The Stars' Memories

Fleeing the, Sergeant Aleksandra Zaytseva takes a moment to take in the a view of the stars. As she contemplates the view, she uses the opportunity to look within herself and explore why she continues on.



1700 HOURS, DECEMBER 29, 2528 (MILITARY CALENDAR)

23 LIBRAE SYSTEM, ORBIT AROUND MADRIGAL, UNSC FRIGATE OBSERVATION DECK

Standing in the port observation deck of the evacuation ship, Sasha was surrounded by quiet, with only the deep rumble of the engines resonating through the air. In stark contrast to the view of the burning world below them offered by the starboard side observation room, the sergeant took in a vast expanse of stars in front of her. She had never been particularly fond of Madrigal, but the repeated losses of human worlds was starting to wear on Sasha. It was that very reason that she alone had opted to take in the view of the stars, rather than join the crowd and look upon the Covenant fleet as it glassed the Outer Colony they had just abandoned. Rather than look upon the death of a planet in astonishment as she had so many times before, Sasha had decided to look out upon the stars and think.

Each one of those twinkling dots against the inky blackness of the void was another system, and any number of them could hold a Human colony world just like Madrigal. It was this view that reminded Sasha why she continued fighting, despite all she had lost. The fact that she had chosen to look upon those distant stars that the UNSC still held three years into the fight, rather than look back on the dying world below them, emphasized that her continuing drive to fight back drew its strength from the planets and lives that still remained, rather than those that had long since fallen to the Covenant. The beauty of the stars in front of her was incredibly humbling, yet, at the same time, instilled within Sasha the strength to carry on.

Yet, despite the endless reminders of what she had left to fight for, Sasha couldn't banish the memories of what she had lost fully from her mind. True, the stars provided an escape, as they always had, but they also provided minute reminders of those she had left behind. There may be endless worlds that still belonged to humanity, but among those laid the star systems they had already lost, those they fought to regain. Harvest, Second Base, Green Hills, Bliss, even her homeworld, Biko. All of these worlds burned, their surfaces turned to glass. And now, Madrigal joined them.

Letting out a sigh, Sasha looked back from the viewer, turning away from the inky black expanse, dotted with twinkling lights, each with their own stories. Walking slowly out of the observation deck, she was left with the memories playing in her mind, the despair of the losses and the hope of the worlds that remained mingling together into a hatred, burning as hot as each shining star. Space had always had a profound influence on her life. It had served as an escape, a reminder, and a driving force onward. And now it was all of those at once, welling up within her even as she looked away. Despite only being truly alive with her boots on the ground, Sasha would forevermore look towards the stars.