The time comes for Noira to return to Orus; her family sees her off, as they take one of the older land carriages up to Eterna, the capital city and spaceport of pr’Sefone. Telma is wary. We don’t know where the father in this family is…but Telma worries for her daughter. They exchange their sincere goodbyes, and there’s an unspoken feeling that neither understands; that somehow, things are going to be different…
Noira boards a shuttle carried high over Eterna by a large, double-hulled airship. Upon release, the shuttle ignites rocket engines to power its way free of the planet, chasing down an interworld cycler. As the shuttle docks to its new home, Noira takes a moment to look back down at the world she’s leaving behind, city lights glimmering in the perpetual dusk; far below, her family watches the brilliant star of the cycler sail away, off into the deep open sky.
The trip only lasts a few days, owing to the compact nature of the Rosa system, close-packed worlds whirling close to their mother. Noira explores some of the luxurious faculties of the cycler; it’s a permanent space station, furnished on the inside something like a vast ocean liner. The cycler coasts between worlds, catching and releasing transient fleets of passenger shuttles. Other passengers are more prone to socializing and partaking in extravagant recreation to pass the time; Noira mostly keeps to herself.
Arriving on Orus involves a violent and somewhat harrowing reentry, culminating in a balloon-arrested descent. In fact, the shuttles don’t “land” at all — the deployed envelope brings them to a halt high above ground level, allowing the safed vehicles to be towed into port by tug balloons.
Disembarking is its own ordeal. Life on Orus is controlled in totality by ASMC, which views the world as one big mining village and claims the right to police it accordingly. They form a sort of paragovernment agency that, among many other unpleasant policies, maintains an intrusive transportation security force. Noira isn’t surprised by this, having been through the process before, but we note that the screening makes her very uncomfortable, and she is relieved to make it through and get on with her life.
Her life on Orus is not nearly as peaceful and idyllic as the farm on pr’Sefone. Noira lives in dense, decrepit tenement housing, the only living standard she can afford even with her pretty strong qualifications. She lives on an island named Kaldus, which is fringe even by Orus standards — it’s near the edge of the more populated island chains, serving as a staging point to mines situated far out at sea. Overall, Noira’s not too fond of her life ashore, and views Ark Royal as her home while she’s on Orus.
While we’re with Noira, she witnesses the vessel Ark Duchess limping into port, apparently after some significant catastrophe. Depending on exactly how I want to spin the narrative, Ark Duchess may have fallen victim to an air raid, sustaining significant damage from gunfire and losing many crew members in the process. Alternatively, it may be returning from an open cast mine which suffered a catastrophic seawall collapse, damaging the ship and killing many mine workers. In either case, the incident reminds Noira (and the audience) of the hazards of her occupation, and the image of body bags being carried off the stricken vessel leaves her wary ahead of her upcoming voyage.
Noira prepares for her next voyage out on Ark Royal. On the way out, the ship will carry supplies and logistical support equipment out to a number of open-cast mines; in exchange, Ark Royal will pick up thousands of tons of bulk cargo and raw materials harvested from the mines, delivering them back to port to be processed in ASMC’s various plants and facilities. As a first for Noira, this voyage will take place primarily during the long night — Orus has a lengthy day/night cycle, so darkness will last what we would call about a week. This makes the voyage inherently more hazardous than those Noira has been on before; the seas are fraught with shifting floes of ice, and Orus’ place at the fringe of the Rosa system means not even the other worlds can illuminate its midnight skies.
Preparations begin around dusk, with Rosa’s disk lingering over the far horizon. Noira brings the majority of her belongings with her in luggage to board Ark Royal. At the port, we meet her mentor from the company, Marion Montaigne.
Marion is a senior engineer at ASMC who’s been helping to represent company interests as part of their partnership with Grand Ark Aeromarine. Arcturus Meridian, the supply line operator that Noira works for, requires input from both its parents to run smoothly: while Noira helps maintain GAA’s vehicle hardware, Marion ensures the machines support ASMC’s broader logistical needs. However, Marion has considerable technical prowess, and mentors Noira as she takes on more responsibility at AM. The night voyage is a part of this, as the environmental conditions are significantly more demanding as vehicle maintenance is concerned: lower temperatures, more turbulent air conditions, and a general inability to alight on the water in emergency situations.
They both know Noira is ready to shoulder the additional responsibility, even as she’s a bit nervous about the new situation. They talk about this at the gangway as the ship is prepared for its long voyage….
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