The Meridian's Edge touched down on Vanguard Station's main docking platform with a series of heavy thuds as the landing gear absorbed the vessel's weight. The ship settled into its berth, and through the viewport Noah could see the familiar expanse of the station's interior bay stretching out before them.
Home...Except it didn't feel like home anymore.
The docking clamps locked into place with loud metallic clangs that echoed through the transport's hull. Noah stood near the boarding ramp with the rest of his team, each of them lost in their own thoughts about what was waiting on the other side of that door.
Sophie stared at her hands like she'd never seen them before. Diana had positioned herself as far from Kelvin as the cabin would allow, her jaw set in a way that suggested she was still furious about their argument. Kelvin himself looked exhausted in a way that went beyond physical tiredness, the kind of worn down that came from carrying too much weight for too long.
