Interplanetary shuttle Momentary Grace en route from Metxibatu entry port
887,585 MJD (Modified Julian Date) / January 1, 4289 OC (Old Calendar)

The captain's voice came over the intercom, “All passengers prepare for docking.”

Eagerly peering out of the shuttle viewing port, I watched breathless as the distant stars began shifting through slow arcs in response to the docking maneuvers.

A few moments later, a faint, graceful arc of Sie Siete, the ring of dust and ice around Niecti, came into view reflecting the cold red light of the distant main star, once known as Hipparcos 1368 and Gliese 14.

As the shuttle roll continued, the icy mainworld Niecti itself drifted into view below the ring, with the night-side terminator line drawing a baleful reddish sunset curtain across the mainly frozen surface partially hidden under low cloud decks.

As the roll slowed, Setonti Station, my destination appeared, growing larger by the second.

Setonti Station was laid out as a series of centrifugal gravity rings around a central core axis.

From this perspective, I could make out the landing bay at the tip of the axis with refueling storage tanks and machinery surrounding the axial core below the landing bay.

The first of 5 gravity rings came next, the outer hull studded with hatches which must be the hangar bays for the Alliance Navy fighters.

Further down the axis, the main habitat itself, a slowly-turning, massive gravity ring studded with windows and extrusions connected to the axial core through six large tube-like spokes.

Next came a pair of smaller counter-rotating rings above and below a central technical core with smaller craft maneuvering nearby.

Last, a midsize ring with massive exterior doors regularly spaced around could only be the main cargo bay ring.

Finally, the bottom tip of the axial spindle appeared to be engineering with storage tanks for additional volatiles, maneuvering thrusters, and cooling radiators from the reactors.

Locking the gloves and then helmet onto the borrowed vacuum suit, I ran through the suit checks for the third time.

Over the helmet comm, I confirmed I was ready for vacuum if something went wrong during the docking and airlock equalization operations.

With a series of bumps, the shuttle slowly docked to an umbilical tunnel extended from a station-side airlock.

Eventually the overhead lights switched to red, signifying the hatch to the station was ready for opening.

From the faint hiss and shudder, I could tell the main hatch opened without too much fuss.

The overhead lights flashed green three times before returning to normal lighting, communicating that pressure equalization and umbilical mechanical stresses all equalized.

Then it was my turn to unlatch from the acceleration couch and disembark …

What would I find on this outpost in a distant star system, far from Earth?

What was I looking for?

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