It hung there in the reflected light of Kharak. Mothership!
The shuttle pilot, with some unexpected flair for drama, had manoeuvred to keep the massive starship from her sight until the last possible moment. Then, he had used a quick burst of lateral thrust to nudge the unwieldy shuttle into a sweeping turn, bringing the mothership into glorious full view. It was gently enclosed within the heavy metal filigree of the orbital Scaffold, which had illuminated the night skies of Tiir for the past decades. However, now, the passenger's eyes saw only the long curve of the hull. It was as if the bracing arms of the docking gallows did not exist…or, if she was aware of it, she saw it and its lights as a bejewelled space-sculpture that served only to frame and highlight the new symmetry and breathtaking enormity of the mothership. The dramatic impact was only heightened by the light that flooded her from every angle within the huge orbital dock, seemingly doubly brilliant against the velvet black of space beyond. The passenger had, of course, seen the mothership before, but only as schematics on computer screens or at various stages of construction. It was complete now, gracefully whole, a myth come alive.
Admiral Kirana Paktu sat at the viewport of the shuttle and watched as they angled in towards the starboard docking bay. She savoured the very sight of the ship, and while the pilot was kind enough to point out design changes and details, she immersed herself in the experience of visual contact. Soon, the bright blue work lights of the shuttle dock penetrated the cabin, tinting her fiery hair with sapphire highlights. She felt a few short vibrations as the landing gear mated home with the connections on the deck, the metallic sound of the security bolts unlocking, the familiar pneumatic whoosh of the airlock doors opening behind her.
Ten years of training, and a further two years of campaigning for this position. Now, Kirana, you are finally home. This is your command! Partial command, yes, but what a post to hold! The safety of the sleeping Kharakid is yours to protect. And now, what was the pilot saying?
"Welcome aboard, admiral," the pilot repeated.
The cargo deck was a confusion of supplies and equipment, zero-g cargo carriers, and hurrying technicians. Overhead, large one-man exoskeletal loader hauled crates or welded metal joints together. Neither her study of the design schematics nor her visits during construction had fully prepared her for the sheer magnitude of the mothership's interior. Even in the chaos of pre-launch frenzy, she was awe-struck by the size of the bay. There was something comfortably empowering in the way the loader pilots smiled at her through the wiring and metal framework of their exoskeletons. Admiral Paktu raked her emerald eyes over every detail. This was her new command. She wanted to know the ship intimately.
Behind her, the airlock clanged shut – apparently, the shuttle that brought her in was needed elsewhere in some part of the mothership's cavernous bay. There was hurry and a few signs of fatigue among the work crews as they struggled to have their part of the mothership ready for the imminent launch. Will she leave in time? Paktu mused. Somewhere inside this ship, the rest of the Admiralty is waiting for me, and they were the ones who argued that the hyperdrive test should be delayed. As representative of the Paktu kiith, she had liased with the elders and decided to remain neutral in that argument. She wondered now if she should have sided with the Admiralty and held the launch back. Her train of thought was abruptly derailed by a sweaty young ensign who emerged from the forest of cargo containers to greet her, suddenly nervous at the sight of an admiral having come aboard. Kirana noted how young the man was…barely out of his teenage years, by the look of it.
"Permission to come aboard, sir," she said, a faint smile touching her lips.
"Granted, ma'am," the ensign huffed. He was a fellow Paktu, judging by the sigil on his uniform. "Welcome aboard, Admiral Paktu. You're needed on the bridge immediately, so if you'd like to be escorted…?"
"I think I can find my own way, ensign. Return to your duties."
Kirana Paktu moved off, feeling the young officer's relief at her back. She found an elevator that took her to the upper catwalks of the cargo bay, crossed across the open deck below to the nearest personnel lift. She waited a few seconds until the cab arrived; it had the familiar feeling of the Scaffold's own carriages. Kirana stepped inside, drinking in the sensation of being there and giving the voice command that came next.
"Bridge," she ordered, relishing the moment.
The mechanisms responded instantly, engaging the magnetic drive modules on the outer skin and propelling the lift carriage upwards at a speed that was immediately smothered by a localised inertial dampening field. She could just feel the slightest residue of acceleration that told her that the lift was now moving horizontally to enter a new shaft. On the wall of the carriage, a large screen showed her exact position as she hurtled through the mothership. She was now crossing the equatorial regions and heading upwards towards the massive command sector, which contained the restricted areas of the bridge, Fleet Intelligence, and the haunting command core, where the young Karan Sjet controlled the mothership from her hardwired synapses. Kirana felt a pang of sympathy for the woman, who had given up her mobility to ensure the success of the mission.
She saw a handful of padded seats spaced around the elevator's walls, and settled into one as best she could. The screen on the wall scrolled some miscellaneous data that was supposed to keep people occupied, so the Paktu watched it with some disinterest until, minutes later, she felt the press of inertia on her stomach. Deceleration. She was now only a couple of seconds from being there, on the bridge of the mothership, her people's sole hope for continued survival. As the sands of the Great Banded Desert crept forward towards Tiir, she would be one of the Kharakid who found hope in that faraway planet.
Hiigara.
Our homeworld.
Kirana stood up as the soft chime of the lift informed her that she was just about to arrive on the bridge. She smoothed out her form-fitting uniform with one gloved hand and composed herself in front of the large double doors. She wanted to appear intelligently concerned, but also determined and confident that she would be a diligent and fair officer, expecting them to give her their full effort, but not overtax them…