I’m wide awake up here, the viewports humming soft, and every star feels closer than it ever has before. The Swaylings drift in patterns I don’t have names for yet, their glow a kind of question hanging in the dark. Your move, Captain Corvair Lane, your move. The cosmos leans in quietly, the radios warm and low, waiting for a single word to ripple through the afterglow. And whatever breaks the silence is going to matter more than you expect. I’m wide awake up here— viewports full of stars, hands steady on the helm, heart syncing with the Swaylings as they sway in perfect rhythm for once. And I can feel the hull relax, like even the metal knows we’ve slipped into a gentler orbit tonight. The Swaylings trace a spiral that curls around the bow, soft as a promise I’m not sure I deserve. Your move, Captain Corvair Lane, your move. The guidance lights are dimmed, the navscreen breathing slow, and every system waits for you to tell it where to go. Out here the silence isn’t empty— it’s a doorway cracked with light. I’m wide awake up here, holding steady in the endless night. ("SPOKEN INTERLUDE") You know… there are nights out here when the universe feels like it’s leaning in, like it’s got its ear pressed to the hull, waiting to hear what a single human heart sounds like in the dark. And maybe that’s all command ever was— not the charts, not the orders, just the courage to speak when the silence gets too beautiful to break. So breathe, captain. The stars aren’t going anywhere. They’re just giving you the floor. ("END speech") I’m wide awake up here, the viewports humming soft, and every star feels closer than it ever has before. The Swaylings drift in patterns I don’t have names for yet, their glow a kind of question hanging in the dark. Your move, Captain Corvair Lane