The circular platform descended with mechanical precision, carrying Liam, Daniel, Mason, and Nick toward the deck of the docking bay.

They stood in VAC suits—Vacuum Activity Suits. The suits were sleek, far removed from the bulky spacesuits of old Earth missions. Form-fitting material hugged their bodies, reinforced at critical junctions with segmented plating that allowed full range of motion. Transparent helmets provided unobstructed views while heads-up displays projected vital information across their field of vision: oxygen levels, suit integrity, temperature readings, and comm system that's connected to the starship's.

The docking area existed in hard vacuum. No atmosphere meant no air resistance for the constant traffic of spacecraft moving through the massive bay.

The mag-boots kept them anchored to the platform despite the absence of gravity in this section of the starship. Each step produced a soft click as the boots engaged and disengaged with the metal surface.

Without them, the slightest movement would send them drifting into the void, tumbling through the cavernous space until they collided with something solid or floated out through the open bay doors into the emptiness beyond.

Daniel's breathing echoed inside his helmet, quick and shallow. The reality of where they stood—inside an alien-looking starship orbiting Earth's moon—pressed down on him with almost physical weight.

Through his faceplate, he watched other spacecraft drift past in eerie silence, with just smooth, ghostly movement through the vacuum.

The platform touched down on the main deck with barely a tremor. Ahead of them, perhaps thirty meters away, stood Lucy. She wore her typical black office attire, looking completely out of place in the industrial environment of the docking bay.

Yet she stood there without any protective gear, as comfortable in hard vacuum as she would be in a corporate boardroom.

A bright smile lit up her face as she waved at them.

Liam raised his hand in return, the gesture slightly awkward in the bulky glove. He started forward, his mag-boots pulling against the deck with each step.

The rhythm was different from normal walking, requiring conscious effort to lift each foot high enough to break the magnetic seal before setting it down again.

As he walked, he let his gaze sweep across the docking bay. The scale was staggering. The space could have swallowed several football stadiums with room to spare.

Overhead, a lattice of support beams crisscrossed the ceiling, studded with floodlights that cast harsh white illumination across every surface. No shadows existed here and everything was rendered in stark clarity.

Other spacecraft rested in designated berths throughout the bay. He counted at least more than a score of shuttles identical to the one they'd arrived in, each one pristine and ready for deployment. But those civilian craft were dwarfed by the military-grade vessels occupying the far end of the bay.

Those ships were different beasts entirely. Angular and aggressive, their hulls bristled with weapon. These weren't exploration vessels or transport craft. These were warships, designed for combat in the unforgiving environment of space.

Liam nodded slowly, appreciating the work Lucy had done in bringing such a very ambitious project to life in just two months.

Yes, she had the advantage of the time dilation in the Dimensional Space and the highly advanced technologies.

The advanced technologies gave her capabilities that made conventional engineering look like children playing with blocks. But even accounting for those advantages, what she'd achieved defied comprehension.

Building a starship wasn't like constructing a building or even an aircraft carrier. The complexity involved—the integration of thousands of systems, each one critical to survival in the hostile environment of space—should have taken years, decades even. Yet here it floated, real and functional and beautiful in its terrible purpose.

He reached Lucy's position and, without thinking, reached out to pat her head lovingly and warmly.

"You did a wonderful job," he said, his voice transmitted through the suit's communication system.

Lucy's expression transformed. The professional competence that usually defined her melted away, replaced by something softer and more vulnerable. She leaned into his touch and her eyes closed for a moment, savoring the praise.

It was easy to forget, sometimes, what Lucy truly was. Lucy is an AGI in a synthetic body, she's the only and most powerful AGI in the world and and she's even closer to a human due to her ability to feel emotions. And quite intensely at that.

After a moment, she straightened, the professional mask sliding back into place. She gestured to the starship around them with a sweep of her arm.

"Welcome to the starship," she said. "I haven't named it yet. I was waiting for you."

Liam smiled behind his helmet. "I'll give it a suitable name after I've toured it. Can't name something I haven't properly seen."

Lucy nodded, but a small frown creased her forehead. "I'm unsure if you'll truly be able to tour the whole starship physically. The size makes it impractical. A virtual tour is possible, if you prefer. I can upload the complete schematics directly to your neural interface, let you explore every compartment and corridor from the comfort of a control room."

Liam considered this. She was right, of course. The starship was massive—over a kilometer long, with multiple decks and hundreds of compartments. Walking through every section would take days, possibly weeks.

But virtual tours, no matter how detailed, lacked something essential. They didn't convey the feel of a place, and Liam wants to really experience everything.

"I'll tour the important sections physically. The rest I can explore virtually whenever I need to," he decided.

Lucy's smile returned. "That's reasonable. Shall we begin?"

She turned to Daniel, who stood a few paces behind Liam, looking lost inside his VAC suit. His face through the helmet faceplate was pale, eyes wide with shock that hadn't diminished since they'd first glimpsed the starship from their shuttle. Lucy waved at him, with a small smile on her face, welcoming him avoid the starship.

Daniel managed a weak wave in return, his hand trembling slightly.

Lucy started walking, her movements fluid despite the lack of atmosphere. She didn't need mag-boots. Her synthetic body could manipulate its own magnetic field, granting her perfect mobility in any environment.

Liam fell into step beside her, their mag-boots creating a rhythmic pattern against the deck. Behind them, Daniel, Mason, and Nick followed with far less confidence, their heads constantly swiveling as they tried to absorb their surroundings.

The docking bay stretched on and on. They passed maintenance bays where robotic arms hung suspended from ceiling rails, ready to service arriving craft. Supply crates were stacked in orderly rows, each one labeled with codes that meant nothing to the newcomers. Fuel lines snaked across the floor, thick conduits capable of transferring thousands of liters of reaction mass in minutes.

They reached the far end of the bay where a hatch door waited. It was massive and circular. As they approached, the massive spacecraft's automated systems responded to their presence, recognizing two authorized personnels and granting access.

The hatch swung open with ponderous weight, revealing a small compartment beyond. An airlock.

They filed inside, the five of them fitting comfortably despite the bulk of their suits. The outer hatch sealed behind them with a solid thunk that softly transmitted through the floor. A glass door ahead separated them from the inner chamber.

Then came the hiss. Air flooded the compartment, rushing in from vents in the walls. The sound built from a whisper to a roar as pressure equalized. Status indicators on the walls cycled from red to amber to green. The whole process took maybe thirty seconds.

The glass door slid aside with a pneumatic sigh.

"You can remove your helmets now," Lucy said. "And deactivate your mag-boots. We have normal atmosphere and artificial gravity from here forward."

Liam twisted his helmet, breaking the seal. The clasps released and he lifted it free, taking his first breath of the starship's processed air.

It was cool and clean, with the faint metallic tang common to recycled atmospheres. He bent down and leaned back more on mag-boots, feeling them disengage.

Normal weight settled onto him—or rather, the artificial gravity the starship generated. It felt slightly lighter than Earth normal, but more than enough to be comfortable.

Daniel, Mason, and Nick followed suit, their movements hesitant. They kept glancing around as if expecting the air to suddenly vanish, leaving them gasping in vacuum.

Lucy approached a panel embedded in the wall beside the inner door. She tapped a sequence on the touchscreen interface. The door responded immediately, sliding open to reveal a corridor beyond.

The hallway was pristine. White walls curved gently overhead, lit by recessed strips that cast even illumination without glare. The floor was a darker gray, textured for traction.

Multiple doors lined both sides, each one transparent glass that offered glimpses into the rooms beyond. Most appeared to be storage compartments or equipment lockers, organized with military precision.

Lucy led them forward. Their footsteps echoed softly, the sound strange after the absolute silence of the vacuum bay. The corridor branched several times, but Lucy navigated without hesitation.

They stopped in front of one particular door. It looked identical to all the others—transparent glass in a metal frame, a control panel to one side. But when Lucy tapped the panel, the door revealed something different. An elevator car, spacious and modern, its walls mirrored to give the illusion of even greater space.

They entered, the elevator easily accommodating all five of them with room to spare. Lucy's finger hovered over the digital control panel, then pressed a button labeled in crisp white letters: FLIGHT DECK.

The elevator began its ascent. There was no sensation of movement, no feeling of acceleration. Only the floor indicator changing, numbers climbing rapidly as they rose through the starship's decks. The elevator climbed and climbed, heading for the top of the massive vessel.

The ride took several minutes. Daniel used the time to study his reflection in the mirrored walls. He looked haggard, older than his years.

The VAC suit hung loose on him now that he'd removed the helmet. Beside him, Mason and Nick looked equally shellshocked, two men confronting a reality that defied everything they'd believed possible.

Then the elevator stopped. The doors slid open.

Liam stepped forward and his breath caught. "Beautiful," he whispered.

The flight deck spread before them like something from a dream. It was enormous, easily a hundred meters across, with a ceiling that soared overhead in a gentle dome. But the ceiling wasn't solid. It was transparent, offering an unobstructed view of space beyond.

The Moon's surface hung below them, close enough that individual craters stood out in sharp relief.

But the view, stunning as it was, paled beside the flight deck itself. Command stations arranged in concentric circles around a central platform, each one equipped with holographic displays and control interfaces.

Crew stations for dozens of personnel, though currently they stood empty and dark. Navigation, weapons, communications, engineering—every critical system had its dedicated station, its monitors ready to spring to life.

The central platform rose slightly above the surrounding deck, granting whoever stood there a clear view of all stations and the space beyond. It was a captain's position, the heart of the starship from which all operations would be coordinated.

Liam walked forward slowly, his eyes trying to take in every detail at once. Mason and Nick stood frozen in the elevator doorway, their mouths hanging open. Daniel managed to follow Liam, though his legs seemed uncertain about supporting his weight.

This wasn't just a starship. This was a declaration, a statement of intent. Humanity had reached for the stars, and somehow, impossibly, had grasped them.

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