I’m alone in complete darkness now. I’m expecting to be jumped by unknown hordes of something from all directions, but instead, there is nothing but silence. I hear an almost metallic “click” somewhere ahead, followed by another, and another. I see lights moving toward me from far away. I realize that the lights are coming back on.
It’s a strange purplish-green hue light, and what’s more, I see no receptacles or lamps whatsoever. It feels like the entire corridor, the ship itself, simply fluoresces in sections, continuing until the entire corridor is bathed in the strange light. I walk forward. At the end of the corridor is another door similar to the one I entered this passage through. Trusting my instincts, I reach out and touch it with the palm of my hand, and again, the door de-materializes upon contact. I step through into a somewhat large, circular chamber. A hangar bay. I say this because standing before me is quite possibly the most beautiful starship I’ve ever seen.
It sits in the center of the bioship’s illumination, seeming to be luminescent itself. About twice as large as the Brick, this incredible machine resembles a predator waiting to strike. The fuselage is slender yet solid in appearance. Instead of transteel, what appears to be the cockpit seems to be formed from a translucent crystalline substance which, like the rest of the ship, pulses with an almost surreal glow. Hawk-like wings extend from the fuselage, sloped gracefully and crescent-like in form, razor-sharp in apperance. I immediately take note of what appear to be cannons slung under the tips and roots of the wings as well as mounted beneath the nose. They resemble weapons in shape and form, yet they are nearly completely transparent, glass-like in nature, but the crystalline material of which they are constructed feels like cold, solid titanium alloy, and something seems to denote that they would be stronger than any metal.
The thruster array on the rear of the ship is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It appears to be a fusion of the crystal substance and the biometallic alloy from which the starship we’re on is formed. The materials weave into each other in a spiral pattern which forms six tubes which are far smaller than any engines of human or known alien design. Each tube terminates in a translucent crystalline disc, which seems to be created for focusing energy away from the ship. Nestled among the thrusters is another control surface which resembles a bird of prey’s tail more than a stabilizer. But the most curious feature of all is that the ship possesses no form of landing gear or undercarriage whatsoever, merely floating above the deck at the height of about a foot and a half. And unlike our repulsors, it doesn’t move at all, not even drifting slightly from side to side or up or down as our systems do. It is simply suspended, and yet it is so firmly fixed in its spot that it might as well be joined to the deck by rock.
A small portion of the ship’s hull flouresces in the now familiar discoloration I’ve come to recognize as a door or portal, so I press my palm on it as I’ve done before, and the door dematerializes like the others have done before. A small beam of light reaches out from within the ship to the level of the deck. I discover that the beam is solid, and walk up the beam like a ramp into the ship.
The ship’s interior, dark upon first revealing itself, flouresces almost immediately after I enter, this time producing a soft blue-green hue that seems pleasing to the eyes. I walk first to the cockpit, and discover that the crystalline cockpit plating is not only transparent from the inside, but is such that it appears almost nonexistent. I can tell that it’s there, though, because the ship – it seems to be powering up now, though I’ve done nothing – highlights the cockpit windows with what appear to be engine power, shield and weapon displays, much like I’m familiar with. At a closer glance – they are what I’m familiar with – they are the exact same displays that the Brick’s tactical systems use, and the readouts are in my language, plain as day. Somehow, this ship has configured itself to my mind and preferences – a fact that throws me on alert immediately. Is my mind being read, or is someone hacking the very core of my cybernetic existence?
I rise from the cockpit and search out the rest of the ship with increasing suspicion, but there is no one else onboard – at least not that I can determine. At this size, it’s a far cry from what the Brick had to offer, almost luxurious by comparison. Yet this vessel seems distinctly military – there are weapons placed in strategic stashes on the bulkheads, and the largest room on the ship seems to be a briefing room of sorts, with chairs placed around a centrally located table that is translucent in appearance and serves to project displays to each person seated. What intrigues me most, though, are the suits of armor on the walls. Clearly battle armor in their nature, they are formed from the translucent crystal that is prevalent in the ship’s weapons, hull, and engines. I focus my attention on one suit in particular. The style, though completely alien in origin, brings to mind images of ancient Sulamarian battle armor on display in museums throughout my homeland, and some in Starfleet museums as well. I think of what it would be like to wear this alien armor, and suddenly it disappears. An empty space is all that remains where it had been standing seconds before.
It takes me several seconds before I realize the armor is on me. I nearly fall over in surprise, and notice that the lifeless transparent crystal seems to glow brightly in a translucent blue hue. The plasma cannon that moments before was strapped to my back is now mounted on a bracket on my left arm, to the armor in such a way that all I have to do to bring it to bear is align my arm with the target. The armor is thick and solid in appearance, but doesn’t weigh down on me in the least. Shining crystal plates rise from the joints of the armor and lock into place around my wrists, elbows, knees, neck and other locations that are usually lightly armored and vulnerable in most battle armor designs. A helmet materializes around my head with incredible speed, and suddenly the world around me fades out a little. I blink once, and then I’m not alone – the image of a beautiful woman appears, and I speak the word that immediately comes to mind.
“Galaxia.”
