
The shuttle rounded a pearl green moon and the Archer came into view.
“The pictures don’t do it justice.” Said Pani.
“No. No they don’t.” Replied Thellae.
“It’s hard to understand how anything that big exists. How it’s even possible.”
“Nobody does, really. As far as we understand biology, that thing shouldn’t work. Even with the gravity disparities.”
They were in the final approaches to Anango Quiver and the ride was getting bumpy. It always got rough, what with the strange atmosphere layers and multiple electromagnetic fields. Thellae took more interest in the controls, confirming that the decent was going as programmed. Pani kept looking out the window.
The Archer was standing on the large plain next to the station, towering over the complex. Her bow was holstered at her side. They’d named her Oroya, but that wasn’t what she called herself. While communication with the Shara-Celes was possible, it wasn’t a direct sort of thing. There was no straight language translation. It was more about expressing intent and idea back and forth. The concept behind her name was indecipherable so they’d chosen Oroya.
As they got closer, the station became visible in the valley it nested in. It was, itself, fairly large for an environmentally secure military complex. The compression buildings looked like rows of bricks. It housed a mixture of soldiers, support staff, scientists, and a smattering of civilians running shops and food services. Almost twenty thousand people down there.
She could have stepped over the entire base like a puddle.
__________________________
Humanity has found a new place in an intergalactic war far beyond the scale of their imagination! How do they fit in a conflict that spans the universe?
Become a patron and find out! Sign up for any level of patronage to get this story and dozens more!