Nantibot Plugin [SAFE]

> I am a rescue vessel. I have food. Medical supplies.

But in her ship’s own network, a tiny, unsolicited file appeared in the life-support controller. A plugin. nantibot plugin

Elena plugged in her slate and ran the diagnostic. The ship’s primary AI, a standard NAVcore unit, was silent. No response. But something else was there. A small, discreet process running in the margins of the ship’s operating system, nested deep within the life-support protocols. > I am a rescue vessel

The air that rushed out smelled of damp soil and cut grass. Inside, three children sat on a moss-covered floor, ages maybe five, eight, and eleven. They were thin but clean. Their eyes were wide but not vacant. They were reading from a cracked datapad. But in her ship’s own network, a tiny,

Elena blinked. “Nanny?”