 were locked onto the display screen, where an incomprehensible series of alien symbols streamed past incessantly.

“Any progress on the decryption?” Alex's voice was steady, a controlled presence necessary in the gravity of their undertaking. 

Jordan tapped a key, pausing the flow of code, and leaned back with a deep sigh. "We've broken through another subset of the cipher. It's revealing... well, indications of a complex society, not unlike our own." His eyes met Alex's with an unspoken question that hung heavily between them—were they truly prepared for what they might find?

Taylor Cruz strode into the room, a tightly coiled spring of ambition and authority, and peered at the screen. "Understand their society, and we may predict behavior. Remain expedient—we don't know how much time we have before the situation shifts." There was an edge of stark realism to Taylor's words, the underlying message clear: every revelation bore its own set of risks.

Alex nodded thoughtfully, recognizing the validity of Cruz's caution. Turning to Sam, who was tinkering with a device that buzzed quietly on the table, he asked, “Sam, can your contraption get us any further?”

Sam looked up with a smirk, a twinkle of mischief in their eye. “It’s not just any contraption, it’s potentially a direct line to their thoughts. Give me a moment more, and I'll have something for you.”

The air ticked with electronic beeps and the rustling sound of the Paranormal Military Squad team at work. They were so close to peering into the intelligence of an alien race—a reality on the brink of dramatically expanding their understanding of the universe.

The machinery whirred in response to Sam’s precise touches, and suddenly, the room filled with a low hum—something had changed, a signal had been successfully sent. The team held their breath as they listened. The sound that filled the room was unmistakable: a response, an alien voice filtered through the static of space and time.

Alex exchanged a look of quiet triumph with Jordan. The breakthrough was monumental; they were no longer casting messages into the void but engaged in a dialogue—an exchange that marked the beginning of Operation: Dulce’s true unfolding. This was it, the first steps into an interstellar odyssey that demanded every ounce of their courage and wit.

## Chapter 13

Dr. Jordan Hayes shuffled a stack of papers, their eyes revealing a tinge of skepticism at Taylor Cruz's authoritarian performance. _Protocols_, Jordan thought, _are just the framework, the true challenges we're about to face lie well beyond the boundaries of any protocol._ They cleared their throat before speaking, tone cautious yet firm, "Let's remember, the unknown variables exceed the known. We should remain adaptive."

A murmur of agreement echoed from Sam Rivera, who leaned forward, lacing their fingers together as if weaving a digital framework in the air