When my starship first dropped out of hyperspace near Zeta Caeli, it took me a moment to figure out where I was — everything around was pitch black, like I’d slipped into interstellar space. The Ship AI helpfully switched on the infrared filters, and only then did I spot the star: a tiny red disc far off the starboard side. With so little light, the station itself was just as hard to see — the AI outlined its shape on the display and plotted a docking course on its own.​

“Cold Heaven” is a small research station far away from trade and passenger routes. That’s exactly how the scientists here like it — no one around to interfere with their work. I’m not sure about the technical details, but I’ve heard the station’s location is especially good for studying gravitational fields and peering very deep into space. A team of researchers based here charts potential hyperspace routes for a good half of the Federation’s known stars.​

Dock — probably the smallest dock I’ve seen so far. It can handle maybe half a dozen mid‑class starships, and if anything larger shows up — something like a Trident‑class — it has to dock via external connectors or drop crew off by shuttle. The local attraction here is the dock manager, an android named PUSS‑25. I’d really like to know who decided to program her that way.

Laboratory — obviously, there are at least a dozen labs on this station. But only one of them really interests me. They don’t study astrophysics or even astrography here, but xenoarchaeology — more specifically, the long‑gone, almost completely vanished civilization of the Jarr. From what I’ve gathered, Doctor Myers is a pretty big name in that field, but to me she’s first and foremost an incredibly beautiful woman.

Trade Deck — if you can even call it that. In reality, it’s just a storage deck staffed by a warehouse android, VAG‑12. Still, he buys and sells a few goods, so technically the name checks out.

Bar “The Tavern” — the busiest place on the station. If you can ignore the weirdos playing tabletop games, it’s a decent spot to relax and try the local drink, “Blue Shift.”

Even though “Cold Heaven” sits at a dead end of hyperspace routes, I still find myself needing to come back here from time to time. And not just because I want to talk to Doctor Myers. Julia is so absorbed in her research that she barely noticed me when I first walked into her lab. The only thing that truly matters to her is the Jarr civilization — their artifacts and the remnants of their forgotten technology. I got lucky during one hyperjump and ran into one of their drones, managed to destroy it, and brought Julia a shard of its hull. Since then, she’s been treating me with a lot more attention, and I’m hoping that won’t be the last drone I get to shoot down and salvage for her.​