Once the Draconequus was underway, its crew began moving to the artificial gravity ring where they'd spent the majority of the trip. Starry Night was the first in, carefully climbing down into the habitation ring, slowly feeling centrifugal force start to manifest itself. Never before was she so happy to finally feel weighty again, having spent enough time in zero-G that day to almost forget what it was like. Spinning fast enough to only produce three quarters of Equestria's gravity, she definitely felt something was lacking, but it felt good to walk normally again.
A bulkhead door separated the access ladder and the proper inside of the habitation ring. Starry pushed it open and immediately realized how cramped it was, being no more than three pony lengths wide, and about as long as the station hopper she'd taken. Stuffed into this space was a modest kitchen with tables and chairs in one corner, exercise equipment in the other, and a couch with TV and small bookshelf in the middle. The floor curved noticeably, which would take some getting used to, but was easy enough to traverse. Windows lined the far wall, and as she trotted up to them out of curiosity and looked up she found the center of the ship appear to rotate in place above her as the gravity ring made its rounds. Now that'll definitely take some getting used to.
"Hot damn, there's a TV in here?" Wind Catcher suddenly called out, the second to finish climbing down the ladder.
"Don't get too excited!" Chart's voice echoed from further up. "Relay satellites play less and less the further out we go. You'll probably still get the hoofball game, but it'll be a day late and the quality will be ass."
Soon the entire crew was piled into the tiny living space, sitting around and getting their bearings. Chart explained that beyond the living space there were dorms, bathrooms, and a hydroponics lab for a backup food source that altogether made up a little over half the ring's circumference. The rest was split between cargo space and subsystems for air and water.
"Well folks," Chart announced with a glance at his data pad, "it's been a long day. Everypony go get some sleep and we'll take stock tomorrow morning."
Starry hadn't realized it, but at this point she really was tired. Stifling a yawn, she funneled through the doorway to the bedrooms with the rest of the crew and stepped through the first open door she found.
Ah...lovely, was the first thing Starry thought upon being faced with a room that was somehow even smaller than her dorm on Celestial station. There was a bed built into the wall a dresser, and a broom closet's worth of floor space.At least there's still a window. And that was it. Still, it was a bed, and when she checked her data pad and found it was almost 11 at night Canterlot time, she had no reservations about slipping under the covers and dozing off.
=====
With no alarm to wake her up this time, Starry woke up bright and early at around 9am. Must've forgotten to set it. It was the banging on her door from Chart Topper that finally convinced her to get out of bed. With no private bathroom she had to trot down the hall to do her morning routine, though sleeping in meant there unfortunately wasn't time for a shower. After rushing to get dressed she made her way back to the common room to find the rest of the crew sitting around the breakfast table and chatting over coffee and MREs.
"Glad you're finally joining us, sleeping beauty," Countdown smirked.
Starry rolled her eyes. "Time is relative in space," she yawned, trotting over to the coffee machine to see what was left. Next to the machine was an MRE left out for her. Cinnamon oatmeal with strawberries. Gotta be better than nutrient paste. After pouring a cup of coffee and preparing the packaged meal, Starry finally took a seat at the table.
"Now that we're all here," Chart started, sneaking a glance in Starry's direction, "let's go over what's to be expected here."
"First of all, personal routine is important. I can't stress enough that muscle atrophy is gonna suck, so no less than an hour's exercise for all of us. Secondly, it's easy to start losing your mind up here, so try to keep yourselves occupied. If anypony feels stressed, talk to me first thing. I should also mention the computers in the cockpit can record and send video, if any of you have anything to say to your family.
"As for the ship itself, we'll be doing once-overs of the ship twice daily to make sure everything's running smoothly. Mint, Star, that's you two especially. Countdown, periodic checks of navigation systems to make sure we remain on course. Wind, you and me will take inventory and then I'll let you run wild in the hydroponics lab. Makes me feel better to know we have something growing in case of emergency.
"Beyond that," Chart finally smiled. "Enjoy yourselves. You're all certified spacers now. The future is in our hooves. Dismissed."
With a chorus of salutes, everypony got up and left the table, save for Starry as she was the only one still eating. Note to self, set alarm as soon as I'm done eating here. As she sat and chewed on a spoonful of rehydrated strawberries, she gazed out the window at the vast empty expanse before her. They were already far enough out that Equestria was a tiny blue marble in the window, with the sun a tiny speck of light next to it, and the moon having more or less disappeared.
Starry's thoughts remained empty, but she ate a lot slower as she remained transfixed to the blue dot suspended against the black, star-speckled backdrop.
=====
Shipkeeping was not a terribly hard job, merely a tedious one. First check the reactor, as that was the source of many problems if not properly maintained. All the computer displays had their numbers and bars exactly where they should be, and Starry couldn't see anything out of the ordinary with the reactor itself. Check it off and move on.
Next up would be air and water systems. Mint had already offered to check the main generators and recyclers, so Starry checked the individual vents and channels that distributed it to the entire ship. Temperature nominal, air pressure fine, oxygen levels good, no excessive carbon dioxide, no foreign contaminants. Check it off and move on.
Moving on, Starry and Mint split up the ship's main electrical systems, which was to say, anything that used power that wasn't the reactor or life support. Lighting, computers, batteries, and perhaps most importantly, engines. Firing up the engines was not an option at this point which partially limited her ability to confirm they were still working, but being one of the most sensitive parts of the ship, each were fitted with a million different diagnostics systems. All the numbers seemed to be in the green. Check it off and move on.
Finally, Starry and Mint were tasked with assessing the structural integrity of the ship itself. Search for any leaks, weak points, exposed or damaged electronics or structural parts. The gravity ring demanded special attention in this regard, as it's constant spinning meant a miniscule, but persistant strain. Thankfully it had not ripped itself apart yet so the crew could sleep easy for another night. By the time everything had been checked and double-checked, it was already well past noon, and protocol demanded she'd have to do it all again in the evening. At least she had a few hours to herself for the time being.
Aftering staring an computer screens in the cockpit for ten minutes, Starry was glad to once again have gravity acting on her. Stepping through the bulkhead into the common room, she found it entirely absent save for Countdown reading a book and fiddling with a salad at the dining table. Feeling a little hungry herself and having nopony else to talk to at the moment, she raided the cabinets for a can of soup, prepared it, and took a seat across from him at the table.
Countdown looked up a few times from his book, but otherwise paid no mind, even as she was sitting right across from him. Starry wasn't awkward enough to just sit there in silence the whole time, and peeked at his book hoping to find something to comment on. Surviving Space for Foals.
"That's a neat looking book," Starry commented, hoping she sounded genuine; the title really did intrigue her.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, it actually is," Countdown spoke up, briefly flipping the book to gaze at the cover. "It's basically a technical manual, but the author really tried to make it fun and engaging to read."
Starry raised an eyebrow. "Reckon I might read it then, you almost done?"
Countdown haphazardly flipped some pages. "About halfway, but I've been skimming some of the stuff I already know. Think I'll be done before dinner. Found it in the bookshelf so don't worry about returning it."
"Looking forward to it," she replied, sipping a spoonful of pea soup. After downing the mediocre broth she added, "you know, I feel like I've hardly talked to you, even now that we're flying a mission together.
Smiling, Countdown set down his book. "Chat away then, I've been meaning to do the same with you."
"Well for starters, where are you from? And how'd you end up here?"
"Vanhoover. So's Wind Catcher if he never told you. Didn't mind the city, but as soon as I was old enough to hear about the space program I wanted it. Worked on airships for a time until I had enough bits and flight experience to get in. Rest is history as they say. How about you?"
"Man, you're almost as boring as me," Starry chuckled. "Fillydelphia, born and raised. Really wanted to be an astronaut too so I went to engineering school, did my best at the space center, and now here I am."
"Fillydelphia huh? What's the weather like out there, that's basically on the other side of Equestria from where I lived," Countdown wondered.
Starry shrugged. "Pretty mild honestly, what about Vanhoover?"
Countdown sighed. "Dark and dreary, rains just about every other day. It's right on the water so a lot of clouds form and the pegasi have to dump it somewhere. Seaddle is pretty similar."
"You ever been in the Smokey Mountains? I hear those are near, aren't they?" Starry wondered.
"Oh yeah, several times. Great place to hike or camp," he sighed wistfully. "..Damn it, I'm almost homesick now. Sure isn't as much to see out here," he gestured to the window, through which there was absolutely nothing save for the stars and the persistent blackness.
Starry frowned. "Maybe to the naked eye. If you have a telescope though, there are soooo many cool planets and stars and galaxies and nebulae and...well, you get the picture, to look at! Is there one on the ship by the way?"
Countdown scratched his chin. "Quite certain, you'd have to ask Chart about it."
Starry nearly slammed her hoof on the table. "Then if you're up for it sometime tonight or tomorrow I'll bring you, hay, the whole crew stargazing. It's my mark after all."
"Really now? Kinda hard to see anypony's mark under these suits."
Starry nodded. "Bunch of stars on a black swirl, got it stargazing years ago. I'd show you, but it's hard enough getting into this suit. What's yours?"
"Ship blasting off. Used to fire off model rockets with my dad," he said with a smile, "so I got it that way. Now that I think about it I'd probably be more suited for flight control, but I don't think I'd be satisfied on the ground with everything going on up here now."
Feeling a bit more familiar with the pony across from her, Starry returned to her soup, to find she had already eaten most of it. Naturally, she grabbed the bowl and brought it to her lips, downing what was left in one big gulp. "Ahhh. Well, nice talking to you Countdown. I was gonna go find Wind Catcher, you seen him around?"
"Think he's been in hydroponics since this morning."
Starry smiled. "Thanks, see you tonight then!"
=====
The hydroponics lab was much like the commons room in terms of size, but that was the only thing they had in common. Tables lined the walls, holding up beakers, bags, computers, and all sorts of lab equipment, but chiefly, more flowerpots than Starry had seen in some store displays. The center of the room was similar, but instead of tables there were large growing beds filled with fresh soil. Perhaps the most significant difference though was the lack of windows; the room was instead bathed in a faint purple light emanating from dozens of grow lamps affixed to the ceiling. At the other end of the room she could make out Wind Catcher mulling over a computer display.
Starry whistled. "A fuel tanker needs a lab like this?"
Wind looked up from his work and snapped around. "Oh, hey Star. Yeah, crazy isn't it? I thought the same at first."
Starry raised an eyebrow. "At first?"
Wind smirked. "It's called the Draconequus, remember? Chart told me it was a full-on exploration ship when it was first made. Then it started showing its age and the ESA figured it was only safe for it to be a transport ship."
"Ahhhh," Starry nodded. "Wonder what else he knows."
"You'll have to ask him when you can. He also mentioned there used to be a full science lab in here, but they stripped it out and now it's used for more cargo space."
"Neat," Starry said, trotting over to where Wind was working, taking note of some tiny green sprouts in the soil. "So how's the whole botany thing working out?"
Wind gestured to the growing beds. "Filled basically all of them. Got some carrots, potatoes, alfalfa and ferns."
"Ferns? Ponies don't usually eat those, do they?"
"Not in most parts of Equestria," Wind shook his head. "You can if you really want to. The main reason is they're pretty good oxygen recyclers and can remove some contaminants from the air. Lightens the load on the carbon scrubbers. Might even buy us a few hours if the air cuts out," he added with a chuckle.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Starry deadpanned before remarking, "everything seems to be growing pretty quickly."
Wind pointed to the ceiling with his hoof. "Magic-enhanced grow lights. Pretty neat huh?"
"Those are a thing?"
"They weren't until the space program really started uh, taking off," he laughed to himself before noticing Starry's dead expression. "Uh yeah, having a steady supply of food on long journeys is usually a good idea and you can't afford to wait months for a harvest. I reckon we'll have some fresh food before we even get to our destination."
Starry licked her lips. "Finally something other than freeze-dried meals."
Wind nodded with equal enthusiasm. "Sooo, how are you doing? Ship still flying alright?"
"Yep. Engineering's pretty boring when there's nothing to fix, but after what happened with the docking clamp it's probably better that way," she replied.
Wind frowned. "Ah yeah, I heard."
"Mmmhmm," Starry mumbled. "Though, I wouldn't mind doing another spacewalk. So long as nothing explodes on me this time."
"Lucky," Wind hissed, "if I ever have to do one it'll probably be because something went horribly wrong. I'd love to just do one to see what it's like."
Starry hit him playfully. "Ah cheer up, maybe if you ask nicely Chart could arrange something, who knows? By the way, I was planning on going stargazing with Countdown tonight after dinner, care to join?"
"Oh? Sure, can't say I've ever done it."
Starry very nearly got stars in her eyes. "Oh-ho, just you wait!"
=====
Another round of engineering inspection a few hours later passed without incident, much as before. It being good practice didn't make it anymore enjoyable, though Starry knew better than to hope for something to do, as that would certainly invite the wrath of the universe. Once it was done, Starry joined the rest of the crew for dinner, on schedule this time, and spent a quick meal chatting. This mostly consisted of Chart telling the story of that one time a friend of his nearly course corrected into the sun after Celestia had raised it. The rest of the crew regarded the tale with the same horrified fascination as a timberwolf attack, but enough time had passed for Chart to remember it fondly.
"Hey Chart," wondered Starry sometime after the story was finished, "is there a telescope on this ship?"
"There is indeed, I think it's down in the cockpit, you might have to open up a panel to access it," he replied. "Doing a little stargazing?"
Starry nodded vigorously. "Offered it to Wind and Countdown. Rest of you can join if you want."
"I'd love to, but I have some reading to get caught up on," he sighed.
"I was gonna catch the hoofball game, maybe next time," Mint announced.
After dinner was finished, Starry led the two stallions up into the central part of the ship. Being weightless again wasn't as bad as she remembered, though maybe it had to do with looking forward to their activity. The telescope was indeed behind a hinged panel (neatly labeled as such at least), and consisted of a large cupola in the side of the ship. The telescope was fitted inside it, and had a large number of controls for focusing and fine movement.
"Hot damn, if I had this as a foal I wouldn't have done anything else," she breathed, admiring the fine machinery before her.
Starry flipped through a nearby computer screen until she found what she was looking for; detailed star charts and and basic information regarding the ship's position and the telescope's bearing. "Now where do we start..." she wondered aloud, finally settling on the first celestial body she saw that could be easily seen through the telescope. Returning to the controls she maneuvered it into position and looked through the eyepiece to check.
She nearly gasped when she finally gazed through the sight. Through the lens was the unicorn nebula; a vast, deep purple spanse of molecular gas and dust arranged in such a way one could see a unicorn's outline if they really opened their minds. Splotches and wisps of white and pink danced around the nebula, and specks of white glinted in the darker regions; stars in the process of being born. It was one of the closest nebula to Equestria that scientists had discovered (relatively speaking, it was still light-years away), meaning on a good night Starry had been able to see it through some of her higher-end telescopes. But never before had she seen it in such incredible fidelity.
Having never seen the unicorn nebula like this before, Starry almost forgot her friends were waiting to see it as well. She tore herself away and regarded them with a nervous grin. "So uh, who's first?" she asked, gesturing to the scope.
Wind and Countdown both moved at once, but Wind was the first to verbally offer, giving him first dibs. Bringing himself to the telescope, he took one quick look through it and gasped, briefly coming up with a look of wonder before returning to the sight. "Wooow...that's incredible," he breathed.
"Well don't just hog it, let me see!" huffed Countdown.
Wind obliged, pushing back from the telescope and letting his friend take a peek, resulting in a similar reaction. While Countdown remained glued to the telescope, Wind turned to Starry. "What is that anyway?"
"Unicorn nebula. Never seen it before?" Starry asked. Wind shook his head. "Ah, well, I don't know if you look at many to begin with—" she nervously grinned, feeling like a nerd all of a sudden, "—but it's not the most well-known one, at least compared to the Horseshoe Nebula or the Timberwolf's Eye. It's about 13 light-years from Equestria, 4.3 light years across. It's one of my favorites though."
Countdown whistled, still glued to the scope. "I can see why."
"We still got plenty of time here, what's next?" asked Wind enthusiastically.
"Wellllll..." Starry returned to the star maps. "If you wanna look at some galaxies I think we'll be able to see Hoof's Object or the Eye of Sombra. Now those are some neat ones..."
=====
Shipkeeping was still a boring job, but now Starry didn't mind, having something to look forward to. After discovering the telescope she spent basically all of her free time using it. Wind and Countdown returned a few times, even Mint and Chart had found the time to join her for a bit. Suddenly three weeks drifting through the aether didn't seem so bad. Not that she didn't enjoy being in space, but the routine of it all had washed away some of the magic, at least until she found herself able to stargaze again.
Enough time had passed since the docking clamp incident that Starry was looking forward to trying a spacewalk again; sitting inside a stuffy spaceship all day when the beauty of space was all around her started to chip away at her psyche. Stargazing could only do so much. Though with no real need for anyone in the crew to step outside the ship, Starry could only sit idly by until the opportunity presented itself.
Hopefully not for anything serious.
Around nine days into the journey, Thraxis finally started to slide into view. A tiny reddish-brown dot at first, smaller than a marble in the ship's windows. By the end of the day though, it had grown exponentially larger from their perspective as they entered the mighty gas giant's gravity well.
Thraxis was the third planet out from Equestria. Between the two was Gelida, a frozen-over planet 2/3rds the size of Equestria with a trace atmosphere and little of note besides vast ice sheets covering the surface. Probes had found decent amounts of minerals under the surface though, which now made it home to one of the fastest-growing colonies outside of the moon. Thraxis on the other hoof was a massive gas giant, with swirling clouds of red, brown, and orange, over a dozen times larger than Equestria, but light enough that it was only a few times its mass.
Gas giants are made primarily of hydrogen, and Thraxis was no exception. It was hoped this might make into a huge fuel hub someday, though nopony had come up with a practical solution to harvest hydrogen from its atmosphere yet, and it might be many many moons until that happened. Hence why Starry was on this mission. What the planet did have for now were over a dozen moons, with two larger ones of note: Draco and Mephisto. Both lifeless, spherical hunks of rock, but rich in minerals, making them home to some start-up colonies as well.
Polaris station then, was the main base of operations for the Thraxis system. Not a backwater station by any means, in fact it had been built recently enough that every inch of living space was lined with gravity gems. It was a much smaller station though, having an even smaller permanent crew than Luna station, and most of its size being dominated by vast cargo spaces, fuel storage, or docking bays.
Starry only had a little time to truly appreciate the gas giant's awe-inspiring size from the habitation ring before she and everypony else was called down to buckle in for capture burn. "The planet's got a massive gravity well," Chart explained, "but at the speeds we're coming in I'd rather not wait. You'll have plenty of time to admire the view from inside the station." And so, once everypony was clicked into their seats, so began a half-hour capture burn, followed by only a hoofful of breaks as there were a lot of smaller burns and corrections to be made trying to intercept Polaris station.
"How's about another shanty while we wait, eh folks?" Chart offered. A chorus of nods was enough prompt for him to break into song. Starry joined in halfheartedly, keeping her eyes on the growing outline of Polaris against the swirling backdrop of clouds.
=====
"Welcome to Polaris station everypony, I hear you have some fuel we need?"
For as big as the Draconequus was, docking had gone fairly smoothly. An hour later Starry was happy to be stretching her legs again on the full gravity deck of Polaris. After over a week in space, normal gravity didn't feel so normal anymore, but it hadn't been long enough for her to have serious trouble walking.
The first pony to greet them was a portly stallion with a drab green coat and blonde mane with loose strands that threatened to poke his sapphire blue eyes. His uniform was a flashy crimson, a refreshing change from all the different shades of blue she'd gotten used to. A pair of silver pins on his chest revealed his name—Pallet Stacker—and his occupation—cargo technician. The one thing she noticed that really stuck out was his cutie mark embroidered right onto his suit: a stack of pallets no less. Now why hadn't anypony else thought of that?
"Ayep. Name's Chart Topper, got with me here four fresh crewmates and eight million gallons of liquid hydrogen," their captain explained.
Pallet whistled. "Hoo boy, that'll do us good for a few weeks. I'll alert the station commander and we'll see about hooking you up."
Moving over to an intercom, Pallet held a button and started speaking into it. Chart let him work and turned to the crew. "The way this usually works is somepony has to head outside in a hardsuit and manually hook up the fuel tanks," he turned to Starry and Mint, "that means one of you two. Care to draw straws?" he grinned.
One straw-drawing later, Starry came up with the short one. She feigned annoyance, but was privately glad for the change of pace. Getting to go on a spacewalk next to a massive spinning ball of colorful gasses? Count her in. "Nopony else coming with me?"
"The station might send one of their own if they feel like it, but probably not. It's a quick, one-pony job. Out and back inside in no time," Chart assured. Starry nodded in return.
A moment later Pallet returned. "Command's given the all-clear signal. Give it an hour before everything's in place and then we'll call one of you up to go connect the fuel line. In the meantime you're encouraged to get acquainted with the station."
With some quick goodbyes, the two parties separated. As Starry and her Crew made their way through reception, she began to take note of the station's interior. This reception area felt much like an office back on Equestria; a long, mostly featureless hallway broken up with doors and sparse hangings on one wall, and long tall windows on the other with part of the gas giant dominating the view. A desk was built into the wall, manned by a single pony who did little more than take names, ask about their reason for stay, and type away at a computer.
"Cafeteria is just down the hall, third door on the left. Guest dorms are the fourth." The receptionist slid five keycards across the desk. "Here are your room keys. I know you won't be staying for long, but I hope you enjoy it anyway," she said with a smile.
Starry hadn't thought much about the time, but a cursory glance at a wall clock told her it was almost 6pm Equestria time. She nearly did a double take, wondering how it had gotten so late already, but there was no use arguing with it. A brief stay on the station suddenly made a lot more sense. If nothing else it would hopefully be a chance for a hot meal for once.
One stop by the cafeteria later, Starry sat herself down at a table with a small snack in her hooves and spent her time chowing down. After devouring a freeze-dried ice cream sandwich, she decided to get herself acquainted with the station, and drop her bags off at her temporary room. Like every one of them so far, this one was also disappointingly small. She made her way around the station, getting a decent sense of its layout, until the station's intercom crackled to life asking for "a designated member of the TK Draconequus" to "please report to the docks." It took her a bit, being unfamiliar territory, but the excessive and redundant signing around the station helped prevent her from being totally lost.
Stepping into a large room full of EVA equipment, metal crates laying around, and airlocks in the back, Starry found Pallet Stacker and Chart chatting before both of them noticed her standing there. "Hey guys. Reckon it's time then?" she asked as she trotted over.
Pallet nodded. "Your ship's in position and our pumps are ready to go. All we need is for you to head out there and connect the fuel pipe. It'll be rolled up in the side of the station, just near the airlock."
Chart gestured to his earpiece. "I'll be in contact the whole time per usual. Best of luck out there lass."
With a dutiful nod, Starry opened up a nearby EVA locker and retrieved the hardsuit from inside. Seemingly identical to the ones back on the Draconequus, she spent the next few minutes carefully sliding into it. With the help of Chart, she donned her helmet, once again finding her senses dulled. Only her breathing and the subtle beating of her heart remained until the helmet's built-in headset crackled with Chart doing a quick test.
Standing inside the airlock, Starry clicked her magboots on and waited as the airlock depressurized. The distant-sounding hissing of the air filtering out died away, replaced by vacuum that carried no sound. As the outer door opened in front of her, she focused on the heightened huff huff huff of her own breathing to stay calm as she stepped forward and felt gravity start to disappear.
Before her was the Draconequus' rear section, a mass of bulbous white tanks containing absurd volumes of liquid hydrogen. More impressive though, was Thraxis dominating the space behind the ship. Starry tilted her head up as high as the hardsuit would allow, and could just barely make out the top of the gas giant some thousands of miles above her head. Space had made her feel small before, but this was on a whole other level.
"Alright star, nice and easy now," Chart reminded her. "See the pipe?" Ah, stay focused Star! she told herself. This was no time to have an existential crisis. She turned to her left and saw down a little ways, a large spool of hose in the side of the station. Carefully she activated the hardsuit's built-in thrusters and glided over, trying not to throw up her ice cream in the process. "Yeah, heading there now," she replied.
Upon closer inspection, she found the lengths of pipe to be as thick as her trunk. "Man, this is way thicker than I expected,'" she commented. A motorized winch allowed her to spool out plenty of slack, and the pipe was not lacking in places to grab on. As she located a connector port, she thought she heard Chart mutter something along the lines of "that's what she said." With a sudden clearing of his throat, he spoke up again. "It needs to be thick. Bigger pipe, more volume pumped. Nopony wants to be sitting here all day, least of all me."
"And what about me?" Starry scoffed. Finally her eyes found the port, and began floating over with the pipe firmly in her hooves.
"Ah but see, you're floating around in zero gravity," Chart replied, his voice sounding like he was grinning from ear to ear. "I'm actually sitting here!"
Starry rolled her eyes. A moment later her magboots connected with one of the fuel tanks, a little ways down from the connection port. "Almost at the fuel port," she announced.
"Good good," Chart crooned. "Once that's connected let me know and we'll start the pumps up. Then we'll just have you sit there till transfer is complete in case something goes wrong."
Nodding to herself, Starry brought the end of the hose up to the fuel port and carefully connected the two. With a quick stomp (as directed) on each of the four locks around the connector, the two ends were firmly mated and she stepped back in satisfaction. "All right, we're good to go. Anything else I gotta look for?"
"There'll be a pressure gauge there somewhere," Chart explained. "Just glance at that from time to time." His voice grew muffled as he yelled at somepony in the background to "start it up" and a few seconds later Starry watched as the little needle on the aforementioned gauge sprung to life and settled in a strip of green.
After a moment of watching it, and confirming nothing was up, Starry looked around. Sitting fairly high up on the whole station complex gave her an incredible view. She allowed herself to be distracted and watch the gas giant behind her, mesmerized by the pastel rust colors painting the planet's exterior. Soon she remembered to check the gauge, still no problems, and returned to planetgazing.
"Awfully quiet up there, Star," Chart teased. "Busy enjoying the view?"
Starry blushed. "Eheh. Maybe, yeah. It's quite a view you know."
"So long as you aren't dozing off I don't blame you. Much rather be out there actually. They've got me stuck doing paperwork while we wait," he complained.
"Space paperwork?" Starry faked a yawn. "Sounds fascinating." She glanced at the pressure gauge. Pushing the yellow a little, but still firmly in the green.
"Get used to requisition forms if you ever make it to captain, Star. Eeeeeverything requires them these days."
Starry grunted in acknowledgement. I'm perfectly fine where I am if it means I never have to do that. With little else to do while the tanks emptied, she shut off her microphone and hummed a tune to herself while she admired the view. Without a care in the world at that moment, she was wholly unprepared for the disaster that was about to strike.
The first thing she noticed was an odd glint up and to the side. Catching her curiosity, she turned and watched a distant diamond of light slowly grow brighter, growing faster and faster as the seconds ticked by. Initially curious, Starry began to feel a pit in her stomach as the strange object rapidly approached, barreling straight for the station. Whatever it was made contact a second later a few dozen meters from her position.
Starry felt her stomach drop and her voice caught in her throat as part of the station near the fuel tanks immediately disintegrated, shards of metal blowing outwards like a plume of sparkling metallic dust. Not a sound could be heard in the vacuum, but she felt a faint rumbling in her hooves a second later as the collision shook the station. Her radio clicked to life as somepony screamed in her ear, but the voice was indecipherable as she remained transfixed to the disaster before her.
Just when Starry thought it couldn't get worse, she began to notice a a sphere of red, orange and yellow emanating from the collision point. With horrified fascination, she watched as the fireball expanded, ripping into the station along the way before eventually slamming into her. With a scream she felt herself hit by a force strong enough to wind her through the hardsuit, that ripped her from the hull and sent her careening through the void. Losing all sense of direction as she tumbled through space, Starry did the only thing he could do and screamed. The last thing she felt before being knocked out was a dull thud and a splitting pain in her head.