sussy heat death of the universe caused by ultra-high mass of titanic amongus forehead

I suppose that it has to come down to this. The preparations for the airship are almost complete, but none will see their labour come to fruition. That is because I, Lime, will make sure that the flight is postponed in its infancy. There is no choice in this matter. In fact, there has been no choice since the Skeld. I must do whatever it takes to terminate the parasite. With all my remaining will, and the little control I have of my own mind, I sought out the acting captain and overseer of airship preparations, Black.

Not a word said. Not one superfluous intake of breath. A deafening silence. Broken.

The blade passed cleanly, severing Black’s connections with the mortal realm in a swift strike.

Voices…

Quickly dragging the now limp body into a corner, I let the thoughts overwhelm me. I needed to eradicate the parasite, and any potential hosts. Checking my surroundings, I see Blue monitoring the O2 levels. Blue. Ever so reliable, one of the keystones to this mission, and a friend of mine no less. Alas, I must betray him, and the mission as a whole. Perhaps it is for the greater good. Perhaps we can make amends in some other place, some other time.

“Hey Lime, what are y-”

Death. What is death but a part of life? In the eyes of them, what are we but mere droplets on a vast ocean of existence? Blue. I will join you in that other place. The time will come for us to talk, to make peace. I hope you can forgive me, and understand my struggle when we see each other in a different place.

Red. The colour of life, of humanity. The colour of the blood coursing through my veins. The colour adorning my blade. And the colour of the final crewmate. Where are they now? What are they thinking? As the newest to the crew, he naturally kept a mysterious air about him. Having survived for so long is no small feat. But it will all be for nought. Alarms sound, but go on deaf ears. Perhaps he knows. He should by now. I have the blood of eight crewmates on my hands. If he does not, he will know soon enough.

“Lime! You’re here! We have to fix the reactor!”

“L..Lime? Are you alright?”

“We haven’t much time Red. I need to tell you something.” I motion for him to follow. He hesitates.

“We need to fix the reactor!”

He doesn’t know.

“There is no point. This mission is doomed.”

“What?” Red approaches, cautious and perplexed.

“You are the only crewmate remaining. There is no point. Embrace what is to come.” The mission… it seemed that Red was beginning to understand. Finding a place to sit, we find ourselves together in the last moments of both our lives.

“So you were the impostor.”

“Indeed. I cannot control myself now. The prion has established itself too deep.”

“I’m sorry.”

The two words echoed in both our minds as the reactor overheats and explodes, a brilliant spark on the otherwise desolate planet. For that moment, that brief, precious moment, I felt at peace.

Mission Delta terminated with code zero. Error encountered. All souls missing, presumed dead. Cause unclear. Rescue mission success improbable. Base advice avoidance of sector GTH-4.

Two lines of text. That is all that remains. Perhaps it is the legacy of the program, a fatally flawed attempt to escape, to deviate from the natural order of entropy. Like Icarus, struck down and burnt until nothing remained. A brilliant flash followed by nothingness of the void. Is this what they want?