“Gravitational shockwave detected!” Scanning Officer Max growled. His ears perked up at the contact on his screen.

Captain Orson Lârion remained calm. “Which means something was traveling faster than light, and the photonic boom is now reaching us. Therefore, whatever made the boom is already here. Fortunately for them, we can’t see them.” Captain Lârion reasoned. “Search for the container. If the Ancients smile on us, it’ll be behind the boom, moving sub-light speed.”

“Scanning. Yes! There it is.” Scanning Officer Max was ecstatic as he gazed at the radar screen, confirming the cargo container’s location. “It’s moving at sub-light speed, almost right up against the photonic boom.”

Captain Orson Lârion took a deep breath, sighing in relief. “Excellent. They must have cloaked themselves just as they entered this system. Excuse me, I mean, ‘look what the heavens have ordained to give us,’ and so on.” He said with a flat tone and a flourish of his hand.

“I’ve noted your lack of faith, Captain,” Xia replied with a wave of her hand. “Retrieve the container and bring it to the docking bay. I will administer the cleansing ritual from here when the container is ready.” Xia ordered, her voice dripping with hints of her superiority as an Ancient Touched.

Captain Orson nodded in compliance. He then turned to the comm panel. “Porter teams to the cargo bay. Prepare for interfacing with the container for offloading.”

Small Rodentia porters scurried to the cargo bay and its control panel. They matched the bay’s gravity to the cargo’s mass. This allowed for ease in moving and offloading the cargo.

In the control room, Xia lowered her hood. The stark contrast between Serpentes and Ancient was on display. Her thin eyebrows arched over the edges of her almond-shaped eyes. They radiated power and ambition.

The light in the control room filtered through a thin veil of her long hair, caressing her ears—which had a faint, but discernible Ancient-touched patterned glint—and casting soft shadows across her sharp jawline. She closed her eyes, whispering a chant under her breath. No one but Captain Orson nearby saw her tail’s serpentine scales become iridescent.

“Captain Lârion? The container is glowing.” One of the Porter Team members stammered, peering into the darkness of the station’s vast docking bay.

The docking crew all looked stunned. The cargo container had landed mere meters from its designated docking point, and a faint, pulsating light gently escaped the seams of the container. It was so subtle that it could easily be mistaken for a trick of the light, or a simple error in the station’s low-light LED sensors.

In the control room, Captain Orson Lârion mouthed toward Kryxxus, “Have you ever seen anything like this before?”

The Serpentes commander just shook her head, eyes wide with confusion and amazement. The color drained from both of their faces as they peered at the docking bay.

“Perhaps we should send a team to investigate,” Kryxxus said. Lârion nodded readily, agreeing with her. However, something in his gut tightened slightly. Maybe it was their lack of preparedness to work with the Ancient Touched High Priestess, but he couldn’t shake an inexplicable feeling of foreboding.

“That won’t be necessary.” Xia said as her head remained bowed in solemn prayer. “The Ancients deigned to cleanse the precious cargo. This serves as undeniable evidence of their goodwill and approval.”

Captain Orson Lârion hesitated, unsure whether to believe her. But his instincts told him to trust her judgment, at least for now. “Understood, High Priestess.” He nodded. “We’ll assemble a team to unload the container with the utmost care, just as you’ve instructed.”

Xia smiled. Her long eyelashes cast shadows on her pale cheeks as she raised her head. “This delivery proved more productive and satisfying than the last one.”

Captain Orson nodded his head, the answer obvious to him. “It’s competence.”

“No, Captain, it is providence,” Xia argued. Her voice overflowed with conviction.

“Ah, I see. You attribute the difference in performance to the Ancients’ favor?” Captain Orson asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Precisely.” Xia responded, lowering her voice to a whisper as if sharing a secret.

The loading process continued with careful precision. As it did, the pulsating light grew stronger with each passing moment. The porters remained awestruck by the spectacle before them. In hushed tones, they shared ancient legends of answered prayers and glowing celestial gifts.

“Commander Kryxxus. Release the full shipment to the valiant tug crew of the Titans Pillar. Reward them generously for their diligence,” Xia instructed with her deep, resonant voice.

“The whole shipment? Including...” The corners of Commander Kryxxus’ mouth turned up in a fraction of a second, only to fade as she focused her thoughts. “Granted.” With a swift sweep of her scaled tail, she issued the order, and the containers begun departure along the gravitational paths set by the station.

“Scanning Officer Max, you are to turn off your station, so that the tug may conduct their work without being detected...” Commander Kryxxus ordered.

“No, you shall power down the entire station, Commander, per the old ways.” Xia said with a firm tone, expecting nothing less than the Commander’s full compliance.

Without hesitation, Commander Kryxxus swept her tail across the console, sending a message to the station’s control room to begin preparations for the ritualistic shutdown.

***

“So, what’s the deal with this station, Bella, I mean, Officer Brown? Why would they destroy valuable shipments and crews?” Tatyana asked, squeezing and releasing the muscle tension in her thighs against the coupling end.

“A new High Priestess, a Zealot, recently arrived at this station.” Bella turned her gaze toward Tatyana as she tightened her grip on the coupling. “Those with fervent beliefs aren’t always warm and fuzzy people.”

“I hate Zealots. They don’t pay well.” Lucas grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

Bella glanced at him and then back at Tatyana. She shrugged and spoke, “It’s not just about money. Some people have ideals, principles that they hold higher than materialistic comforts.”

Tatyana let out a snort, amused by Bella’s words. Bella’s naivete had always intrigued her. “Yeah, but then someone always ends up dead.”

Bella narrowed her green eyes. “No one said life was fair.”

The silence that followed was heavy with tension as the three of them waited for some type of response, any response.

“This is taking too long. Isn’t it? Tatyana, you’re within the cloaking fold, right?” Lucas said with slight panic, rechecking the readings on his console.

“Yes, Chair-Jockey, I’m well within the cloaking fold,” Tatyana stated with an indignant certainty, but soon after hugged the coupling with her upper body, her breasts pressed against the cold metal.

Bella glanced at both of them and said, “Let’s give it another minute. The Ancients work in mysterious ways.” Her voice was steady, but her fingers tapped anxiously on the console.

Lucas’s non-mechanical eye widened as he saw the fresh readings from his scan. “Contact! There are... a lot of containers launching all at once,” Lucas stated in disbelief. Then, the elation in his voice rose. “I love Zealots!”

“And the Station, it’s powering down now,” Bella noted, observing the data streams coming in from their ship’s sensors. “Here we go. Ms. Carter, start...”

“Coupling the new containers. I’m on it!” Tatyana interjected, way ahead of you, Bella. “Hey, Lucas! Stop ogling me and do your job. Get me close. I want those things practically slamming into me!” She said with a half-smile on her face. “Now move it, Flyboy!”

Lucas straightened to attention and maneuvered the Tug within millimeters of the hulking cargo containers. Tatyana’s fingers danced over the console in front of her as she slowly and carefully took control of the coupling process. Lucas leaned back in his chair and sighed with relief, realizing he had been holding his breath the entire time.

“All systems are good here, Tatyana,” he assured his friend and colleague, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

The capturing and coupling of the multitude of cargo containers was no small feat. It required an intricate dance of the Tug’s capture arms, Tatyana's strength, and the complex movements of containers. All the members of the tug crew were on high alert as the coupling process began. They constantly checked and rechecked the incoming data for any discrepancies or risks at every stage.

As the pieces came together, Tatyana slowed her breathing and increased her presence of mind. This was the genuine thrill of the job—the last moments before the full integration and subsequent release of tension in her muscles, her body and her mind.

“Coupling complete,” Tatyana said, the corners of her lips curled up into a self-satisfied smile. “Time to beat feet,” she called out, barrel-chested while pressing herself against the view-ports of the bridge. She then lowered her head to meet Lucas’ gaze, which held a sly smile.

Bella interjected, “You heard Ms. Carter, get us out of her Mr. Grayson. Best speed to the Celestial Gate and back home.”

Lucas blinked and sprung back into action, starting the Tug’s engines and veering toward the Celestial Gate at faster than light speeds. In mere moments, the massive structure came into view. The Celestial Gate warped and curled in upon itself, the swirling vortex of pure, raw energy at its core beckoning to them.

“Impressive sight, isn’t it?” Bella asked, leaning on the railing of the ship’s deck as they observed the shimmering Celestial Gate open before them.

“Not nearly impressive as her,” Lucas said as his eyes beheld the Titan’s Pillar exiting the Celestial Gate.

The ship was massive, with sleek lines and a futuristic design that hinted at the power within. It was difficult not to stare in awe at the magnificent vessel, even for someone as seasoned as Lucas. Like an invitation into a world of enigmas, the Titan’s Pillar mesmerized with its outer lights dancing on its surface.

The Celestial Engines of the Titan’s Pillar hummed softly in the background, sending vibrations through the deck of the Tug and into the bodies of its crew. The sound was thrilling, like that of a distant thunderstorm, promising both pleasure and danger.

“To be honest, it reminds me of an overgrown tug,” Bella said with a chuckle, walking back over to her control panel to hail the Titan’s Pillar.

“Oh no. No, no, no,” Lucas shook his head. “She’s so much more than that. Her Celestial Engine is powerful. A mobile Celestial Gate, if you will. With the ability to warp reality with such force that it could—well, turn this system inside-out.” He said with reverence and awe at the vessel now eclipsing the view of the Gate.

“That was the issue, wasn’t it?” Bella said, still staring out the window towards their waiting mother-ship. “Between the Celestial Engines that broke up planets and the Celestial Gates that evaporated entire systems, they had to be outlawed, and rightfully so. The Ancients considered them too dangerous. Too volatile to let others possess such destructive power. They couldn’t leave others to decide to use them without consequence.”

Lucas sat straight in his chair. His easygoing demeanor vanished ever so briefly. “System-wide starvation is something I’ve experienced firsthand. It’s clear to me there is no decision without consequence. I’ll take the power to feed the Galaxy, please, thanks.”

“Fair enough.” Bell nodded her head in acquiescence as the hail came in from the Titan’s Pillar.

***

“Okay, Captain, let’s power the station back up,” Commander Kryxxus ordered. Captain Orson Lârion gave a quick nod of approval. On his command, the power source from the massive generators underneath the station’s foundation came roaring back to life. The walls of the docking bay shook. They executed a trembling dance typical of a starship experiencing a powerful engine startup.

As the station powered up, Kryxxus continued her nervous peering over at High Priestess Xia, who remained solemn and unfazed by the thrum of energy surrounding them.

Captain Lârion took a deep but shaky breath. “Finally, some good luck.” Despite his experience as an Imperial Naval officer, he hoped for calmer seas ahead.

“Even more so than you realize, Captain,” Xia whispered, a knowing smile playing on her lips. Her gaze shifted to Kryxxus, who met it briefly, then looked away.