The Rebel Worlds, X.As the rogue recedes on its hyperbolic orbit:
raw mountains
gashed valleys
naked stone plains
chill, stagnant seas
night
rare lamps
blue fluorescence
dreary wind-skirl
rushing sterile waters
inanimate, unaware, toiling machines
a dragon's hoard of synthesized isotopes
sufficient reason to garrison and colonize Sector Alpha Crucis
where High Admiral Hugh McCormac waits while battle is joined
