All other NorthStar employees and their families are advised to shelter in place. NorthStar and its employees are expressly not targets of either hostile party. Please stay safe until further notice.” --Emergency communique to employees on Scheherazade, April 2276 The whole world was made up of frightfully intense light, deafening whistles and heat. Tanner hunched over in his seat as the blaze seemed to engulf the rover, arms wrapped around his head. Time seemed to slow down until he became aware of the particularly searing heat on his shoulder. Understanding dawned on him—a piece of chaff had embedded itself in his seat and partially broken off onto his coat. Tanner opened the door and threw himself out, tumbling into the smoking rubble around the rover. His fumbling, panicked fingers tore the fabric off before the chaff ate through the material and did him real harm. Outside the rover, the world felt louder.
