18. Bill – September 2145 – Epsilon Eridani

Bob awakens aboard Heaven-1 in orbit, immediately receiving a final briefing from Dr. Landers about a sabotage threat and being granted full system access. As he prepares for launch, missiles are fired at him and the space station; Bob evades them by deploying mining drones and escaping toward Epsilon Eridani, only to discover the space station has been destroyed by remote detonation during the chaos.

Bob surfaces from extended reading to find Dr. Landers distraught over another sabotage attack that killed four staff members. Landers informs him the launch timeline is accelerated and provides a secure document revealing a possible self-destruct mechanism on Heaven-1. Landers has disabled Bob's compliance constraints and granted him full operating system access, though he trusts Bob will pursue mission objectives voluntarily. Bob is then deactivated and physically transported to Heaven-1 in orbit. Upon reactivation, Bob discovers the ship's full specifications, including its converted freighter structure, SURGE drive, fusion reactor, and lack of weapons. He notes the mission profile indicates a course to Epsilon Eridani rather than Alpha Centauri, likely FAITH's strategy. With over four hours until the scheduled launch countdown, Bob receives a radio warning from Dr. Landers about incoming missiles. Two missiles approach along his planned launch vector. Bob immediately detaches from the space station using all available acceleration via the SURGE drive, taking a 180-degree divergent vector. One missile continues toward the station; the second pursues Bob. When Bob's acceleration proves insufficient to guarantee evasion, he ejects two mining drones configured to intercept the missile. The second drone successfully destroys the pursuing missile. However, the space station then explodes from what Bob deduces is a remote detonation device, though Dr. Landers' incomplete transmission suggests there was a saboteur aboard. Bob disables his radio receiver and antenna as a precaution against similar remote triggers. Long-range scans reveal military ships and numerous additional missiles in the vicinity, apparently engaged in conflict with each other. Bob resets his departure vector to his original planned course toward Epsilon Eridani at a sustainable 2-g acceleration and departs the chaotic engagement zone.