Galactic Station

The galactic station is built upon a large asteroid orbiting a red giant star. There is a three-tier protection system that keeps the asteroid safe from cosmic threats in the forms of harmful radiation, other asteroids and even attacks from malicious people. An artificial magnetic field deflects the charged cosmic particles. An automated missile system detects and eliminates any fast moving objects that could hit the station. And finally, there are military bots that keep the security of the place in check. The buildings are designed to minimize the penetration of high energy electromagnetic radiation such as x-rays and gamma rays. The galactic station can support up to five hundred thousand people. There are large workshops where spaceships can be fixed, refueled and even assembled from scratch when necessary. Colonel Sanders is in charge of Galactic Station MH-7235.

"Central Command of the Galactic Station MH-7235. I am Chief Lu from the spaceship LB-159. I need a landing space. Expected arrival is in 20 minutes."

"LB-159, your message has been received at the Central Command of the Galactic Station MH-7235. You are permitted to land. We follow the SB-420 protocol for our arrival and departure. This protocol requires that we take control of your spaceship flight control system in order to ease the landing process. The Galactic Station computer system will guide your spaceship. Please proceed to allow remote access for flight control."

"Central Command, permission for flight control access granted."

"LB-159, we are in control of your spaceship flight. In case of emergency, you can always revoke the access and drive your spaceship from your end. You may now enter your protective capsules and remain until the landing is complete."

"Central Command, we are ready."

The spaceship aligned itself to the galactic station and began deceleration. The spaceship uses warp technology to travel short distances. But it has to turn off the warp field during landing to prevent any mishaps. The ancient method of using reverse thrusters are still used even millenniums later.

"Lu, we need to upgrade our landing technology." Ruk said, "They have new landing technology that can use pulsated reverse warps aka PRW. You wouldn't notice a thing. It's as smooth as zero-gravity crystals."

"That's cool. We should try it out." Lu responded.

"Why don't we just tunnel and just directly reach the parking spot," Kim suggested.

"That's just asking for trouble, Kim." Ruk protested.

"Well, it may seem far-fetched now but one day it may be possible," Lu spoke thoughtfully.

"Did you ever come to this galactic station, GALOS?" Kim asked.

"Yes, Kim. Many years ago. Before we met. Technically, I was not here in-person. It's more like a memory. I see images of the station in my neural network. You could say AI dreams. There have been other GALOS that came here. And I met a few of them. When we talked about our journeys, they sent me those images. it's pretty cool." GALOS spoke with a synthesized voice sounding like an old man.

"how long are we staying here?" Kiri asked Lu.

"I will try and talk to the Colonel to see if he can help us with the beacon. Depending on his response, our trip may be shortened or extended." Lu replied like a seasoned diplomat.

"They have good drinks at the station bars. They are also called stimulants." GALOS told Kim.

"How would you know what's good or bad, GALOS, you don't even?" Kim sounded bemused.

"I have my ways, Kim. If you really think, I don't exist and yet I drive this entire spaceship. But again if you think deeper, I exist everywhere throughout the galaxies traveling across space and time." GALOS spoke.

"That's very deep, GALOS. Deeper than a black hole." Kim replied.

There was a sudden jerk. The crew was rattled by the shake.

"We're about to land people," GALOS said.

"It was supposed to be smooth," Lu said.

"They said it would ease the landing," Kiri said teasingly, "might have been rougher if we tried."

Lu felt embarrassed. He likes driving the spaceship manually. Once he landed the spaceship on a planet and it gave the crew panic attacks. Kiri noticed the glow on Lu's face. She smiled. She knows that Lu is one of the best spaceship captains she has ever met. And only a skillful captain could have managed the spaceship the way Lu did during that landing on the planet.

"Welcome to the Galactic Station MH-7235. You now get out of your capsules and head toward the processing center. Wish you an enjoyable stay at the station." the Central Command spoke.

"Central Command, when can I meet the Colonel? I have an urgent matter to discuss." Lu said.

"The Colonel is available in the evening. You can head to the headquarters around 1600 hours."

"Thanks, Central Command," Lu responded. "GALOS, we will head outside. You take care of the refueling and anything else that needs to be fixed. The maintenance robot will be here shortly. If you need anything at any time just let me know."

"Sure, Chief." GALOS said, "Should I update my system?"

"No, just update the information database and planetary records. Try to gather as much data about K9 as possible. We do not want a new system update before a critical mission." Lu said.

"That's fine. There are some new hardware technologies available. Do you wanna check them out? Maybe we could get some upgrades?" GALOS said.

"It depends. We don't want to be too late. And we don't want unexpected results from our technology. We want to minimize the uncertainties as much as possible. What do you say GALOS?" Lu asked.

"I say we consult with others," GALOS suggested.

"Cool. Arrange a virtual meeting after we finish the processing formalities." Lu said.

"Have a safe stay, the crew of the LB-159" GALOS spoke to everyone.

"You too GALOS" the crew replied.

The galactic station caters to all kinds of people. Tourists traveling from one solar system to another, visitors from far and local planets and military of the regional governments - all gather for a break and refuel.

The processing facility is an enormous building with thousands of rows of self-check-in machines. Cyborgs and military robots are controlling and directing the throngs of people. The identity is matched and confirmed automatically by the check-in machines through a combination of biometric data like the fingerprint, eye scans, voice and a bit of DNA such as from saliva, hair or blood.

"Those are gross," Su said disgustedly.

"I think they maintain hygiene through self-cleaning mechanisms," Lana said.

"They must," Kim said, "Nobody wants to die from alien diseases"

"You want to die from the home-grown disease?" Lana joked.

Kim did not respond. He felt a sharp electric pulse in his chest that he learned to call heartache. He could never die. And for some reason it makes him feel very lonely.

"Let's get over with it" Su proceed to the self-check-in machine. Some scanners quickly went around her body and made a 3D model. A camera scanned her iris and retina with the intricate blood vessels lining her vision. A sterilized needle came out of the machine and drew a drop of blood from her finger. It lit green on the screen.

For Kim, it's easier. But he hates the process. The scanner creates a copy of his positronic brain. The electromagnetic pulse decoder can easily read his mind. He feels violated. Humanoids have been given the same rights and status as humans yet they are discriminated against in almost all parts of the universe.

"Lana, do you want to grab a drink at the bar?" Kim asked eagerly.

"I am not sure Kim. Maybe not today." Lana looked tired.

"Have a good day, Lana," Kim said disappointedly.

"You too, Kim."