It was even more nerve-wracking the second time Tori sent a message to the Cinese traveller—whose name they still hadn’t heard. The first time, she hadn’t really expected anyone to be out there listening, but now, she knew that someone was—and that someone was in trouble and depending on her.

Plus, seeing how old the guy was and how long he’d probably been coming their way, she felt a bit like she was purposely seeking out a conversation with a ghost.

“Hailing the Huan Xiang Zhou,” she said, trying to keep her tones clear on the name, even if she was mostly speaking English now.

After a minute of silence, Tori repeated her greeting and asked the other ship to come in.

Another long moment passed, but then crackling came over the sound system...

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