2 — Amr

The pressure gauge was steady. Not because the rover was shielded, but because the outside pressure was holding perfectly constant. As if the deep were maintaining itself for the rover’s sake.

Soren exchanged a glance with Aris. The rover didn’t have general AI. It had basic navigation autonomy and voice-response protocols for crew interaction. This was something else. The pressure gauge was steady

The console pinged twice, then flatlined. "AMR 2, report," Captain Soren’s voice crackled through the static. Soren exchanged a glance with Aris

The rover’s audio crackled to life. A low, resonant hum filled the bridge. It wasnt mechanical. It was a note, held impossibly long, then answered by a second tone from deeper in the cavern. A conversation. This was something else

The amber dot kept spiraling.

Soren’s science officer, Dr. Aris, sucked in a breath. "That’s… not possible. The pressure alone should—"

Soren leaned closer to the feed. The rover’s scientific data stream was still live—temperature, pressure, salinity—but the telemetry was drunk. Then, a single frame of video came through, pixelated and raw.