The Longest Night
07 Dec 2024Rawnu
Sirius is quiet now. At least, as quiet as a system can be after a battle like that. The wreckage of Thargoid interceptors drifts alongside the remains of ships that fought to defend them—our ships. The Gallifrey’s hull bears the scars of the fight, but she held together. She always does.I don’t have time to reflect. Duamta is already calling, and after that, Tau Ceti. The fight never stops. But I caught the latest GalNet updates during the jump, and they’ve left me colder than the void.
Cocijo has reached Sol. Earth is under siege. Mars High, my last port before leaving Sol, is barely functional. Galileo and Haberlandt are holding on by threads. Billions are stranded, and the rescue megaships... torn apart like paper. I can’t stop thinking about the Federal Haven, its signal lost minutes after arrival.
I should be there. Every jump I make farther from Sol feels like a betrayal. Somewhere down there, on Earth’s surface, my old commune is still standing, I hope. I can almost see them—faces lifted to the sky, wondering if the war will reach their doorstep. They’ve survived on their own for so long, so many centuries, but this? I don’t know if even their resilience can outlast a Titan.
But the fight isn’t just in Sol. Cocijo’s defenses are vast, spreading like venom through the surrounding systems. Clearing Sirius was necessary, but it felt hollow. Duamta is next, and I can already see the battle ahead: another system drowning in smoke and flames, civilians scrambling for safety, and a dwindling AX fleet giving everything it has. We win here so others can stand there. That’s the justification. It’s all I have to hold on to.
Tanner called this the Thargoids’ final checkmate. I wish I could believe it. Cocijo’s arrival feels less like an ending and more like a beginning. Seo Jin-ae warned us the Thargoids were learning, adapting, but no one wanted to listen. Now here we are.
I can feel the tension growing with each fight. My hyperspace condition hasn’t flared up in years, but Triton still lingers in my mind. The fractured memories, the unshakable sense of being watched—what if Seo was right? What if this isn’t just war?
Every engagement feels personal now. Every Thargoid I destroy is one less that might reach Sol, one less that might darken the skies above Earth. I tell myself it’s enough. It has to be enough.
When this battle in Duamta is done, I’ll push to Tau Ceti. The reports say it’s already a war zone, and I know the fight there will be worse than anything I’ve seen so far. But I’ll keep going. I’ll keep fighting. Because for every minute I hold the line, someone in Sol has a better chance of surviving.
The Earth remembers. The Earth defends. And so will I.