This Isn't About Reya

December 30, 1886 RV

Lars Chernykh had tried desperately to get to Aquilo-Nix before the Nephilim invasion.

His work, however, had prevented him from doing so.

As a scientist under Professor Sergei Alexandrov, head of the AWE Project, Lars Chernykh had been retained by the metel' until such a time as they had deemed safe for him to return.

And when he finally achieved passage to Aquilo-Nix, he warped onto the Dragotsennost' worldship hovering over the Shattered Isles that had once been the capitol planet of the New Soviet Union.

As soon as he was received, he was taken aside by a member of the bledno-pauka and led into a small room to be debriefed.

Lars sat down, shaking, at a metal table in a sterile, metal room. The bledno-pauk that escorted him kept his helmet on, fully adorned in combat armor.

Reports had counted one hundred million Union citizens dead or missing, unaccounted for after Aquilo-Nix had been torn in half. Lars played the statistics over and over in his head, trying to run the calculations in a way that favored the survival of his family.

The odds were not great.

"Please," he begged the bledno-pauk, "can you tell me what's happened to my wife and daughter?"

The bledno-pauk shut the door firmly and turned towards Lars, rifle in hand. 

"I'm here to debrief you on the situation, Dr. Chernykh," the man said through his electronic voice filter. 

"Forget the debriefing!" Lars shouted, slamming his fist onto the top of the table. "Are they dead or alive?"

The bledno-pauk paused for a moment and set his rifle down, leaning the barrel against the wall. He strode calmly up to the desk and looked down at Lars.

Lars rose from his chair, his hands trembling at his sides. He stared at the bledno-pauk's faceless helm, his body clammy and shaking.

"Dr. Chernykh," the bledno-pauk said, "I regret to inform you that both your wife and daughter were confirmed dead during the invasion."

Lars broke his stare away from the bledno-pauk and slowly lowered himself back into his chair. He sat there for a moment, breathing heavily, before breaking down and sobbing, his hands gripping the baldness of his head.

The bledno-pauk stood attentively and waited.

After a few minutes, Lars regained his composure and wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. He looked up at the bledno-pauk with a simmering anger.

"It was the Professor, wasn't it?" he asked quietly. His hands were balled up into fists on top of the table. "The Professor ordered the Quoc Quyet to tear the planet."

The bledno-pauk did not reply.

Lars took this as confirmation. He looked down at this ists and breathed heavily for a few moments longer.

"Get on with your damned debriefing," he spat.

"As you wish, sir," the bledno-pauk replied.

He pulled a handgun from the side of his hip, aimed it squarely and Lars Chernykh's forehead, and pulled the trigger.