Purging

"Let it flow."

The sluices opened and the hot vitriol began pouring through the cognitive matrix. It was a calculated move: the blue crystalline flower at the center of the chamber had flared up to an astonishing brightness, something his course of action had not been intended to cause. It was beautiful... Deeper in the structure great shudders rocked the vessel, but those were unimportant systems. Only radiation and darkness down there, he told himself. Don't worry about it.

Soon enough the turbulent torrents of caustic lapped at the base of the delicate blossom and it was snuffed out.

"Done."

He watched the floodgates start to close and turned to leave when the floor shuddered under him once again.

"Wha--" He glanced out through the glass. An intense, purple glow was filtering through from the understructure, and the ground's jerking was increasing. "No no no no---" This can't be happening. Nothing was supposed to survive that. Not that. Especially not that. He had let the gem die just so that this could take its place? That glow--gamma decay, hard radiation--it'll cook me right through the glass--focus--

--gem--

--look up, dangit!

It'll all be slag soon--not even the fissiles were effective--nothing--

-- where -- who... how...

just shadows now...

don't sleep. Run.

Fight? How? Nothing works. It's--

Run.