"It's so dark. So fucking dark." Even on the dark side of Asphodel, there had been light--the lights of four billion people blazed brightly through the thin atmosphere. But low, over Akheron, there was nothing. No stars, no sun, no cities. Only the all-consuming abyss of a dead universe.

"Look" Fermi says, pointing out the cockpit window to a distant purple speck in the void. "Stygia." Even at this distance, the venusian world is a hazy blur, its thick atmosphere inspiring a moment of jealousy.

"We're really close" Dirac announces, not looking up from his instruments "his beacon is pretty weak but I think we've got an intercept in about thirty minutes. Dark side though."
"Can you set one up for when we can actually see?"
"Sure, but he's running out of time. If we can't match orbits this pass I can set up another intercept--we've still got some spare fuel."

Fermi returns his gaze to the window only to be blinded in the sudden glare. "Sunrise" he says, blinking back tears. A mere five kilometers beneath them, the surface of Akheron races past, crater-spawned mountains reaching up and almost swiping tiny [i]Bohr[/i] out of the sky. And following the sun, Asphodel rises over its moon's rugged horizon, its surface lit even here with the fires of industry.
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