As the lid of the cryo pod closes, I reflect on our lost potential. We had been well on our way to improving the human race. Unfortunately, not everyone shared our views on how to best do so. Which is why I’m here now, sealing myself into an icy coffin on Ark 24.

The Ark program began as a backup plan, to strike directly at our enemies’ worlds, bypassing the Gateway network completely. But that all changed after the loss of Menoetius.

It was then that our leaders decided to surrender unconditionally, giving in to our enemies lest they unleash their latest weapon again, on a system less easily contained. It was also then that the Ark program was canceled.

Luckily some of us still believed in what we could do. And that brings me back to the moment, as the needles slide into my arm, a spreading warmth lulling me to sleep, even as my blood is replaced by frozen saline to preserve me for the decades long trip ahead.

Though it may take centuries to reach victory, the dreams of the Coalition will never die.