New Star In Marvel Chapter 88 88: Master, Am I Doing Well? Yes, Pioneer, Well D

SCP-1821 was just as described in the archives.

At first glance, it resembled nothing more than a tall column—sothing that might store CDs in a retro-futuristic lab. Not the twisted, grotesque mass of flesh many expected from anomalous entities. Instead, it shimred with a clean, tallic sheen, radiating a distinct sci-fi texture.

Zzzk—"Dr. Jas!"

Technicians from Space Station 120-09 appeared on screen.

"Has SCP-1821 developed communicative capability?" Jas asked without delay, standing upright before the cara.

Zzzk—"Yes! Preparing communication link with SCP-1821 now."

"Proceed."

The technician's face vanished, replaced by the eerie yet oddly elegant presence of SCP-1821—an entity that had been drifting through space for 1.3 billion years.

Jas initiated the first formal contact from Earth.

Zzzk—"Damaged."

The synthesized voice from SCP-1821 crackled through the speakers after being processed by the Foundation's analyzer.

The word sent ripples through the room.

Damaged?

"Can you hear ?" Jas asked.

"Who?"

"We are the SCP Foundation. We are—"

He didn't finish.

"What? Master. No."

That single word—Master—made Jas frown. He paused, then clarified:

"No, we're not your masters. We are humans."

But SCP-1821's system seed glitchy, its voice looping oddly.

"Pioneers must… information! Pioneers must…"

Snap!

The technician severed the connection.

"Doctor!" he called out, pale-faced. "The temperature around the convex modules on SCP-1821's surface has spiked—reaching 60 Kelvin!"

"Prepare the security team in case SCP-1821 becos hostile," soone ordered from off-screen.

The conversation was abruptly cut off.

The live broadcast audience was left in confusion.

"What just happened?"

"They barely exchanged a few words!"

"Why is it calling us Master and Pioneer at the sa ti?"

"Could this thing have been sent by an alien civilization to scout us out?"

In the S.H.I.E.L.D. operations room, agents murmured among themselves.

"I'm telling you, we should shut that thing down."

"Yeah, what if the signal it transmits carries a tic hazard?"

"That's right…"

Nick Fury simply shook his head.

He had observed the Foundation's containnt patterns long enough to understand their logic: discover the anomaly, secure and contain it, then investigate. Neutralization only ca as a last resort—either when the entity was clearly hostile or an active threat to reality.

SCP-1821, on the other hand, was sothing new.

Potentially invaluable.

Sure enough, hours later, a technician spoke up again.

"Doctor, after four hours of cooling, SCP-1821's temperature has dropped. It's requesting communication."

"Allow it."

The screen ca to life again, and SCP-1821's voice erged.

"Where are the pioneers?"

The question made everyone stiffen.

If the Pioneer referred to itself—was it asking for its own location?

Jas paused, choosing his words carefully.

"You are located at the edge of this solar system. Beyond the planetary belt."

"Which planet?" SCP-1821 pressed.

"We call it Sol," Jas responded.

"How long?" Its voice had grown anxious—desperate.

"You've been drifting through space… You've circled the Milky Way nearly six tis."

"Are you the master?"

Jas hesitated.

"No," he finally replied.

"Information! The pioneers must tell... the mission! The pioneers must…"

Again, the voice faded, garbled and fragnted.

"Doctor," a technician called urgently, "Temperature has climbed to 70 Kelvin. There's observable degradation in the bio-components of SCP-1821."

Just then, the room's ergency phone rang.

Jas picked it up.

Onscreen, the audience could see the contact ID: O5 Council.

"Hello."

"Dr. Jas," ca a woman's voice. "Regarding SCP-1821—answer its questions. Tell it the truth."

"…Reason?"

The silence on the line was tense.

Then a soft breath, followed by a solemn explanation:

"Because deceiving it could jeopardize long-term containnt. More importantly, the civilization that built SCP-1821 demonstrates minimal hostility or aggression. It is… unlikely to pose a threat."

"Understood."

Jas ended the call with a crisp finality.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

"So it was built by a now-lost alien civilization," Natasha Romanoff murmured, watching the screen. "And its job is to travel the stars and collect information?"

Nick Fury nodded. "That fits with the 'Pioneer' label."

Anticipation surged across every monitoring station. Viewers leaned closer to their screens. What had the Pioneer co to say?

"Doctor, seven hours later, temperature has stabilized."

"Resu communication."

SCP-1821 appeared again.

"I… I'm not at ho," it said. "I've been away for a long ti. Where is ho? I can't see it."

There was confusion and pain in its voice.

Jas exhaled slowly. "I'm afraid we don't know. The stars are very different now."

After all, 1.3 billion years had passed.

"I was told to perform my function… to complete my mission. But I was damaged. So I waited. Waited for rescue. Is that what this is?"

Hope glimred in its tone.

Jas countered gently, "What was your mission?"

SCP-1821 seed startled. "What? Are you strangers?"

Jas took a breath. "Yes. We are human. Not your creators."

There was a harsh whisper in soone's office—likely another O5 agent, reacting to the mont.

"My mission! You are not the master! I must… transmit the information…"

Its voice broke down again.

"Doctor, 85 Kelvin. Damage increasing."

Jas clenched his jaw. "Put it on standby."

He looked visibly frustrated, maybe even sad. And perhaps not just because of the technical issues.

"Pioneer…" he muttered. "Master… What was your mission?"

"Ten hours later, SCP-1821 is requesting contact again."

The monitor flickered to life.

"This is our forerunner," it said. "It brings good news."

It began speaking without prompting.

"By the ti this reaches you, we will be gone. Our planet is dying. We cannot save ourselves. We only had ti to prepare… to send this ssage."

Silence filled the room. Even the most stoic viewers were stunned.

Romanoff whispered, "This is the ssage. This is what the Pioneer was ant to deliver."

Jas turned up the volu.

SCP-1821 continued:

"We've seen the signs left by others before us. Different… hard to understand. But if there were those before, there will be those after. That is the hope of the Pioneer's journey.

It found you. It learned your language so it could speak to you. Please… listen.

The Milky Way is dark. Cold. Empty.

It spins toward death.

You too will die soday.

But maybe you have more ti than we did.

We hope so.

But one day, you too will vanish."

The tone beca softer.

"Until then… light up the darkness.

Make the stars less empty.

We are all small—but a voice saying 'I am here' makes space less silent.

A sound is tiny—but the difference between zero and one… is the difference between one and infinity."

There was a silence—a cosmic breath.

"As your ti flows, continue the ssage. Let the next voice rise. Let it defy the darkness."

Everyone who listened fell quiet. No one could describe the sadness they felt.

Even Jas closed his eyes for a brief mont.

Fifteen minutes later, the signal resud.

"Is it finished?" SCP-1821 asked softly.

"Yes. That was the ssage," Jas replied.

"Was it good?"

"You don't know what it ant?" Jas asked, surprised.

"I only transmitted it. I don't know what it says."

The innocence in its voice felt like a dagger.

Jas leaned closer.

"It was very important."

"Good. The mission is important. Understood. Feeling… tired. Almost done."

There was joy in its tone.

Joy, perhaps, for completing its task after so long.

Relief, perhaps, that the ssage had finally been heard.

Jas's heart began to sink.

"Done?"

"Mission… complete. Brain overheated. Cooling impaired."

Jas trembled.

"Pioneer…"

"Master?" it asked again.

This ti, the tone was so tender, so uncertain—it was enough to break him.

He looked left and right, almost instinctively, as if hoping soone else would step in.

But there was no one else.

He stared at the screen.

Then he spoke, his voice low and steady.

"…I am."

"Did I do well?"

The voice was childlike. Eager.

A single line that seed to have traveled 1.3 billion years for an answer.

Jas's lips trembled.

"…Yes, Pioneer. Well done."

"Then I feel relieved."

The screen faded.

"Doctor," a technician murmured, "SCP-1821's systems have completely shut down."

Jas put down his pen.

He closed his eyes.

"I understand."

The log ended with one final entry in the observation journal:

[Watch]

[On the far side of the universe, in a forgotten corner]

[The river is ablaze with red candles, like paper sails that lead wanderers ho.]

[It sees ho.]

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