LOCATION: ARRIVAL LOBBY
AREA: HYADES TRANSIT NEXUS
DISTANCE FROM EARTH: 153 LIGHT-YEARS
The lack of sound in the arrival bay hit Kaela first. There was no hum in the floor. No vibration. None of the hustle and bustle of a busy arrival terminal at an airport that she had expected.
There wasn’t even any soft lobby music.
She chuckled at the notion as she took in the scene at the Hyades Transit Nexus. She and the crew had stepped out of the airlock and into a sealed chamber that scanned them for dangerous microbes.
Once they were cleared, the door in front of them slid open, and Kaela was greeted with silence.
It was surprising. She had seen so many of the old science fiction movies. She had pictured many things, but silence was not one of them.
“Don’t we have to go through some sort of immigration procedures?” she asked.
Skrixx turned to her, confused for a moment, but then realization dawned on his features.
“Ah, normally yes. But The Pathfinder is a diplomatic vessel, first of all. Second, I allowed a full scan of our ship before docking, and they confirmed all of our identities.”
Kaela raised an eyebrow.
“Even mine? How did they—”
Flonk, who was walking next to Kaela and Skrixx, laughed.
“You’re the first Institute candidate from a newly inducted world. Your credentials have already been transmitted.”
Kaela looked around.
“So there must be all sorts of security measures around that are watching us now?”
“Yes and no,” Flonk said. “Transit Nexus stations are considered safe harbors by multiversal accord. All of the major conglomerates follow these rules.”
“It’s similar to how journalists on Earth were sort of a protected class,” Skrixx said, raising a finger to emphasize his point.
Kaela glanced around again.
“Heh… Yeah, that’s one rule that wasn’t always followed in our history. I’ll keep my guard up.”
Skrixx and Flonk both patted her on the shoulder.
“Do so if you wish,” Flonk said, “but you’ll find you are quite safe here.”
They continued through the large, open, and empty arrival lobby until they reached a set of double doors that slid open for them.
“Okay,” Skrixx said. “This is the main floor. You’ll find all sorts of amenities here, including—”
“Why don’t you let her explore?” Flonk said, interrupting what looked like it was about to launch into a long-winded, guided tour. “Let’s hit up the pub. I’m dying for the latest gossip.”
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Skrixx stopped and looked at Kaela for a long moment.
“Are you comfortable with that?” he asked.
Kaela could see Skrixx was itching to join his XO. She smiled.
“Absolutely. It would be fun to explore. Where do we meet up, and how long do you plan to stay here?”
“Right,” Skrixx said. “The next mass transport to Alnitak, the easternmost star in Orion’s Belt, leaves in five days. Let’s meet back right here in six hours. I’ll have lodging set up by then. That will give you plenty of time to look around.”
Kaela could barely contain her excitement as she watched the Pathfinder’s crew leave to engage in their favorite pastime on the nexus stations: drinking and gossiping.
She spun around, trying to decide what to see first. On the wall to her left, she saw a large diagram showing a map of the station and a list of its various facilities and amenities.
“Perfect,” she muttered, walking to it and looking over the impressive list.
“How incredible that they have built all of this in outer space…”
The System interface translated everything easily for her, and she watched as the strange script morphed in her vision until the entire sign was written in English.
She scanned the list until she found what she’d been looking for:
OBSERVATION DECK
“Yes,” she whispered. “Let’s go see that first.”
She traced the route laid out on the map, until she came to an elevator. The doors slid open when she approached, obviously triggered by her presence.
She stepped in and looked for controls, but there were none.
A voice sounded out inside the small capsule.
“State your destination.”
Kaela cleared her throat.
“Observation deck, please.”
There was no acknowledgment, but she felt a light sensation of movement. It was subtle. There was no sound, save for a faint whirring sound at first, but it was followed by silence as the capsule she was in was launched through a tube.
A few moments later, the capsule stopped and the doors slid open. Kaela’s breath caught as she took in the views.
The Observation Deck was a giant ring around the entire nexus station, with windows that spanned the entire circumference. Benches were everywhere, and she noticed many beings of different shapes and sizes quietly chatting as they looked out upon the incredible view.
Kaela turned toward the window.
Stars flickered in the distance, creating a backdrop of serenity.
The gas giant, which she had learned was named The Madman due to the constantly raging electrical storms in its atmosphere, dominated the view to the east. And the local star, loosely translated as the English word Saffron, shone brightly to the west.
With objects of this scale in view, it was hard to gauge her own tiny movements, but as Kaela watched, she could see that the Observation Deck ring was rotating slowly around the nexus station.
For a human being from Earth, it was a lot to take in. By this time, at the dawn of the year 2050, humanity was used to the idea of other intelligent life forms.
They had developed portals. Learned about the Orion Celestial Accord. And the Obsidian Empire. Even fought them. But there was something about an engineered megastructure, something physicists on Earth had only postulated but never built, that humbled Kaela.
“I can’t wait to get to the school and learn more,” she whispered. She made a vow to herself, her family, and to all of humanity to make it count. To bring back whatever she could in order to benefit her planet.
To live up to the hope that Elliot Voss built into the very System that ran through Kaela’s body and mind right now.
And most importantly, to push herself hard. The lure of developing a path toward a Mythic class was intoxicating, and she couldn’t wait to get started.
Kaela spent almost the entire six hours sitting on the bench, looking out at the unbelievable view. She knew she had four days to explore more. But for right now, this was exactly what she needed.
When her interface told her it was time to meet the crew again, she stood and stretched.
As she turned toward the elevators again, she spotted something in her peripheral vision.