Downfall, Prologue
06 Jun 2017User4296
Supercruise, Lave SystemAlliance Space
June 3302
"Cassandra's doing much better," Sidra said. Her lightly freckled visage floated off to one side of the ship's controls, and the date in the lower left corner of the image seemed to indicate that it had been recorded a few days ago.
She brushed her brown hair out of her eyes as she turned the camera, and a blue-haired girl came into view. She was seated at a table, surrounded by people laughing and talking. Cassandra waved at the camera, and the older man sitting next to her, presumably her father, beamed proudly and offered a wave of his own.
The view turned back around, and Sidra's smiling face reappeared on the screen. "It's her birthday," she laughed. "She just turned 20. Her father thought it was a good idea to try and help take her mind of the tests we've been doing to undo what... they did."
Some semblance of normalcy, I thought. Suddenly, the picture turned back around. A door behind Cassandra opened, and an older woman appeared, though she seemed to be a spitting image of Cassandra. Or rather, Cassandra was a spitting image of her mother.
The group began singing "Happy Birthday" as her mother moved to place the cake in front of her. Twenty candles burned brightly atop the cake, and she leaned in to blow them out when the song ended. I couldn't help but crack a smile as the group erupted into cheers.
The image swiveled back around. "It's a shame you couldn't make it, I think she would have wanted to see you. I think we all did," Sidra paused. "Tucker's fine too - we think. We don't get to see him much. I think he feels guilty, so he's been spending extra time in the lab trying to figure how to reverse the genetic changes." She looked over toward Cassandra, then back into the camera. "I think we're close, and we've managed to mitigate the damage so far. Her condition isn't nearly as bad as it was a month or so ago."
The view turned around again. "Cassandra! Anything you want to say to John?"
The blue-haired girl thought for a second, then nodded. "Yeah! Tell him he needs to come visit! I'd like to see him!" she waved at the camera again, and most of the people seated around the table did so as well.
Sidra was laughing as she turned the camera back around. "I guess that's it then. Wherever you are, I just want to say... good luck. And thank you." The screen froze, and a small box with the text "MESSAGE END" appeared on the screen.
I let out a small laugh and pressed the back button on the screen, returning me to the Galnet mail inbox. A small red light blinked from the top of the window, and among the various spam messages - ones promising me increased sexual endurance or an enhanced "manhood" (some offers even cybernetic) - was the new message. I opened it.
Mr. Mathurin,
Come to Avik as soon as you can. There's something you need to see.
Best regards,
Your friend at Sirius Co.