I remember being plunged into darkness - the polarized screens surrounding the RAIN’s observation blister slamming shut in the span of a few milliseconds.
And yet I still saw light.
Light – the color and consistency of humanity’s parent star – leaked through the blister and warmed my skin: a sensation that I had not felt for over two years of subjective time. The RAIN’s superstructure rumbled: the force of the detonation perceptible even through the exceptionally thin atmosphere of MIZAR-V’s low-orbit.
When the screens recovered, I saw nothing. A void had radiated out from the former resting place of the drone, stretching from the edge of high-orbit down to kiss the fuzzy border of MIZAR-V’s metallic hydrogen ocean. Even as I watched, the edges began to blur from the inrush of surrounding atmosphere. Darkening thunderheads and thermal cyclones hissed into existence, feeding on the energy liberated by the falling gas.
On the other hand, the Mizarian fleet was simply….gone. Except for the derelict flagship, not a single vessel remained: their fate sealed by their final attempt to close distance with the hunter-drone. As I mulled over the precise details of the engagement, I felt a familiar pounding in my temples. A nauseating amnesia that I could no longer label foreign.
I dwelled on it as I returned to the bridge, while also mulling over our next move.
> MIZAR-V-G. We will move as quickly as possible to our next target. If we travel at the moon at maximum burn, we will almost certainly arrive there before the Mizarians can respond to the loss of their fleet – let alone organize a garrison.
>SALVAGE. Perhaps something advantageous can be gathered from the derelict structure of the Mizarian flagship. This will delay our attack slightly, and there is a small – but extant – risk that our activities may be discovered.
“Loss of data,” said MERRYGATE, her tone strangely quiet.
“Comprehensive loss of data,” she repeated. “There was…something or someone. Some data structure, that bore some importance to us. To me, perhaps.”
“And a sacrifice, I…believe,” she said, her tone uncertain. “An unwilling outcome more comprehensive than death or deletion…”
“Companion I….”
>AN ACCOUNT – OF COMPANIONSHIP. She may not remember, but for a time, I can still recall a portion of our interaction – and of fragile trust we built while sharing information and memories. Perhaps sharing this with MERRYGATE will be enough.
>AN ACCOUNT – OF SACRIFICE. She may not remember, but – for a time – I will remember a portion of our interaction – and of the final vow she made against the inhabitants of this system. Perhaps sharing this with MERRYGATE will be enough.
>A PARCEL. Did the hunter-drone entrust something to us? It could be informative, but I am not certain what precisely lays within….
- [UNSIGNED], EXECUTIVE AUDITOR, TRS NOVEMBER RAIN, AD. 2242, JULY 28, PERSONAL JOURNAL