26 Still 2783 A.D./P.E.D… Three months later, Colonial Air Force Academy… The graduates filed into the domed stadium. Usually reserved for competitions, it held this special ceremony quarterly. The port was busy. As ships landed, family and friends disembarked, then the vessels lifted off again to orbit the space station. The port was not constructed to have so many vessels on the station, so the Control Booth operators worked longer shifts to coordinate landings and launchings with no mishaps. The station itself simulated a living organism as it grew with new cadets, first in the classrooms, then busy in the immediate space around the station as pilot training commenced. This is followed by an even larger swell as graduates are joined by those who care for them, then replaced by a week

