The transition from a terrestrial atmosphere to the deep cosmos is not just a shift in gravity; it is a complete, sensory amputation.
Inside the sleek, pressurized cabin of the celestial vessel, the ambient hum of the physical world simply evaporated. There was no wind rushing against the hull. There was no atmospheric friction. The blazing solar core Orion had installed burned with terrifying heat, yet it produced absolutely no sound in the vacuum outside.
Through the front observation viewport—rendered entirely in transparent, neon-green digital geometry—the planet of the Golden Age slowly rotated below them, a beautiful, fragile marble of green and blue suspended in the infinite dark.
Orion stood at the engineering console, his Warlord's coat perfectly still in the zero-gravity environment, anchored by Zenith's localized gravity patch. The Vanguard kept his golden eyes locked on the thermal output of the engine.
