"Sir, our sensor sweep has picked up something. At first it looked like a piece of big debris, but the radar and thermal signatures suggest it might be a ship flying dark."
Captain Polina Wei spun around her seat towards the screens, looking at the sensor readings with curiosity.
"Does it match any known pirate models? Calculate its trajectory."
"It doesn't match anything in our database. Then again, neither did the previous two pirates, too modded. As for the trajectory, it seems the ship is set to pass by Sol, possibly they're planning on using one of the planets for a gravity assist?"
The Captain looked at the holo-display that plotted out possible flight paths. Something wasn't right about this. She thought about her options and then spoke in a curt, dry voice.
"Lieutenant, new orders. We need to get in visual range to assess their threat level. Hail them and prepare to match course."
"Sir, yes sir."
The command deck started buzzing with activity as orders were relayed and officers started preparing. The Captain sighed and fished her thermos out of the air, where it had been hovering in 0 G. She took a sip of her tea and waited, pacing around the command deck.
It didn't take long for the ISRN Artemis to get within range of the unknown ship. She may have been old, and relegated to the boring duty of pirate-hunting, but Artemis was still a battleship that outmatched any pirate ship by leagues.
"Hail them."
The comms officer nodded as the screen flashed once.
"Unknown ship, this is ISRN Artemis. This is a routine inspection. Transfer your transponder code, flight plan and state your business. If you do not comply, you will be boarded."
As the transmission ended, the captain slackened her shoulders a bit and prepared to take a sip of her tea.
"Are we in visual yet? I want to see what we're up against."
"Yes sir. I'll put it on your screen. We've also received a message back from the USO, which seems to be broadcasting continuously now."
"Play it."
Instead of some voice the Captain was expecting, a symphony of sounds filled the room. The comms officer started franticly clicking on his console.
"Is this some kind of interference? I can't make any sense of this..."
A smile of recognition flashed on the Captain's face, quickly replaced by bewilderment as she saw the ship's structure. It was a sphere, full of thrusters but with no drive.
"Have you ever been on Terra, officer? What you are hearing is the rustle of leaves in the wind and bird calls."
"I have not, sir. I grew up in the Outer System. Terra was always too far for a holiday."
The Captain smiled as she took another sip of her tea and walked towards the sensors console.
"After this is done, you should go. It does wonders for the mind."
She highlighted some parts of the ship on the screen, still taking in the sight of this strange construction.
"Prepare the breaching team. Try to access the ship's controls remotely, see if you can open one of the maintenance hatches here or here. And while you're at it, try and get us a map of the structure. I'm going with the breaching team."
"But Sir-"
"No objections, Lieutenant. I'm going."
As she sat in the shuttle bound for the sphere, the Captain didn't grip her gun as tightly as the other marines. When they docked with the ship, she stood up, slowly, almost regally, as the marines surrounded her. She waved them off.
"Get in normal formation, don't worry about me. I'll hang back until you say everything is clear. Doors will open on my mark."
"Three, two, one, mark."
The rumbling of magboots filled the newly-opened corridor. The Captain crossed her hands behind her back, and begun to advance as the marines shouted "Clear.". What became immediately apparent to her is that the structure of the ship was old, probably even older than the Artemis. She opened a map of the ship on her holo-display. They were in a maintenance corridor, one of a set that ran around the outer boundary of the sphere. Inside was a big section simply labelled "Forest", the mainstay of the sphere, and the reactor was nestled in the middle of it. A strange design choice. The hull of the ship was bedecked in antiquated solar panels, but it was obvious you couldn't power a ship this size on panels alone, even without a drive.
She was shaken out of her musings by the return of her marines.
"Corridors all clear, sir. We-"
"I'll go first into the forest. Be ready to secure me if I call for you."
"But sir-"
"That was an order."
Leaving the confused marine stammering, the Captain swiftly approached the door leading to the inside of the sphere and opened it. Unsurprisingly, it was an airlock, and she felt the hum of air flowing into the room as the outer door closed. In a moment, the atmosphere was breathable, the inner door opened and she stepped forward.
And the rustle of grass underneath her magboots surprised her. She looked around herself and felt like she was back on Terra, back in her youth, looking at familiar caponies of trees.
"Sir. Please respond. What are you seeing?"
In response, Polina turned on the camera in her suit.
"I see beauty."
She took off her suit and sat down in the grass, touched the moss, leaned against the tree. She heard the faint birdsong and saw an apple tree not too far from her, covered in flowers. She felt like for a first time in a long, long while, she breathed truly fresh air and was truly free.