No one really knows where the Spectres came from.

They appeared one day, June 18th 2521. The beginning of the end.

They swarmed over our defences, killing anything that breathes, leaving entire planets bare of life.

They are death incarnate.

I don’t know who came up with the name, probably some egghead nut from the Thor System.

They’ve reached the Core now. Lincoln fell this morning, as did Wellington and Mao.

I’ve been reassigned to an as yet unknown post. EXCALIBUR will fire in the twilight, and burn the planet. By the time this message reaches you, I will be long gone.

Perhaps dead.

I will say one more thing before I lose this signal forever.

Run, Maurice. Run.

Run until your engine runs out of gas.

Run until you can’t find anything of humanity.

Run until you cannot run any more, for the Spectres will do nothing less. If they find you, they will kill you.

I can hear them now. Over the microphones, over the speakers, in my head.

I love you so much, Maurice.

Goodbye.

Segment retrieved from encrypted message – ID 701-091-KIP/Sender ID: Lt. Sasha Mendez/15:38 19-8-2525

TAG LEVEL – RED

TAGGED WORDS CATEGORY – BLUE POINT

ANALYSIS – SECURITY RISK

ADVISED ACTION – ELIMINATE RISK

ACTION TAKEN – NONE: LT. SASHA MENDEZ WAS REPORTED KIA ON 20-8-2525

FEED INTERUPTED

RECONNECTING…

RECONNECTING…

CONNECTION ESTABLISHED

PERSEPHONE/16:29 17-10-2525

HARLEY DOCKS

WARNING – SPECTRES DETECTED

WARNING – EXCALIBUR BEGINNING FIRING SEQUENCE

HIGH RISK – 94.527814201% CHANCE OF FATALITY

Mal covered his ears as another mortar round flew overhead, wondering for the thousandth time why he’d thought it a good idea for Serenity to stay on Persephone. He’d arrived less than a month ago, a last job from Badger: To pick up him and his slimy cohorts. They’d been there a day before they realised that Badger wasn’t coming. Never would. Since then, they’d been stuck on this once-majestic rock, now reduced to a series o