The Grimalkin emerged from hyperspace on the fringes of the Chromatica system, in order to announce its presence to the local authorities. From this distance, the three suns were lost in the backdrop of stars. Even optical zoom only made them an elongated blob of light. The closest planet was a gas giant, its surface swirling with hues of grey, crimson and dirty white.

Their contact with the border patrol was short and routine, and within minutes the ship went back into hyperspace, towards the approach coordinates they had received. The hyperdrive barely warmed up on the trip inside the solar system. Compared to interstellar distances it was barely a short step. Just a few seconds later the Grimalkin materialized back in normal space, this time two light seconds away from Chroma IV, just outside the orbit of its small moon.

The main spectacle, however, was not the blue and green planet below, it was the tripple stars in the distance. Chromatica A, a golden orb, a G8V main sequence yellow star was the brightest. It was accompanied by two others. Chromatica B was a K-type star, cooler and redder and slightly larger, while Chromatica C was by far the largest but also less bright than the others, swollen due to having exhausted most of its hydrogen. A blue glowing B-type star.

Together, they bathed Chroma IV in ever-shifting light, and radiation. Radiation that was safely diverted by the planet’s powerful magnetic field, into constant auroras that danced near its poles in vibrant curtains of green and violet. It was indeed a sight to behold.

Twitch and the ship AI were already exchanging navigation vectors with a space station at the L5 point, a stable position at the moon’s orbit. Chroma IV was a trade hub, but the Grimalkin was not registered to any of the companies or planetary governments frequenting it, so they had to pass through border patrol before receiving landing permissions.

It took an hour for them to stop near the space station, dock with a patrol shuttle and go through a routine customs inspection. Alien technology was a more than welcome trade good on all human planets and thus almost never subject to tariffs and commonly granting a streamlined customs process. After a bit of paperwork they were on their way, landing coordinates and de-orbit vectors in the navigation computer and a notice about their arrival time sent through the comms to their contact.

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Another hour later, they were coming down through the atmosphere, a small amount of fiery plasma forming on the outside of the Grimalkin. The ship was not built for atmospheric flight. It had the aerodynamics of a giant ball, because that was exactly what it was. In essence, the Grimalkin moved into orbit above the spaceport, matched the planet’s rotation and then simply dropped down, slowing its descent and adjusting its position using its thrusters. It touched down at a cargo spaceport a short distance outside one of Chroma IVs larger cities shortly after dawn.

They stepped out of the Grimalkin, blinking in the unfamiliar sunlight. Grubs took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the sweet, non-recycled air. „Fresh air.“, he breathed, with a rare grin. Despite the faint smell of burnt propellant and spaceport chemicals, it was a more than welcome change to all the ships and space stations they spent most of their lives in.

Red shouldered her pack and gestured towards a sleek, white car approaching their position. „We've got a hotel at the edge of the city," she announced. „Halfway between here and the center. Should be a short drive.“

They put their luggage in the trunk and got into the car, the inside a cozy contrast to its nondescript exterior, with brown synthetic leather and blue fabric. The autopilot had been programmed by the hotel and took them straight to their lodging. During the ride, they were all glued to the windows, taking in the unfamiliar sights of open landscapes and distant horizons, sun and clouds in the sky and high-rise buildings in the distance. They had been on planets before, even on inhabited ones. But it was a rare opportunity and they intended to make the most of it, taking in all the sights, sounds and smells they had all but forgotten. They enjoyed every minute of their ride.

Soon, the open landscape was replaced by suburban housing. Scattered houses with large gardens that slowly became smaller as they came closer to the city. Then the car took a turn to the left and drove into what could have been a small town but was probably the middle of a city district. The skyscrapers, now to their right, were already not far away. The car slowed down as they entered a plaza, monorail station on one hand and a few five and six story buildings on the other, their hotel among them. It was now proper morning and the plaza was buzzing with people, some on their way to work, some on their way to the nearby shops, some enjoying the warm spring day in the cafe that occupied the central area of the plaza.

A service robot was unloading their luggage as they exited the car, and the sounds and smells of the city rolled over them. Checking in was quick, and after a quick refresh in their rooms, they went outside to visit that cafe. Having a snack under the open sky was as amazing to them as a trip to the moon was to a surface dweller.