Program Completed
To the uninitiated, one communications station looked much the same as any other. To Devon Fragoza, though, as he paced the control deck of the Relay 4 Station with his lanky frame, everything about this place was different. Every line, every curve, every sound, was an extension of himself, ingrained into his subconscious, It gave him a sense of comfort to know man and machine together made them greater than the sum of their parts. Although he was only 35, he had earned his veteran’s stripes before most people had even begun their careers. Born on Mars, and shuttled from one station to another as a child, he entered the Academy at age 15, climbed up the rank ladder with lightning speed, and earned his first solo posting a mere 10 years later. As his boots tapped out a rhythmic echo on the metal decking beneath him, he felt there was nowhere else in the solar system he’d rather be.
Computers, consoles,and 2-D and 3-D holo displays that monitored all the systems’ status throughout the station lined the small but efficient space. Colorful lights on the panels gave the otherwise gun-metal grey surroundings a splash of color.
The view from the ports lining the deck and hallways beyond was just as compelling; it revealed a stark yet achingly beautiful display of the heavily pocketed crater of the asteroid on which the station rested, as well as the vastness of space beyond its confines. Yet it was not bleak within the station -- the faint sounds of the power sources, and the constant whir of the air-recirculator fans, provided a sense of life to an otherwise mechanical construct. Devon, his ebony skin and wide brown eyes glowing in the light of the displays, grinned appreciatively.