Chapter Four
August 18, 2199
1543 Hours, Earth Time
Unknown Location
She walked alone through the abandoned city.
Light still shone here, but only in the flame she held in her hand. The rest was only in her memories.
She reached the door and slid it open, her light reflecting off pools of water in which plants grew and thrived, as a memory of what had once been.
What her people had torn away from Iscandar and Gamilon.
Her eyes still stung as she remembered those days. Commander Singleton had been like a surrogate father to her, the one who had taught her about the harsh realities of the world. And also of the darkness in people's hearts.
But could anyone have guessed that another people had dared attack their homeworld? Could anyone have anticipated the bombing raids, the nights of constant terror, before what had been their world had ended in smoke and fire?
She remembered that so clearly. She had been serving at Central Hospital that night, the little coincidence that had saved her life. She had just exited the building, glancing up at the sky to spot a late-night raid, when she had seen the streak of red and gold across the sky. The light of something undergoing reentry into the Earth's atmosphere.
And then it had slammed into the earth, and there had been an explosion which consumed all she saw before it went black.
After that, Wildstar had become darker, deadlier. His inclination towards vengeance had gone too far. He had not been merely satisfied with the destruction of those who had attacked Earth without provocation. He had to conquer, so, as he said, no one would ever feel as the people of Earth had felt again.
But, absorbed in his quest, he had noticed that he had become identical to those who he had sworn vengeance against.
It was at Iscandar and Gamilon where she finally decided she could stand by no longer. They were wholly innocent, in alliance which forbade them to attack one another. And since the whole of the Magellanic Clouds were the territory of either one or the other, they had no nearby threats.
She slowly walked through the garden, passing into the final room that somewhat resembled a darkened, miniaturized version of the EDF Headquarters. This was why she was here. An unidentified alert from the message capsule.
Her hands flew across the keyboard as she accessed the data. The route consisted of a maze of interconnected backdoors, with no small amount of hacking. Some would call such precautions paranoid, but there were geniuses in the EDF. Some might turn against her.
The display changed, switching to the alert. There was only a single line of text.
Message received by both parties. Message was viewed and acknowledged.
She smiled for the first time in months, triumph lightening her heart, before she remembered her people. Those she had just betrayed.
Nova lifted her gaze to the stone ceiling, above which, she knew, her closest friend stood.
"I'm sorry, Derek," Nova whispered as tears began to fall from her dark eyes.