[Intro — northern wind / fire crackle / faint comms static] [lead — soft] Hello, Princess. [second voice] Hello, my love. Five minutes late— lost my Vagabond. [lead — faint amusement] Come here. [Verse 1] Blood moon over Lasleinur Grey world sleeping underneath Ships go burning somewhere distant Still you pull me into heat Two down today Still plenty left Cos lost an Abaddon [lead] Come here, love. I’ll give you a Raven. [second voice] Awww. Thank you, Mistress. [Pre-Chorus] Outside the revolution keeps moving Pilots jump and empires bleed Inside you tighten your arms around me And for a while that’s all I need. [Chorus] THE FIRE REMAINED When every other voice went dark THE FIRE REMAINED While we vanished from the stars No messages No explanations Nothing anyone could see Three hours missing from the universe Just you and me. [Verse 2] Maybe love is sometimes simple Not a vow Not some grand design A replacement hull A kiss beside the fire Your hand closing over mine Cos is fighting somewhere out there The Fraction still alive But here beneath the blood-red moon You pull me close and pour the wine. [Instrumental interlude — distant fleet comms / wind / low piano] [distant voices] Gate clear. Hold cloak. Align. Jump. [static fades] [Bridge — almost spoken] For three hours Lasleinur said nothing. The fire remained. The cave remained. The wind crossed the plain and whatever we were doing belonged to no one else. Maybe that is why I remember it. Not because anything happened that the universe could measure. Because nothing had to. [Final Chorus — fuller, mournful] THE FIRE REMAINED While the universe kept score THE FIRE REMAINED While ships exploded somewhere far Let empires count their victories Let pilots count their dead I remember warmth and your arms around me more than anything they said. THE FIRE REMAINED When every other voice was gone THE FIRE REMAINED And somehow we went on. [Outro — fire dying lower / comms returning] [second voice] I will come, my love. Just killed a Typhoon. [lead — quiet laugh] Of course you did. [long pause] [whisper] The fire remained.
