Against the darkness of space she passed the window where I sat. Such shapes, such greatness. Her golden colors a contrast against the deep void, she silently floated passed me, slowly turning away from the station hangar.
Elajisine, flagship of the Golden Condor Fleet, the most powerful and beautiful vessel of her kind. She had been built on the command of the Princess herself, when our Empire was in dire need of something to hope for, something to cling onto in our deepest sorrows. The hole after the Amnesty War was deep and large parts of our Empire had fallen into the hands of savage heretics. What better then, than this ship, our Princess’ own tool of salvation.
I remember the times I had walked those long and ornamented corridors. Meters after meters of golden walls, servants and guards populating them as the loyal followers they were. It had always baffled me how they could have kept it so clean, and yet I had once been the captain, serving directly under the Princess herself. How this could have gone past, I can never understand.
I don’t know who first came up with the design of such a ship. I know from my own experience that the Princess hadn’t, but that didn’t exclude her closest advisors.
Whoever it was who had done it, that person was a genius. A goddamn genius.
Elajisine, her golden reflection almost blinding my eyes now that the sun arose from the surface of the nearby planet, was inspired by the famous Okkaka bird, native to the planet Orphis. The shape was after its beak, a long, turning and twisting beak, golden in appearance. Adding to the vessel’s already interesting shape were intersections of bulbous shapes, containing living quarters and the engine rooms.
Now that she had almost turned to face the rest of the void, her size came to my mind again. Being a flagship, her usual size dwarfed those of smaller, less important vessels. However, being such a famous and divine vessel, being in the middle ground was not for her.
Oh no, Elajisine was easily the biggest of any known vessel in our Empire, stretching not only ten kilometers, but even fourteen. She was the largest object in the sky right now, only dwarfed by the Messha station and the planet it was orbiting around.
“Pops.”
I turned my head towards my left and saw my son sitting next to me. I hadn’t even noticed he had sat down next to me.
“When did you get here?” I asked.
“A few minutes ago. You looked so deep in thought I didn’t want to disturb you.”
I glanced at the window again and noticed Elajisine activating its engines, gathering speed towards the opposite direction.
“Quite alright, my boy. I tend to be deep in thought…but you already know that.”
“I do,” he said and smiled.
“How is Selene, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“She’s just fine, pops. She is waiting for me down at the reception.”
I nodded and let the vessel out in the void disappear from my view, her destination being a conflict in a distant solar system.
“I guess it’s time to go,” I said and stood up on weak legs. My cane was of old age, I had mostly kept it for nostalgic reason. The drone next to me did most of the job holding me up.
We began to leave the observation plateau, when I felt a nudge of something happening outside my reach.
“Wait,” I said and turned around, facing the window again.
“What is it, pops?” my son said.
My timing was too perfect to be a coincidence. To see the Elajisine begin her warp process was something few people had experienced. Space lit up, glorious and strong light filling the darkness. A vessel preparing to warp was always a magnificent view to behold.
And just like that, it disappeared in the blink of an eye. Gone into space, to another Empire beyond.
I turned around again and motioned to the drone to push me on towards the exit.
“Pops, are you alright?”
“Why shouldn’t I be?” I said before I noticed a tear dropping onto my hand. I touched the side of my face gently and I felt moist beneath my fingers.
“I, um,” I stuttered forth, not knowing what to say.
”Pops, it’s alright. You know you will be able to fly with her as many times as you want after this.”
“Yes, I know,” I said and continued walking towards the area where my mind would be transferred to a machine, forever living, forever able to fly with my Elajisine.