Three weeks in orbit, my dear Ilya…with only my ship-brothers for company. My crew doesn’t count, and I cannot say why. Perhaps it is because they are wholly human and do not feel the entire galaxy when they swim. We’ve arrived (as you dreaded) at Borov. There is nothing here. A world, yes…its shattered moon dusts the sky, dead cities litter its face. Tsvetaeva’s Veil glows in the darkness. Her nebular gasses are cold and only refract starlight; there are no native emission sources inside, though my brothers and I have seen the occasional red glow of compression fronts. Something is happening within the cloud. Mass/Grav interrogations reveal FTL activity. Someone (or something) is jumping into the nebula. The fleet behind us has not yet arrived. They will remain at Kesk until we’ve surveyed this entire system. I am afraid of what may happen, Ilyichka, and I need to tell you things that I could not when I wore nothing more than my human flesh. You read to me, on our last shared night in Zotovka. I remember the city lights. I remember the moons, half full over Pushkin Bay, I remember the salt on your cheeks, and the lock of hair you cut on that spot. Our spot. On the beach. You placed it in my hand. I placed it in my pocket. I still have it. I’ll never let it beyond my possession. And now, when I think of it, I think of the words you read to me, the ancient ones in Terran-Rüs. Marina Tsvetaeva doesn’t know that her words have lived for so long. She doesn’t know that there is a place in the stars named for her, and she doesn’t know (though I think she’ll understand) our friendship, and how her ancient scribblings now stand as a shared mark between us. I’ve accessed my files, and I’ve found a thing to say to you. There will come a time when all of this is over. We will have won the challenge that stands before us, but I might not survive. If not, when it is safe to do so, come to Borov, and remember the words that I’m about to say to you: “A strawberry, pluck it, eat it! It’s there, near the very ground. No berries are ever sweeter Than those in a graveyard found.” I’m such a maudlin sentimentalist, I know, and those words will sadden you. I am cruel in this way, my dear Ilychka…but please understand. I may not live to see you again, but in time, humans will rise above what comes this way. When this happens, come to Borov with someone else who loves you, and remember to take some sweetness from this place. It’s the one thing I wish my mission here could give to you. --From the Testament of the Nemaean Deep Space Military cruiser Bear Claw: recognized in human aspect as Dmitry-Nikolaevich Borogov. (Translated from High Nemaen by C. Charles Negron. Image of the military cruisers Bear Claw, Talon, and Eagle derived from in-system Tactical Survey Pickets deployed prior to Nemaean 28th Fleet entry into the Borov system. The vessel in the highest planetary orbit has been identified as the Bear Claw.) *** As always, thank you for viewing, reading and commenting. And yeah, I still have to catch up on peeking into galleries! I hope to do so by mid-week.