Target: Cambridge

[Nightfall]

UNKNOWN BASE, AUSTERA NUBE, OMICRON-85 SYSTEM

A giant black shape emerges from the purple nebula. A few electric discharge flashes illuminate the shape and a few smaller ones. Black. Purple. Three metallic Sabres are flying in formation towards the giant artificial hole in the central asteroid. As they come closer, the vicinity is becoming filled with life of the busy spacecraft buzzing around.
Outcast Patrol Leader: 'This is Outcasts-White-369-Leader, request permission to dock, we're coming back home'
UNKNOWN Base: 'We are currently full! Please hold while we have a free dock for you!'

***

In the specially shielded sanctum, Bernard Fokke was looking over the viewscreens showing GNN reports and intercepted messages from various sources.

'Those Phantoms... Ember proves to be a true believer, may the Great Spirits be with her. And most usefull for our business... Carlos, contact those scavenger vultures in New London, put them up to some speed, there's a lot of people in need out there. ...and Carlos, issue an all out order to our agents to shoot to kill if they find any of that Cryer junk they're selling parallel to our Cardamine. That can't be tolerated anymore, we are loosing too big a part of the market.' Nightfall took the glass from the table, his thoughts wandering off to Ember's image displayed on the large central viewscreen.

'I wander if she survived that somehow?' he thought as a dark winged shadow flew over his mind. He imagined her, still alive against any odds, skin and flesh, burned, stripped down to the bones. With the eyes of his mind he saw a part of what once was her face. 'She has beautifull teeth. What a shame, she gives inspiration to my imagination...' he thought with a memento of a smile on his face. 'Imagine if she would survive that!' Nightfall said that out loud to no one in particular. All eyes in the room turned to him...

---

If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God? - from 'Nightfall' by I. Asimov
The Outcasts consider Siniestre Nube a sacred place for several reasons. Early explorers discovered a jumphole within the depths of the cloud that leads to a strange world of ringed stars and strange craft. All ships in the burrial ground are placed facing that hole to honor the Alien Spirits. - An Outcast rumor