CSV Lanonge - Death Monolouge

[Alleran Tan]

I really enjoyed reading this sim. Very emotional. Clever use of white space and really well paced. Great work, Serinus!

 

((Mercia System, On course for the star))

 

Loneliness, isolation, desertion. It did not feel these things. It couldn't. Empty and alone, the Caladonian Science Vessel Lanonge held no grudges, found no regret. Those who had abandoned it might look fondly upon it and their time there, though the Caladonians weren't known for being overly sentimental, especially about mere tools, they might cherish (in their own way) the relationships they had built with their fellows during their tenure together.

 

It was common knowledge that the void of space is cold. The Lanonge wasn't cold any more. Inside, it's beating heart, the warp engine, continued to break, not of loneliness, but of heat.   Outside, its shields strained under the agony of the star where it would soon make its final mark on the universe.

 

Lanonge: 1 minute to Warp Core breach.

 

Everything it knew was that it was following orders, and that all its perimeters were very much out of order. This did not alarm it, and its impending end did not worry it. 

 

There would be no more scientific endeavors in its future. Like a felled tree, it would never offer shelter to another living being. There wasn't much left to learn.  It would face its final frontier with dignity and professionalism.

 

Pushing through the corona of the star without fear, the shields were assaulted with stellar flares as the CSV Lanonge soldiered on. 

 

Everything was, by any measure, going wrong. But Lanonge would not cry. Lanonge would not fear.  Lanonge knew what it must do. It would complete its task.

 

Marching to its doom, Lanonge charged ahead. Lanonge's straining heart and its battered body were no match for its diamond will. Even though it was fated to lose this struggle, it encroached deeper into the hostile territory. 

 

Lanonge: 10 seconds to warp core breach.

 

The end was imminent. 

 

Lanonge: 9

 

Everyone must say goodbye at some point.

 

Lanonge: 8 

 

The universe was still full of wonders that it would never get to see.

 

Lanonge: 7

 

It counted to itself. 

 

Lanonge: 6

 

It shouted to the star. It felt no ill will. The star was just there. It was its own insides that was going to kill it.

 

Lanonge: 5

 

It sang out to the universe.  I am here, at least for now.

 

Lanonge: 4

 

The pressure in its warp core was increasing what seemed to be expediently.

 

Lanonge: 3

 

The people it had been so close to were gone. Lanonge's people were safe, as far as it knew. 

 

Lanonge: 2

 

What was one exploding warp core in the nuclear furnace of a star, anyway?

 

Lanonge: 1

 

That was it. The song was ending. The precious containment field that held the dying heart together finally failed the Lanonge and caused its own chain reaction that tore Lanonge apart from inside. 

 

Lanonge was no more. No more renowned Caladonian labs where great minds unraveled the secrets of the universe, no more quiet quarters where one could be alone, or busy mess halls where everyone could congregate together.      

 

For a singular moment, an almost imperceptible slice of time, with one last crescendo, the singular voice faded away into the background of the choir that had been singing behind it the entire time.

 

Lanonge was part of the star now, and would always be from this day forth.

 

 

NT/End

 

 

Caladonian Science Vessel Lanonge,

Lost in Action,

Beloved home,

Mercia Star

 

 

As Simmed by:

 

    

 

 

--

- Lieutenant Commander Artinus Serinus

   Chief of Security

   USS Arrow, 

   NCC-69829

   Publicity Team/Social Media Team

 

   C239607AS0 -

[Kirsty L. Carpenter]

I had actually meant to post about this myself! Outstanding work. Truly.