Cutting through space. It’s extraordinary. The ship is like… a body. Its docking platforms my arms. Its engines my legs. Its cameras my eyes. Its weapons my teeth. Its movement my will. The strangest thing is the feeling of people, things, inside you. Ships, scaffolding, computers, wires, and people, all living lives inside a metal frame hooked up to a human mind. My human mind. Am I still Karan? Karan S’jet. That’s who I was. But now I’m something more.
All of this is so new, so incredible. It’s even easy to forget the attack that took place just minutes ago. Everything’s fine now. The tests were all successful. The engines… my… engines, work. Making these jumps, it’s indescribable. Being able to make the thousands of calculations necessary to not end up in a sun or an asteroid, and then putting it all together, watching as the portal comes to life in front of you and engulfs you. The rush as the ship moves faster than anything was ever meant to move, as space itself bends to your will.
Almost there. Almost home. The attack and the loss of the Khar-Selim was… shocking. Everyone on board is shaken, but at the same time stronger; after something like that, everyone trusts everyone else far more. Still, they’re on edge. Getting back to Kharak will put everyone at ease.
The portal’s opening. I pass through seamlessly, effortlessly. My eyes scan for the scaffold. It should be here somewhere. There was a bit of a rush to plug in coordinates. I probably was off by a small margin. Time to check to see if I… the scaffold is there. But… not. Destroyed. It’s… destroyed. Everything is… destroyed. Gone. Everything. Everything is. Gone. In the distance. No green. No blue. Just bright red and orange, and black. Fire. Kharak is burning.
I hear words, but it’s just buzzing. Everyone trying to make sense of everything. Trying to figure out what’s happening, what happened. None of that. Matters none of that matters. Blind? Are they all blind? They can’t see in the distance? I can’t feel. There are no arms. No legs. No eyes. No teeth. Nothing. There is no ship. Only Karan S’jet. The only one to see that Kharak is burning.
Everything is meek, slow. I can’t move. Ships are trying to leave. Something is happening. I don’t care. They don’t need me. They can’t. I can’t help them. Can’t think. It’s all gone. Nothing else matters. All noise around me. Dull movements, buzzes of insects. I don’t know what’s going on. Don’t know what the captain is doing. Don’t know what the ships are doing. Don’t know what I’m doing. All I know is that Kharak is burning. Kharak is burning.
Time moves slower. Or is it faster? I don’t know. Time is time. I don’t feel it. It’s all just one eternity, one eternity of watching the image, frozen for eternity, of fire engulfing my home. Everything is gone. Homes, research, technology… life. Life is gone. Snuffed out, a candle smothered by a finger. How? Who? Doesn’t really matter right now. All that matters is my home… Kharak… is burning.
Words. Weak. Tired. But to me. “Karan.” The captain. Time to leave. “There’s nothing left for us here.” Home. This is home. This is home. “Let’s go.” Our home. All we have. Gone. On fire. Ashes in the dust.
Strength is coming back. Not much. I can feel again. My legs are ready. I can move. Arms, eyes, teeth, all fine. I can leave if I want to. Leave home. Leave behind. We aren’t coming back. Nothing left for us here. All gone. Ashes. The space moves around me. I don’t feel it. Just noise. Noise. The portal opens. Can’t look back. Don’t look back. Eyes in the back of my head. Don’t, can’t. Just go. Just go through. The eyes turn back.
Kharak is burning.
For context, play Homeworld.