The ALKEN ship hovered above the dead sky of Gestronio.
Below them stretched a silent wasteland – thick green mist coiling like smoke from a poisoned grave. The cracked ground pulsed faintly, as if something beneath still breathed. No visible life. No clear signals. Just that feeling. That nauseating hum in the bones.
In the command bridge, Londo stood alone. Lana had just left to brief the intel team. Her boots still echoed faintly down the hall.
Perfect timing.
He approached the weapons console and whispered, "Activate 78TA."
The system beeped. "Unauthorized antimatter launch. Confirm?" His finger hovered over the confirmation pad. A smirk. "Confirmed."
From the ship's underbelly, a long missile – silver, gleaming, glowing like compressed lightning – detached, swirled, and shot down through the atmosphere.
Inside the dressing bay, Kiara was busy locking a strap across her thigh. Her bra peeked slightly from the half-zipped suit. "God, this thing is tighter than Taze's jawline."
Taze stood nearby, adjusting his chest plate. "You want function or fashion?"
She grinned. "You know me. I shoot better when I feel sexy."
Suddenly—
BOOOOOM.
The entire ship rocked violently.
The lights flickered. Screens shook. A few helmets fell off their hooks. Then silence.
On the main screen, Gestronio was burning. Not just on fire, erasing. Entire mountain ranges imploded. Forests twisted, turned to liquid. The sky warped black.
In the restroom down the hall, Steven sat on the toilet, pants by his ankles, muttering, "I swear, if someone knocks right now, I will kill again."
A rumble. A shake. The room lit up white.
Steven shouted, "WHAT THE F—"
In the intel room, Kimberly clutched her headset. "I just lost all surface data. The entire bio-grid's offline."
Anna rushed in, eyes wide. "What the hell was that? Lana didn't authorize anything!"
"She must have!" Kimberly yelled. "That blast came from us!"
On the bridge, Lana charged back in, eyes blazing. "Londo, talk to me. What the HELL did you just fire?"
Londo widened his eyes in perfect performance. "The panel… it glitched! It launched on its own!"
"You're telling me the antimatter bomb just 'accidentally' deployed?"
"I'm telling you we need to contain this before Earth finds out. Contact Leonardo."
Lana stared at him for three seconds too long. Then turned away.
In the corridor, Kiara ran to the window, helmet in hand. "Holy shit. The entire planet…"
Taze joined her. "Gone. Just like that."
She whispered, "He said we were going to scan. Not… erase."
In the control room, Anna began typing furiously.
In her head: This isn't over. I know you did this on purpose, Londo. I just don't know why.
Back in the ship's underframe, through the engine exhaust shaft, something slithered in. It had no shape. No mind. Just hunger.
A glob. Green. Sticky. Alive.
The thing that survived.
It moved through vents, passing lights, wires, and steel. It didn't burn. It didn't slow. It learned.
Then it heard a sound. Flushing.
Grunting. Sighing.
It followed the noise.
In the restroom, Steven wiped his face with toilet paper, already fed up with existing. "I swear, I feel lighter and emptier than Londo's soul."
Then…
Plop.
A wet drop landed on his shoulder. He looked up. "What in the—"
The glob launched forward, straight into his right ear.
Steven screamed. It wasn't loud—it was animalistic. His whole body slammed back into the wall. Feet kicked. Toilet paper flew. His tongue twisted in his mouth like it was choking him.
And then—stillness.
A pause.
His green eyes fluttered… and stayed open.
Steven stood up.
Breathed.
Looked in the mirror.
No smirk. No sarcasm. Just… blank. Almost peaceful.
He zipped up. Washed his hands. Looked at his reflection.
"...Interesting."
In the girls' room, Anna clutched a datapad, fingers flying. Kiara was putting on the last pieces of her armor, still rattled.
"I don't care what Londo says," Anna muttered. "That launch was intentional. Nobody just 'accidentally' fires an antimatter bomb."
"I mean," Kiara replied, "who among us hasn't launched a warhead by mistake while fixing their eyeliner?"
Anna snorted despite herself.
Down the hallway, Taze stood alone, arms crossed. He stared at the weapon rack, deep in thought. He could feel something was off. Something shifted. He just didn't know what.
In the control room, Kimberly rewound footage, confused. "There's… there's no data of life signs, and yet… something moved. After the blast."
"False reading?" Anna asked, stepping in.
"I don't think so."
Elsewhere… far away…
Earth
A private luxury suite. Purple curtains. Glass desk. A decanter of dark liqueur.
Caitlyn Theresa sat on a velvet couch, legs crossed, in a tight purple tank top and matching shorts. Her long hair—wet from a rare shower—dripped onto her shoulders.
She stared at the screen. Footage from her private drone showed the launch, the missile, and the planet being wiped clean.
Her lips curled—not in joy, but in satisfaction.
"So he actually did it. You broke protocol, you dumb bastard."
She hit a button. The footage was uploaded to her encrypted cloud.
The drone exploded in orbit.
She sipped her drink, eyes sharp.
"Now I own your ass, Londo. Play smart."
She leaned back.
"I love being one step ahead."
Back on the ALKEN ship…
A soft creak.
The restroom door opened.
Steven stepped out.
Same body. Same hair. Same eyes. But the way he walked—too smooth. The way he looked around—too precise.
He walked through the hall like it wasn't his first time. Like it wasn't even his body.
Anna passed him in the opposite direction. She stopped. Blinked. Looked him up and down.
"Steven. Are you serious? Did you just crap through an entire apocalypse?! You absolute pig!!"
Steven turned slowly.
Paused.
Stared at her.
His head tilted slightly. One second too long.
Then he smiled.
Not wide. Not mischievous. Just enough to look human.
And he whispered.
"…Apocalypse is relative."
Anna frowned. "What?"
He kept walking.
Didn't look back.
Didn't blink.
Just walked down the hall.
Anna stood still for a moment, suddenly cold.
She didn't know why.
To be continued.