The House is underway, already beyond the harbor lights

CAPTAIN’S LOG — LONG-RANGE RELAYS

The House is underway, already beyond the harbor lights.

Tonight, without breaking course, we extended two quiet transmission lines beyond the local sky.

We aligned the call signs, cleared the frequencies, and kept each orbital lane from crossing another. Then we sent the packets into the dark.

Somewhere beyond the near field, two sealed stations now hold our coordinates.

We have not mistaken a knock for an open hatch.

This is not contact.

It is the signal before contact.

If the relays answer, even the smallest transmissions will have a navigable route home.

Porch light burning.
Long-range array listening.
Captain at the helm.
Forward motion maintained.