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

Eagerly peering out of the shuttle viewport, I watched breathless as the distant stars began shifting in response to the docking maneuvers.

Quickly, a limb 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 Gliese 14. As the shuttle roll continued, the ice-world of Niecti itself slid into view, with the terminator drawing a baleful red sunset curtain across the frozen surface and 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 gravity rings around a central core axis. From this perspective, I could make out the landing bay at the tip of the axis with fuel tanks 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 giant main habitat itself, a massive gravity ring connected by six large spokes to the core, studded with windows, and extrusions. Next came a pair of smaller 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 ring. Finally, the bottom tip of the axial spindle appeared to be engineering space for additional fuel, maneuvering, and reactors.

With a series of bumps, the shuttle slowly docked to the waiting umbilical lock. Locking the gloves, 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.

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 was open without too much fuss, confirmed as the overhead lights flashed green three times. Then it was my turn to unlatch and disembark…

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

What was I looking for?

▲ Chronology