The Collision Course is a diner built in the century-old wreck of a passenger spacecraft. It's an iconic and beloved landmark of the
Asteroid Belt, seen as the point where the Inner and Outer Worlds meet.
Back in
219880 a Belt Express passenger spacecraft returning from Jupiter impacted with an asteroid. Collisions in the asteroid belt are extraordinarily rare, but since the collision of the Belt Express all spacecraft crossing the belt have been outfitted with radar sensors just in case.
The worst of the impact was at the front of the craft, and the few passengers aboard got away with mild injuries. The dining and serving modules of the craft were left fully intact. This was taken full advantage of by two enterprising resturanteurs Sally and Stella.
Sally and Stella were scrappers by trade, and got to work securing the wreck, taking every precaution to make it safe for themselves and future clients. Once it was in tip top shape, they divided the diner duties between them. Sally cooked up a storm in the kitchen, while Stella handled the service. The Collision Course became a meeting spot for those travelling through the Belt, a hotspot in the middle of the belt, and eventually a tourist attraction.
They stayed in the diner even in their retirement, chatting with the regulars and helping to guide the next generation of the Collision Course. Their portraits hang in the diner, framed by loving notes and thank you's.
I just love this concept so much. So good, and very charming, and evocative!
Creator of Araea, Megacorpolis, and many others.
Thank you! I feel like diners are such icons of like, liminal spaces and travel that I really wanted to include one in Solaris.