A messenger (2)

There was silence in the room, briefly interrupted by the sound of a woman crying. In any other circumstance, this would be distressing, but here, it was an expected reaction as she had just received news of her husband’s death.

It was the emperor himself who had shouldered the weighty responsibility of delivering the news of the Proxima Centauri exploration fleet’s casualties.

Both he and Rina were sitting in silence, their faces reflecting the gravity of the situation, allowing Rachael who was sitting in front of them to cry and process the devastating news for a moment, as the weight of the news warranted such a reaction in the first place.

“I’m sorry for showing this side of me, but I can’t help…” Rachael attempted to regain her composure and apologize for her emotional reaction, but she struggled to control herself and soon resumed crying.