On Earth's Moon, just inside the twilight zone, was a glinting dome made of a clear polycarbonate material. Like an armadillo shell, the dome could be covered by overlapping metal plates that could shield it from the sun or stray meteorites. This was a necessary function to ensure that the lunar colony housed within was kept safe.
Outside of the dome were many structures, including a vast shipyard which manufactured and housed the Voyager ships, which were the pride of Humanity. These shipyards and warehouses were connected via subterranean passage ways to the facilities that were housed inside the dome. These facilities were the the remnants of the first experiments in extraterrestrial terraforming and colonization, which had long ago been repurposed and retrofitted for use by the Voyagers. Now, scientific research compounds, administrative buildings, and the Voyager Academy were now the primary facilities within the dome, plus a plethora of mercantile and recreational facilities that served the Voyagers.
"So, if I understand your theory correctly, if we use these dimensional emitters, we could tear a section off of another dimension and create a... a what? A pocket dimension?"
Everette Vires, better known as Ever to his friends, sat at a table with his friend Dirk March. Ever had dark hair and dark eyes, he was average height and better than average looks, and he was relatively well built for a 22 year old. However, his friend Dirk was what some would call hero material, over six feet tall and blond hair, he was all muscle.
"That's exactly what I'm saying," said Dirk, taking his notebook back. "You would have to plant some sort of trans-dimensional signal device so you could locate it again, but then you could step to it directly from wherever you were."
"That's pretty incredible," said Ever, pulling his lunch tray back over and having a few bites.
Ever and Dirk were finishing their lunch in the cafeteria at the Voyager Academy. Both men were currently finishing their third and final years before joining the ranks of enlisted officers. The Voyager Academy curriculum consisted of several major topics such as starship operation and maintenance, faster than light and dimensional studies, physical fitness and basic martial arts, and leadership courses.
"Yeah, well... It's just a theory, I don't know if it would actually work, since I don't have access to the technology. The applications would be endless, since you could have control over the presence of energy, and therefore the laws of reality, within the controlled space," said Dirk, as he opened a small container and dumped a chalky white powder on his lunch.
Ever coughed lightly as some of the particulates went up his nose. "Can't you just make a shake out of your protein powder and drink it instead of putting it on your food?" he asked while gagging.
"It makes the food taste better," said Dirk with a laugh, stirring the powder, and all of his side dishes, into one big gelatinous mass in the middle of his plate. "Gotta keep my gains, bro."
A few minutes later, a small black dot on the back of Ever's left hand lit up and projected a small blue screen into the air. "Ah, we have to get going to class," said Ever. He tapped the dot, and the blue screen vanished.
"Sure," said Dirk. "Let me just finish this." Dirk then proceeded to shovel the rest of his food straight into his face.
"You're so weird, you're some sort of super nerd, yet you're a total jock, too," said Ever, feeling a mild sense of horror. "You should really pick a lane."
Dirk swallowed the last of his food. "Nah, I'm the perfect all-rounder. Takes a lot of work."
The two of them dropped their lunch trays off and then headed towards the classroom. "What do you think will be the lecture today?" asked Ever.
"The syllabus said today was going to be a special study on Lars," said Dirk.
Ever huffed, and said, "Man, Lars has been the number one subject in our studies since primary school. You'd figure we could all have doctoral degrees on AI studies at this point."
Dirk chuckled, and shook his head. "You know, we could study Lars every day for the rest of our lives and still only scratch the surface. Lars has been around for more than five thousand years already."
Soon, the two boys entered the classroom. "Damn, late again," said Ever, gazing at the full rows of seats next to the windows. The majority of lecture classrooms were built in amphitheater style, with three seating blocks that rose up in the room. Professor Aimsworth's classroom was one of the few with windows overlooking the small apple orchard outside. The orchard was a remnant from when the academy functioned as an agricultural research facility. Needless to say, the block of seats nearest the window were the most sought after.
Ever lead Dirk to the second row of seats in the center block, where he pressed the black dot on the back of his hand against the tabletop. Moments later, a screen was projected into the air in front of him with some information about the class on it.
"Look who decided to attend class today," said a blonde girl who took a seat directly behind Ever. She was with two friends, a brunette and a girl with hair so black it seemed blue.
"Hey Fae," Ever said, giving the blonde girl a smile. "Sam, Diana." He greeted the other two girls with a nod.
"You know I'm busy with the Disciplinary Committee, and people always seem to cause problems right after lunch," said Ever, complaining a bit.
Third year students would often take on jobs around the campus as part of their studies, everything from assisting in the principles office to working as campus security. Ever was top of the class in both Leadership and Martial Arts courses, and so had been asked to join the campus security team, which was referred to as the Disciplinary Committee. The name came because cadets were not allowed to officially serve in law enforcement on campus, but they could serve on committees that dealt with regulations.
"Yeah, yeah," said Dirk with a laugh. "You're usually the one causing the trouble, tough guy."
"Who's side are you on here?" said Ever while the girls laughed at him.