just stopped. There was no one there. But I found a dent in the pipes that wasn't there before and... blood.”
“You remember Reb. Went missing when we got to Alepsis-Taura. No one ever found him. He heard it too, though he wouldn't tell anyone. Curious he was. Always too curious.”
[clang]
“There! There, do you hear it?”
“Soon after the banging, I get called in to fix something. Always around where the sound was. Always a dent or a crack or a...”
“Last time, I saw a shadow. I was working under a bulkhead, replacing a cracked vent. One I had just put in a ten-cycle ago... There's no way it could've cracked on its own.”
“My work light dimmed. I got a cold feeling, like something was standing over me. I shoved our from the bulkhead.”
“The light came back. Something scurried down the corridor. I never saw what.”
“But I heard the banging again... not far away.”
“I won't lie. I'm scared to go down there again. Lothru of House M'Ertal laughed when I told him. Said it was just air in the pipes or something.”
“I know what I saw. I know it took Reb.”
[clang]
“There it is again! It's close. Just around the corner...”
“Reb... What did you see?”