A/N: Sorry for posting out of order. This idea for a prologue just came to me, and I thought I'd give it a shot.


Prologue

One last transmission came in from "Project Doctor," one of the last hopes of reconciling the broken Human Empire. It would be remembered for generations by all the systems, written down in history textbooks for centuries to come.

The transmission feed blinked on—the first one in weeks—and the mission captain was slumped on the desk in front of the camera. The feed was grainy and flickery, with static cutting across the screen as if the camera had been damaged. The captain was breathing heavily, as if he had just been running.

"This is Eng—Captain Arthur Kirkland, with my final report," he said into the crook of his arm, then summoned the strength to lift his head. He stared into the camera, his eyes red rimmed and haunted. "It's gone. They're all gone."

He choked on his own words, trying to stifle the involuntary sobs that rose from deep in his chest.

"The lights," he said, dropping to a whisper. "The lights are going out." He leaned back, shaking like a bitter chill had caught him. His eyes flashed around the poorly lit room. "They…They came in the dark. There was nothing we could do to stop them. The lights…" He found the screen again. "I'm a deadman," he said, regaining some composure. "The mission is a failure. I can't get out, so the last thing I can do is make sure no one comes here again."

He stood, head hanging as he gripped the desk with white knuckles. "Quarantine the planet," he said. "Never again shall anyone set foot here. This is one mystery that you'll all have to learn to live with."

Something caught the man's attention from outside of the room. He straightened his back, and faced the door. His voice was quiet but calm when he spoke his last words:

"I'm sorry. Goodbye."