Space Traffic Control 1, Mir Station:
"Let them through." A man's deep voice was heard as he looked at a viewing screen focused on a transport ship.
"Aye, aye sir!" A man wearing the uniform of the station spoke as he contacted the vessel.
"Celestial Mariner, you have been granted access. Please head towards the cargo loading zone in Bay X5." The comms onboard the deck of Jake's vessel sounded.
"Ugh, finally!" Aria exasperatedly spoke, bored out of her mind waiting in the traffic which did not seem to have moved an inch for all the hours they had waited.
"Come on, we're finally in. Don't you want to check out the Mall at Mir. I heard they've got an entire section dedicated to products from Earth." Jake spoke, trying to lift his sister's mood.
"Really?" Lyra spoke with excitement.
"Yes, fully authentic stuff, you know how rare it is to get it in the outer territories." Jake replied to Lyra who got even more excited.
"Yeah Lyra, how about we go shopping after? You can get whatever you want." Aria spoke to Lyra, inviting her to go shopping, her mood shifting.
"Yay! We can pick out some stuff for Mom, Aunt Elizabeth and Iris too." Lyra quickly spoke. Even though she was excited, she still thought about others, one of the traits Jake loved about her.
Jake then flew the ship past the long lines of traffic, whose pilots must've shouted curses as they passed by.
The ship landed at the priority terminal located a bit further than the normal terminals and landing pads at the front.
The terminal was packed with cargo and smaller military ships, loading up on cargo before heading towards the larger ships waiting outside the station.
Jake found his landing pad near the middle of the terminal between 2 larger ships.
'That's gonna be a tight fit.' Jake thought as he looked at the centre console showing him the ship's dimensions and of the landing zone's located below.
(That's what...never mind.) The Atlas stopped itself from speaking and instead let Jake focus on landing the ship.
"All ready Lyra?" Jake spoke to Lyra as he and Aria walked out towards the Cargo Bay.
"Yes Jake, cargo is ready for offloading." She spoke in a professional tone which brought a wry smile to the siblings' faces.
Jake walked towards Lyra before patting her head.
"Come on, let's go say hello to our clients." Jake grabbed her hand and led her towards Aria who was waiting for him.
The cargo ramp lowered and the trio were greeted by...no one.
Jake was confused for a second before he received a message.
Jake quickly opened the message and read it through seeing as it was from the station.
'Ship landing officially logged. Cargo has been detected and cleared. Cargo will be offloaded in a few hours. Trader visas have been provided...free to explore the station.' Jake summarised the letter he received and unlike previous encounters, he did not need to speak with anyone as everything was automatically checked.
'Looks like we have some free time huh?' Jake spoke to the Atlas.
(What would you like to do first? Should we head to a DTG branch?) The Atlas asked Jake.
'Nah, we can search for information later, let me ask what the girls want to do first.' Jake replied.
"Well girls, looks like we have already been cleared and the offloading will be done automatically. They also gave us these Trader visas to explore the station. So what do you want to do first?" Jake informed the two before asking for their opinions.
"Let's go shopping!" Aria excitedly spoke and dragged Lyra hurriedly out of the ship.
"Wait for me!" Jake shouted towards the two when he realised they were not waiting for him.
The walk towards the nearest elevator was quite a distance away as the trio realised the true size of the terminal.
After showing their Trader Visas to a middle-aged receptionist who sat next to the elevator, the trio were allowed entry to the large elevator.
The elevator had a sleek metal finish, the interface button less as a holographic screen to the right of the doors controlled the lift.
Jake studied the different locations that the elevator presented to him.
'Well...' Jake thought, as the moment he clicked a terminal, multiple other lobbies, sections and floors suddenly appeared.
(I would suggest heading to the Skyrail terminal first. It would take us directly to the consumer and residence levels making any further directions and trips, short and easy.
I've also memorised almost all the levels on the station, but only in emergencies. You should explore on your own otherwise.) The Atlas suggested before giving Jake advice which Jake accepted.
'Ok Atlas, you're right.' Jake spoke back before touching a section which looked like a futuristic train, the logo of the Skyrail system.
The trio did not notice any change in speed as they went further and further up, only after a few minutes did the walls of the elevator change to glass as the trio proceeded to stare in awe at the speed and view in front of them.
The elevator moved at an extremely fast speed and by Jake's calculation, they would be at the Skyrail system shortly.
The view Jake and the girls saw had shown the massive lower ring which was getting further and further as the elevator moved towards the large cylindrical part of the station.
Jake had also noticed that it was daybreak on Carter 2 as the sun's rays started shining past the large planet below as well as bringing light onto the surface of the planet.
The mesmerising background painted a beautiful picture, which the trio thoroughly enjoyed.
Jake did not forget however and before it got too late had taken a few photos with the girls, hoping to make a few memories of their trip.
After Jake had sent a few photos home, he realised that they had reached the Skyrail station.
The cylindrical part of the station housed the early human colonists and had greatly expanded and changed since it's humble beginnings as a cylindrical ringworld.
The leadership on Mir Station had realised that more space could be used if instead of a single level flat tall ringworld, shorter yet multiple levels could be placed instead, with each level in multiple sections too, and a group of them could be made into sections based on the type of district it was.
Of course, the original cylindrical ringworld was way too small to be used this way, multiple of these ring worlds were torn down and combined, making the station much wider than initially planned, which led to the large rotating rings at the bottom and top of the station.
In the end, the upgrades had been more than worth it, as the increased capacity and processing capabilities of the station had boosted the colonisation of the system and those beyond it, with Mir acting as a defacto FOB for the GOE-N and a main network hub for the SRB.
Jake and the girls left the elevator onto the platform of the Skyrail station.
The first thing Jake noticed was the openness of the station. The rail corridor was large and the platform had a few civilians while most of the people wore uniforms belonging to the Mir Station workers.
'Seems we're still in the outskirts of the rail lines.' Jake thought.
Just then a beep sounded and then an automated announcement played 'ALL PASSENGERS, SKYRAIL TO DISTRICT 1 WILL BE ARRIVING SHORTLY, PLEASE STAND BEHIND THE MARKERS.'
"Well, at least we won't have to wait too long." Aria spoke before sitting down on a nearby bench.
Jake and Lyra joined her as the rest of the people present stood and waited.
'Seems like they are in a rush?' Jake thought as he watched.
(They must have ended their shifts and are heading back home. After all this station is linked to the cargo terminals. Most of the people here are maintenance workers and a few are probably traders like you.) The Atlas informed Jake.
After a few minutes, their transport arrived. A sleek Ice white train arrived before opening its doors.
Jake noticed that the train was floating, using an advanced technology based on the hyper Maglev system, allowing passengers to reach their destinations at incredible speeds.
"Let's go." Jake called to the girls resting beside him.
The trio woke from their seats before entering. The insides of the train were large and comfortable, with many open seats present due to the quieter line.
Jake noticed that their Visas were already scanned as they took their seats in the comfortable chairs.
Lyra sat next to the glass windows, wanting to see the sights and Jake sat next to her. Aria sat next to Jake and soon enough the train departed for their next destination.
There was no sound as the Skyrail took off towards District 1, more importantly, the Central Business District.
The Skyrail passed through a long tunnel at first, Lyra worried that she would not get a view of the sights but that thought quickly vanished as they were soon met by the large City in front of them.
District 1 was essentially a small city on its own, tall skyscrapers, large buildings and a bustling nightlife were present.
The Skyrail, passed other Skyrail lines, and trains, and even flying traffic was seen as they got closer and closer towards the city.
Jake was truly impressed by the station and quietly analyzed it while the Atlas fed information about District 1 to him.
Since the Skyrail ran on a quieter line, their exit station was to the Eastern edges of District 1, which was on the cheaper end of things featuring low-rent apartment complexes, smaller malls and businesses which were focused on the poorer residents and staff which worked onboard Mir.
When they reached, the trio took their time before departing, the station was situated on a tall location, giving an excellent view of the rest of District 1.
"Well girls, shall we explore?"