The Last Station Standing
The Story Tellerfalling into the darknessdarkness breathing demon slayer
"I'll carry Jun."
"No," Jun said, standing up with a fluid, terrifying grace. "I will walk. I can feel the station. It’s... it’s part of me now."
They used a Tactical Rigid-Hulled Inflatable (a fast, sturdy boat) to cross the mile of boiling water to the wreckage. As they approached the station, the scale of the destruction became clear. The Helios wasn't just a lab; it was a cathedral of greed, now shattered.
They climbed the tilted ramp of the Aegis Portal. Inside, the luxury of AetherCorp had been replaced by a nightmare. The walls were covered in a pulsing, organic substance—the Aether-Growth (a bio-mechanical moss that grows where Isotope energy is concentrated).