Xin spoke first, careful with his tone, as though the room itself might be listening. "Patriarch, if these can be removed, we should secure them."
Han shook his head slightly, eyes never leaving the stasis racks. "We don't even know how. And forcing stasis could trigger something we don't understand."
Wuying added quietly, "Or wake the ship in ways we cannot control."
The words settled into the room, heavy but necessary. None of them was eager to touch what slept here.
The machines didn't hum or threaten. They simply existed, preserved and patient, as if waiting for a decision that had been delayed too long.
Xu Qianghua listened to them all, then stepped forward another half step. He did not cross the boundary of the stasis field. He did not reach out. He only looked.
"It isn't surprising," he said softly, more to himself than to the others.
Han glanced sideways at him. "Not surprising."
