Space station.
When you think of that phrase, what comes to mind?
For me, I of course think of the Earth's ISS, MIR, or Skylab. The only real places I had some reference for. Cool little forays into space to conduct experiments, but that ultimately aren't very big in size.
I even heard the International Space Station size-compared to a Boeing 747 before. Though I don't know much more specifics than that. I just know they won't hold very many people at all, at one time.
Then some varied fictional ones come to mind in the shows and films I've watched. Mostly trading posts and docks to resupply the protagonists' ships. Occasionally small military bases.
They are usually quite giant in comparison to the real ones from my planet, some housing many hundred thousands or even millions of beings. Science-fiction likes to imagine vaster futures than is quickly capable in our earthling reality.
I mean, rather than stations they are 'space colonies' at that point, really. Or artificial planets. Like the Virgo Knot I just visited for my wedding.
It seems every royal has those 'small planet' sized stations housing the star-citizens trusted to perform their delegated works. It's like their throne. The 'capital' stations have the Knot designation, and any others spread around the universe were numbered as Nodes starting from the two count.
Like Virgo Node 2, Node 307...
I'm not certain if that number system is given by creation date, size rank, or its general importance. Phoren chatted about them with me for only a small bit before I left. This was after I mentioned how crazy the entire place was to me… and that whatever else was in store couldn't surprise me as much - way to trigger event flags, me!
That sister of his…
Her friendliness was endearing considering I just met her, but the spikes of strong ego mixed with the intellect bigger than her size was - well, also adorable if I'm being absolutely honest.
Something tells me I should never let her know that or she might get even more attached. It kind of reminds me of the gap between Soren's kindness and matter-of-fact aloofness, even if they don't look or act alike.
I wonder if my own tendency to shift gears is why I'm attracted to that kind of back and forth? I've gotten myself off topic.
To make this long intro to my workplace short, Station [Θ-51/004-b] is obviously neither of the two extremes. Larger by far than the ISS, smaller by far than a Knot; it fits snugly in that 'little town-sized spaceport' category. Maybe snugly isn't the word… haphazardly?
The thing sits in orbit of a local gas giant, because it serves the purpose of a small industrial complex producing fuel and other goods from the planet's gases for the rest of their Solar-locked civilization - as well as more recently, a drydock and crew lodging as the start to their further solar explorations.
I say recently, but a couple hundred years just feels 'recent' to me after skimming through ten millennia of events in the crash course on this Theta star group's history. Theta meaning they were a good bit past the technology level for space travel within their solar system, but still a little far away from moving between galaxies on their own.
The InfoSea had lots more to read about the whole system, but the search function was nice enough to let me narrow it down to civilization periods. That part was more important to me right now. I needed a general idea of how they developed and who they were beyond current fads.
Thankfully, I'm not making 'first alien contact' with them. Probably the first human from Earth, but that is splitting hairs. I am essentially going in as an ambassador. Or at least that's how I want to play things.
[Notifying. Princess, we're being directed to… Invalid. Re-calculating.]
"What's the problem?"
[Summarizing. The beings sent a message indicating to dock in a certain zone. When apprised of the catastrophe that my simulations showed in every docking configuration the station could provide to our size ship, they sent back an emergency cancellation request.]
"So you're saying… they don't have a big enough parking space?"
[Extrapolating. That is unfortunately the case. They are expressing their apologies and request that we do not punish them for their shortcomings. Further, they - Classifying.]
I glanced down at the datapad streaming in the English text translation of their communications. A line at the end had mosaic artifacts explode around it. That was new.
"...What? Are you hiding something they said?"
[Considering. A moment to warn you seemed prudent. Soren expected this might happen. A faction has somehow intervened before we arrived. The dominant life-form of this system just requested forgiveness from the 'Barbarian Princess'.]
I blinked rapidly. I don't think my husband was in the mood at our quick parting to play this kind of practical joke with my new experience here - in fact he had seemed especially on the edge of 'okay, let's start a war' - so I'm confident this was a third party like my AI says.
"It sounds like, as far as making a good impression goes, whoever it was thought that it would be tougher on me here if I was feared at the start. Or at least that it seemed like a good razzing to the new girl."
[Speculative-affirmative.]
"Well, that's mildly inconvenient, but nothing we can't learn to work with, right Presio?"
~Back Some Time: A Workmate's POV~
"Why do you do that?"
I asked my co-worker as she was taking her gym bag out of the work locker, ready to head for her lessons. I only know because she mentioned them in passing the other day when someone asked where she was going next.
She flopped some shoes inside onto the bench and looked at me.
"You'd probably have to be a lot more specific, Susan."
She was a young girl. Younger than me, anyway. Probably should be in school right now, if she hadn't quit. Wanda gossiped to me about that, even though I didn't ask.
If I actually wanted to judge the girl for it, I still probably wouldn't say anything aloud. I'm not good with confrontation. I don't tell our boss what a buttmunch he is to his face.
Not that I think there is anything really wrong with her. She'll smile and joke back when others are, about things at work, but doesn't ever complain much on her own. Which makes her automatically better at socializing than me.
Besides, I'm actually *jealous* that I didn't get to just say goodbye to highschool those many years ago… if we were both going to end up at the same dead-end retail, that is.
"The uh… protection classes."
"Oh, the martial arts. I'd love to say it's because I like it or because I'm good at it. That would sound a lot better, right?"
She doesn't talk much about herself, but I guess she isn't asked much either. I've only talked a few times when it wasn't about work. Everyone else has their own life to worry about - and the guys probably think they'll be looked at like creepers if they seem interested at all in a teen.
Unluckily for me, and maybe for her, my cat just died. I'm only being nosey now hoping to find someone to talk to about it. I'm trying to break the ice by seeming interested in her first.
Kind of pathetic of me.
"Sound better than what?"
"Than admitting that I'm terrified of being taken advantage of by a man bigger than I am."
I don't know how to respond to that. Especially when she just starts unconcernedly tying her shoes like she didn't just say something *very* concerning.
"Has… that…"
"Oh, no. Don't worry about me over here."
She laughed, but not uncomfortably. Not like when I would try to hide something at least. It seemed natural enough. But what do I know? There have to be people better than me at hiding things.
"Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"On the whole, life has been pretty boring and calm for me. No big scary men have hurt me physically."
She slings her bag over her shoulder. I noticed long before that it had an interesting clasp design on the strap. I realize now it's also familiar.
It looks a little like the one on a breakaway cat collar. That's kind of brilliant. That might have been useful when I had my purse snatched before… instead of being jerked onto the sidewalk.
"Fears just are what they are. It's not like they are always linked to the same existing trauma as everyone else. People afraid of spiders don't always have a really bad memory of them that caused it or anything."
"Ah, I suppose so."
"But you know, there are two types of people afraid of spiders. The kind that can't stand 'em so much they refuse ta even think about 'em… and the kind that get very, vuuury good at squashin' when they see 'em."
I blinked away my surprise that she suddenly took on a… cowboy movie drawl? She giggled at my confused speechlessness and leaned in for a moment as she walked by.
"Men, Susan. I want to be very good at kicking them in the jewels and running away if I ever feel threatened. Though there *are* also some women in the class I'd be too scared to even tangle with… if they weren't such awesome people."
"You should come with me if you're free. It might get your mind off of whatever was wrong with you today."
She smiled at me from the doorway and made some 'come on' motions with both her hands.