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In an unprecedented display of trust, Philip, Paul, and Sylas sat at the controls of three Space Interceptors, positioned at three fixed coordinates in the mesosphere, 85 km above Earth’s surface. Outside the Interceptors, the temperature lurked at around minus 90° Celsius.
Although none of the sophonts had flown a Space Interceptor before, let alone operated plasma weaponry, they had downloaded all the information required to pilot the vessels, calibrate the weapons and carry out their mission. The armaments were Shiva 3 plasma launchers, a hurried upgrade on the Shiva 2 launchers that had threatened the space cruiser the Sir Isaac on its arrival at Earth 2. Plasma bolts would pass through the stratosphere and then the troposphere to their target. Such was the urgency of the mission
