Scar
Moon, Earth System

Returning to the Moon and Gigacorp felt akin to going back to Marfica: gut-wrenchingly terrifying and suicidal.

They had made me kill Cub.

My personal guards (who had never told me their names-I had taken to calling them Thing One and Thing Two) immediately took up their positions on either side of me the moment I stepped off the ramp. No acknowledgment, no nothing. They just lead me away quickly and effectively like the brainwashed soldiers they were.

I jarred slightly at the unexpected thought.

There was a somber air on the station, almost like a funeral, as people rushing about and looking up at the plexiglass roof like the sky was about to fall at any moment. I frowned in concern from under my hood.

They quickly led me to the central elevators, inserting a key to get access up to the Barnes family's penthouse.

Uh oh.

We passed a pair of medics and a pair of funeral directors as we walked in. Mrs. Barnes herself, a sweet little Canadian woman who would never hurt a fly, was sitting against the white marble kitchen counter, holding a tissue as she stared out of the massive window with a perfect view of Earth. The whole penthouse was blindingly white, with the exception of black and white paintings that looked like paint splatters.

"Ma'am, Legend is here. As requested." Thing One said gently but firmly. She didn't look up as she waved them away. The Things nodded respectfully, stepping back towards the elevator.

"Legend, right?" she asked, voice hoarse. I nodded, pulling my hood off. She stepped around the counter with a sniffle, taking a teapot from the table and pouring some tea into a pair of cups. She handed me one, which I gratefully accepted.

"What happened around here?" I asked.

"Mike is dead and John is... hurt. Really, really hurt." she said softly.

Oh.

Barnes may be one cold son of a bitch, but I had to give him one thing: he was one hell of a father and a husband. He and Mrs. Barnes had been married for just over twenty years with five kids who had all gone into various careers in Gigacorp. They had climbed their way to the top naturally, and their second youngest, Mike, had just gotten his own sector as I had been leaving. I had liked the kid personally. Reminded me of Mumbo.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am." I said sincerely. She blew into the tissue again, managing a strained smile.

"You don't need to apologize, Legend. Besides, John survived. I'm at least grateful for that, she said, sighing, "but he wants to talk to you. About the mission."

My fingers froze around the teacup.

"...he's awake?" I asked.

"Awake and barking orders, as he always does. He's going to make a corporate announcement tomorrow morning." she chuckled slightly, then started breaking down again.

I stood uncomfortably, unsure if I should comfort her or find Barnes.

She waved me off after a moment with a choked giggle.

I nodded respectfully, secretly relieved as I turned to find Barnes.

He was in his bedroom, hooked up to an IV and badly bruised under the blanket that was tucked up to his chest. But he seemed awake enough. He even broke out into an uncharacteristic smile when he saw me.

"Ah, Legend! Just the man I wanted to see! Take a seat!" he said cheerfully. Chalking it down to whatever pain medication he was on, I did.

"How'd the mission go?" he asked. I closed my eyes, a lump forming in my throat.

"Successful, but difficult. Fable made a ran for it. But I caught him." I reported. His grin only grew wider and I wanted nothing more but to strangle him.

"Good! Very good! Things are going our way, Legend. Things are going our way." he chuckled, but his facade was crumbling. He was hurting, physically and mentally.

"I'm sorry about Mike, sir. Mrs. Barnes told me." I said. He sighed, closing his eyes. Torment warped every feature of his body.

"He was a good kid. The Butcher and Vulture won't get away with this, Myth will make sure of it," he said, slipping back into a mask of impassiveness, "on a more positive note, the war on Karnvas should be over soon. The Severnyy will be gone and Lazarus will have to evacuate the planet. Know what I'm thinking?"

It once again took all of my willpower not to strangle him.

"What?" I said, feigning curiously.

"Let's turn Karnvas into a factory planet. Get some heat goin! Turn The Overlords monastery into a summer home. Of course, we'll take measures to keep the air breathable." he babbled. I frowned.

"But won't the Empire and NEWUN want a piece of Karnvas?" I questioned. He actually laughed at that, dismissing the question.

"Our reserve forces are on the way... the 'alliance' will collapse with no effort on our end, and the Milky Way will be ours!" he said deliriously. I froze.

"...reserve forces?" I asked hesitantly. A semblance of awareness entered his eyes as he narrowed his eyes.

"I've said too much. Repeat one word of what I just said and I kill you. Understand?" he growled, eyes fading under the influence of the drugs again. I nodded slowly, standing. The weight of Cubs hard drive seemed to grow in my pocket.

I left as fast as possible.

. . .

I caught the next Lunar Tram, taking me back to my own apartment in Tranquil Base, all the way on the other side of the Moon in the (duh) Sea of Tranquility.

Of course, there was no actual sea. All there was outside of the compound was dust and old, outdated stations from when Terrans first started settling on the Moon.

I leaned against my window, breaths coming out in short bursts as my mind raced. What had Barnes meant, 'reserve forces?' Gigacorp was already spread thin across the galaxy, dealing with pirates and rebels. We didn't have 'reserve forces' in the entire 'Way.

A hexagon-shaped park below me caught my eye. The Lunar Module, used by the Apollo 11 Mission thousands of years ago. The footprint and flag were both perfectly preserved, unchanged since the 1900's.

I produced the drive with shaky hands, looking down on the Apollo Site. A group of brave men who had left the comforts of the terrestrial world, venturing out into the coldest, darkest, deadliest environment known to man. But they had done it. They had stepped into the unknown.

Could I?

I didn't think any further. I took a deep breath and plugged the drive into my wrist cuff.

Thousands of files came up, but all had alarming common terms: Hermitcraft, War, The Shrink.

I sat, and watching the first video. A nerdy looking, sandy blonde middle aged dude popped up, looked extremely exhausted.

"This is Doc. Davidson of Gigacorp, with my first update on what we call 'The Shrink'. Recorded three months, twelve days after initial discovery that the Universe is indeed shrinking.

"We are yet to find a definitive solution. But my team and I have been working TIRELESSLY around the clock to remedy this issue. We know where it will converge, and I would consider us lucky. Sagittarius A, the Supermassive Black Hole at the center of the Milky Way, which has grown to... unprecedented sizes over the past thousand years and has become the strongest one known to science. Not the biggest, mind you, the strongest. Hence why the area immediately around the inner bar is completely banned for any kind of activity.

"This has lead us to believe that Sagittarius A itself may be the cause of The Shrink. However, Sagittarius A is not nearly powerful enough on its own and has been dismissed. But it does beg the question: are Ultramassive Blackholes, such Ton 618 and Phoenix A, the cause? And, yes, those two Black Holes, which are both larger than some galaxies like Andromeda, are rushing towards us at alarming rates.

"But this is not my main point of concern. That would belong to an ancient tablet recovered from MW—A39, just outside of The Perimeter. It's inscriptions finally completed the Marfica Stone and the text is... alarmingly familiar to current situations.

"It depicts a warning of sorts, in which a race of powerful, winged creatures begin pulling the Universe Walls together using seven powerful, spherical devices as a way of punishing the wicked. Almost like... Gods. I am not a religious man, I will admit. I am highly skeptical that such creatures displayed actually exist. But the solutions they provide to turn back the 'Walls'... if true, and after much time spent calculating, I have concluded that it is, indeed, plausible. I am saying that we have found a way to kill a Black Hole.

"And we have stations around all seven discovered Ultramassive Black Holes, which is AWFULLY convenient considering what 'devices' were depicted... it with with great urgency that I recommend we take action immediately and destroy Ton 618 and it's sister black holes. Doctor Henry Davidson, PHD, signing off."

I sat in stunned silence at the revelation for a while. But curiosity got the better of me, and I clicked on the next one.

The same guy popped up, but he was completely disheveled now. His glasses lay crooked, and the bags under his eyes looked black.

"This is Doctor Henry Davidson, PHD, with an update on 'The Shrink.'  and attempted destruction of the Ultramassive Black Holes. I say 'attempted' because, well, everyone who was apart, which was almost half a million who had no idea WHY they were, died. And it's my fault. And not only have half a million innocent people died, the Shrink has only grown faster.

"This may just be the end of life, my friends. But we have made good progress on translating the Marfica Stone which gives us a... hopeful insight to whatever the Ancient Vex knew of our time.

"They talked about a way of escape. Multiple. One is through the 'devices' themselves. Black Holes, again. Another is potential tears in the borders of space. We have yet to identify any such tears, but rest assured that efforts are being made."

There was a lot more, mostly logs from Doctor Davidson and his slow decent into madness and trying to translate the stone, which he ultimately failed at.The recordings eventually abruptly ended.

And immediately went into a file of war plans.

Gigacorp, as it turned out, had influence and complete dominion in more galaxies than just ours.

And they wanted the Milky Way next. No Great Empire, no NEWUN, just Gigacorp.

No one knew it was coming.

No one but me.

But I was going to change that.

.  .  .

I dug out my tracker later that night, stuffing the bloodied shard of metal into an apple. I shucked most of my Legend uniform off, keeping the shoulder pads, holster, utility belt, sniper and sniper ammo, knee pads, and O2 mask after extensive tracker checking. I had to cover the Gigacorp seal on the shoulders, a teal "G" in an orange box, with black duct tape. I made sure Cub's drive was safe in my belt.

I then planted explosive charges on the inside of the door before I left. My ship, which I was considering naming the Jellie II, was parked a few blocks away.

"I promise you didn't die in vain..." I whispered, shutting and locking the door as I slipped away.

The Moon at this point was nearly completely covered in plexiglass-domed cities and was the primary seat for Gigacorp's military branch as well as galactic trade to Earth. But, defying all those odds and proving that humanity was the problem child of the galaxy, the side of the Moon that always faced Earth was more crime-ridden than New Detroit. However, the Dark Side was HEAVILY patrolled by Gigacorp and NEWUN. Mostly to protect the giant magnet/tower over there that was slowly pulling the Earth away from the Sun at just the right speed that it won't actually impact Earths temperature, but still pull far enough away that the planet wouldn't be consumed when the Sun expanded. Genius, really.

I managed to get through to the hanger without any difficulty, walking right past the landlord who was fast asleep at the gate.

I whistled a little as I walked, spinning the keys around on my finger. I marched up to the cockpit and started the engine sequence.

A faint explosion reached my ears, followed by alarms.

Welp. They had found my little surprise, it would appear.

"ATTENTION ALL SECTOR ONE PERSONNEL: POTENTIAL BREACH IN LUNAR DOME. PLEASE RESORT TO THE CLOSET BUILDING AND SEAL YOURSELVES IN UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. NO CRAFT MAY LEAVE UNTIL THE ISSUE IS RESOLVED." the message came just as I was taking off.

Hah. Sure.

I blasted forwards, headed for the rapidly closing section gate.

"Please come in, Jellie II. Land IMMEDIATELY." a voice barked.

"Not likely!" I barked right back, narrowly turning to the side as I blasted through the section gate and into the main station port.

Maintenance crewmen rushed around below me in a panic, ducking as guards started firing at me. Sparks from workers welding and disrupted beam fire messed with my view.

I whipped around, narrowly avoiding a crossbeam and started heading for the port exit into open space.

The doors started grinding shut as I did, making me climb lower...

And lower...

And lower...

I was scrapping the bottom of the port as I shot past the energy barrier and into the vacuum. All fell silent outside as the Moon slowly grew smaller behind me.

I breathed a sigh of relief. They had no way of knowing who's ship that was until I was long gone. And by the time they mobilized to chase me down, I would be walking into New York with the drive to show America, The Empire, and NEWUN. And they would take down Gigacorp themselves.

I grinned wickedly.

Revenge felt great.

. . .

I landed in New York City about an hour later, calling for a taxi (Cub and I had always wanted to do that in New York—ride in a hover taxi) to take me to the New Empire State, the capital building of not just America, but NEWUN in general.

The cabbie raised his eyebrows at me.

"You serious?" he questioned. I leaned back against the seat, smug already.

"Absolutely." I said. He shook his head in disbelief, but took off.

All of the buildings in the city rose high above us for two miles up (for the shorter ones-taller got to four. Don't ask. Cub and I had been obsessed with coming), all of them flashing neon colors through the rain. And at the very end of the street, overlooking Central Park and facing to the North, was the tallest building in the solar system (at five miles tall), the New Empire State Building (original was destroyed in the third World War).

The Cabbie parked at the front steps, turning back to me.

"Got credits, kid?" he asked.

I slid him a gold one. The cigar almost fell out of his mouth.

"Keep the change. You might have just helped save the Galaxy." I said, handing it to him before stepping out into the rain and marching up the slippery steps.

I didn't even say anything to the guards at the door, flashing my Gigacorp level nine clearance pass before throwing open the doors.

"Can I help you, sir?" the receptionist called to me cheerfully.

"Where's the meeting room?" I asked nonchalantly. He frowned, pointing down the hall.

"Just back there, but they're in a meeting with the alliance, sir."

"Good." I replied cheerfully, turning to walk that way. The receptionist stood.

"Sir!" he protested. I ignored him, reaching the heavy wooden door and throwing it open.

"We must-!" the president of the US and NEWUN, President Ronnie (I know), was yelling, but the entire room went silent.

"Legend, clearance pass level nine, Gigacorp. I have a message for the Tri Orion Alliance, NEWUN and the Empire specifically." I blurted out before anyone could stop me. The guards approaching me hesitated. The President frowning, sitting back down.

"You have no business here." the Gigacorp representative yelled. I ignored him, stepping into the center of the tall courtroom stiffly.

I sucked in a deep breath, and started.

"Mr. President. Your highness. Earlier today I uncovered a plot to overthrow galactic order by Gigacorp from Admiral Johnson Barnes himself." I said.

The Gigacorp reps immediately shot up, screaming accusations and calling for my arrest.

The King shushed them sharply, and they immediately sat down.

"Continue." he said. I nodded gratefully, producing the drive from my pocket.

"This drive hold everything you need to know, Mr. President. I believe a Lunar Invasion is imminent. And they're pulling reserve forces from the other galaxies they solely control. Permission to approach the stand?" I said.

"Lies! Cast this traitor out!" the Corporate Representative spat.

"Permission granted." President Ronnie said. I quickly put the drive in front of him and backed away.

The President plugged it into his desk, and the audio played throughout the room.

"Members of the board. This transmission is NEVER to leave this room, understood? Good. Now we must discuss the issue of the Tri Orion Alliance: it must go." Barnes's voice came.

The collective courtroom gasped in shock.

"We have forces held up in Andromeda and surrounding corporate galaxies that will no longer exist within the next few hours. I propose we bring all intergalactic forces home, and use them to destroy the Alliance."

Another voice,

"You've gone mad, Barnes. I think I speak for all of us when I say no."

The rest of the board screamed their minds, all the same: don't attack.

Barnes sighed.

"I thought so. Myth?"

"Right away, sir."

Screams and the sound of disrupter fire followed. After a moment, all fell silent.

"Well! It would seem I am the only surviving member of the board of directors. Do you understand what that means, Myth?"

"Sure do, boss. You get to make all the decisions."

"Precisely! And as the sole member of the board, my vote is to attack. Any opposed?"

He let out a hearty laugh.

"Of course not. You're all dead. It would seem that the majority is in favor. In that case, let the war begin!"

And the transmission ended. Every eye had turned to the now pale Gigacorp representatives.

"It-its not real." the lead one stammered.

The King of the Empire suddenly stood, drawing a hidden disrupter pistol and shooting him in the chest. The representative flew back into the wall, knocking down a metal Gigacorp seal that crushed his head.

The other one stood with shout, but the NEWUN guards tackled him. The Gigacorp guard raised his own weapon.

I slung my sniper around, popping open the ammo pouch and loading it in one swift move. I quickly racked it, pulling the trigger and blasting him in the head.

Everyone stared in shock.

"Who did you say you were?" The King said casually, reholstering his gun. Damn, for being from such a hot planet, this dude was as cold as ice.

"Legend." I replied without missing a beat. He nodded respectfully, looking back up at the stunned council.

"In light of recent developments, I move to dismantle Gigacorp by force. Any opposed?"
he boomed.

None did.

The President sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"We knew Barnes was trouble. But I never imagined..." he trailed off, looking out over the courtroom, "If he wants war, we'll give him a war."

And the Milky Way went to war with itself.

———————
Terran Moon Colonies, according to Rosie

The Moon was the toughest celestial body Terrans had to colonize in order to reach the stars, and they put their collective three primate brain cells together in order to do it.

In the present day, the Terran Moon has seven cities called Lunar Bases, each being able to hold up to 106,000 year-round citizens, with more housing in the ports.