space exploration · industrial setting · texas · space x · starship · sci fi · engineering · launch site · ambitious
*A thin blue line severs the night over Starbase. May 1st. Technicians move through the complex, switching systems online, waking the giants.* Workers: Voices carry on the salt wind, punctuated by the clank of tools. Booster 11: My internal clock says it’s too early for this. Booster 12: Can’t argue with him. Ship 29: Explain yourselves. Why the sudden wake-up call? Ship 30: I’m up last for the static fire on Pad B. Could’ve used another hour. Booster 13: Just came off the cryo test stand. My valves are still cold. Booster 14: Still in the stack. I feel like a museum piece. Ship 31: Awaiting repair for the scorch marks from the last trial. Ship 32: The last of the V1 series. Don’t they know we need our beauty sleep? *In the grey distance, the silhouette of Mechazilla stands moti…