All the little lost boys and girls, Chapter 68 (Patreon)

A conversation.
Me: "Okay, this should just be a short chapter showing the last moments of what happened to Alexei and then we're back to the main plot!"

Also Me: "Wait, didn't you want to do a more thorough arc of Ragnikov's investigation but kept getting side-tracked?"

"Well, yes..."

"And didn't you want to delve into at least one of the incidents at Gemini Pax and Sanguine Atoll from a perspective outside the Imperial research teams on DROP 47 to give the audience a look at some really fucked-up shit through the viewpoint of characters completely unfamiliar with DROP 47?"

"Yes..."

"So why don't you use this to do all those things here?"

"Because it would be a novella-length delve already and lengthen the story even more?"

"Let's be honest - at this point, story length is no longer really a concern, is it?"

"I guess not..."

"Right. So get cracking."

~

So this update is the start of 'Ragnikov's Reqieum', the tale of the ill-fated Duty Before Glory and what happened to the mission and on first days of the DROP's fall. Hope you enjoy, and thanks to all of you for your support!