January 3rd, Arcturus Station. The gateway to Sol and the capital of the Systems Alliance. There wasn't much to see out the window as the Cartwright approached the station, aside from the stars and the little pinprick lights of other ships in the distance. Not until the station itself came into view, at least. A relic from the early years of humanity's interstellar expansion, Arcturus is a large, spindly, wheel-shaped thing, with an outer
#Arcturus – July 20, 2025
habitat ring connected via numerous spokes to the central hub that houses both military and commercial spaceports, as well as the shipyards that have seen the construction of more than one warship. Like a beehive ships of all sizes buzz around it. Craft large and small, military and civilian. They dock, depart, patrol. There's streaks of light, little distortions of reality, as ships come and go from the multiple mass relays that ring the
station. It's a lot to take in, and the cabin's porthole doesn't exactly offer the best of views, reinforced as it is to keep the vacuum of space at bay. Yan Sun's paid the view little mind as they've approached, focused on double-checking all the files that are about to be put to the test, not to mention the security of the hidden drive of her omni-tool, where she's stowed away anything compromising, leaving only an innocuous facade that will
Jessica hasn't seemed particularly dissuaded by the poor view, spending a significant amount of time at the porthole. It's unlike anything she's ever seen before and a sudden reminder of just how far from home she really is. A silence filled the cabin as her gaze remained glued to the porthole for a while. But the intrinsically slow process of docking at such a traveled station like this eventually smothered her interest out, leaving
her to give her things one final once-over to make sure nothing was being left behind before settling back on the edge of the bed. She watches the woman beside her poke at her omni-tool, occasionally looking back to the porthole when a burst of light draws her attention. "...You are worried?" she eventually asks, studying the focused expression on Yan Sun's face. The way her boot bounces against the cabin floor might be a hint
Yan Sun looks up from her screen at the sound of Jessica's voice, forcing a cocky smile into place. "Pfft, I've got this." She's about to add something more when she's interrupted by a voice over the ship PA system.
Cartwright VI: "Dear passengers, this is your shipboard VI speaking. We are now arriving at Arcturus station, and docking procedures will be finalized in 10 minutes. Please check your cabin for any forgotten belongings and make your way to the airlock with your luggage at this time and await disembarkation. Passengers with personal shuttles should proceed to the hangar on deck five and await flight clearance. Thank you, and we hope you have had
Jessica gives a playful roll of her eyes at Yan Sun's cockiness, but her attention is soon pulled away by the voice filling their cabin. She shoots one more glance Yan Sun's way before drawing in a breath and rising to her feet. She seems to have made an unspoken commitment to at least try not to stand out. Or, rather, not stand out any more than she already does. The hat gifted to her by Kirill is stuffed into the duffelbag that she
shrugs onto her shoulder and her sunglasses are clipped onto her shirt. Seems that even a professional shit-disturber like her realizes that this might not be the place to make a scene. Especially with a bounty on her head and a rogue AI in their luggage. She hums in agreement and grips the handle of her crate, dragging it behind her as she falls in line behind Yan Sun.
It's a slow trudge to the airlock, the corridors filled with other passengers all ready to disembark. On the bright side, this means only a few minutes of dull waiting in the crowded airlock for the doors to hiss open. A long docking tube takes them from the ship to the station, most of the crowd moving without stop, although the family that was ahead of Jessica and Yan Sun on Caleston stops to gawk at the windows that line the tube, the mother
lifting her youngest up into her arms to give her a better view as the girl points at a little tug that's left the station to attach a fuel line to the Cartwright.
Yan Sun snickers quietly and steps around the family, leading the way down the tube, one hand on her duffelbag to steady it and the other clasping Jessica's hand to keep from being separated in the shuffle.
Jessica looks out of her element. She has that telltale 'tourist' look to her, unable to resist watching out the windows even as she's pulled through the corridor by Yan Sun. That look that gives away that the awe and wonder of space travel hasn't yet become routine. She intertwines her fingers with Yan Sun's, doing her best to not inadvertently slow them down with her own gawking.
The docking tube leads into a white corridor, funneling the new arrivals further into the station. It's largely featureless, aside from a few holographic billboards lining the walls. One offers welcome to Arcturus, another provides facts about the station - it's construction in the 50s, it's establishment as capital of the Systems Alliance - all the while displaying video of the place past and present from every angle. A third shows a picture
of a geth, the text warning about illegal AI in bold, capital letters. The fourth and final offers a long list of items that are prohibited aboard the station, just before the corridor finally opens up into a large hall to which many other similar corridors connect. The ceiling is high, and the room is wide, housing what must be dozens of identical security checkpoints all lined up in a row, processing the incoming passengers. Alliance marines
in combat vests are spaced out along the wall, submachineguns resting idly across their chests as they watch the flowing crowd or, in at least one case, speak with one hand to their earpiece. A blue VI in a crisp Alliance uniform verbally assigns each group of passengers that emerge from their particular corridor to a specific checkpoint, presumably to spread the load more evenly than leaving people to their own devices.
Yan Sun leads the way towards their assigned security gate, keeping her eyes off any of the armed men they pass, and soon enough they're queuing. In front of them is a bulky metal arch projecting an intricate blue scanner web that sweeps over each arrival as they step through, one by one. Next to it runs a conveyor on which all luggage and loose electronics must be placed. Two Alliance servicemen stand behind the conveyor, one adjusting the
items before they go through a separate scanner, and the other watching the readout on a terminal. A third soldier, sidearm strapped to her hip, stands on the other side of the gate, eyes sweeping idly across each person that passes.
Jessica's attention shifts about the place, but she does her best not to allow her gaze to linger for too long on the security. The billboard containing the geth causes her attention to briefly shift to Yan Sun, frown slipping into her expression. Still, she keeps pace with Yan Sun, probably looking far less worried than she should given their circumstances. She's not exactly unfamiliar with high stakes stressful situations, after all.
Yan Sun places her bags on the conveyor as they move up a step in the line, gesturing for Jessica to do the same.
Ahead of them the guard calls for another traveler, a turian woman, to step through the scanner, which sweeps across her slowly, sweeping for concealed items, identifying any cybernetics and connecting to the remotely, and verifying her identity with a DNA analysis. The guard eyes her as if ready for a conversation that never comes - after a quick glance to the person manning the terminal, her shoulders drop slightly and she nods the turian
Jessica follows suit, dropping her duffelbag onto the conveyor and putting her case behind it. She idly watches the ordeal, doing her best not to look too interested, her gaze occasionally scanning across Yan Sun for any indication of unease as she places her omni-tool amongst the rest of her belongings.
Yan Sun flashes Jessica a smile as she steps back from the conveyor, although for someone that knows her it's not too hard to tell that she's nervous. She casts one last look her way before it's her own turn in the scanner, taking a breath and looking as casual as she can as she steps forward into the metal archway. The scanner grid sweeps over her, lines of light locking into several spots on the left side of her as it detects and
connects with her cybernetics, outlining her left arm and the left side of her face in blue light. The man behind the monitor sits up a bit as his eyes sweep across the screen, the information displayed no doubt a break from the average traveler. Meanwhile, on the conveyor, an antique quantum bluebox retrieved from a remote world completed its journey through the scanner, disguised as a harmless piece of tech. She was confident in
her ability to baffle these scanners, to hijack their signal and make the VI think its nothing. She'd done the same back on Earth many times. But the stakes here were... high. Being caught trying to smuggle an illegal AI would put a quick end to their little trip. It wouldn't get them killed, unlike some of the situations she'd found herself in since leaving Earth, but she's not about to land Jessica in prison after dragging her
along on this journey. It's a tense few seconds before her luggage finally arrives on the other side of the scanner and the guard waves her through. She nods and goes to collect her things, looking back towards Jessica with a quick, relieved smile.
The woman in the Alliance uniform gestures for Jessica to step into the archway. "Please proceed into the scanner and remain still," she rattles off disinterestedly.
Jessica watches, letting out a breath she wasn't even aware she had been holding once Yan Sun collects her things. She gives a hum of affirmation to the Alliance woman as she steps into the arch, gaze briefly looking it over before remembering she's not supposed to move.
The blue grid sweeps slowly across Jessica's body, analyzing every inch. The eyebrows of the guard in front of Jessica furrow slightly as she gets a better look at her, lingering on her scars. Meanwhile, the one at the terminal once again finds his attention drawn more closely to the display, studying the imagery.
Yan Sun looks over towards the scanner after stuffing her laptop, holo-emitter and totally-not AI housing back into her backpack, fidgeting a little as she waits for Jessica.
Jessica remains still as the grid scans over her, not looking particularly pleased about the whole ordeal, but she keeps that to herself. She gives a small lift of her brow as she returns the woman's stares.
The female guard turns to Yan Sun. "Ma'am, please leave the checkpoint after collecting your things," she instructs.
Yan Sun doesn't look thrilled about this, shooting Jessica another look but then doing as instructed and walking away to wait further away, near one of the exits leading to the station proper.
The woman turns back to Jessica, but when the scan completes she looks off to the side rather than telling her to proceed. The guard at the terminal hands her a datapad and she looks it over. "Hmh... ma'am, your luggage contains a combat hardsuit. For what purpose are you bringing this item with you?"