The midday sun blazed over the sprawling construction zone as the Mayor arrived once again at the new Arkbound Space HQ, accompanied by media crews and city officials. Behind him, the freshly built skyline rose proudly — the city was 90% complete, humming with the activity of hundreds of NEAR-class bots still finishing their final passes. Roads had been paved, utilities were online, and building façades gleamed with modern, clean energy systems.
NEAR bots, the unsung heroes of this transformation, moved in seamless coordination. A squad handled final infrastructure alignment, while others scanned for environmental anomalies. They had worked nonstop for weeks, making what was once remote, unclaimed land into a thriving, habitable sector.
From the HQ's viewing deck, the Mayor addressed the press:
"Thanks to Arkbound and its astonishing technology, we're seeing the future unfold before our eyes. This city — once an impossible project — has come to life faster than we ever dared hope. And I hear there's more to come."
He turned, smiling knowingly toward the Arkbound team standing at the edge of the platform.
Inside the HQ, Kael, Nyra, and several Arkbound leads had gathered for final project reviews. Screens displayed real-time feeds from both the city and the old Arkbound HQ, where the massive starship — still under construction — loomed inside its reinforced drydock.
Though its sleek sci-fi structure had taken full shape, the ship was only 90% complete — structurally done, but still undergoing intensive software integration, calibration, and internal systems alignment.
"Ten days," Nyra said, eyes fixed on the distant display. "And this city will be officially handed over."
"And the ship?" Kael asked.
"Still at the old base. They've completed physical assembly — it's standing tall. Looks like something pulled from another era. But Raen says the final 10% — calibration, internal systems, AI mapping — is the most sensitive phase."
"And after that?" someone asked.
Nyra smiled faintly.
"We reveal the surprise."
Back at the old HQ, deep in the underground bunker where the starship had been forged, Raen, Lira, and Korin moved between terminals and live bot feeds. They watched as six NEAR bots carefully positioned one of the three Aetheric Resonance Reactors into its containment chamber. The power core pulsed with latent energy — the kind that could run a starship for decades.
"Structure's fully assembled," Lira confirmed. "Software's at 78%. Ten more days, and we can run full diagnostics and ignition tests."
Raen's gaze lingered on the towering form of the starship.
"Ten days," he echoed quietly. "And the sky stops being the limit."