A three-tone bell chimed that the station's night had begun. Above, the lights dimmed as the station's dome began to fold back to reveal the deep black of space. A thin, transparent membrane kept the atmosphere inside, allowing those below a glimpse of a star-speckled sky. Those inside the shops ventured outside as the dome receded, pointing up and gasping in wonder as the lights in the honeycomb winked out one by one. Even Kira in her urgency stole a second to look up, the sight of the cosmos stealing her breath. Purple and blue dust filled one corner of space, the rest dotted with millions
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