Charles snapped out of his deep stupor to nod a farewell to the other still in the mess hall before stepping out to hail the elevator to the bridge.
As he waited, he tried to picture the previous use of such a vessel as the Qi, for surely a mere smuggler-captain wouldn't be able to acquire one like this straight off the line. Had she been an atrittion attacker during the War? A blockade runner? Something entirely different?
And yet, it still looked quite pristi-
His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of the elevator, which he stepped into as soon as the doors opened.
After a quiet ride, he stepped out to be greeted by a stunning view of a station in tatters.
The Tycho-class Stationary Research Platform was always a rudimentary, though efficient design. The Alliance had standardised it for practically any station involved in researching under-the-radar matters. The fact that this one was hidden deep within a nebula marked as "hazardous due to extreme debris" certainly helped the concealment.
Looked like concealment didn't help it any.
"You required me, Captain?"