"Well, how about that?" Cora secured the docking clamps, powered the ship's systems down, and leaned back in her seat. "We made it all the way to Leonov Station without anything else going wrong."

"Don't jinx us, goddamn it." Kim grinned, opened the hatch, and helped those with the worst injuries float into the docking umbilical.

"We're getting Ludmila and the other injured people into the medical bay," Boner said over the comlink. "And Lopez is being taken to the repair bay. You and Kim might want to head over there, too, so you can have any damage fixed. After that, we'll have to spend a day or two filing reports and being grilled about the collision."

"There's something to look forward to," Likhachyova muttered.

"We'll back you up. That thing seemed to just appear out of nowhere a few seconds away from the station. No one could've prevented it from hitting us."

"I hope you're right."

A new voice with an odd accent joined the conversation as Cora's passengers floated through the airlock. "Lopez here. I saw the object appear. There was a roughly circular distortion in the space around it. Inside the distortion, space didn't match up with what I saw outside of it. The stars didn't line up with what should've been there, and I caught a glimpse of a nebula behind the object. I'd be happy to attach a copy of my memories of the event to the report I file."

"Aw, thank you, Lopez," Likhachyova said. "Very much appreciated."

"I'm happy to help, señora."

Kim cocked her head as she and Cora followed the passengers. "I wonder why his voice sounds like the Frito Bandito."

Boner laughed. "Just the way he was built and programmed, I guess. It may not have even occurred to him to change it. Honestly, though, I think it's cute."

"Heh, yeah, it is. Just seemed a little odd."

Likhachyova chuckled. "Well, I'm off to get my arm put back together and, hopefully, get a hefty dose of pain meds. See you both later."

Cora paused at a viewport as she and Kim said their goodbyes. She stared into space and pondered what had happened over the past couple of hours. Kim joined her and patted her shoulder.

"Nice departure from the same ol' routine, huh?"

"Only because everyone survived." Cora shook her head slowly. "If we'd lost anyone, I wouldn't look at this in a positive light."

"Well, since we didn't, we can be excited by the possibilities. I mean, the chances of that thing being an alien ship are pretty good. That's awesome!" Kim tossed her a goofy grin. "Even though they did come across as drunken teenagers losing control of their car, the way they plowed into us and ran like hell."

"Yeah. I wanted this cargo-hauler job because I wanted to see what's out there, and we just got a glimpse of something we could never have expected. I want more -- I want to know who the people on that ship are and where they're from."

"Well, once the O'Neill cylinder is finished, it'll house a much larger construction crew to build Earth's first starship. You should apply for a position on it. Get your name in before a million other people have the same idea."

"I already did." Cora chuckled and poked Kim's shoulder. "I just hope you did, as well."

"I applied for the security team. Figured that'd be the best fit." Kim grinned.

"Nice! Great minds and all that, eh?" Cora gave her a quick hug and turned back to the viewport. "I'm going to meet whoever was on that ship, or whoever else is out there, someday." She pushed away from the viewport and floated toward the inner hatch. "No matter how long it takes."