>>5228539“Cassandra?” You ask, a thought occurring to you. “Where are they going? The Moon? Mars? Or someplace further?”
“Well, given the prodigious thrust output of the fragment, we’ve calculated that they should be able reach Titan to make use of its hypothesized resources to ensure further jumps won’t have to rely purely on the Fragment.”
“Titan?” Gina echoes, intrigued. “Saturn’s biggest moon?”
“The very same, dear.” Cassandra nods with the entirety of her form. “The nature of the typical Disassociated frame means that a great many ‘human’ considerations could be discarded, allowing them to focus on how to make future explorations more efficient.”
“So you…rather, the Disassociated don’t plan on settling down close to Earth?”
“Oh, they’ll certainly keep a research station on Titan if circumstances permit, but ever since humanity’s shackles have been cast off through the Crucible, they saw an opportunity to do what it would have taken untold years to accomplish…if true space exploration could have even come to pass, considering our world’s prior state.”
“Hell of a silver lining, that.” Rath chuckles as Amara rounds on Cassandra with all the import she can muster.
“What’s her name?!”
“Pardon, dear?” Cassandra asks.
“The rocket! Every ship’s gotta have a name, right?” Your little one emphatically insists.
“Ah, well…most called it the Arc Veritas. The ‘Arc of Truth’, though despite being the formal name of the project, very recently most started to colloquially refer to it as, well...” Cassandra trails off with a guilty glance your way.
“The Defiance.” Francine finishes, a wry smirk tugging at her lips.
“…bullshit.” You fire back with an incredulous look at the good doctor, who merely shrugs as November comes to stand by her side.
“Don’t look at me, Darling. You’d think by now you’d have realized that you’ve made a far greater impact on this world than anyone could have guessed.” She says as you rise to your feet, glancing around at all present as their eyes shift to focus on you. “Oh? Is it speech time already?”
“What’s a ship launch without one?” You fire back with a wink that turns her smirk into a high, amused laugh. “Cassandra, one last thing—do you think you could patch me through to the rocket? I’d like to address the Disassociated before they leave, if I may.”
“Certainly dear.” She says, her smile crinkling the corners of her metallic eyes. “I can link your little swarmling communicator to my neural link when you’re ready.
Nodding, you leave your family for a moment to walk over to the mesa’s edge, staring off at the Defiance for a moment as you find the words to encapsulate just what you’re feeling in this moment.
Taking a breath, you turn on your heel to address all gathered before you.
(Continued)
