It was finished.
Well—
mostly finished.
The weapons systems still needed installation.
Several defense platforms remained incomplete.
Reality anchor arrays still required calibration.
But the station itself?
Operational.
The Herta Space Station now floated silently in orbit beside Mars.
A colossal structure of steel, anomalous engineering, magical reinforcement, and impossible technology.
Humanity's greatest creation.
Built entirely in secret.
I stood within the Master Control Zone through one of my puppets while massive holographic displays floated around me.
Outside the gigantic observation window—
space stretched endlessly.
Mars rotated below.
Beautiful.
Alive.
Artificial.
And beside it—
the station.
Even I had to admit it looked magnificent.
The station resembled a floating futuristic city more than a research base.
Layer after layer of interconnected sectors stretched outward from the central control core.
Research divisions.
Containment wings.
Fleet docking sectors.
Habitation rings.
Industrial manufacturing zones.
Dimensional laboratories.
Thousands of Foundation personnel already lived aboard the station.
Scientists.
Engineers.
Security divisions.
Researchers.
Pilots.
MTF personnel.
The Foundation had officially become an interplanetary civilization.
A holographic interface appeared beside me.
STATION STATUS: ONLINE.
I smiled slightly.
The Master Control Zone truly was the heart of the station.
The brain.
Every camera.
Every automated system.
Every drone.
Every containment chamber.
All of it connected directly into the station's intelligent surveillance network.
There were no blind spots.
None.
Every corridor was monitored.
Every laboratory tracked.
Every movement recorded.
An anomalous AI-assisted monitoring system continuously processed information throughout the station.
If someone sneezed in Sector 12, the system probably knew about it before they did.
Honestly?
It was beautiful.
Alex appeared beside me through a holographic projection.
"The station's internal systems are stable," they reported.
"Artificial gravity functioning across all sectors. Environmental systems stable. Dimensional shielding operational."
"Containment sectors?"
"Operational."
That got my attention immediately.
The Herta Space Station wasn't just a research station.
It was also designed to contain dangerous anomalies.
Entire containment wings existed specifically for extraterrestrial SCPs and cosmic entities.
Much safer keeping certain anomalies in orbit around Mars than on Earth.
I walked through the Master Control Zone slowly.
The room itself was enormous.
Towering holographic displays surrounded the central command platform.
Researchers moved between terminals while operators monitored hundreds of systems simultaneously.
The station itself almost felt alive.
One of the researchers approached nervously.
"Director… we completed synchronization with the puppet network."
Perfect.
A moment later—
dozens of my Herta puppets activated throughout the station simultaneously.
Different sectors.
Different laboratories.
Different research departments.
Through them, I could monitor the station everywhere at once.
Talk to researchers.
Inspect projects.
Oversee containment.
Manage operations.
Herta's memories had truly changed the way I operated.
Efficient.
Detached.
Practical.
Why physically walk somewhere when a puppet could do it for me?
A holographic map of the station appeared before me.
Its scale was absurd.
One of the most important features was the detachable Master Control Zone.
If necessary—
the core section of the station could separate entirely from the main structure and travel independently through space.
A mobile command center.
An emergency failsafe.
If the station was ever compromised—
the heart of it could survive.
Another important section was the Curio Vault.
A massive secured storage division built specifically for anomalous objects.
Rare artifacts.
Extraterrestrial relics.
Reality-warping materials.
Dangerous SCP objects.
Eventually—
it would likely become one of the largest anomalous storage vaults in existence.
And deep within one of the station's most secure containment sectors—
the Reality Stone and Power Stone remained heavily sealed behind multiple containment layers.
Protected by:
magical barriers reality anchors dimensional stabilizers automated defense systems and enough security protocols to make most governments cry
Even then—
I still didn't entirely trust them.
Infinity Stones were simply too dangerous.
Alex stepped beside me again.
"We should begin integrating the Infinity Reactor into the station."
That would change everything.
The current power systems worked.
But once the Infinity Reactor became fully integrated—
the station's capabilities would skyrocket.
Near-limitless energy.
Permanent shield coverage.
Massive industrial expansion.
And eventually—
weapons systems.
A lot of weapons systems.
I looked out toward space again quietly.
Humanity still believed itself confined to Earth.
Still fighting over countries.
Borders.
Politics.
Wars.
Meanwhile—
the Foundation had already built a civilization among the stars.
Hidden.
Watching.
Preparing.
And soon—
the galaxy itself would learn humanity was no longer weak.