Humanity Endures

Part 3 - Light's End | Chapter 1

"The elimination of all non-Tekran last names tens of millennia ago, while a triumph for individualism, has resulted in some really unfortunate people being condemned with names such as, for example, Uletharnimahcxililxviancxlzihana. Unique? Yes! Easy to remember or use in conversation? Well, you try and pronounce it!"

— Uletharnimahcxililxviancxlzihana, Annoyed Citizen

***

Velan snapped awake, not to the blaring sound of any manner of alarm, but to the subtle, mental prodding of his implants, which acted in accordance with instructions he had set before he had fallen asleep a few hours ago. The many well-hidden lights in his personal quarters automatically activated and began to shine at roughly an eighth of their maximum luminosity, while a minuscule amount of MECS — Mentally Enhancing Combat Stimulant, a drug used throughout the military to clear the mind, energize the user, focus one's thoughts, and remove the need for sleep during combat situations — was introduced into his system to wake him up quicker; Light's End was a mere fifteen minutes away. When Velan got to his feet after roughly ten seconds of thought, he quickly became unbalanced to the point where he almost tumbled backwards onto his bed; the Nemesis was steadily decelerating before it reached its destination, and, having been tied to Earth for a year, Velan was out of practice when it came to life on a warship. Steadying himself against a nearby wall, Velan slowly walked across the room so as to reach his wardrobe and get dressed — not only was nightwear unsuitable as battle-garb, but risking one's life to save the galaxy is all the more pleasant when one looks fittingly glorious. As Velan continued to tentatively tread across his room, holding a wall for stability, he gradually felt more stable on his feet, despite the continued deceleration of his ship and the buffeting forces of the golden void: though he was currently out of practice, it seemingly didn't require that much time to get back in.

Growing confident at this assumption, Velan, changing out of his old, sweat-stained garment, foolishly let go of his wall, and almost fell on his face. As he recovered, he remarked to himself, "Fifteen minutes away from a possibly deadly black hole system, and I can barely walk on my own ship. That's just fantastic!"

Quickly dressing, and checking the ammunition of his sidearm — he had a "gut feeling" that he would need it — Velan, getting more of a feel for the deceleration, strode confidently out of his modest chamber and through the halls of his vessel. Velan forsook hyperspheres entirely, as he wanted to acclimate to his vessel some more, and to see more of his crew, before he possibly died along with them. Growing steadier with each step he took, and being eager to get back to his ship's bridge, Velan began to jog, and, as his vessel was less than two kilometers across, it was but a few minutes until he arrived at the most important room on his vessel, not having even broken a sweat.

Once Velan arrived at his bridge, he noted that the room's singular reinforced door was already open, though after a moment's thought he realized that this should have been unsurprising: with arrival imminent, people had been entering the room sporadically, but still consistently enough, that opening and closing the massive thing for every newcomer was simply inefficient. Though it was contrary to naval regulations, which dictated that the door be closed so that the bridge was less vulnerable to infiltration and assault, Velan rightfully saw this as a non-concern: even if Light's End held some unknowable danger, he hadn't arrived yet. Walking through the conveniently open door, Velan once again allowed himself to relish the sight of his bridge — currently occupied by about half the officers that were supposed to be there, including Ralthina and Terxah, but no other senior staff — but he did this only momentarily, as time was now a limited resource. Instead of gawking at the action, Velan strode down to his chair, interfaced with the systems of his vessel, and, in doing so, became a part of it.