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]
ISS from the Shuttle's viewport
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.
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.
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.