The Great Lighthouse was all but abandoned after the Genocide. The Free State had moved on after its deactivation, forming new hubs and avoiding putting so many resources into a single outpost as before. Planets were useful, but they were no home to the Freespacers.

In the absence of a designated colony, the Lighthouse became home to a ragged collection of small-time pirates that didn't do anything, a few smugglers who just wanted to make enough to buy fuel, and a small group of ‘spacers who had designated themselves mourners holding an eternal vigil, speakers for the dead to anyone who wished to listen. The three groups respected each other, trading resources in return for being left to their own devices. After a time, though, they even defended each other against outsiders trying to move in on the territory by force. It was a beneficial arrangement for all involved.

Over the previous four days, however, The Great Lighthouse had seen a flurry of Freespacer activity in preparation for the meeting of Free State and YSE.

On the first day, a scout vessel had arrived and set up a single rift generator, large enough for itself to fit through. Instead of going through, however, it attached and activated the rift, allowing several Phantasms to slip through. The Phantasms performed a scan of the Lighthouse, then scattered throughout the star system, dropping sensor buoys at apparently random places.

Back at the rift, a very large structure was pushed through. The structure was in a collapsed state, long and narrow enough to fit through the gate as a model ship with its sails down is able to fit into a glass bottle. Once it was through, the structure clanked (mutely, in the vacuum) into its proper form: A cylindrical space station with a central hub and three stubby docking arms near the top quarter. It was clearly a temporary outpost, but it would serve its purpose.

At first, the pirates and smugglers were apprehensive. Their concerns were quickly answered by their contacts among the vigil-keepers, and most had made themselves scarce for the duration of the construction, intending to stay away until the event had passed. The few who didn’t were sworn to peace by their neighbors and given an ultimatum: If they caused any trouble, then they would no longer be welcome at the Lighthouse. Some grumbled, but accepted the terms.

On the fourth day, the mothership fleet slated to greet the YSE convoy arrived and scattered her scouts to scour the system yet again. More buoys were launched, two more stations of the same configuration as the first were delivered and set up, and everything was set into position. By the eleventh hour of the fifth day, they were ready.

Yamatai arrived at the fifth hour of the sixth day.

The first ship to arrive was a military vessel, small and sleek, and remained just outside of the 1 AU radius agreed to by both parties. The Freespacer crews immediately became aware of several strong active sensor "pings" against their vessels and structures, but that was all. The pinging stopped after about 20 seconds.

After that, the rest of the convoy arrived. Seven large, oval-shaped vessels, each a glittering white with yellow wings, leaped into the space below the small vessel in a line perpendicular with the Lighthouse's y axis. They stopped once they appeared.

Another three vessels emerged from the emptiness, a few thousand meters dorsal to the freighters. Each was similar to the smallest one, but two were larger and more dangerous looking. Weapon-like objects seemed clustered on the surfaces of the pair, and each had a shining, sword-like prow.

The third, between the other two, was painted a dull grey and did not have any weapon-like objects.

The third sent a signal to identify itself as SS Premier One. The freighters had various names to them, all in Yamataian. They began to move ahead, past the 1 AU boundary and toward the mothership, while the sword-like ships remained still for a moment, then seemed to slide away, rimming the boundary.

"SS Premier One, hailing Freespacer mothership. Freespacer mothership, please reply." The voice was a female one, business-like but cordial enough with her Nepleslian.

There were several buoys in the area the ships appeared in, which drifted away as the first ship performed its pings. After the first ping, half of the Phantasms redirected toward the YSE vessel while the remainder filled their spots in the patrols throughout the star system. The investigating ships took up a holding pattern about two light-minutes away while performing scans of their own.

As the other ships arrived, most of the Phantasms returned to their patrols while about twenty-five stayed behind and slipped among the YSE convoy and its escorts, several of the agile fighters performing playful spins and loops like spaceborne dolphins around the arriving vessels as their scans swept over the newcomers. Every once in a while, radio chatter between them was picked up by the convoy, mostly containing "Watch this!" and "Two days' rations you can't do--" whatever the dare was. But, once the Premier One sent out its hail, they slowed their maneuvers and regrouped in rather chaotic holding patterns between the convoy and the Lighthouse as the mothership made its reply transmission.

"--ey, they're here!"

"I know, s'bout time. Weren't they supposed to be here yesterday?"

"No no no, they said they'd be settin' out on the fifth day. Weren't you watching? Have ya sent a reply yet?"

"Was gonna before you showed..."

Microphone scuffing noises blasted over the airwaves.

"Hey! Give that back!"

"What should I say? Envoy thinks they--"

"Nothing, hand it over."

"Hey! You meathead, you've had the mic on! Great, way to--"

"...Gimme that!"

There was more scuffling noise, then the last voice took on a quasi-professional tone that ended up sounding like a hammy radio personality.

"This is the Dissonant Reflection, we read you, Premier One. Um...if you do not mind, could you tell your escort to tone down the pings? The SI is cussing up a storm, something about 'damn kids and their signal boosters' aaand..." He paused, then continued, his smile audible. "...nevermind that! Welcome to The Great Lighthouse! Let me know when you are ready, and we will get you settled right in."

The Neko captain of the vessel looked blankly at the bridge's main screen from over the shoulder of the communication officer, who also stared at the screen with her mouth hanging open a little.

"Um ... " the Neko communication officer said. "We're really afraid of them, ma'am?"

"Not them," the captain said. "Not militarily, anyway."

"They sound like hacks," the surly Nepleslian pilot said. "Literally and figuratively."

The doors opened at the back of the bridge. A teal-haired Neko wearing a form-fitting blue pants suit and white blouse clicked her way to the main screen, standing on the other side of the communication officer.

" ... " The bridge held their breath, waiting for Premier Yuumi to speak.

"Let's take it in slowly," she said. "Don't want to make them jumpy."

"Yes Premier," the captain replied, bowed, then returned to her station.

"Comm, let me speak?" Yuumi asked.

"Yes Premier," the officer said. A light-blue volumetric headset curled around Yuumi's pointed ear and extended toward her mouth.

"Thank you," Yuumi said, twisting around and giving a nod to the captain, who silently ordered 2 percent throttle toward the Lighthouse.

The Premier's ponytail swished as she left the comm officer's side and began to talk on the headset, pacing on the bridge.

"Dissonant Reflection, Premier One. Thank you for the welcome. The two military vessels in the area should no longer be pinging you. We are headed toward the Great Lighthouse now. We are ready to be guided in at your convenience."

"Acknowledged, Premier One. The Phantasms will bring you in."

The channel was closed. At that, eight of the Phantasms did about-faces and maneuvered around the cargo contingent of the convoy, the rest remaining in an odd "staring contest" with the much larger military ships.

The Freespacer fighters lead the civilian ships in toward the fractured planetoid and the Dissonant Reflection grew larger as they neared. Almost two thousand meters in length, it buzzed with activity. Two Gypsy-class industrial ships drifted nearby with hundreds of smaller craft while innumerable Junker swarms moved like faint clouds over its hull in preparation for the retrofitting the ship was about to receive.

The hull itself was decorated in the typical 'Spacer fashion, but on an intricate scale: Every Freespacer to ever serve on that vessel had left their mark. Some had followed patterns established by the earliest crewmembers, others made their marks in the spaces between the patterns, a few had left grand-scale designs that spanned large swaths of area with rainbows of color. A few spots showed recent damage, scorch marks clustered in a couple of areas.

The ship had taken up position in high orbit of the Lighthouse, looming over one of the three orbital stations that had been set up. Each of the stations were about twice the length of the cargo vessels, with an assortment of docking ports visible.

As the convoy neared the stations, one Phantasm pulled in front of each cargo ship and the yacht, leading to indicate which station each was expected to go. Two cargo vessels were assigned per station, but the Premier One was signaled to stop, then it was hailed, not from the mothership or the accompanying vessels, but from nearby. The voice that came through the speakers was friendly and sounded well-spoken without being "stuffy". Although polite, it was direct.

"I am the Envoy of the Free State. I will speak for the Deoradh people.

"We welcome you, again, to The Great Lighthouse. Am I addressing the one whom the respected Premier Ketsurui Yuumi has selected to speak for her and her people?"

The crew of Premier One tried not to be lost in the wonder of the Freespacer fleet. The majesty of the Dissonant Reflection was not lost on them, even if they had a feeling the ship couldn't stand up in a fight. The color was so unlike anything Yamatai had ever created, with all of the unusual marks over every time part of the hull. Even civilian ships with the YSE didn't get treatment like this.

It was a work of art, floating in space.

Yuumi's face was indecipherable. She looked at it, then away from it, down at the floating consoles in front of her.


"You are," Yuumi replied, sound more friendly than usual, the captain thought. "On behalf of the Yamataian people, I thank the Deoradh for their willingness to meet despite the events of years past.

"I am Ketsurui Yuumi," she said, switching to Yamataian, tone suddenly full of the strong passion of the language. It was a minor gamble, but she believed they knew how to translate her words. "I have come on behalf of the Yamatai Star Empire and her empress, Ketsurui Himiko-sama, to negotiate the government's recognition of the Free State's neutrality in these dark times."

"I see..." There was a kind of silence. Another voice then spoke, this time in perfect Yamataian, but with the same level of politeness that avoided going overboard.

"We have temporary accommodations set aside, cleaned of radiation and shielded, aboard one of the Sojourner's Shelter stations, where you may also observe the unloading process. I will meet you there, if that is acceptable."

"Thank you, Envoy. I apologize for the minor deception, but I wished to meet you and your people, and it was necessary to conceal my arrival until now. Again, my apologies. I will see you shortly."

She gave the Envoy a chance to issue further instructions while the crew shifted in their seats. Yuumi had not told them when she was planning her "big reveal," but now that it was done, they all felt on edge.

"There was no deception," said the Envoy. "We will speak more in person; the Phantasm will show you to your port."

The gunship flashed its running lights as the Envoy mentioned it, then drifted toward the Premier's destination. It then slid to one side, waiting for the Premier One to dock before taking up a guard position behind it, looking outward.

As they approached, the sensors might pick up an irregularly-shaped mass, about the size of a shuttle, drifting near the station. It looked like an asteroid, with a rough exterior and a few jagged edges. Further scans showed a faint energy signature deep within it with a series of tunnels, but no signs of explosives or weapons. A few fragments drifted with it.

The mass, and its energy readings, were noted by the crew, but without real weapons, there was little potential for a response to it. The captain made sure it was noted.

Once the ship was docked, Yuumi floated to the airlock, where she was met by her guards.

There were two. One was a tall Neko with bright, silvery hair, while the other was shorter and leaner, with black hair. Yuumi nodded to them, and they bowed.

"You have pistols?" she asked.

"No, Premier," the black-haired one said firmly. "Only melee weapons, as instructed."

"Good. They'll be looking for them." She checked down the corridor behind them, where various technicians were making their way toward them.

She looked back at the two Samurai. She smiled. "Saya-sensei said you both come highly recommended. You protected my sister for some time, Kôsuka-san?"

"Yes Premier," the black-haired one said. "I was eihei-no-insen for the Mistress for several years."

"And this is your charge? Kei, wasn't it?"

The taller one's lips creeped up into a little smile as she went into a smaller bow, but it was gone by the time she rose up. "Yes Premier," she said, a hint of giddy in her voice.

Yuumi nodded, then looked to the airlock, which signaled it was connected to the "shore" and that the outside atmosphere was hospitable to living creatures.

The three Neko headed out of the airlock.