Chapter Six is GO. Four plot threads will be running in parallel for the first several pages - this was pretty difficult to hammer into something that works, but I'm happy with the layouts and scripting results and think it will translate very well into the finished product. It was either four in parallel or a staccato burst of two or three page sections, which just doesn't feel right at this juncture - especially since everything's happening at once.

The Cheops separates - though it may look like it's loosely based on the Enterprise D, this is actually based on the Apollo command and service modules.* The "business end" (command section, power plants, engines, railgun, sensors, weaponry and so forth) is the complete vehicle. The crew service module that the Cheops is separating from in panel two is one of several types of modules that can be mated to the command and control section - in this case, it's basic crew quarters, life support, solar and battery power, cargo bays and some basic communications and gas cylinder maneuvering capabilities.

* The C&C end of the Cheops is based in part on the Kodan fighters from The Last Starfighter.