The deed is done. A quiet nod from Alisandra signaled the release of the obsidian egg from its cradle. We felt its departure by a momentary tremor that reverberated throughout the ship. The observation plates tracked its inward course with a thin blue line. The spark at the end of that line moved quickly to meet a hailstorm of lights, the swarm of enemy ships that entered Gateway hours earlier. Satisfied that the orb was safely away, the word went out. Our warships left first, followed by our other sundry craft. In less than an hour, it would appear that the Lazloi had retreated and fled the battlefield. Only The Screaming Fist remained, a solitary speck of light standing before the darkness sweeping across the Gateway system. Since there is no gas giant at Gateway, the abandoned habitats and asteroids of the humans were precious fuel for the enemy to complete its journey. We waited in silence as the blue line swept by the enemy ships. It was easy to forget that millions of kilometres separated us from the enemy, but nevertheless, the advancing ships chose to avoid the line and continued their advance. While we observed the alien progress, listening to the screams and chatter over the radio, we also saw the last of the human ships making ready to leave. If we suspected they could travel onward to the next district, we would have destroyed them too. Some of them may survive this, but what they will see, we cannot say. How ironic it is that we, the children of the Creators, will unleash their oldest powers, yet will not be their witness. There is a palpable sense of relief now our ship is in hyperspace. We have left Gateway with only minutes to spare, knowing that a great cataclysm is about to be unleashed. -- Ayana ny Zenya ny Corsiva hept Zilaerion, First Officer of The Screaming Fist. Image rendered using settings from the InteriorPak by Chipp Walters. V3 and M3 figures, Cybersuit for V3 by Xurge. Bridge model created in Hexagon. Rendered in Vue 6 Pro Studio, with lighting and colour adjustments in Photoshop CS2. What the heck are those spheres you might ask? Hmm, the aftermath of a party game, a ship wide strike by Lazloi janitors? Actually, they are inspired by The Guardian of Piri, an episode of Space 1999, and I have no idea what they are for. Thanks for looking, comments appreciated.