When the elevator doors parted on Deck 4, the tone shifted. Pristine and empty, the corridors stretched out before them. Emily's hand found Luca's as she led them forward.

  "This entire deck is dedicated to science and medicine," Emily explained, as they exited the elevator into the empty corridors of Deck 4, gesturing with her free hand. "We have twelve lab modules, each configurable for different research: biology, chemistry, geology, physics. Over there is the xenobiology containment section."

  "Containment?" Michael perked up.

  "Airlocks, negative pressure, sterilization protocols," Emily said. "If we bring back samples from an alien world, we can't risk contaminating the ship."

  Again, Luca thought. The word carried the weight of Midnight Veil's toxic ecosystem, the fungal spores that had breached their ship. They'd learned that lesson the hard way. He caught Emily's quick glance, saw the same memory flash across her face, and squeezed her hand once.

  She squeezed back.

  Athan stopped at one of the containment lab doors, studying the warning placards and the heavy airlock mechanism. "You're going to need a lot more than equipment. You're going to need protocols. Training."

  "I know," Emily said. "That's why we're recruiting scientists. Microbiologists, xenobiologists, chemists, people who know what they're doing."

  "All Level 60," Luca added.

  Athan and Karen both turned to look at him. Emily shifted closer, her shoulder pressing against his.

  "Level 60?" Athan repeated.

  "We need an experienced crew," Luca said, feeling Emily's presence beside him, solid and supportive. "People who've survived. Who've adapted. We can't afford to take anyone green, not for what we're planning."

  Karen didn't ask where they were going.

  They continued through the deck, passing the infirmary, a sprawling medical facility with surgical suites, recovery rooms, and enough equipment to handle everything from routine checkups to major trauma.

  "This is more advanced than the Genesis Clinic," Athan observed.

  "It has to be," Emily said. "We'll be months away from the nearest hospital."

  At one point, as they walked through yet another empty corridor, Athan stopped. He looked around, frowning, then turned to Luca.

  "You're going to need a Bullseye system," he said. "Wayfinding. Signs, color-coded sections, deck markers. In an emergency, your crew needs to know exactly where they are without thinking."

  Luca blinked. "That... actually makes a lot of sense."

  "When the alarms are blaring and the lights are out, no one remembers the deck plan," Athan said quietly. "You make it idiot-proof."

  Emily pulled out her tablet, making notes. "We'll add it to the list."

  ---

  They reached the prow of Deck 4, and Emily opened a set of double doors. The space beyond took everyone's breath away.

  The lounge stretched across the entire forward section of the ship, floor-to-ceiling windows revealing the Genesis Shipyard floating in the void beyond. Stars filled the rest of the view, a dense field of cold light against the void. The ceiling soared four meters high on the lower level, with a mezzanine wrapping around the upper deck.

  "This," Emily said softly, stepping into the empty room, "is going to be our new crew lounge."

  Right now it was bare composite flooring and structural supports, but it was easy to imagine what it could become.

  "Double-decker," Emily explained, walking toward the center of the space where a set of stairs connected the two levels. "We're going to furnish this for morale. Bookshelves, games, books, tables, couches. Televisions for movie nights. Maybe a kitchen area for off-hours cooking."

  "And a stage," Luca added, a small smile playing at his lips.

  "A stage?" Karen asked, one eyebrow rising.

  Emily cleared her throat and pointed to the area near the stairs. "Yes. For crew morale. Parties. Plays, maybe. Concerts."

  They climbed the stairs to the upper level, their footsteps echoing in the empty space. The mezzanine offered an even better view through the massive windows. All of them paused where the Genesis Shipyard hung in the void beyond, its lights twinkling against the infinite blackness.

  Luca felt Emily's hand tighten in his. He looked sideways and caught her staring at the shipyard, at the place where his father had built their future.

  "We'll put a bar up here," Emily continued, gesturing to the far wall. "Couches everywhere. Gaming tables. The stage will be up here, with modular seating." She paused, looking around the empty space. "It's going to be beautiful."

  Karen moved to the railing, her gaze sweeping from the lower level up to the proposed bar and gaming area. "If you're not careful," she said, her tone carrying a note of criticism, "this is going to look like a casino floor."

  Emily's cheeks flushed, and Luca felt her hand start to slip from his. He held on, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

  "We'll probably need an interior decorator," Emily admitted.

  Karen lowered her hand, the tension leaving her shoulders. "I'll help you with that."

  Emily smiled, relief visible in the way her shoulders relaxed. "We'll need carpeting, curtains for the windows, and lighting systems. Proper acoustics for the stage."

  ---

  Deck 3 housed the crew quarters, where the ship's true scale revealed itself. The elevator opened onto a wide central corridor with branching hallways extending in multiple directions. Emily led them to the nearest crew cabin and opened the door.

  "Two beds per cabin," Luca said.

  Athan stepped inside, examining the space with his usual critical eye. Then he looked down the corridor, counting doors.

  "How many cabins do you have?"

  "Forty crew cabins," Emily said. "Plus, the officer quarters on Deck 2. We also have a large mess hall for the crew, a full galley with industrial equipment, and a gym."

  Athan was quiet for a long moment, his lips moving as he did mental math. Then he turned to Luca, his expression serious.

  "Luca," he said slowly. "Do you realize this ship could handle two to three hundred crew? Comfortably?"

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Luca blinked. "Oh."

  "You're planning for a hundred?" Athan pressed.

  "Yes," Emily said. "That's our target."

  Karen smiled, her expression softening. "They'll grow into it."

  Athan nodded, his engineer's mind already calculating. "Good. Extra capacity means redundancy. If you lose crew members, you're not critically undermanned. And if you find something that needs more personnel, you can expand without retrofitting."

  "We could," Luca said, Emily's hand still warm in his. "But that's not the plan. We need scientists—"

  "Engineers, security personnel," Emily continued seamlessly.

  "A medical team. Support staff," Luca finished. "A hundred gives us the flexibility to handle multiple missions simultaneously without exhausting the crew."

  "Plus redundancy," Emily added, and they shared a quick look. Same page. Always.

  "If something goes wrong, we have backup for every critical position."

  They swept through Deck 3, from the cavernous mess hall to the industrial galley and the gym. Every empty room felt like a held breath, waiting for the noise of a living crew.

  "We'll need to outfit all of this," Emily said, making notes on her tablet again. "Furnishings, linens, kitchen equipment, gym equipment. Hydroponics setup."

  "And coffee," Luca added. "Don't forget coffee."

  Not letting Ryan anywhere near that. We're getting real coffee.

  The tour continued upward to Deck 2, where the officer quarters offered more empty rooms, if a bit messy, boasting their private pool, officers' gym, and their lounge. Finally, they ascended to the Command deck.

  ---

  The command center sat at the prow of the deck, an impressive stadium seating semicircle of stations, navigation, engineering, weapons, communications, science, all facing the main viewscreen. Yet the console screens remained dark, the seats unoccupied and waiting.

  While Karen and Athan moved to the front of the bridge to examine the command stations with professional interest, Michael followed quietly in their wake. Luca hung back near the captain's chair, Emily slipping her arm around his waist to lean against him as they watched the adults explore.

  Her head fit perfectly against his shoulder, and for a moment he let himself just feel the weight of her there, the rightness of it. His dad had seen them holding hands earlier, but this was different. This was them, together, in the command center of their ship.

  "This is where it all comes together," Luca said quietly. "Once we have a crew."

  Emily squeezed his side. "It's going to be amazing."

  Karen walked to the forward windows, looking out at the stars beyond. "You've built something extraordinary here," she said without turning. "Both of you."

  "We didn't build it," Emily said. "The System did. We just... earned it."

  "You've earned more than a ship." Karen turned to face them, her expression shifting. The warmth of the woman who called them 'her kids' vanished, replaced instantly by the cold professionalism of Director Stevens. "You've also earned a target on your backs."

  Beside him, Emily went rigid. Luca's arm tightened around her waist, pulling her closer.

  "Karen—" he started.

  "I'm not going to lecture you," she cut him off, but her voice was softer now. "You know the risks. But when you start procuring those two hundred thousand MREs we talked about? While half the world is still on rations? That's going to paint that target even brighter."

  "So what are you saying?" Luca asked. "We hide?"

  "I'm saying you attend the events, but you don't stay on Earth. You fly down, you attend, you fly back to space. Controlled environments. Security we can manage."

  "No," Luca said flatly.

  Karen's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"

  "We need to go home. Visit family. Handle recruitment face-to-face." Luca felt Emily lean into him, her support wordless but absolute. "You can't build a crew over video calls, Karen. If we're asking people to leave Earth for two years, they need to look us in the eye first."

  Karen's jaw tightened. She looked to Athan for support, but he shrugged.

  "They're not wrong," Athan said. "People need to see them in person. It makes a difference."

  Karen was quiet for a long moment, her arms crossed. Finally, she sighed.

  "Then we do this my way. No public appearances without IFC security sweeps. Controlled venues. Heavy protection details." She paused. "And one more thing. You don't tell anyone where you're going after the victory lap. Not the press, not the politicians, not even rank-and-file IFC personnel. The Triumph's mission stays classified."

  "We weren't planning to announce it anyway," Emily said.

  Karen nodded slowly, but the tension in her shoulders didn't ease. "Then I suppose we'd better start preparing. Because one way or another, the world is about to meet its heroes."

  ---

  They took the elevator back down to Deck 5, the hangar where they'd first landed. The massive space still felt empty despite the shuttle sitting in the center, but as they walked toward the far end, Athan stopped short.

  "What's that?"

  A mountain of equipment sat half-hidden behind a support column in the corner. TL9 armor pieces were stacked haphazardly, medium armor chest plates, helmets, gauntlets. Weapons leaned against the pile: plasma rifles, blasters, and assault weapons. Next to the chaotic heap sat a much neater arrangement, the survey equipment and sample containers, carefully organized and labeled.

  "That's, uhh..." Luca said, scratching his neck. "That's our survey results."

  "And these?" Athan asked, gesturing at the armor.

  "Those are extra," Emily said. "TL9 armor, weapons, equipment. We thought, maybe, we could sell them at auction, make some money to help outfit the ship."

  Karen walked over to the pile, picking up a helmet and examining it. The craftsmanship was incredible, lightweight, adaptive, and far beyond anything currently manufactured on Earth. She set it down carefully.

  "Oh, honey," she said, turning to look at Emily with an almost amused expression. "You're not going to need more credits after we submit the charter. If what you've sent me is any indication, you'll have more money than you know what to do with."

  Luca and Emily exchanged glances.

  "So we don't need to sell this?" Luca asked, a frown forming on his lips. "We don't need to go to an auction?"

  "Keep it," Karen said. "Use it for your crew. Or as backup equipment. Trust me, you'll need it more than you'll need the credits."

  She studied the pile of armor and weapons for a moment longer, then turned back to Luca and Emily. Her expression had shifted, no longer the protective director, but the pragmatic administrator.

  "Speaking of crew," she said. "This equipment is top-tier. You'll want top-tier people to use it. Have you given any thought to how you're going to recruit them?"

  Emily nodded. "We have. We've identified the positions we need to fill: scientists, engineers, security personnel, medical staff. But there's a caveat."

  "And that is?" Karen asked.

  "We'd like to recruit complete adventuring teams," Emily said, stepping closer to Luca. Their hands found each other instinctively, and he felt her gather herself for the explanation they'd rehearsed. "We figure, they all want to level up—"

  "They'll be part of the combat teams," Luca continued.

  "And fulfill the roles we need," Emily finished. She paused, then added, "Preferably around our age. And we need to interview them. Face to face. We want people who fit our dynamic, people we can trust with our lives. That's not something you can assess over a video call."

  Karen's expression shifted, hovering on the edge of amused exasperation. "Kids," she muttered. "You want me to find you more kids, and then you want to personally interview every single one."

  Athan and Michael both started laughing, short, surprised barks of sound that echoed in the hangar.

  "I was going to say," Karen said, squinting her eyes at Athan and Michael, "that this is an impossible task. Like finding a needle in a haystack." She paused, her lips curving into a small smile. "But. We just got access to the UER's adventuring team databases and advanced classes, as well as a guarantee from Anderson that we can recruit again."

  Luca straightened, looking between Karen and Athan. "So, do you think it'll be possible?"

  "Maybe," Karen replied. "I'll do my best."

  "And the supplies..." Emily asked carefully.

  "I'll take care of that too," Karen said. "We'll coordinate procurement through IFC channels. Spread it out, manage the optics like we discussed."

  "Actually," Luca said, catching Emily's eye. "We'd like to handle some of it ourselves."

  Karen raised an eyebrow. "What?"

  "We've been in space for five months," Emily said. "Alien planets, the ship, recycled air, synthetic food. We want..." She paused, looking at Luca. "We want to walk through a market. Smell real coffee. Touch fabric that wasn't printed in a fabricator. We want normal."

  Five months of alien planets and recycled everything. Five months of being heroes and targets and explorers. Emily wanted to smell real coffee, and damn it, so did he.

  Luca squeezed her hand. "Shopping," he said. "We'd like to go shopping. For the supplies."

  Karen stared at them for a long moment, then shook her head, a faint smile touching her lips. "You want to personally select equipment for a hundred-person, two-year deep space mission."

  "Yes," Luca and Emily said in unison.

  Michael chuckled quietly beside Karen. "They're going to turn procurement into a field trip."

  "A very expensive field trip," Athan added, but he was smiling.

  Karen sighed, though a corner of her mouth quirked upward. "Fine. We'll arrange for you to inspect key equipment before final purchase. But we do this efficiently, understand? No wandering around Earth shopping districts like tourists."

  "Deal," Luca said.

  Emily squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back.

  "Then I suppose," Karen said, looking between them, "we'd better get started."

  ---

  Karen's communicator chimed before anyone could move. She checked the screen, and her expression shifted from warm to professional in an instant.

  "What is it?" Athan asked.

  Karen looked up, her eyes finding Luca's. "Marisol Vintar. UER Space Operations." She paused. "The UER Council has formally requested that the Triumph of Darron remain outside Cislunar space for the duration of your Earth visit."