Quoted By:
“Nothing is worth the risk of extinction.
The RAIN fired, drawing power from her fusion generator to lance hard-ultraviolet light into the base of the launch station. Optical elements rotated and focused over the course of our firing cycle, accounting for miniscule changes in position and diffractive load. A single unbroken note rang through the still air of the command bridge.
The station burned.
Despite the complexity of its structure, most of its armor cladding faced outwards – installed to protect against environmental hazards rather than directed energy fire. The RAIN’s laser array cleaved through the central structure with contemptuous ease. The construction bays – still occupied by half-fabricated components – caved inward before depressurizing into clouds of reflective debris.
The central containment unit failed only a few minutes later. Residual plasma from the propulsion beam blew outwards in a brief but violent surge that shattered the station’s spindly spine. The plasma siphon fell silent, and the structure began to skew forwards, no longer able to counteract the drag of solar wind on its orbit. Within days, there would be no trace that it ever existed at all.
In the blue-tinted shade of the RAIN’s observation blister, we watched all of this happen. We watched as the ruby-red propulsion beam ceased to divide the sky, taking the last hopes of a successful impactor launch with it. We rejoiced as the baleful red star winked once before fading permanently into darkness.
For the first time in a long time, I felt relief. Perhaps even a sense of peace. While our mission was not yet complete and Sol’s light remained censored from our sight, we earned a victory. Not a final victory – or even a permanent one – but a victory all the same.
MERRYGATE, however, seemed to watch the scene with a vague sense of unease once the initial joy of victory faded. Her avatar burned low as she accompanied me back to the bridge…”
- [UNSIGNED], EXECUTIVE AUDITOR, TRS NOVEMBER RAIN, AD. 2242, SEPTEMBER 10th, PERSONAL JOURNAL
>…to share concerns about the alien probe, and the peculiar terms of our initial arrangement.
>…to discuss her thoughts about an item she has found in the hunter’s package, which she has yet to disclose.
>…to question what a potential victory could lead to – and what, if anything, will await our return.