Shrill klaxons shrieked with the pulsing of crimson warning lights.
Horatio gazed from shuttle cockpit on to the pockmarked chassis of the vessel that had served as both his station and his home for so long.
Bright green text flared into view in the display glass:
EVAC SHUTTLE HMS-RUBICON SEPARATING FROM GUNBOAT HMS-ULTIMA RATIO.
The hull of the Rubicon hissed as the umbilical cables detached from its mother ship. A sickening thud followed utter silence as the Ultima Ratio grew ever smaller from the observation window.
With a sigh, the former commander pressed his warm palm against the cold glass of the cockpit.
Red text burned into his retinas.
CONFIRMING ORDER TO SCUTTLE: HMS-ULTIMA RATIO, COMMANDER HORATIO NELSON - 162JK5
VOCAL CONFIRMATION REQUIRED
"Confirm order. Alea iacta est. The die is cast."
ORDER CONFIRMED. REMOVING CORE LIMITERS, INITIATING MELTDOWN.
Small motes of white light gently punctuated the otherwise lifeless hull of the Ultima Ratio. Plumes of heated gas erupted violently from the various decks while the plating glowed red-orange.
Horatio stared unblinkingly as the increasingly distant hulk that had been his home transitioned from a soft glow of red into a bright flash of white before dying down into nothingness.
Another line of text interrupted his gaze.
COURSE SET - OMEGA 50, CPW-TROTSKY
***
Horatio adjusted his Bretonia Armed Forces dress uniform as the bay doors to Boa Vista hissed. He winced as he walked, noticing the unfamiliar lightness of the suit now that it had been stripped of all badges and insignia.
His boots clicked rhythmically on the ground as he strode up to the reception desk. Removing his hat and tucking it under his arm, he addressed the receptionist.
"Evening Madam. Horatio Nelson reporting in for admission as directed."
