The battleship had taken four months, three billion dollars, fifteen hundred people and seventy five thousand tonnes of material to build, but at last the Flare Lights All Enemies was ready to launch on her maiden flight. It was owned by an independent firm labelled Be Safe Out There, which had long had a presence in this part of space, sprawling across a dozen mining systems whose resources would last at least five more years of intense exploitation.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.ageofascent.com/2014/03/09/backstory-friends/