The black nothingness of space stretched on endlessly in all directions. Occasionally, tiny points of light marked the location of the burning gaseous spheres of the galaxy’s stars, but otherwise space was empty, clear, and free. The vast expanses were unshackled by the demands and concerns of the infinitesimally small beings that made their way through the void. Staring out of the viewport into the space outside the Niman-class cruiser-carrier, Hasla Almani wished her own mind was as clear and free, but it wasn’t. Instead, it was suffused and infested with doubts and worries, emotions that didn’t normally plague her to this extent, an unsettling feeling. She continued to gaze into oblivion, reflecting on distant memories and forgotten dreams.