"This tower we are in is one of three that extend up above the main ring of the station," Msizi said upon entering the lift and starting the tour.

"Each of them are made up of hotel rooms, VIP suites and business offices. There are also shops, boutiques, fitness rooms and a swimming pool. The joined towers also extend below the station, however those areas are for internal station workers, like engineering, medical and security. Most worker living quarters are also located there. The station's power source is located at the very bottom of the towers; that is where we are headed now, engineering."

After a minute the lift came to a gentle stop, the doors opening on to an enormous white room. Along both sides countless workers sat at banks of computers. In the middle several, control panels arranged in a circle surrounding a large containment field - inside of which was what looked like a huge ball of plasma. It was giving off a gentle hum.

As soon as James exited the lift, almost everyone stopped and looked at him.

"Hello, welcome, hi. Special-Ambassador Wallace!"

A tall man came bounding over. He was wearing a dark grey uniform with a blue overlay. "I am Bill, head of Engineering here at the station," he said without giving Msizi a chance to introduce us.

"Hello Bill." James said shaking his out stretched hand. "Thank you for giving up your time for me."

"Always happy to have visitors down here, they don't let us out much," he joked.

"Bill, can you give the Ambassador a quick tour of your department?" asked Msizi.

"Yes of course," Bill started. On the left here in the offices we have station tech support and problem solving. Any issues are triaged and fixed by those guys. On the right are the more specialised technicians."

James gave them a wave. Some waved back, others meekly hid behind colleagues.

"You're not interested in any of that though are you. You just want to know about the big fiery ball in the middle of the room!" he grinned. "It's the heart of the station and powers everything here. Meteorite shields, altitude stabilisers, gravity generators, the little night-light by your bed. It's a marvel of our engineering prowess," said Bill enthusiastically.

For the next 30 minutes Bill gave a detailed explanation of how everything worked whilst walking around the big plasma ball, most of which bypassed James due to all the technical jargon used. When Bill finally took a breath Msizi interrupted him, "Thank you Bill, that was great but we must be on our way - lots to show the Ambassador."

"Yes, of course."

"Thank you for you time, Bill. Fascinating," said James shaking his hand again.

"Come back soon," Bill shouted as they left.

Leading James back to the lift Msizi said, "Next stop, a peaceful walk through one of the gardens, then on to station maintenance via the hanger bay."

After another short ride, the lift doors opened and James found himself near the same platform he landed his shuttle on. Now that all the crowds, red carpet and shiny guards had gone he could see more of the architecture and the space. Unlike typical utilitarian space stations with low ceilings and pipework, Tranquillity station was built with a form-over-function mentality. High ceilings, covered panels painted in murals and other relaxing art work.

Walking along a wide cobblestone-like walkway edged with miniature hedges, James could see that large areas of the station were covered in beautifully tended gardens and colourful flowers. There were also a smattering of trees.

"This level is the top-most of the main station, not counting the towers of course. It features a large reinforced glass ceiling that covers over half of the roof, letting in natural light and allowing people to see the stars at night. It really is a wonderful sight. This level holds all the main public parts of the station: shops, gardens, and play areas. We even hold the occasional 'outdoor' concert here."

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Msizi continued, "While the air is scrubbed and re-circulated throughout the whole station, the trees here help the process by producing oxygen and removing some of the CO2. The abundance of flowers also help to give it a lovely outdoor smell. Sometimes people forget they are on a space station orbiting nearly 500 kilometres above Beldor!"

"It's very impressive," James exclaimed.

"When we make our way to the edge of the station you will see the gardens giving way to markets, small shops and businesses. Along the every edge of the station in this sector is where all the main restaurants are located, giving more views across the entire system."

"How many sectors are there?" asked James.

"There are five sectors on this level. We are in sector one at the moment, at the left edge of the glass ceiling. Sector two is the middle third of glass and contains more public gardens, some government buildings and the royal palace. The palace is a smaller version of the one on Beldor and is open to the public. Sector three is up until the right hand edge of the glass ceiling and is general purpose offices. Sectors four and five, the non-glassed area, is a mix of more living quarters, shops and small warehouses."

"That is a lot of garden area! It's very admirable to use so much valuable space for this function," James said.

"Yes, we value our connection to nature, wherever we are," Msizi answered. "Below us, there are eight more levels mostly manufacturing and repair shops, warehouses and a large hanger bay."

One of the security guards called over a small roofless golf-buggy and got into the drivers side. "We'll get around a little quicker with this," Msizi said, "after you."

As they made their way several people stopped and stared at James, some smiling and waving to him. James waved back. "Everyone seems friendly," he smiled.

"Yes, we have almost zero crime here on Tranquillity. With so much greenery and relaxation areas we are all at peace," Msizi replied.

After thirty minutes of driving towards the edge of the station the buggy stopped next to another set of lift doors, and the four men got out.

From here we'll take you down into the station and show you a view of the hanger bay that is used for cargo and passenger transport. They transit from Beldor mostly, but also arrive from the many habitats on our three moons. We act like a hub for people and resources coming to and from those habitats. It also helps to get people adjusted to the differences in gravity."

"I noticed I felt a little lighter here compared to Earth, it will do wonders for my weight loss figures," James laughed.

Travelling downwards James saw the previous floor disappearing above him to be replaced with the view of a monumental hanger. It was so huge he couldn't see the far wall due to the curvature of the station. One side was open to the vacuum of space, secured with a force shield, a steady stream of shuttles passing though without issue. The other side was split into five levels for the various ships to land.

"Rather large isn't it?" Msizi smiled. "Passenger ships take up the top two floors," he said pointing, "the lower three are for cargo. There are over fifty landing pads and up to six hundred cargo shuttles can come and go every day."

Passing below the massive hanger the lift continued down, coming to a stop at the upper half of a two floor workshop. Two cargo shuttles could be seen in different states of repair. The lift doors opened to an air-locked room. Once cycled, the door led on to a gangway that circled the entire space. Msizi lead James to an office at the end of the gangway.

"Knock knock," he said standing by the open door.

"Msizi! Come in, how are you?" came a friendly voice.

"Maddie, this is Special-Ambassador James Wallace of Earth. We are giving him a tour of the facilities and you are our next list." Msizi turned to James, "James, this is Maddie head of repair and maintenance for the whole station. She ensures that everything runs smoothly."

Maddie was wearing the same dark grey uniform as Bill in engineering, but this time with a light grey overlay.

"Hello Maddie, it's nice to meet you," smiled James holding out his hand. "Quite an amazing place you have here, and I have only seen a very small part of it."

"Welcome Ambassador," she replied shaking his hand "Thank you, we are all very proud of it. A second smaller one is being planned for orbit around either Seomia or Leimia, our second and third moons."

"Oh, that'll be exciting, I hope I am here to see it. What is it you and your team do on the station?" James asked.

"We perform all installation, repair and upkeep operations across the station. Everything from broken pipes to shuttle repair. We also work closely with the various gardening teams to ensure all the public areas are looking their best."

"Seems simple enough when you say it out loud, but I am sure it really isn't," James laughed.

"Too true," Maddie said smiling. "Come, I'll give you a tour of our workshop and if you have time I'll take you on to see the guys and girls in gardening."

...