“Nature abhors rulebreakers. And few rules are held in higher esteem than causality.
I remember this lesson as the spent jump-coils surrounding my craft disengage, floating away like burnt petals. I remember it as I turn my gaze backward to catch the twinkling light of precious Sol, only to see it replaced by a hollow void in my central vision.

Nature abhors causality violations. But even when causality has already been violated, punishment can still be levied.

I know my punishment. It is denial. For the next fifty-one years – the precise sum that my FTL journey has stolen – the universe will censor information from my home system. Light from that era will not reach my eyes. Pre-recorded information contained in written records will not pass through my senses.

Fortunately, there is one small caveat.

Biological storage is stubborn. The inherent fuzziness of the human brain cannot deny cosmic censorship, but information that is pre-imprinted can resist it. Thus, for a short while – an hour, maybe two - I am able to stretch my status as a cosmic fugitive a little further. As I did, I recall…

Fading images of boiling seas and shattered mountains. Of the beloved cavern-cities of my home planet collapsing into a choking sea of rust-red oxide dust. Of rage. Watching dotted trajectory-traces converge on a twinkling system at the heart of the dipper constellation: an alien civilization that had taken Darwin’s lessons to heart far better than any human nation ever has. Then a hurried launch; the dirty flash of experimental jump-coils followed by the soft darkness of reefersleep.

As my ship slips into a now-familiar system – and I register the brush of alien radio chatter against the sensors – a distinct sense of purpose begins to emerge even as my memories disintegrate.

We have lost our civilization.

And in commemoration, I shall burn theirs.”

- [UNSIGNED], EXECUTIVE AUDITOR, TRS NOVEMBER RAIN, AD. 2241, DEC 12, PERSONAL JOURNAL

[EMPIRE INTEGRITY: 100%]

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Welcome to Retaliation Quest, a short, experimental quest loosely inspired by highfleet and HOTDS. While I will try my best to craft a cohesive narrative, the main focus will be on COMBAT. Use sensors and trickery to pull apart an intersystem polity before pounding their worlds into dust! Almost everything is deterministic, so dice rolling will be kept to a minimum. First few turns will be a little hand-holdy, but I plan to open things up afterwards. Feedback is always welcome!