The Rosalind

The jump tunnel collapsed behind us, stars stretching back into place.

“We haven’t spent much time together,” Kyra said, her voice calm but carrying weight. “I figured that should change—especially if you’re planning to marry my daughter.”

I blinked, caught off guard by her directness—and by the fact we were still in a private transport, four jumps from home.

“Uh… yeah. That would be good,” I said, glancing out the viewport. A blue-gray planet curved below us. “Where are we, exactly?”

“Castra,” she replied. The ship began to rattle gently as we hit atmosphere. Through the haze, I caught sight of Sherman—the old military sprawl now turned trade hub. But our approach was angled away from the city center.

“We’re not landing at the main port?” I asked.

Kyra didn’t answer right away. Just smiled.

“Fria’s been begging me to bring you to work for a couple years now. But between your proposal and a new project we’re working on… let’s just say I wanted to show you something special.”

We entered her office and sat down.

“Now, there’s a little paperwork first, then we can get started.”

She pulled a form from her top drawer and slid it across the desk with a pen. Non-Disclosure and Confidentiality Agreement was printed at the top.

I raised an eyebrow, and she responded with a reassuring nod. “Take your time.”

After a quick scan, I noticed two signature lines. One for me, and one already signed by Kyra. My heart skipped a beat when I read her title: GM of Operations - Kruger Intergalactic.

A grin spread across my face as I signed. I had loved ships since I was a kid. Mum used to take me to the spaceport to watch the cargo haulers come and go. It wasn’t long before I could name every model and variation we saw. I missed those days.

“Last year we concepted a new light fighter,” Kyra said. “We’re getting ready to announce it in a few months. Interested in a sneak peek?”

She led me back down the hall toward the hangars, branching off toward a sign labeled Experimental Testbed.

The lights were off as we entered, but gradually illuminated as we moved deeper inside.

“This is the Rosalind—well, for now at least.”

In the center of the room hovered a sleek ship, its glossy surface melting into the shadows. Its outline was clear, clean, and precise. Like the Merlin, the lines were uninterrupted. The edges looked sharp—almost menacing.

“No guns?” I asked, wondering if they’d been hidden or intentionally removed.

“To be clear, this is an early concept—very limited. We’re still months away from production. And honestly, I can’t tell you about the armaments yet because… we’re still deciding whether to go bespoke or use generic mounting points. There are pros and cons to each. We could tune high-end, powerful weaponry to match the chassis, or take the Archimedes approach—flexible and modular.”

I nodded. “But the integrated Tigerstrike on the Merlin made it really stand out among snub ships.”

"Fria was right—you really are a ship nerd," Kyra jested.

“And did you say you're working on a stealth variant with no shields and bigger guns, so it punches above its weight?” I asked jokingly trying to match her energy.

“Haha, you wish. The Rosalind was designed to be strong, fast, and reliable. Maybe we’ll explore variants down the line. But for now, we’re focused on building a high-quality ship at a competitive price.”

She continued. "So? What do you think?”

I stood in awe, struggling to find the words.

“It’s refined. There are design cues from the Merlin, but… something else, too. You can just tell it’s made for combat—even with no visible weapons.”

“Can I touch it?”, I asked.

“Sure. We can take as long as we want here today.”

As I approached, more details emerged—hairline gaps between panels, invisible from a distance. Like the Merlin, the wings were short and swept at a slight angle—maximizing lift while minimizing drag. The nacelles housed thrusters two, maybe three times larger than the Merlin’s. The outer casings looked sleek but sturdy. Kruger clearly didn’t let the need for heat dissipation ruin the aesthetic.

I ran my hand along the ship, from nose to cockpit. The glossy surface glided under my slightly sweaty palm.

“What is this coating? It’s so smooth… like a touchscreen, but even more slippy.”

“Oh, that I actually can’t tell you.” She paused.

“It’s a specialized iono-phobic coating. It has two purposes, first—”

“Wait, I thought you couldn’t tell me,” I interrupted.

“Yes, I can’t tell you what it is,” she smiled. “But I can tell you what it does.”

“As you noticed, it’s extremely low friction—reducing atmospheric drag by up to 20%. But more importantly, it repels ionized molecules. In certain conditions, that means a drag reduction of up to 35%. Sounds small, but for us—it’s massive.”

“If we hit the numbers we’re predicting, this could be the fastest light fighter in atmosphere—faster than even some military interceptors.”

I stepped back and looked at the ship again—sleek, deadly, beautiful.

“This changes everything,” I said.

Kyra crossed her arms, watching me with a knowing smile. “That’s the idea.”

For a moment, the hangar was silent except for the faint hum of the ship's systems on standby. I felt it deep in my chest—like I was standing on the edge of something much bigger than me.

“Can I fly it?” I asked, mostly joking.

Kyra raised an eyebrow, then smirked. “Let’s start with the simulator.”