Whether terrorists, rebels, or freedom fighters, the Providence Empire didn't care: the Old Guard was dealt with swiftly in the Zadabakar's Pride system. It was the only system where the puppet government established after the Great War defected wholesale to the Old Guard. A Providence task force quickly put paid to dreams of it being used as a base to launch raids into the fractured series of rump states where the once-mighty Second Zene Empire had been.

As the Providence vessels drifted through the debris field that had recently been the solar system's defence fleet, their primary objective was to occupy the system's two main population centres—twin planets known as the Sisters of Grace and Beauty. Yet, before that, there was the question of what to do with the planet above whose skies the battle had taken place: Grennow.

“The atmosphere is toxic and highly corrosive.” The vice-commander said to the admiral on the bridge: “It's so thick and heavy that at ground level, it acts almost like a liquid and will dissolve all but the strongest of materials. There's also a cloud layer so thick our sensors can't get a clear picture of what's below. No known native species, but some tens of millions of humans and zene live in underground mining colonies.”

“Yes, I've heard of this place. If I'm not mistaken, they call the underground labyrinth of tunnels the Devil's Basement.”

“The inhabitants have a small standing army and an ill-disciplined militia. We will crush them.”

“No.” The admiral said firmly. “No matter how ill-disciplined, they know the lay of the tunnels and we don't. If they choose to make a stand we'll never flush them out of there. It'd be like chasing rats in a maze—one to which they have the map. We've got more productive things to do. Let's make an example of this world."

* * *

It was the first time Travertine had ever been to the surface. It would also be the last. He shouldn't have been there, but his father—who was a well-known military surgeon—had pulled strings to get him here to watch the destruction that would become known as the Isolation. From inside the armoured bunker that was the control tower for one of Grennow's few spaceports, Travertine watched as the planet's system of satellites and balloons were picked off by the task force above. The debris fell, burning up long before hitting the ground. Without them monitoring the violent storms constantly raging across the planet at cloud level, it would be impossible to navigate the cloud layer.

Grennow had never been attacked from orbit before so the spaceport had no air defences. Soon, someone said, missiles would come and destroy the place where they were standing. The small group still in the spaceport dejectedly made their way onto the elevator. As they descended, Travertine gazed at his father's face, watching as the blast doors closed above. Some minutes after the door closed, a terrible tremor rocked the elevator as if the very planet itself had shuddered. Tears streamed down his father's face, but Travertine was too young that day to realise the importance of what had just happened.

Down the elevator went, deep into the heart of Grennow's crust, into the Devil's Basement. Never to rise again.