Gabatrix: The Pirates of Palora

Chapter 6: Valradena

From the darkness of space was an enormous asteroid belt. From the tail section of the Oracip debris field resided smaller and smaller rocks. There was still a sizeable trail of various boulders, from ones being the size of basketballs to those that were the size of skyscrapers.

However, from within this trail of asteroids was one that was much bigger than the others. It had blinking lights and portholes that filled its sides. About 30 kilometers away from this constructed space station was a spinning blue vortex held in a metal gate ring carved into a donut-shaped piece of rock. The wormhole was stable, enough for a single ship to fly through it.

In seconds, the enormous form of the Lifen emerged into the fringes of the Oracip debris field. Various red and yellow lights blinked from the lander's brick hull. Behind it was the spinning ring of the centripetal ring. With a quick shut-off of the rear engine thruster, the ship glided on its forward momentum. After clearing the wormhole, the rocky ring array remained active for another ten seconds before the blue vortex sealed close.

The Lifen continued to head forward, drifting through space. Inside the main bridge of the lander was a series of console stations riming with some form of activity. Away from the rotating ring, the crew were subjected to zero gravity, with the hint of minor adjustments pushing and jolting their bodies around.

Javier sat strapped into his chair, his magnetic boots keeping him anchored to the deck as the other crew sat behind their stations in a similar fashion. Those with augmented arms or hands were operating their consoles, a blue glow radiating from their ligaments. Those that didn't use them were operating under original control and keyboard. Ahead of Javier was Marcelle, working the navigation station and piloting the ship.

"We've cleared Valredena's gate array," Marcelle said.

Javier turned his head to look at the rear-right console. A pale-faced female officer, an ensign of former Chinese descent, sat behind her console. She was busy handling communications with a headset placed over short black and light blue hair.

"Ensign Genji," Javier addressed her. "Status on Valredena's permission?"

Genji gave a smirk at her screen. "Standby, sir," she replied with a thick Chinese accent.

The XO looked ahead at the main display screen that overlapped most of the bridge. It provided a live feed of the outside environment. Ahead of the Lifen was a torrent of asteroids, most at great distances. The ones that were closer to the station had small yellow-lit beacons for traveling ships. A few of the asteroids had implanted AIO turrets to help defend the facility further.

To the left of the ship was the massive asteroid base of Valredena. To Javier, it reminded him of the dwarf planet Ceres back in the Sol system, but only a fifth of its size. It was partially crooked in looks, consisting of a series of craters and jutting rock slabs protruding from its non-spherical structure. The lower left portion of the installation was a series of carved-out tunnels and docking stations. The lit lights showed the artificial environment. The occasional civilian mining hauler would either be heading toward it or away from Valredena, most likely heading into the deep sections of the belt or toward the gate array. Despite the cluster of rocks, Javier did feel a sense of ease. While the asteroids were a threat to navigating ships, they cluttered the scene, providing a form of majestic beauty to a dark-covered environment.

"Sir," Genji addressed him. "Permission granted. We can dock at loading platform 3."

"Set a course to Valredena, docking gate 3," Javier ordered Marcelle. "Take us in."