While Ember and Teron were busy with numbers and systems, Celeste was doing something only she could do.
Just as Teron was about to finish, he emitted another warning beep. His screen displayed:
anomaly_detected: mini_fracture_on_essence_rod_casing.
A minor issue had been detected on the Godhook's protective casing, a problem not fully resolved earlier.
Suddenly, Celeste fell silent. The cheerful expression vanished from her face, replaced by tension. Under her hand, the Godhook's metal shell was no longer warm but had become unnaturally cold. The LEDs, which had been pulsing rhythmically, now flickered erratically and randomly.
"Sister Ember!" Celeste called, her voice full of worry. "Something's wrong! Our 'friend' is... in pain and scared. Something's attached to it, and it's... being corroded!"
Ember and Teron immediately ran over. Teron scanned the entire Godhook. His face screen displayed a frantic message:
CRITICAL_ANOMALY: UNIDENTIFIED PARASITIC ORGANISM DETECTED IN MAIN COVER JOINT. ENERGY LEAKAGE DETECTED. STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY COMPROMISED.
But before anyone could act, Celeste rushed forward. Her galaxy-like eyes widened, focusing on the crack.
"Sister Ember! There's a little iron 'friend' sleeping in there!" She pointed. "It doesn't mean to break anything, it's just looking for shelter. It seems very tired and lonely."
Sure enough, when Teron shone a high-intensity laser into the crack, a tiny Steel Leech, no larger than a pea, curled up inside, was revealed. Celeste, with her strange empathy, had detected it. I can feel it. A tiny iron 'friend', but... very hungry and very angry. It's not like other Steel Leeches I've met. It's more stubborn. It's hiding in the gap between the Godhook's thumb and index finger. It thinks the Godhook is... its home, and it doesn't want anyone to chase it away.
"Ember! Ember! Our 'friend' says the hook hurts its middle finger," Celeste ran to Ember, pulling her hand. "There's a small Steel Leech stuck in the joint, it's chewing on a cable!"
Ember's eyes widened. She and Teron had checked thoroughly but found nothing. She immediately followed Celeste to the Godhook. Sure enough, when the joint was opened, a tiny Steel Leech, only the size of a pinky finger, was gnawing on a crucial cable.
If undetected, it could have severed the hook's cable mid-operation. Its body was covered in sharp metal spines, and it emitted a dull, threatening red light. It wasn't just "eating" energy; it seemed to be secreting an acid that was slowly corroding the protective shell.
"How did you know?" Ember asked, her voice icy cold. She held an electric probe attached to a stun gun.
"Wait!" Celeste stood in front of the Godhook. "Don't kill it! It's just scared! Let me talk to it."
"Lessie, there's no time for talking!" Ember almost shouted.
But Celeste didn't listen. She closed her eyes, her whole body focused. Her white hair began to glow softly. "Hey... little friend," she whispered in a wordless language, a stream of pure emotion. "I know you're scared. But this isn't your home. You're hurting my friend. Please come out... I have better food for you."
Strangely, the Steel Leech seemed to calm down. The red light on its body dimmed. It slowly relaxed its spines and crawled out of the crack, moving towards Celeste. It stopped in front of her, as if assessing her.
Celeste smiled, taking out a "candy" from her pocket - a thumb-sized stone, transparent like crystal, with a miniature nebula inside sparkling with tiny, slowly moving stars. It was a conscious, floating celestial body that Celeste had swallowed whenever she felt bored; the essence it radiated was truly sweet to her - so she called it "premium candy".
Occasionally, she would catch celestial bodies she deemed to have energy unfavorable to her home and swallow them whole, delighting in hearing them "whimper" inside. "Here, this is for you."
The creature smelled it and immediately latched onto the "candy," starting to drain its last essence. It was an essence containing the eternal silence of deep space.
While it was busy, Teron quickly assessed the damage and sprayed a special alloy to temporarily repair the corroded cables.
After "eating," the Steel Leech looked at Celeste one last time, then quickly crawled down to the floor and disappeared into a dark crevice. The Godhook seemed to sigh with relief; its LEDs returned to their normal rhythm, and warmth gradually returned to its metal shell.
Ember sighed wearily. She looked at Celeste, who was stroking the Godhook as if comforting a friend who had just recovered. Her heart was filled with both gratitude and fear. Celeste's ability to communicate was extraordinary, but also extremely dangerous. Just one small mistake in communication could put the girl in danger.
"That was kind of you, Lessie," Ember said, her voice hoarse. "But next time... be more careful with 'friends' who are that hungry and angry."
Celeste nodded, but her galaxy eyes still shone with empathy. "Because it's like me, Sister. It's lonely and scared. It's just... I understand that."
They had just averted a disaster right before departure. The Godhook was safe. But the hunt into the depths of the dead planet now felt even heavier, for they knew that threats could lurk even within their most familiar tools. Everything was ready, but a new fear enveloped them.