Farewell

How to deal with Chu, with the Olive Branch civilization?

Force?

Luna had considered this, but the Olive Branch was a colossal entity, the dominant power in this region of space.

The only way to challenge such a force was through information warfare.

Luna's creation of the Changelings within Tilted Station was information warfare, using the fabricated Holy Grail Project to manipulate Chu. Her current strategy, controlling the soldiers and creating a miniature Tilted Station, was also information warfare.

Her message this time was:

Chu, your decisions are flawed.

The miniature Tilted Station mirrored Chu's governance, with the soldiers obeying Luna and forming a hierarchical structure. This clear class division created different perspectives, dividing the upper and lower ranks.

High-ranking individuals, realizing the lack of promotion opportunities, would become complacent.

Lower-ranking individuals continued to strive for advancement. But once the higher ranks were filled, the upper class would realize that promoting everyone would negate their own status. This led to suppression of the lower class, creating conflict.

Because the disparity between the classes was small, the more numerous lower class could easily overthrow the upper class. As Chu observed, the miniature Tilted Station quickly collapsed.

"This is a fatal flaw."

Chu pondered; why hadn't he noticed this before?

His plan should have been flawless.

"Wait... wait..."

"I need to make adjustments."

The departing fleet was halted due to Chu's hesitation.

When a civilization's development rests on a single individual, the pressure is immense.

Luna was exploiting not just Chu's individuality, but also his sense of responsibility towards the civilization.

What was Chu's ultimate goal?

Luna had observed him for a long time.

The conclusion was initially unbelievable.

Chu wanted Tilted Station, and perhaps even the Olive Branch civilization itself, to advance!

This was his deepest desire.

Considering Chu's background, Luna finally understood. Chu had been chosen as leader because of his deep love for his civilization. Despite his distaste for the shared consciousness, he wanted to become the third great leader, guiding the Olive Branch to new heights.

This was why Project Holy Grail was so effective.

Luna saw this as "exploitable."

...

"Chu's incentive plan is sound; it's a necessary step towards change."

"And with careful implementation, it could maintain stability."

"Chu's plan likely involved promotion and demotion."

"Demoting high-ranking individuals without due process would prevent the collapse of the social structure; they would no longer enjoy the privileges of their rank."

Luna walked down a brightly lit corridor, feigning a troubled demeanor and a heavy heart, all for Chu's benefit. She was contemplating Chu's situation.

She knew Chu could likely resolve this, but the collapse of the miniature Tilted Station would still linger, because its collapse was so swift.

Just over a decade.

A negligible amount of time for the Olive Branch. This would give Chu pause; could he truly control everything within such a short timeframe?

Chu's confidence wavered.

A year after implementing the incentive program, Chu returned to Tilted Station's core.

Hearing a sound, Luna opened her eyes. She remained in her previous position, not even moving a finger.

Her gaze shifted to Chu, who held a package of food, a smile on his face.

"I was wondering when you would feed me. My nutritional reserves are nearly depleted."

"Thank you for not forgetting me. It's only been a decade."

Luna felt the intense gravitational forces ease. She slowly stood up.

The food, passing through the wall, floated into Luna's cell. Luna opened the package; it was a hamburger.

"I prefer rice. Hamburgers aren't a proper meal; they're fast food," Luna commented, taking a bite.

Chu watched her eat.

A chair appeared behind him; he sat, looking up at Luna. "You've won again."

"This plan bears your mark."

"If I wasn't certain you were here, I'd suspect you'd somehow escaped and orchestrated this."

Chu believed Luna had anticipated his plan.

This was unsettling; the miniature Tilted Station's collapse had bothered him.

"What? I don't understand," Luna said innocently.

"Aren't you implementing your incentive plan? I presume your fleet has been deployed."

"I would love to stop you, but that's not my role."

Luna ate ravenously, her feigned relaxation causing Chu further distress.

While Chu struggled with countless considerations, Luna, imprisoned, had nothing to worry about.

Chu felt a strange reversal—he was the one trapped, the only explanation for their current situation.

"No. The incentive plan has been suspended."

"I'm reconsidering my approach."

"The war with the Filament is still a long way off. There's ample time for adjustments."

"Even the Galactic Federation, with its rapid development, cannot close the gap between us."

"Therefore, I've chosen to wait."

Luna smiled; while Chu lacked a face, his words betrayed him.

His hesitation was obvious.

"I don't think you will wait. You'll continue with your original plan."

"While there's plenty of time, you can't afford to gamble on unforeseen changes. You must control what you can control."

After hearing this, Chu left. The immense gravity returned, pinning Luna to the floor.

Luna was both pleased and concerned.

Had she influenced Chu?

Could Chu remain rational under pressure from both the Federation and the Filament?

If so, the Federation was in danger.

But Chu's current behavior was encouraging.

"Ayla should be ready."

...

Chu wasn't easily swayed.

As Luna had predicted, he still deployed the fleet, watching as it disappeared into the starry expanse of the Milky Way.

He stood there for a long time before receiving a message.

"Leader, it is complete."

Chu turned and headed towards the message's origin—the Federation zone.

The Federation zone, after millennia of development, was completely transformed, filled with skyscrapers interspersed with greenery. Chu didn't appreciate this aesthetic; he preferred simplicity.

Following a path lined with purple trees, he arrived at his destination.

A rectangular structure (20 meters high, 40 meters wide) stood in a clearing.

Its exterior was covered in complex machinery. A 15-meter diameter "dome" served as the signal transceiver; this was secondary, however, as the structure transmitted information via tachyons.

The tachyon communication device.

Chu craved this technology.

It was incredibly valuable. After securing Luna, he had immediately sent forces to seize control of this area.

The message indicated that the decryption was complete.

Decades wasn't enough to fully understand tachyon communication; they didn't even know what tachyons were or how they could exceed the speed of light.

Chu believed deciphering it within 500 years would be a remarkable achievement; realistically, it would take 1000-2000 years.

He entered the cramped space, a stark contrast to the device's massive exterior.

"What does the message say?"

An Olive Branch being levitated within. While seemingly alone, trillions of minds within the shared consciousness were working to decipher the message.

This was incredibly difficult, initially relying on guesswork.

Trillions of minds, constantly refining and revising, were working to crack the code.

"The message states that the Federation fleet has assembled and is en route to Tilted Station via the Silk Road. The feigned attack on the Filament seems to be working; the Olive Branch believes we are also attacking them."

"But they're wrong. We have contacted the Filament and plan to attack the Olive Branch. We both understand that, to survive the Holy Grail War, the Olive Branch must acquire advanced technology for rapid advancement, which involves stealing the core civilization's technology."

"Luna, what's your plan? Have you successfully created internal conflict within Tilted Station?"

Chu pondered the message's authenticity.

If Luna had anticipated her capture, this could be a deception.

What was the purpose of this deception?

"Should we deploy a fleet to the Silk Road, leader?"

An Olive Branch being asked.

Chu didn't think it was necessary.

"Send reconnaissance ships to the Silk Road."

"I doubt the Federation would be so foolish. Even with the Filament's help, they can't defeat us at this stage, unless we give them thousands of years to develop."

Deploying a fleet seemed overly cautious, playing into the Federation's hands.

They were trying to disrupt his plans.

Chu couldn't think of another reason for mobilizing the Federation military. An open declaration of war?

206 years later, Chu received a report from the reconnaissance ships on the Silk Road. A massive fleet had arrived at the SC-48 star system.

Chu was astonished. The fleet numbered over ten thousand ships—dozens of fleets—was the Federation truly declaring war?

And how could the Filament civilization arrive so quickly?

Unless they had deployed their fleet millennia before the war began.

Was that possible?

He still believed in Tilted Station's invincibility.

"Our reconnaissance ships have been destroyed. The Federation has shown hostility, leader. Should we retaliate?"

A plan emerged from the shared consciousness, detailing a strategy for using the Silk Road to directly attack the Federation's core systems.

Chu only glanced at the first section of the plan.

If it were that simple, why had he bothered with diplomacy?

He could have easily destroyed the Federation millennia ago. But his goal was control, not destruction.

An incomplete, partially controlled Federation was worthless; only a complete Federation could serve as his "wild horse."

Could a full-scale attack truly succeed?

Tilted Station wasn't capable of that. Space was vast, and the Federation's warships were fast, meaning the Federation's core leadership could escape.

The Federation's tachyon communication technology gave them a significant advantage in information warfare.

A successful campaign against the Federation would require a long-term plan—at least 5000 years.

The shared consciousness's proposed plan was a simple, brute-force attack on the Federation's core systems, disregarding the potential benefits to the Olive Branch.

This was a pointless strategy.

"No. They're merely probing our defenses, attempting to provoke us."

"A fleet?"

"If you observe carefully, these so-called warships are rather small, more like spacecraft. While numerous, they are insignificant."

Chu had analyzed the "warships" in the transmitted video; the largest was a mere 1200 meters—a toy.

This reinforced his belief that the Federation was trying to provoke him.

But for what purpose?

Why would the Federation deliberately antagonize him?

"Leader, they have crossed our final boundary! We must retaliate; otherwise, they will grow bolder."

The shared consciousness was enraged by Chu's assessment, though Chu's authority was considerable. He still didn't fully control the shared consciousness—a crucial distinction.

"You are mistaken."

"An insect wouldn't provoke us without reason; they have an ulterior motive."

"If we ignore them, they will cease their attacks."

Chu exerted his authority, suppressing the shared consciousness.

Eighty-three years later, the unexpected happened.

Numerous attacks struck Tilted Station, catching Chu off guard. While the attacks were minor, they enraged him.

He assumed the Federation knew about Luna's capture, believing the two civilizations were now locked in a mutually destructive conflict.

He couldn't tolerate this any longer; they had to be eliminated.

Chu was furious; this wasn't part of his plan.

Furthermore, the Federation forces within Tilted Station, led by Luna, were causing unrest.

Nothing was going as planned.

It was as if he was meticulously planning a chess match, nearing victory, only to have the board overturned, all his efforts wasted.

For Luna, however, this was merely the middle game. The match wasn't over; it was simply entering a new phase, with the Federation taking the initiative.

...

The Olive Branch fleet, launched from Tilted Station, consisted of massive, rectangular warships—essentially giant, black monoliths.

These monoliths could reach speeds of up to 11% the speed of light. Forty-seven years later, they encountered the Federation "fleet."

Without communication, both sides opened fire.

Gravitational lensing effects, typically observed around massive objects, distorted and warped the light in the area. The beams fired by the ships appeared curved. Both sides primarily used electromagnetic weapons.

However, to maximize firepower, the Federation ships employed a coordinated strategy.

Some ships focused on energy generation, others on containment, and others on targeting.

Working in perfect harmony across vast distances (tens, even hundreds, of AU), they formed a massive electromagnetic net.

Each AU is approximately 150 million kilometers; this net was a colossal structure.

Using their numerical advantage, the Federation ships surrounded the Olive Branch warships, deploying the electromagnetic net.

This caught the Olive Branch off guard.

The powerful electromagnetic net destroyed a warship.

But the Olive Branch retaliated with gravity weapons, disrupting the Federation ships' engines and preventing their escape.

The Federation ships collided, offering no resistance.

Thousands of ships were lost in the first year, a devastating blow.

But the battle wasn't over.

The colliding ships exploded, each containing a gravity weapon, amplifying the effect.

Within 0.07 seconds, a black hole formed at the point of impact. These black holes, created by intense energy warping space, were incredibly short-lived. But they merged, forming larger, more stable black holes. Because black holes trap light, they experienced minimal energy loss. The larger the black hole, the longer its lifespan.

The largest black hole's event horizon exceeded 100 meters—no longer microscopic.

This black void was a cosmic maw, consuming everything in its path.

Even at 1000g acceleration, the nearby Olive Branch warships couldn't escape the black hole's pull, their hulls stretching before disappearing beyond the event horizon.

Black holes.

Type 2 civilizations could weaponize them.

But like humanity's nuclear weapons in the 21st century, they were uncontrollable; no one could tame this beast, only wait for it to dissipate.

Fortunately, this didn't take long.

The black hole lasted only 27 minutes.

But it cost the Olive Branch two more warships.

A seemingly insignificant loss for a 200-ship fleet, but enough to enrage them.

They were facing the Federation's weaker warships—kilometers and hundreds of meters long—mere toys!

And these toys had destroyed three of their warships.

This was a humiliation!

The enraged Olive Branch fleet dispersed, each ship maintaining a distance of over one million kilometers.

They formed a square formation and, an hour later, unleashed a devastating attack. The Federation warships were instantly annihilated.

It happened without warning, without even seeing the attack.

Only the destroyed ships' sensor logs revealed what had occurred.

The Olive Branch had unleashed a stream of high-energy particles, accelerated to 99.999999999999% the speed of light—near light speed.

The closer an object's velocity is to the speed of light, the greater its relativistic mass—a fundamental law of physics.

These high-energy particles, despite their microscopic size, possessed relativistic masses exceeding kilograms, even tens of kilograms.

While weight is typically mass under gravity, relativistic mass is a measure of inertia. These are directly related. A high-energy particle impacting a ship was like a nanometer-sized object weighing over a kilogram striking it.

Seemingly insignificant.

Even a normal human could withstand such an impact.

But these high-energy particles formed a continuous stream (10³² particles), with billions of particles impacting every square centimeter.

Even ships with electromagnetic shields were instantly destroyed; the impacts, occurring at the subatomic level, shattered fundamental particles, causing microscopic nuclear explosions, obliterating any chance of survival.

It was a short war.

Travel time was 94 years; the war itself lasted only 18 months.

The Olive Branch was victorious.

But Chu, on Tilted Station, wasn't celebrating. Analysis of the wreckage revealed that the ships were unmanned, controlled by Federation AIs.

They had lost three warships to a fleet of drones.

A grave miscalculation.

"Leader, you should have been more decisive. The Galactic Federation clearly intends mutual destruction."

"Abandon your pursuit of a 'perfect plan' and demonstrate our civilization's power to these insects."

The shared consciousness expressed its displeasure.

They had granted Chu greater authority only a few centuries ago; what had he achieved? Even more disastrous miscalculations.

He was constantly making mistakes.

In interstellar warfare, even minor mistakes had devastating consequences.

Chu was startled by this criticism.

"They're right."

"Clinging to the original plan will only lead to further manipulation."

Chu thought of Luna. What he thought was the endgame was merely a new beginning.

Even imprisoned, Luna had still outmaneuvered him.

This was the first time Chu had truly felt threatened by Luna. He shouldn't have focused on conquering the Federation; it had made him vulnerable.

"But you are my prisoner. What can you possibly do?"

"The Federation has declared war, rendering you useless. I can kill you now without consequence."

As Chu considered this, he received a message. The Federation warships docked at Tilted Station were powering up...

...

"Time to awaken."

"The original hibernation period was too long. She might actually want to visit the Federation, but first, a more pressing matter needs attending to."

"My other self is also ready."

Luna, pinned to the floor by intense gravity, opened her eyes, her gaze clear and focused.

While she'd been asleep, her nanobots tracked time, keeping her synchronized with the Federation.

The "she" was Xin.

To Luna, this was a distant memory, only the image of those glowing white wings remaining.

After arriving at Tilted Station, to reassure the Olive Branch, Luna had her troops disembark.

Only one living being remained on the ships—Xin, whose lifespan was limited. To revive her civilization, she needed to make the most of her time and had entered a prolonged hibernation.

The year was 19,331 A.D.—7134 years since their arrival at Tilted Station. 9135 years had passed since Luna's last hibernation.

This was a significant number for Xin; 9135 years was the lifespan of the Lightwing civilization, from its rise to its fall. They had advanced even faster than humanity, reaching the industrial age in just 3000 years, their technological progress slowing after that.

Her story was about to reach its climax. From this point on, she would remain awake.

...

"Escaping?"

Chu was astonished. He hadn't paid much attention to those warships, assuming they were equipped with self-destruct systems; forcibly removing them might damage Tilted Station.

And they'd been dormant for so long that he'd assumed they were empty.

This escape attempt caught him off guard.

It wasn't the presence of crew that surprised him but the escape itself. How could they possibly escape?

"Intercept those ships."

"Disable them if possible; if not, destroy them. Do not approach; it could be a trap."

Having been fooled once, Chu wouldn't make the same mistake.

While the loss of a few warships was insignificant to Tilted Station, it was still best avoided.

Warships were dispatched, and Olive Branch satellites within the star system converged on the Celestial Palace. These satellites possessed offensive capabilities, though their primary function was interception.

At that moment, a small asteroid passed through the satellite network, approaching Tilted Station. The satellites' scans revealed nothing unusual; it seemed to be an ordinary asteroid.

It passed within 200,000 kilometers of Tilted Station, unnoticed by most.

Such occurrences were commonplace.

...

The ship exiting the spaceport was the Celestial Palace, Luna's second flagship. The Hope, during their encounter with the Purple Thorns, had been left within Alpha Centauri A, destroyed in the supernova.

The Celestial Palace, having left the spaceport, began accelerating rapidly, reaching over 20,000 km/s. Xin, within, wanted to scream.

After nearly ten thousand years of hibernation, awakening only to escape!

Could anything be worse?

Upon receiving the news, she was incredulous. The Federation had provoked a Type 2.4 civilization? Were they suicidal?

"I'll just follow Luna's instructions."

"Hopefully, I won't die."

Xin now carried the weight of her civilization; her survival was paramount.

Having absorbed an entire civilization's knowledge, she was incredibly intelligent. The instant she received the information, she knew exactly what to do.

After traveling 14 million kilometers, the Celestial Palace detected pursuing warships and intercepted their communications.

Xin followed Luna's instructions, activating a specific image.

The Olive Branch warships transmitted this image to Chu, whose gaseous form trembled violently upon receiving it.

"You were actually still here?!"

The image was of Luna, smiling. "Chu, thank you for your hospitality. I must take my leave now."

"The Federation isn't far; perhaps we'll meet again."

Chu instantly issued the order.

"Capture her!"

An hour later, Chu received another message: the Celestial Palace, after reaching maximum velocity, had launched a projectile, which was rapidly accelerating away at 56% the speed of light.

Pursuit was impossible. Chu deployed satellites to intercept, but the projectile's defenses and speed made interception unlikely.

"Then destroy it!" Chu decided.

Dozens of towers emerged from Tilted Station, orienting towards the projectile's trajectory. Using the warships' targeting data, Chu unleashed his supergravity weapon.

The weapon instantly crossed vast distances, destroying the projectile. Chu was relieved; Luna had become an obsession. Had she escaped, he would have been furious.

He didn't deactivate the weapon.

"Target the Galactic Federation."

He was ready to attack.

He then visited the gravity prison. He reached Tilted Station's core in just twelve hours.

Seeing Luna still there, he calmed down.

"You're still here. Shouldn't you be happy?"

Luna's voice was unsettling, like a phantom, making Chu feel that, despite being imprisoned, Luna was somehow more informed than he was.

He regained his composure.

"Do you think your main can escape?"

"Based on my calculations, the projectile should be traveling at over half the speed of light," Luna responded, feigning surprise.

The projectile was small and fast; hitting it with lasers would be difficult.

"I used a gravity weapon," Chu stated.

Luna gasped.

"Such a waste of resources." A gravity weapon would consume considerable energy, even for the Olive Branch.

Using it on a small projectile was overkill, like using a nuclear weapon to kill an ant.

"I will use it against the Galactic Federation. You've angered me. If I don't retaliate, it will only encourage further provocations."

"The miniature Federation within Tilted Station provides ample opportunity for observation."

Knowing this was a clone, Chu hadn't killed Luna but instead engaged in conversation.

"Why do I sense sadness in your voice?" Luna asked.

"I didn't want to kill you. You are, after all, my first friend. But..." Chu sighed.

"If we weren't enemies, we could have had many more conversations."

He was sincere.

A being who had spent millennia within a shared consciousness was like a child raised in isolation, yearning for connection.

"Are you not saddened by the Federation's impending destruction?" Chu seemed genuinely curious.

Luna stared at him, her expression unchanged.

"As you know, I'm a clone. I have no memories of Tilted Station. The Federation is also inconsequential to me."

"Besides, you've only sent a single emissary to the Federation. After thousands of years, how can you be certain that individual has been providing accurate information?"

Chu was stunned.

His plan was long-term, spanning millennia; he hadn't considered sending more emissaries.

As long as the Olive Branch remained powerful, the Federation wouldn't dare harm them.

But Luna's words shattered this assumption. He instantly realized his mistake.

Luna observed Chu's reaction; despite his lack of a face, his emotions were clear.

The leader's role required Chu to possess some degree of independent thought, separate from the shared consciousness, which was purely logical. If the leader were also purely logical, there would be no need for a leader.

That was why Luna had stated that leaders were more prone to mistakes, more easily manipulated.

Despite their similar forms, the leader was still a flawed, biological being.

Chu had made several mistakes.

Luna now held the advantage.

...

"Chu, have you made a decision?" the shared consciousness asked.

Chu stood atop a skyscraper, his countless microscopic components forming an eye-like structure, gazing at the star.

Tilted Station wasn't far from the star (1.5 AU); it orbited a yellow dwarf slightly larger than the Sun (1.1 solar masses). This star was old and large, its diameter 1.6 times that of the Sun's. Chu's "eye" was almost completely obscured by its light.

He suddenly realized how bright Tilted Station appeared, not the darkness he perceived.

"Hold the attack. I have some matters to attend to in this sector."

The shared consciousness was puzzled.

"What matters? Are you still hesitating?"

Chu, however, wouldn't be swayed.

Perhaps the emissary to the Federation had been compromised, the message a fabrication.

But the initial coordinates were still valid; the gravity weapon would simply target Tau Ceti, the Federation's capital.

Chu's presence in this sector was due to another thought.

"Luna created a clone; we only captured the copy."

"By the time we found the original, she was already aboard a ship. Since when was Tilted Station so insecure? Allowing a being to reach the spaceport undetected."

This was impossible.

Chu, having discovered this flaw, was certain that Luna was still on Tilted Station, planning her escape.

They'd found a bioluminescent lifeform on the Celestial Palace, further confirming his suspicions.

A week later.

Chu observed movement among the Federation personnel.

...

Luna waited a week, then initiated her plan.

This was likely when Chu's guard was down. Their location wasn't in Tilted Station's core; escaping would require traversing 20 million kilometers.

A direct approach was the fastest route.

But that would expose them to the Olive Branch.

Fortunately, Ayla had made preparations.

The asteroid that had passed overhead days earlier had seemingly vanished, but it had left something behind—microscopic mechanical devices, now floating above Tilted Station.

"Is everyone ready? This is our only chance."

"The higher-ups have been compromised; we have to save ourselves."

Luna used a low-bandwidth radio transmitter; these signals were easily intercepted but also easily overlooked due to their low frequency.

A simple trick, almost laughably naive. But it was better than nothing; even their most advanced conventional communication methods would be quickly deciphered, the tachyon communicator being their only secure channel.

"We'll leave in two and a half hours."

"That's when the star's flares will provide some cover."

Luna, ever cautious, crushed her earpiece after transmitting the message.

210 long minutes passed slowly.

At the 200-minute mark, they saw flares erupting from the star, increasing the ambient temperature. Fortunately, their liquid metal armor could withstand it.

After leaving Tilted Station's gravity well, the liquid metal armor could accelerate them to 14,000 km/s, taking approximately five hours. It was a viable escape route.

210 minutes passed.

"Initiate the plan."

Being soldiers, they followed orders perfectly.

They ascended, their images remaining on the ground.

These projections, mimicking bioelectric signatures, were indistinguishable from real beings to the Olive Branch's sensors.

Millions seemingly vanished after leaving Tilted Station.

The asteroid's microscopic devices projected a simulated view of space, mimicking not just the starlight but also radiation levels, creating a perfect illusion.

Chu observed this.

He had to admit; had he not anticipated it, they would have escaped.

This projection technology, designed to fool the Olive Branch, was incredibly sophisticated, mimicking light, radiation, even subtle energy fluctuations.

"It's a shame, Luna. I wanted to give you a more dignified exit."

...

Luna left Tilted Station with the main group, neither leading nor trailing.

After escaping the station's gravity, the microscopic robots converged, forming a small asteroid-like shell around her.

Encased within, Luna breathed a sigh of relief.

"Time to leave."

The asteroid accelerated towards another asteroid within the star system, using its gravity for a slingshot maneuver to escape the system.

Luna, enveloped in liquid metal armor, prepared for hibernation. She would reach the Silk Road in a few centuries, returning to the Federation in a few millennia.

Then, a voice.

"Leaving so soon?"

Luna's eyes widened; it was Chu.

Her armor dissolved. Chu stood less than 100 meters away. Behind him, countless Federation beings were captured, their ships destroyed.

The plan had failed.

"You hid yourself well, Luna," Chu said, sighing.

Luna calmed herself. "You should have known I would escape."

"I'm just a minor emissary, sent to this distant place. Why target me?"

"Wouldn't it have been better to let me go?"

Chu, in his humanoid form, shook his head.

"Insignificant? I thought so too, but the Federation expended considerable resources trying to rescue you. Don't you think that contradicts your claim?"

"Those millions could have escaped, but you had to stay."

"I had intended to keep you alive, but your presence is a destabilizing factor, a complication."

"I should thank you, Luna. Your clone's 'death' prepared me for this. It's not as difficult as I imagined."

"As the true leader, I've changed. There's no room for sentimentality; I must be decisive."

"So, Luna… farewell."

Chu turned and left.

A blazing laser beam struck the metallic asteroid containing Luna, instantly raising its temperature to 10 million degrees Celsius. No material could withstand such heat, let alone a biological being.

Chu's decisive action signaled his transformation.

He chose his civilization over Luna.

His previous naivete had vanished; he was now a true leader.