Last In Line: Epilogue

48 Hours Later:

The earth sits silent, as it greets the morning hours on the horizon, somewhere on the outskirts of Washington D.C.

The streets are barren as the light of the dying sun, in all its futility, strains to herald in the new day. The once potent countenance of the sun that once brightly adorned the terra firma with its warmth and radiance, is now no more than a dying star on the blackened sky. It has begun its inevitable expansion into the orbit of, and consumed mercury, as its core has died out, and hydrogen is no longer being converted into helium.

The only sounds out on the streets are those of the frigid winds that now trek the globe, the temperatures have plummeted globally over the last 48 hrs to an average temperature of -200 degrees Fahrenheit as convection has been greatly weakened. This will eventually make way to the complete immolation of our once home as the Red Giant continues to consume all in its path in the emptiness of space, but for now, while the Earth is still here, still exists:

Through the streets of the U.S. Capitol, underneath the white blanket of frozen precipitation that has fallen in record numbers over the last two days (had there been anyone keeping track of such trivialities anymore) are the remnants of a once great civilization. The testament to their greatness evident through the many great feats that now lay in desolation underneath the cold.

Their engineering prowess displayed in the many vehicles that once transported their kind to and from their daily duties carried out with due diligence. Some of these mechanical structures even suggest that they had the capability of flight, though greatly limited by interstellar standards.

Many monuments display the characteristics that the dwellers of this planet had, features that enabled them to survive for countless millennia as the dominant species on this water-rich planet.

There are great structures of glass and stone, presumably where they once dwelled, shelter that had evolved into commodious luxury, as the species became less reliant on the tools for survival, and more prone to the materialistic.

They were birthed, coddled in their infancy and into young childhood. They attended institutions of higher learning when they reached the appropriate age, where once they obtained the adequate amount of mentorship, they were seen off into the force that kept the species moving. They married, themselves bearing children, grew old, and eventually died off.

They held ceremonies for those that died off. Many would gather around their inert vessel, recount memories they had of the deceased, some emitting liquid from their optic apertures in a gesture of solidarity and melancholy. They would then ensepulcher the vessel, where a marker would designate details of the defunct corpse. They had a relatively short life span…and a relatively short existence as a whole…

                                  ********************************************

EVALUATED INTELLIGENCE. REPORT CLASSIFIED:

———————————————————————————————-

Department of Homeland Security

———————————————————————————————-

DOI: (u)1102

REQS: Steven Chambers, FEMA

Source:

United States Naval Observatory, Washington D.C. in collaboration with Apache Point Observatory, New Mexico

Summary:

After initial findings by Apache Point Observatory based out of Sunspot, New Mexico, recommendation for further evaluation of organism to be conducted by joint collaboration of —— and —— at facility ——.

Findings:

After unfortunate loss of life of —— and ——- when initiating first contact with extraterrestrial organism, we were able to successfully communicate using ——-. Organism now known to be from planetary system hosted by multiple proximal stars in the —— sector. Through use of —— we were able to determine this sample to be a part of a larger single-celled organism that shares a common, highly evolved, highly intelligent hive-mind similar to ant colonies but with the organism displaying irregular physical qualities not substantiated by anything on record. Organism, if attached to the now deceased larger portion exhibits —— and the ability to partially —— which we believe it can’t display these traits to their fullest potential due to the weakened state of this particular organism as a whole. Organism feeds through process similar to photosynthesis of native flora, with the exception that this process is carried out on a massively larger scale as organism used convection radiation of proximal stars as “food”. It is this reason why it is believed their very own dependence on said sustenance eventually degraded the stars prematurely, exasperating the effects of a collapsing star in their own star system. Upon further communication via ——, this particular organism “told” us that their home planet had experienced a catastrophic event when the death of their largest proximal star, known to us here by classification at Apache Point Observatory as ——, and subsequent collapse of ——, caused a massive black hole to consume their planet. The fall into the black hole has allowed a certain type of evolution to beset these organisms in the form of ——, allowing rapid traversal of space and time. Organism warned of more to come, as this particular one was sent as a “scout”. Communications ceased at approximately ——, as species went into shock, emitted a focal burst of gamma killing —–, and expired. Gamma believed to be signal for the rest. No further findings.

Conclusion:

It is through these findings that we conclude this to be an imminent danger to the sovereignty of The United States. We do not fully understand the organism and what their intentions might be, therefore we must react with prudence and good measure. The Joint Chiefs of Staff will convene with the President at ——, where Operation Black March and it’s parameters will begin implementation. Please refer to attached documents for your role Mr. Chambers.

Threat Level:

Alpha-1: Red