Mars had finally been colonised.
Not halfway. Not partially. Fully colonised—terraformed, stabilized, atmospheric pressure balanced, and turned into a thriving, living world. Thrawn's efficiency was terrifying at times, but also… extremely convenient. The moment we gave him the authority and resources, he treated the project like a grand military campaign. Now Mars had oceans, forests, breathable air, and entire city districts designed with that cold, terrifying alien perfection he was known for.
A fully functional base now stood in the Solar System—an asset we'd needed for centuries. And it was finally done.
I stood beside Cleopatra as we overlooked the updated planetary map hovering above the table. She looked genuinely proud, her gold jewelry gleaming under the projection's soft light.
"I still can't believe we pulled this off," she said, flicking her hair back with that casually regal confidence only she could make look natural.
"You shouldn't be surprised," I said with a small smirk. "You're one of the smartest people I know. And Thrawn… well, he's Thrawn."
Cleopatra let out a small, amused laugh before returning to her datapad. She was setting up the Foundation financial structure—something only she could do with such dangerous efficiency.
She had already created thirteen main accounts, one for each O5 member. Each encrypted with banking systems that made entire governments sweat. And I made sure she had direct access to the Brain—one of our more useful anomalies—because with its predictive calculations, her ability to generate wealth was essentially unstoppable.
"Tell me again why you didn't become Treasurer of the entire planet?" I asked.
She shrugged. "I prefer being the richest woman in the room instead."
Fair enough.
We had become surprisingly good friends lately. Centuries-old immortals bonded over strange things: politics, existential dread, the best way to hide funds from over-curious governments… and occasionally laughing at some of the more dramatic SCP files.
Especially mine.
That damn SCP-001 file.
I still felt a mix of annoyance and amusement every time I thought about it. Someone had written me up like I was a multiversal extinction event waiting to happen—and okay, maybe that wasn't entirely wrong—but still. I had considered writing SCP files about the other O5 members to get even. Something dramatic, something over-the-top.
But after several minutes of internally ranting?
I decided against it.
I was nearly two thousand years old. I could be the bigger woman.
And I could also admit that the file… wasn't exaggerated by much. If I ever became corrupted, the consequences would be catastrophic. Universe-ending catastrophic. Maybe multiversal. And so… I finally accepted something:
There needed to be a contingency for me.
I didn't love the idea, but I wasn't naïve. I'd already layered my mind with more defences than most gods:– Metal neuro-shields– Cognitive scramblers– Sealed chakra points– Hundreds of runic mind wards– Fūinjutsu sealing arrays– Anti-telepathy matrices– And mental firewalls that scrambled even psychic attempts
Honestly, at this point, even a multiversal god would need a headache medication before trying anything on my mind.
But a contingency… that was different. A voluntary fail-safe. Something that would activate only if I truly fell.
It made sense.
It was responsible.
Even if I didn't like it.
I leaned back in my chair, exhaling slowly. "Cleopatra, do you think I'm being ridiculous?"
She glanced at me over her shoulder. "You? Ridiculous? No. Preparing for the worst is never foolish. You know your power. You're not arrogant—just aware."
I scoffed softly. "Arrogant would be easier."
"Maybe," she smirked, "but far less attractive."
I couldn't help but laugh.
Mars was thriving. Cleopatra was building an economic empire for the Foundation. And I, for the first time in a long time, was planning a way to stop myself if the universe ever needed to.
It was strange.
But strangely peaceful.