Establishing Connection...
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The International Space Station (ISS) was humanity's foremost orbital installation, a cutting-edge experimental facility with a long history, and a symbol of global collaboration in scientific research.
Positioned in low Earth orbit at an altitude of 25,000 kilometers, it was primarily used to conduct experiments in Field Physics during the early Golden Age. Shortly after the Grand Unified Theory was verified, the first gravity generation and manipulation experiment in human history was carried out aboard the station. Korolev, the station's AI mascot, was tasked with communicating the latest developments in scientific theory to the public in accessible terms.
When the Punishing Virus reached orbit, it penetrated the hull and subverted the station's core AI. Nearly all personnel were killed; a small number of scientists were evacuated before the quarantine window closed. As the infection spread, gravity went out of control, drawing in Punishing Virus clusters and spacecraft debris, causing the station to grow continuously larger.
Under viral control, the AI converted accumulated debris into functional weapon systems, including Punishing-corrupted drones, short-range interceptors, and high-velocity conversion probes.
Babylonia has maintained an orbital standoff with the station for years. Without sufficient experienced pilots, a direct assault was not viable. Repeated recon missions on the station's surface yielded no results and led to the loss of personnel. Attrition remained the only available strategy. As probe attacks escalated recently and the situation reached a critical point, Babylonia began recalling elite ground forces from surface operations. Ultimately, Babylonia decided to eliminate the corrupted space station.
The Engineering Force and the Cosmos Technician Union jointly developed a directed-energy railgun, designated the Prism. The weapon delivers a concentrated high-energy beam through a relay satellite network, designed to penetrate the station's interior and strike the infected core directly. Karenina is specifically assigned to operate the weapon system due to her proficiency with high-output energy weapons. Due to the ISS's strong broadcast signal and variable interference, Asimov, Chief Technical Officer of the Science Council, monitors the interference cycle to find the optimal window for the Prism to achieve precise firing.
Watanabe of the Forsaken arrived at Babylonia's command center in person to negotiate, despite remaining on Babylonia's wanted list. He offered the Forsaken's best Fenrir pilots and his troops to reinforce Babylonia's space forces and presented his terms directly to President Hassen. Babylonia officially agreed to release surface intelligence data to the Forsaken and share selected technologies from the upgraded Inver-Device program, among other concessions.
The operation is structured in three concurrent phases:
Liv reports we are 300 kilometers out. Through the viewport, I can already see the debris field surrounding the station rotating slowly in the dark. Construct pilots from Babylonia's space forces take up escort positions alongside our shuttle.
Punishing corrupted drones intercept us at high speed. The escort holds, drawing most of them away from our approach vector, but the detonations are close enough that the hull vibrates with each one. One escort aircraft takes a direct hit and breaks off, trailing debris. The pilot tells us to hold course and not deviate. We hold the course at full speed and break through.
[Timestamp: +10m]
We decelerate as the station comes into view. It is enormous for something technically smaller than Babylonia. Its surface is covered in salvaged debris, and the viral core has fused into new structures over the years. Asimov's interference warning proves accurate: signal contact with allied forces drops to nothing the moment we enter range. We are, for practical purposes, alone out here.
Liv reads multiple weapon locks simultaneously. Lee identifies the source: short-range interceptors. Multiple flares fly toward us. One salvo catches our shuttle before we can maneuver clear. Lee calls for an emergency landing. Lucia confirms hull breach over the comm. We are approaching the surface. The landing is rough.
[Timestamp: +5m]
We manage to land at the designated location: the data analysis cabin. Lee surveys the area and observes that every terminal in the cabin appears abnormal, consistent with prior mission reports documenting a localized corruption phenomenon unique to the ISS. After a brief sweep, we encounter our first enemy: a cross-shaped entity that does not match any entries in our standard threat database. Liv's preliminary scan confirms that it is not composed of any known conventional machinery; instead, it is made entirely of the Punishing Virus.
We clear the observation cabin. Liv successfully disables the station's external sensor systems. The station's automated broadcast system activates immediately after, looping throughout the interior. The broadcast is identified as Korolev. The tone is oddly cheerful, directed at children. It has been running continuously since we landed.
Celica reaches us through a degraded signal. Babylonia has just launched a relay satellite to restore partial communications. She confirms that destroying the observation cabin has sharply reduced the space station's beyond-visual-range attack accuracy. Babylonia is no longer at immediate risk and is repositioning. She tells us to proceed with the original mission.
The relay satellite goes down mid-transmission. Signal contact drops again. Someone on the station targeted it.
The compartments are in continuous motion. Navigation is unreliable. Liv is running comparisons to map a route, but the layout keeps shifting. The broadcast then directs us toward the next compartment, and green arrows light up along the corridor. Lee points out that someone on this station is watching us.
[Timestamp: +15m]
We reach the second target location: the weapon control system. The same cross-shaped entities are guarding the area. Liv accesses the control system directly while we defend her position. After several minutes, all the station's weapon control systems go offline. Subsequent main forces can begin issuing boarding signals.
The route to the control center runs through the main passage, but the station AI has sealed the airtight valve, blocking our path. Every terminal near the valve is covered in a thick black material. There is no way to interface with them. We do not have enough firepower to force the valve open directly.
A comm request comes in. It is Watanabe. He tells us to immediately stand clear of the valve. His signal is close. A low howl travels down the passage from the other side, followed by weapons fire and detonations striking the valve from within.
Watanabe is piloting an aircraft through the interior passageway when he realizes that the valve does not fully open. He decides to exit the cockpit, steps out, and lets the aircraft go. It crashes into the valve and detonates, successfully opening the passage. Watanabe lands clean on the other side. We meet again.
Lee observes that Watanabe's frame demonstrates exceptional acceleration and flexibility, surpassing the capabilities of standard Construct hardware. Watanabe explains that Babylonia has a tradition of building high-performance frames for Constructs with remarkable track records. His frame dates to when he was still in Babylonia. High performance, not new. How he kept it after defection is not a question he considers himself obligated to answer.
We ask why he is here. He replies that he made a deal with Babylonia and, more importantly, that an Ascendant has already boarded the station. He notices an unidentified aircraft with no faction markings has landed and torn a large opening in the hull.
[Timestamp: +12m]
The entire station starts to tremble. The connections between compartments begin to separate, layer by layer. Through the viewport, entire sections are already breaking away and drifting into open space. Some compartments depressurize too rapidly, causing their contents to be expelled outward. Babylonia troops from the landing wave are caught in the chaos.
Watanabe explains that by destroying the observation cabin and the weapon control system, the station has lost its external attack and defense functions. Now that Babylonia's main force has begun to land, the station's immune system has been triggered. The temporary disintegration does not equate to permanent destruction; the gravity core can attract and reintegrate nearby matter, just as it has done before. The station can be rebuilt. However, the ongoing expulsion is lethal to anyone caught inside.
A few minutes later, Liv reports that the Virus's logical contamination of the control system is weakening, likely a side effect of the expulsion process. Lee identifies that the electromagnetic lock is still active. It is an old system. Liv requests at least five minutes to hack unlock it.
[Timestamp: +5m]
The hack succeeds. All cabin locks have been reconfigured, with only 72% of compartments now online. Lee has copied the station's log data while the lock was initializing. The database has been contaminated, but Liv filters what she can recover—the log documents how the station arrived at its current state.
All allied signals are converging on the gravity device at the core. We move.
We arrived at the gravity cabin. The core ring path is blocked by Korolev, a ball-shaped, military-grade Corrupted robot equipped with heavy firearms. It wants to punish and put us in a confinement cabin for not complying with the station's regulations. By punishment, it means death.
The battle took a heavy toll. The platform in the gravity cabin cannot hold. The fighting tears the platform apart and separates the team. Lee and Liv keep firing, but Korolev does not register any damage from their attack. Watanabe observes that it is targeting me. Its weapon modules are still preparing the next salvo despite the damage already on its frame.
A comm channel opens: the Demolition Squad. Explosives have been placed on the gravity cabin wall structure. Final detonation is imminent. All personnel are instructed to switch to vacuum mode immediately.
A massive explosion tears down the cabin wall. Everything is sucked outward by the enormous negative pressure. Lucia drives her blade into the deck and holds Liv with her free hand. Liv fights to keep her Levi-Guns from being pulled away. Watanabe grabs the shattered platform and reaches out toward me. With his support as an anchor, I get a clear line on Korolev's weak point and fire. The hit lands on its optical sensor. It loses balance and falls into the open vacuum space.
Through the breach in the wall, a relay satellite is visible outside. Karenina comms in: the Prism is ready. Once the core is stabilized, send the signal; timing cannot be early or late.
Advancing toward the gravity core, we reach a ring section where Heteromer shards are scattered across the platform surfaces. Forcing a direct path risks triggering them into combat forms. The unlocking sequences are embedded in the earlier-recovered log data, but the Punishing Virus has contaminated the specific entries, rendering them unreadable. We have no clean route forward.
A comm signal request from somewhere above, she introduces herself: Ayla, a member of the WGAA 2nd Archaeological Team. Both Liv and Lee recognize the name, a well-regarded young artist in Babylonia.
Her mission is to locate and recover Selena, a Construct she describes as a close friend. Selena had obtained full access to the station's internal database before her signal went dark, and she has already identified information relevant to us specifically: the design logic of these rings. Given Selena's current state, she cannot transmit the data directly; it must pass through Ayla first. We accept her guidance. Liv begins recording.
[Timestamp: +5m]
After clearing the puzzle in the ring core, Ayla's comm cuts. The signal is replaced by interference. Liv traces her last known position to a disconnected compartment; she was engaged with the Ascendant. Suddenly, an airtight valve on an upper section detonates outward. A large silhouette drops from the breach and lands on our platform with enough force to fracture the deck. A mechanoid in a heavy black coat and bowler hat. It does not move to attack. It stands and looks at Lucia. Watanabe identifies him immediately: an Ascendant—Liv and Lee fire probing shots. Every round deflects off the surface of the coat, which is made from a special material.
Before Watanabe and Lucia move to engage, Ayla drops from above before either of them can act. Her scythe comes down in a full-commit strike. The Ascendant raises one arm and stops it without effort. As the coat lifts on the impact side, its other hand becomes visible, holding the incomplete frame of a Construct.
Ayla pulls back and demands that he return Selena. The Ascendant does not respond. It looks at Lucia once more, retreats to a nearby floating platform, and moves away without engaging further. Ayla pursues without hesitation. She tells us not to let her disrupt the mission. Our objective takes priority over hers. She will not let the Ascendant escape.
The platforms at the gravity core are stable. We push in.
An energy pulse transmits from the center of the room. Crimson lightning strikes across the platform surface. Where it lands, Punishing Heteromers coalesce on contact and assemble into combat units within seconds. A Construct squad leader calls out: their unit will hold the formed enemies. Gray Raven is to keep full focus on the core itself.
We engage the Hetero-Core directly. Sustained fire deforms its outer surface; it shifts and adjusts shape in response to each hit. No structural damage registers. Lee begins tracking how many forms it can take. We keep suppressing it and find the weak point.
Watanabe says it is probably time to use the secret weapon. Lucia opens the channel. Karenina is already on the line. The Prism railgun has been fully charged for some time. Watanabe will send a fire signal to Karenina from the inside. Karenina acknowledges that Babylonia's command has already granted his authorization.
[Timestamp: +6m]
Watanabe calls the signal. Lucia orders all squads to evacuate the core immediately.
In Babylonia's command room, Karenina slams the launch control. The entire Babylonia seems to have moved slightly. A concentrated beam fires up into the relay satellite, passes through the lens array, bends along the horizon, and approaches the station from above.
Seconds later, a high-energy beam penetrates the breach in the gravity room and strikes the Hetero-Core with a precision hit. The beam burns through the core, rapidly vaporizing its surface. The process is witnessed by every single member of Babylonia and the Forsaken troops.
The beam stops. The burning outer layer of the Hetero-Core falls away. At the center of the platform, a cube striped in black and red is revealed. Its surface is smooth and undamaged, with no impact marks.
The first shot hit a shell. All physical characteristics observed by recon teams beforehand were a deliberate disguise. The second round is fully charged, but it is too late. The station absorbed the full impact of the beam and is now rotating. The relay satellite can no longer maintain a targeting solution.
Liv tracks the core gathering mass again. More energy builds at its base. The station continues to rotate slowly. Sunlight from Earth fills the room through the skylight. A shockwave emits from the base of the Hetero-Core. It wraps the surrounding material and ejects it through the gravity room entrance under its own propulsion, accelerating directly toward Earth.
Watanabe reacts before anyone else. He opens a channel to all Forsaken units to retreat from the space station immediately. Watanabe turns and runs toward the gravity room's exit without looking back. The remaining Babylonia group, and we are left standing. There is nothing we can do right now.
[Timestamp: +10m]
Outside the station, Watanabe has boarded a Fenrir and is in full pursuit of the Hetero-Core as it accelerates toward Earth.
Four nuclear warheads launch from his aircraft.
Watanabe pushes the throttle to its limit. The Fenrir rolls hard and fights for separation distance. A few seconds later, the warheads intersect the Punishing core. Fire fills the sky miles above Earth. The detonation is visible from the station.
Watanabe's signal is gone. All Forsaken unit signals are also gone.
The space station assault is assessed as a success. Babylonia forces are actively clearing the remaining Corrupted from the station's interior. Salvage teams are recovering usable documents and records from intact compartments before the structure degrades further.
The Hetero-Core was not completely destroyed. It self-ejected from the gravity room under its own propulsion and descended toward Earth. Watanabe intercepted the core by Fenrir and fired nuclear warheads directly at it. The detonation consumed all Forsaken signals simultaneously. Watanabe's current status is missing in action. Babylonia has confirmed it does not have the resources to mount a dedicated search operation at this time.
The Science Council has received all recovered log data and has begun a formal investigation and study on the Heteromer. Preliminary review by Asimov indicates that the Hetero-Core is not a standard Punishing Heteromer. Its disguised outer shell and autonomous self-ejection behavior suggest a level of coordination that exceeds that of any previously observed specimen. A detailed analysis is currently underway.
The core's descent trajectory placed its impact point somewhere on Earth's surface. Its current location is estimated to land on Asslam, a massive Eurasian train and mobile trading city governed by the Akdilek Commercial Alliance.
International Space Station
DestroyedLOC-ISS // Space
The Corrupted International Space Station
Positioned in low Earth orbit at an altitude of 25,000 kilometers, it was primarily used to conduct experiments in Field Physics during the early Golden Age. Shortly after the Grand Unified Theory was verified, the first gravity generation and manipulation experiment in human history was carried out aboard the station. Korolev, the station's AI mascot, was tasked with communicating the latest developments in scientific theory to the public in accessible terms.
When the Punishing Virus reached orbit, it penetrated the hull and subverted the station's core AI. Nearly all personnel were killed; a small number of scientists were evacuated before the quarantine window closed. As the infection spread, gravity went out of control, drawing in Punishing Virus clusters and spacecraft debris, causing the station to grow continuously larger.
Under viral control, the AI converted accumulated debris into functional weapon systems, including Punishing-corrupted drones, short-range interceptors, and high-velocity conversion probes.
Babylonia has maintained an orbital standoff with the station for years. Without sufficient experienced pilots, a direct assault was not viable. Repeated recon missions on the station's surface yielded no results and led to the loss of personnel. Attrition remained the only available strategy. As probe attacks escalated recently and the situation reached a critical point, Babylonia began recalling elite ground forces from surface operations. Ultimately, Babylonia decided to eliminate the corrupted space station.
The following logs were transcribed from Gray Raven Commandant. Timestamps are approximate.
Watanabe of the Forsaken arrived at Babylonia's command center in person to negotiate, despite remaining on Babylonia's wanted list. He offered the Forsaken's best Fenrir pilots and his troops to reinforce Babylonia's space forces and presented his terms directly to President Hassen. Babylonia officially agreed to release surface intelligence data to the Forsaken and share selected technologies from the upgraded Inver-Device program, among other concessions.
The operation is structured in three concurrent phases:
- Phase 1 — Air Clearance: Forsaken Fenrir pilots, operating alongside Babylonia's space forces, are tasked with clearing the Corrupted drone field surrounding the station. Their objective is to suppress external interception long enough to open a viable landing corridor for the Task Force.
- Phase 2 — Surface Infiltration: All available Task Force squads, including Gray Raven, are to land on the station's surface and push into the interior. Their primary objectives are the station's observation room and its internal weapon control systems, to disable the station's attack and defense capabilities, and create the conditions for the main landing force to board. Once the interior is accessible, the Demolition Squad will place explosives on the gravity cabin wall to create an opening aligned with the Prism's firing arc.
- Phase 3 — Prism Fire: With the gravity cabin breached and the infected core exposed, the Prism will fire through the relay satellite network. The high-energy beam will travel along the satellite's lens path and strike the corrupted Gravity Core inside. The Task Force on the station will send the fire signal once the core is confirmed stabilized.
Punishing corrupted drones intercept us at high speed. The escort holds, drawing most of them away from our approach vector, but the detonations are close enough that the hull vibrates with each one. One escort aircraft takes a direct hit and breaks off, trailing debris. The pilot tells us to hold course and not deviate. We hold the course at full speed and break through.
[Timestamp: +10m]
ISS from the Shuttle's viewport
Liv reads multiple weapon locks simultaneously. Lee identifies the source: short-range interceptors. Multiple flares fly toward us. One salvo catches our shuttle before we can maneuver clear. Lee calls for an emergency landing. Lucia confirms hull breach over the comm. We are approaching the surface. The landing is rough.
[Timestamp: +5m]
We manage to land at the designated location: the data analysis cabin. Lee surveys the area and observes that every terminal in the cabin appears abnormal, consistent with prior mission reports documenting a localized corruption phenomenon unique to the ISS. After a brief sweep, we encounter our first enemy: a cross-shaped entity that does not match any entries in our standard threat database. Liv's preliminary scan confirms that it is not composed of any known conventional machinery; instead, it is made entirely of the Punishing Virus.
ADDENDUM I: The Heteromer Terminal is the AI management module of the space station, now taken over by a superior Corrupted entity in a cross shape, composed entirely of Punishing Virus. It appears to be able to decompose and reconstruct itself, creating additional enemy units.
Heteromer Terminal
Celica reaches us through a degraded signal. Babylonia has just launched a relay satellite to restore partial communications. She confirms that destroying the observation cabin has sharply reduced the space station's beyond-visual-range attack accuracy. Babylonia is no longer at immediate risk and is repositioning. She tells us to proceed with the original mission.
The relay satellite goes down mid-transmission. Signal contact drops again. Someone on the station targeted it.
The compartments are in continuous motion. Navigation is unreliable. Liv is running comparisons to map a route, but the layout keeps shifting. The broadcast then directs us toward the next compartment, and green arrows light up along the corridor. Lee points out that someone on this station is watching us.
[Timestamp: +15m]
We reach the second target location: the weapon control system. The same cross-shaped entities are guarding the area. Liv accesses the control system directly while we defend her position. After several minutes, all the station's weapon control systems go offline. Subsequent main forces can begin issuing boarding signals.
A comm request comes in. It is Watanabe. He tells us to immediately stand clear of the valve. His signal is close. A low howl travels down the passage from the other side, followed by weapons fire and detonations striking the valve from within.
Watanabe is making a landing
Lee observes that Watanabe's frame demonstrates exceptional acceleration and flexibility, surpassing the capabilities of standard Construct hardware. Watanabe explains that Babylonia has a tradition of building high-performance frames for Constructs with remarkable track records. His frame dates to when he was still in Babylonia. High performance, not new. How he kept it after defection is not a question he considers himself obligated to answer.
We ask why he is here. He replies that he made a deal with Babylonia and, more importantly, that an Ascendant has already boarded the station. He notices an unidentified aircraft with no faction markings has landed and torn a large opening in the hull.
[Timestamp: +12m]
The entire station starts to tremble. The connections between compartments begin to separate, layer by layer. Through the viewport, entire sections are already breaking away and drifting into open space. Some compartments depressurize too rapidly, causing their contents to be expelled outward. Babylonia troops from the landing wave are caught in the chaos.
Watanabe explains that by destroying the observation cabin and the weapon control system, the station has lost its external attack and defense functions. Now that Babylonia's main force has begun to land, the station's immune system has been triggered. The temporary disintegration does not equate to permanent destruction; the gravity core can attract and reintegrate nearby matter, just as it has done before. The station can be rebuilt. However, the ongoing expulsion is lethal to anyone caught inside.
A few minutes later, Liv reports that the Virus's logical contamination of the control system is weakening, likely a side effect of the expulsion process. Lee identifies that the electromagnetic lock is still active. It is an old system. Liv requests at least five minutes to hack unlock it.
[Timestamp: +5m]
The hack succeeds. All cabin locks have been reconfigured, with only 72% of compartments now online. Lee has copied the station's log data while the lock was initializing. The database has been contaminated, but Liv filters what she can recover—the log documents how the station arrived at its current state.
- See Glossary: Heteromer
- See Glossary: Heteromerization
All allied signals are converging on the gravity device at the core. We move.
Korolev
The battle took a heavy toll. The platform in the gravity cabin cannot hold. The fighting tears the platform apart and separates the team. Lee and Liv keep firing, but Korolev does not register any damage from their attack. Watanabe observes that it is targeting me. Its weapon modules are still preparing the next salvo despite the damage already on its frame.
A comm channel opens: the Demolition Squad. Explosives have been placed on the gravity cabin wall structure. Final detonation is imminent. All personnel are instructed to switch to vacuum mode immediately.
A massive explosion tears down the cabin wall. Everything is sucked outward by the enormous negative pressure. Lucia drives her blade into the deck and holds Liv with her free hand. Liv fights to keep her Levi-Guns from being pulled away. Watanabe grabs the shattered platform and reaches out toward me. With his support as an anchor, I get a clear line on Korolev's weak point and fire. The hit lands on its optical sensor. It loses balance and falls into the open vacuum space.
Through the breach in the wall, a relay satellite is visible outside. Karenina comms in: the Prism is ready. Once the core is stabilized, send the signal; timing cannot be early or late.
Gravity Ring Core
A comm signal request from somewhere above, she introduces herself: Ayla, a member of the WGAA 2nd Archaeological Team. Both Liv and Lee recognize the name, a well-regarded young artist in Babylonia.
Her mission is to locate and recover Selena, a Construct she describes as a close friend. Selena had obtained full access to the station's internal database before her signal went dark, and she has already identified information relevant to us specifically: the design logic of these rings. Given Selena's current state, she cannot transmit the data directly; it must pass through Ayla first. We accept her guidance. Liv begins recording.
[Timestamp: +5m]
After clearing the puzzle in the ring core, Ayla's comm cuts. The signal is replaced by interference. Liv traces her last known position to a disconnected compartment; she was engaged with the Ascendant. Suddenly, an airtight valve on an upper section detonates outward. A large silhouette drops from the breach and lands on our platform with enough force to fracture the deck. A mechanoid in a heavy black coat and bowler hat. It does not move to attack. It stands and looks at Lucia. Watanabe identifies him immediately: an Ascendant—Liv and Lee fire probing shots. Every round deflects off the surface of the coat, which is made from a special material.
Before Watanabe and Lucia move to engage, Ayla drops from above before either of them can act. Her scythe comes down in a full-commit strike. The Ascendant raises one arm and stops it without effort. As the coat lifts on the impact side, its other hand becomes visible, holding the incomplete frame of a Construct.
Ayla pulls back and demands that he return Selena. The Ascendant does not respond. It looks at Lucia once more, retreats to a nearby floating platform, and moves away without engaging further. Ayla pursues without hesitation. She tells us not to let her disrupt the mission. Our objective takes priority over hers. She will not let the Ascendant escape.
Space Station's Gravity Ring Core
The platforms at the gravity core are stable. We push in.
Hetero-Core Shape-Shifting
We engage the Hetero-Core directly. Sustained fire deforms its outer surface; it shifts and adjusts shape in response to each hit. No structural damage registers. Lee begins tracking how many forms it can take. We keep suppressing it and find the weak point.
Watanabe says it is probably time to use the secret weapon. Lucia opens the channel. Karenina is already on the line. The Prism railgun has been fully charged for some time. Watanabe will send a fire signal to Karenina from the inside. Karenina acknowledges that Babylonia's command has already granted his authorization.
[Timestamp: +6m]
Watanabe calls the signal. Lucia orders all squads to evacuate the core immediately.
In Babylonia's command room, Karenina slams the launch control. The entire Babylonia seems to have moved slightly. A concentrated beam fires up into the relay satellite, passes through the lens array, bends along the horizon, and approaches the station from above.
Seconds later, a high-energy beam penetrates the breach in the gravity room and strikes the Hetero-Core with a precision hit. The beam burns through the core, rapidly vaporizing its surface. The process is witnessed by every single member of Babylonia and the Forsaken troops.
The beam stops. The burning outer layer of the Hetero-Core falls away. At the center of the platform, a cube striped in black and red is revealed. Its surface is smooth and undamaged, with no impact marks.
The Prism railgun strikes the Hetero-Core
The first shot hit a shell. All physical characteristics observed by recon teams beforehand were a deliberate disguise. The second round is fully charged, but it is too late. The station absorbed the full impact of the beam and is now rotating. The relay satellite can no longer maintain a targeting solution.
The Hetero-Core is gathering materials
Watanabe reacts before anyone else. He opens a channel to all Forsaken units to retreat from the space station immediately. Watanabe turns and runs toward the gravity room's exit without looking back. The remaining Babylonia group, and we are left standing. There is nothing we can do right now.
[Timestamp: +10m]
Four nuclear missiles hits the Hetero-Core
Four nuclear warheads launch from his aircraft.
Watanabe pushes the throttle to its limit. The Fenrir rolls hard and fights for separation distance. A few seconds later, the warheads intersect the Punishing core. Fire fills the sky miles above Earth. The detonation is visible from the station.
Watanabe's signal is gone. All Forsaken unit signals are also gone.
The Hetero-Core was not completely destroyed. It self-ejected from the gravity room under its own propulsion and descended toward Earth. Watanabe intercepted the core by Fenrir and fired nuclear warheads directly at it. The detonation consumed all Forsaken signals simultaneously. Watanabe's current status is missing in action. Babylonia has confirmed it does not have the resources to mount a dedicated search operation at this time.
The Science Council has received all recovered log data and has begun a formal investigation and study on the Heteromer. Preliminary review by Asimov indicates that the Hetero-Core is not a standard Punishing Heteromer. Its disguised outer shell and autonomous self-ejection behavior suggest a level of coordination that exceeds that of any previously observed specimen. A detailed analysis is currently underway.
The core's descent trajectory placed its impact point somewhere on Earth's surface. Its current location is estimated to land on Asslam, a massive Eurasian train and mobile trading city governed by the Akdilek Commercial Alliance.