Post Impact

In 2010, during a lively party at the US embassy in Berlin, a scientist named Gregor Starndorf learns that the comet Bay-Leder 7, which he discovered, is on a direct path to Earth and capable of triggering an extinction‑level event within days. The looming threat prompts him to push a radical response: a satellite weapon called SolStar-2. This device emits a microwave beam that successfully splits the colossal comet into two pieces, but tragedy strikes when the smaller fragment crashes down in western Russia. The domestic shockwaves ripple through everyone watching the crisis unfold, setting the stage for a perilous race against time.

The embassy’s security chief, Col. Preston Waters, makes a fateful decision that haunts him later: he orders Captain Tom Parker to evacuate his family, leaving them behind as Parker watches the aircraft carrying them depart, powerless to intervene. News broadcasts in the aftermath show the immediate fallout of the impact, painting a stark picture of a world already altered by the events in Berlin.

Fast forward three years, and the world is barely recognizable. The debris from the shattered comet has darkened the atmosphere, driving Europe into an icy winter that forces a mass evacuation to North Africa under a new global order—the New United Northern States (NUNS). Oil has become king, and the Middle East dominates the global economy as a result. In the ruins, a NUNS technician uncovers that SolStar-2 remains active, but its control is tethered to a command center hiding beneath the Reichstag. Germany itself is now a frozen wasteland, shrouded in ice.

Meanwhile, an investigation mission is launched to uncover who is pulling the strings behind SolStar-2 and to destroy the weapon before it can be used again. The mission is led by Col. Waters, now aligned with a determined group that includes ex‑SAS officer Sarah Henley and Anna Starndorf, Gregor Starndorf’s daughter. Parker, still haunted by his earlier loss, asks to join, secretly clinging to the hope that his own family might still be alive somewhere out there.

Their inbound flight is abruptly cut short as SolStar-2 locks onto their position and obliterates the aircraft, forcing the team to bail out and descend with two armored personnel carriers. They navigate a treacherous path through Cologne, using the Cologne Cathedral as a landmark to guide their way. The journey is brutal: they suffer casualties among their ranks, and an APC is swallowed by a merciless ice geyser. When they finally reach Berlin, they discover the city is buried beneath several meters of pristine, glistening snow.

In the wake of their arrival, they are confronted by a band of survivors eking out a precarious existence in the snow‑bound ruins. A hollowed underground complex, operated by the so‑called Distributors, shelters around six hundred people who rely on the resources the surface cannot provide. In the midst of this, a blind man known only as “the doctor” maintains contact with the surface and supplies food to the hidden community. The truth comes to light when the doctor’s quarters—a verdant greenhouse beneath the Reichstag—reveal that he is none other than Gregor Starndorf. He explains that he and Klaus Hintze, his chief engineer, originally designed SolStar-2 as a groundbreaking power source to diminish dependence on oil, but the project was co‑opted by military interests and transformed into a weapon.

The doctor also reveals a disturbing plan: Hintze has been using SolStar-2 as a weapon, and he has been instructed to reactivate the satellite to extend its reach. The revelation comes just as the Distributors surge back into the fray, and in the ensuing battle, the doctor is assassinated by a sniper.

The confrontation between the surviving team and Hintze reaches a fever pitch. Hintze powers up SolStar-2 with the intent of striking Tangier, the HQ city of the NUNS, as vengeance for leaving him behind. Sarah Henley shoots Hintze, and Col. Waters, deeply shaken, offers Parker a candid apology for his earlier actions. As Parker processes the encounter, an intruder alert triggers Parker to step away and investigate. In his absence, Sarah makes a shocking move: she murders Waters and then instructs Anna to retarget SolStar-2 toward Mecca, hinting at a broader, lucrative conspiracy with an unnamed sponsor that promises a $10 million payoff.

Parker returns to the scene, battered but determined, and engages Sarah in a fierce confrontation. In the ensuing struggle, Anna shoots Sarah, removing the immediate threat. Anna then directs SolStar-2 toward Europe and activates her late father’s plan to “kickstart the weather.” The weapon drains its remaining energy in a final, sweeping microwave torrent that begins to lift the heavy blanket of winter over the continent and gradually warms the atmosphere.

With the crisis shifting back toward a personal mission, Parker and Anna press on in search of Parker’s own family. They eventually locate his home, where he discovers his wife’s final message beside her frozen body, a stark reminder of what was lost to the cold. Outside, the sweeping, now‑melted skies reveal a new dawn: the thick clouds that once masked the sun have cleared, and a hopeful light breaks through as the sun reemerges over Germany. The climate’s long night begins to lift, suggesting the world may be able to heal from the catastrophe—with the memory of what happened to drive future caution and resilience.

Notes on a few character threads recur throughout the journey, grounding the human cost of the science and politics at the center of the crisis: the choices of leaders, the loyalties and betrayals among allies, and the relentless hope of a family reunion that makes every risk feel worth it. The narrative stays focused on the interplay between scientific ambition, political maneuvering, and the basic human impulse to protect the people we love, even in the bleakest of winters.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 16:50