Where I Wasn't Going

A chief engineer arrives aboard a newly completed rotating space laboratory to perform detailed inspections and prepare the hub for its initial spin, moving through the rim, anchor tubes, and engineering hub while noting the station's construction, power supply, and operational safeguards. The narrative follows his technical tasks and interactions with systems control and the on-board computer as procedural rhythms and personnel routines are established. Underlying discussions about radiation exposure limits, rotation schedules, shielding choices, and logistical trade-offs between hardware and crew rotation highlight tensions between engineering constraints and administrative decisions.