Thalen Veyra

Epilogue — The Imperial Archive Date: 3162.11.02 Location: Solarae Prime, Imperial Command Center Lieutenant Commander Thalen Veyra sat in the dimmed briefing room, the hum of hovering drones casting faint reflections across the polished holotables. Before her, a secure data core blinked insistently, freshly arrived from the ISS Vigilant Dawn. The automated message from Erebus—the ship’s AI—had reached Imperial space faster than expected. She keyed the interface, and the holoprojector flared to life, revealing the jagged corridors, flickering lights, and desperate final acts of the crew. Veyra’s eyes widened as she scrolled through the transmissions: The meticulous commands of Captain [REDACTED], overriding systems manually. Vice Captain Aria Venn’s valiant leadership, coordinating trapped crew, staving off Hive incursions. Varik Juno and Nyssa Vey working frantically to stabilize the engines. The Hive’s relentless assaults—Elara’s creations, Lira Halden’s insidious manipulations, Ralen Vos now a pawn of the Hive. The terrifying presence of the Hunter and Serah Korrin stalking the lower decks. Each log revealed not only the tactical brilliance and courage of the crew but also the horrors they endured—the sacrifices, the friends lost, the impossible decisions they made in the name of stopping the Hive. Veyra’s gaze lingered on the final entries. The Dead-Man Signal sequence, initiated by the Captain, had been executed flawlessly. Erebus had complied with unyielding logic, AURA powerless against the code. The ISS Vigilant Dawn had been destroyed in orbit around Eretheon-6, leaving no survivors, but preventing the Hive from spreading beyond the ship. The officer exhaled slowly. There was grief here, but also awe—every recorded moment told of resilience, ingenuity, and unwavering duty. In a quiet corner of the holoprojector, Captain [REDACTED]’s command directives glowed—a legend immortalized in protocol and sacrifice.