"That's not possible," she whispered.
Then came the Blue Barrel.
Elara looked back at the microscope. The amber globule had doubled in size. It was now pressing against the lid of the sample jar.
Jin, her shift partner, didn't bother opening his eyes. He was leaned back in the battered control room chair, a sacrifice to the god of exhaustion. "Probably a sensor. Those things are older than the both of us."
"Vibration’s up twelve percent on the secondary loop," she said, not looking up.