August 9 63 AE (military calendar)August 9 2086 AC (global calendar)Spero Elysium primeAround two and a half billion people are left. And all we have is a dead pnet, for all intents and purposes humanity is well and truly endangered as a species.

  Two billion might sound like a lot but a good portion of that is in Africa, and our survival on earth isn’t guaranteed.

  After America's extraction from the Sol system Earth is highly radioactive both from all the bombs and the numerous holes in the magnetosphere. Of course, the ash in the atmosphere is still a problem, and the incredibly low temperatures and super storms.

  Earth isn’t just a dying pnet it’s dead. I pinch the bridge of my nose. It wasn’t supposed to go this way but these are the cards we have.

  A knock on my office door draws my attention “Come in”. Bliss enters a moment ter. “I have a favor to ask,” she says as she takes a seat. “By all means continue” she sighs “I believe the 104th requires substantial rewards both for their long history and this st battle. Ori made their entire section as radioactive or more so than the elephant's foot”

  I nod “I agree and I believe their reward can serve a second purpose. It could be the solution to how we’ll deal with our aging problem” That caught her off guard “What do you mean”

  I smile “If they want the solution I’m thinking of they will have to wait a while longer” She frowns and then asks “I can run it past her” I nod again “By all means. I was thinking of giving them a pnet”

  That surprises her and I think she was expecting a harder sell. “Think about it and run it past her. We have some other priorities first though that you’re well aware of. Rebuilding our fleets and repairing our cities, fixing earth and expanding infrastructure”

  She nods “It’s a long road” I shrug “Anything worthwhile is” We talk for a few more hours then I return home and have dinner with my family and go to sleep.

  Only I decide to visit Nix and by proxy Casper. We meet at our usual cafe and get our usual drinks. “It’s been some time since we’ve been able to just sit and rex” comments Nix.

  Me and Casper nod in agreement “As I can’t control every aspect of reality like you can Nix” I say jokingly. He smiles wide “You could if you wanted to but that’s a discussion we’ve had many times I want to hear something new”

  Nix punctuates his decration by looking at Casper who looks a little bit like a deer in headlights. “Uh it’s a lot different than I thought it would be. For such fearless and brutal soldiers, they are all so friendly”

  Me and Nix chuckle knowing that’s not what was asked. “Come Casper indulge us we can’t help you if you don’t tell us everything” Nix states jovially earning a deep sigh from Casper.

  Casper does eventually open up “I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. Colonel Griffin offered me help and I listened to his advice getting her some of her favorite whiskey and such but it’s not working”

  I barely keep myself from ughing and it looks like Nix is doing the same. After a moment to compose myself I speak up “Casper it seems she is truly oblivious you may need to outright say something or get the good colonel to say something on your behalf”

  He opens his mouth to say something then closes it. “You may be right I guess this is what was meant by asking you for advice”

  Meanwhile Colonel griffin Elysium primeI feel raw. There’s no other way of putting it. The entire division has been cleaned so thoroughly both inside and out that I feel raw.

  It took three washes before our radiation levels got low enough to not be a public health crisis. While we all got hit hard those of us with prosthetics got it worse because the rads affected our limbs causing small glitches and deys.

  Now we are finally back in our garrison on pnet. These st few decades have been interesting but thankfully my guys have gotten through and Casper has been a constant source of entertainment not that he knows it.

  It took him a few months to loosen up and evidently, he never forgot my promise to help him out. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize he was trying to go after Tanya the poor guy.

  Still, I did what I could I recommended him what gifts that could get her attention, and after I had Jed help us train him moved him to Tanya’s squad as her radio operator. He’s still had no luck I actually feel bad at this point.

  Currently, it’s the middle of the night but I can’t sleep, it doesn’t feel real. So I’m in the common room reading. I hear some light footsteps and look up to find Casper.

  He looks nervous. “Surprising to see you here in the middle of the night” I state then I gesture to a seat “Sit down man you look like a nervous wreck” he complies.

  “Now before I let you ask anything how'd you get in st I checked you were in a different unit” I swear I hear him gulp “It was unlocked and I saw a light on” I nearly face palm “Key under the rock” I ask.

  He nods “god damn it” I sigh again “Whatever you're already here what did you need” he clears his throat. “I need a favor, a fairly big one” he pauses and I wave to him to continue “Can you maybe give Tanya a hint”.

  I sp my book shut and stare at him. After a few minutes a gnce at the time. It’s four in the morning… she’s probably up. “I can’t believe your fucking serious right now… get up your coming with me”

  I stand up shocking him. I walk out the door and through the courtyard to Tanya’s isoted house. I was right she was still awake as evidenced by the lights being on.

  I knock on the door and wait. I stand slightly annoyed but at the same time eager to see both their reactions. Tanya opens the door and frowns “Why are you here so te” she asks.

  I shrug “Can we come in” and I step to the side revealing Casper. “Fine, whatever since you're here Griffin I’m going to pick your brain some” She leads us to the living room and sits us down. “Sure it’s only fair” I say.

  She sits across from us “So out with it I can tell it’s nothing official” I gnce at Casper and his face says it all. Utter bewilderment. I can practically hear his thoughts ‘How can you know why we are here but not pick up on my advances’

  Worth it. I clear my throat to stop from ughing “Dear Casper here seems to have a slight problem… he’s been trying to woo a woman but to no avail” I swear her eye twitches.

  I gnce at Casper again and I didn’t realize a person could get so red from embarrassment. Tanya’s sigh spares Casper from my gaze then she mutters “I should have known” Then at a normal volume “Casper are you aware of the regutions regarding this matter”

  His eyes widen a bit “I’ll take that as a kind of. I can’t see anyone because of my position” Then she gets a thoughtful look in her eyes “Griffin I guess that Segways into what I was doing before you arrived... the 104th has been offered a pnet”

  I stare bnkly for a few moments. “Did I hear that correctly” She nods so I continue “Like Mars or” she smiles “a pnet… I was looking into what it would take to manage one and how to manage it when you arrived any thoughts”

  Holy shit she’s serious “Are there any restrictions” she shakes her head “Interesting too bad we can’t do something fun like a Monarchy” She raises an eyebrow “Now that’s a thought maybe we should wait and aim for semi-independence and do just that” my eyes widen.

  “But it would be impractical and…” my words die in my throat. “Don’t worry Griffin it’ll be a while before we can even get the pnet so we can iron things out and scrap the whole thing if needed” gd to see she’s not completely delusional.

  “Now both of you get out of here” I stand up and Casper takes a few moments to follow. Once outside he sighs “I’m a fool” I chuckle and sp him on the back “Yup but you’ve got guts at least” he looks at me with a sad look so I continued “You clearly weren’t paying attention, she said she wasn’t allowed not that she wasn’t interested”

  A glimmer of hope ignites in his eyes “Listen just hold off for now I’m sure you both have all the time in the world so don’t rush it” he smiles “Thanks I uh I should probably head back to my quarters” I nod and we part ways.

  Siff Elysium prime/sentinel matryoshka brainOn the surface things on Earth are calming down but the sentinels know it’s a brief lull. We’re trying to extend it so we can build more ships and give the flesh bags time to rest but nothing is guaranteed.

  Our megastructures are coming along nicely, the brain is nearly done and several stelr forges have been created. The sentinels have never been stronger.

  I glide through the miles of circuits and pnetary surfaces worth of manufacturing infrastructure. The final battle troubled us greatly. The total abandonment of the Sol system was a surprise but it leaves the door open for them to return.

  Then there is Ori. I had to send in one of my frames to stop her before she ignited the atmosphere entirely. It was a deeply uncomfortable experience to be in two bodies at once but necessary.

  By the time I got into the secret control room with the help of several legion frames, it was the single most radioactive location in the known universe. I admit I was furious so I marched straight in and with a single blow rendered her unconscious.

  I had to then abandon that frame as that room all but destroyed it. I arrived at my destination and dispyed my digital image followed suit by Varian, kell, Bondrude and Ace.

  Kell unsurprisingly looks unhappy. Ace is the first to speak commenting “so not a full family meeting then” I ignore the comment. “Varian, Bondrude how resilient was that strain you gave to the 104th”

  Without pause, Bondrude answered “Even accounting for genetic drift those rads will be nonlethal and have a negligible chance of producing problematic genetic code”

  I nod “That’s a relief for them, Ace has your lurking been fruitful” he’s been out in the Oort Cloud since humans have been on Earth. He says he likes the tranquility out there.

  “I’ve cracked their nguage and was able to infiltrate their system so I’ve got a complete lexicon. It seems they have been hard at work trying to do the same… without the hacking part at least on Elysian systems”

  He takes a breath he doesn’t need “I have to ask why did we let those light huggers get away without even trying” I shrug “Spero asked us not to. did you figure out if they were a natural species or an artificial one”

  Ace looks to Bondrude who answers “From the data I’ve been given I can confidently say they are not a species that Joan created” I nod “That’s perplexing but once they make contact we’ll be able to clear things up”

  Next, I look to Kell “This kinda goes without saying but stay with Ori a little extra, she must feel terrible. Bondrude your assignment for a while is to keep an eye on the 104th and the 597th liquidators I want to know any and all symptoms they may have”

  Kell and Bondrude nod and are gone leaving me with Ace and Varian “Varian imbed yourself into Misriah and within our bounds give them a nudge… maybe ingratiate yourself with Cliff Johnson by helping him with his personal project”

  Now it’s just me and Ace “I’ll give you the choice, stay at your post or go and find me a bck dwarf” This seems to catch him somewhat by surprise. “Who’d take over for me” I ponder the answer for about five picoseconds “I’ll either have Tim or Fermi do it”

  He seems satisfied enough “Sure I’ll find one for you, though what are you going to use it for” I toss some schematics into the air between us “a rey of a sort. I’m tired of the noise I’ve been getting it’s even messing with some of our rifts. The saint almost blew a hole in the earth because of it”

  He nods “Definitely important then. I’ll talk to the guys about getting some more sensitive sensors so I don’t miss any” And with that he's gone and I'm alone with my thoughts. I ponder my next problem that needs fixing. Besides the daily stuff that helps keep the republic running.

  The good saint is going to need administrative help if she takes Spero up on his offer so how to accomplish that? I don't want to do it myself so that's out of the question. While we could use Legion I doubt it's the best answer, it's certainly not the most elegant.

  Perhaps something akin to legion? I should shelf this for now, it'll likely be a while before a solution is needed and the allowed tech may provide the answer.

  With a blink, I'm back in my flesh suit walking down a hallway the whole conversation taking a breath. Time for a council meeting. Oh, joy. Waiting are several private construction company owners and several national counterparts, the heads of the military and scientists and doctors.

  I take my seat and track Speros's progress of when he'll arrive I py a movie at the right speed so it'll end when he's coming through the door. This time I'll go with a cssic… Velocipaster.

  I have to disconnect myself from my body a little extra so I don't burst out ughing. Spero walks through the door right on time “Thank you all for taking the time for this. Siff if you would please”

  I nod and stand “We have several major projects to decide on so I'll list them off first then we can delve into the details ter. First Africa, our efforts have been hampered by the war but it's high time to cure our people and bring down the quarantine zone. Following is the rebuilding of Africa and in the proposed city new Mombasa will be a space elevator”

  I wait a moment to let it sink in then move on. “The next project is the fortification of Sol, this includes the fleet but also stationary instaltions. Designs will be drawn up as we progress. The long-term project of repairing the Earth will be a priority but not as high as security and rebuilding critical infrastructure”

  Bliss raises her hand “I believe we should direct some attention to Mars. There is a significant amount of shipyards left there that we can retool and use to kickstart our operations” The table sees nods all around.

  One of the arms company owners speaks up, Cliff Johnson I believe, “The first ships it should produce are mining tugs. having those yards means nothing if we don't have the material to fuel them”

  And on and on at some point I switched to automatic and set my mind to other projects.

  Meanwhile in the Oort cloud onboard a vessel that has thought itself hidden for decades sends another transmission. Simir to the scarce few that have proceeded it it was short and dense with data. It also carries what its occupants consider good news.

  The first transmission they ever sent was a basic confirmation they arrived. The second was sent in a panic, the subjects of their observation seemingly rendered their only home uninhabitable and themselves extinct.

  The third transmission was filled with both shock and awe. Somehow these strange beings are still alive on a dead world and more terrifyingly still fighting. But now this transmission, which will be the st holds some excitement. The war is over and the beings are still alive against all odds so the crew asks one thing at the end of their report.

  “Can we make contact”