A Halasin of Secrecy Kala scanned the dreamlike cloudscape surrounding the ship. The celestial sea that flowed from the white dwarf’s tempest was colorful and teaming with potential. Each wall of cosmic dust was made more beautiful by the elements it contained. What was now a mere sparkling of hydrogen fog might someday become the core of new star, that would give life to planets and moons and people so far beyond Kala’s imaging that it was a gift to even wonder what they might be. Nebula’s like these were a glimpse into the future and a gateway to the beginning of time; and Kala was standing in the middle of one. An open deck like this would never be found on a Federation ship, she thought. They had masterful observation rooms of course; whose walls, ceilings and floors were completely and perfectly transparent. You could stand in them and feel as if you were floating in space. But any time Kala visited one, she always felt bubbled, like a fish trapped in a bowl. Here, clouds