213. Captain for a Moment. (Patreon)

Peter B. Parker POV:

For twenty-six years I’ve been fighting evil.

Crime is… small. Robberies, muggings and and jobs where some idiot in a Halloween mask thinks he’s the Joker. That's crime.

Evil?

Evil is different.

Evil is watching the sky open while the planet-eater Galactus descends on Earth and realizing that the survival of eight billion people depends on a handful of stubborn heroes and a miracle.

Evil is standing beside the Fantastic Four as cosmic firestorms rip across the atmosphere.

Evil is clashing with Ronan the Accuser while the Guardians of the Galaxy try to stop an interstellar war from erupting.

And then the next day? You help an old woman cross the street in Queens.

That’s the job. That’s Spider-Man.

So when Peter said he wanted to show us something in space… I thought I was prepared but in reality I wasn't prepared.

The teleportation flare faded and the blue light dissolved into vacuum-black space.

For a moment my brain struggled to process the view.

Then someone whispered behind me, “Holy… shit.”

Europa, the frozen moon of Jupiter, pale and scarred with crimson fractures across its icy crust floated beneath us. I remembered the science documentaries about subsurface oceans beneath kilometers of ice.

Life maybe but none of us were looking at Europa anymore.

Because something else was there. It was a structure the size of a city. It was a colossal space dock suspended above the moon’s horizon, partially transparent, wrapped in a shimmering photonic distortion cloak that bent starlight around it.

And inside it was something enormous. Something… beautiful.

I knew that shape.

I knew it from childhood gaming nights, from shouting at Harry across his living room, from holding a controller at two in the morning yelling, “Cover the Warthog!”

There it was.

The Halo: Combat Evolved dream made real.

The UNSC Infinity.

Suspended against the glowing backdrop of Jupiter.

It's name highlighted by floodlights and suddenly all those alien warships I’d seen in my life felt small.

I’d seen Kree Imperial cruisers, Nova Corps battle carriers. Even the Collector’s grotesque museum vessels.

But this? This was different. Alien ships look elegant or strange or horrifying.

This looked… Human. It looked brutal, functional and determined.

It looked like humanity had decided the universe was dangerous and built a hammer big enough to punch God.

“Peter…” Miles whispered.

“Yeah?”

“What the hell…”

Peter stood beside us with his hands in his pockets like he’d just parked a bicycle.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said calmly and then he gestured toward the titan in the dock. “The UNSC Infinity (INF-101).” He began.

His voice echoed softly through the vacuum-sealed observation platform.

“An Infinity-class supercarrier.” A hologram unfolded around the ship displaying schematics. “Length: Five thousand six hundred ninety-four meters.”

Scarred Peter whistled.

“Width: eight hundred thirty-three meters.

Height: one thousand forty-one meters.

Mass approximately six hundred million metric tons.”

I stared at the hull. Layered armor plating shimmered faintly. “Weight reduced through use of Vibranium-S and titanium composite armor lattices instead of conventional alloys.” Peter continued.

“Structural reinforcement uses a honeycomb gravitic frame. Allows durability without increasing mass density.”

Peni whispered, “That’s… insane engineering.”

Peter kept going. “Armament includes eight hundred thirty anti-air batteries.”

Hobie choked on his drink.

“Each firing ion-neutrino bolts instead of traditional munitions. One thousand one hundred missile launch pods. Configurable payloads ranging from anti-ship torpedoes to strategic weapons.”

Miles squinted. “Strategic weapons?”

Peter answered casually. “NOVA bombs.”

Several Spider-people coughed violently. “And two orbital bombardment cannons.” Peter continued.

“Primary spinal weapons consist of dual super-heavy magnetic accelerator cannons or MAC cannons for short.”

“Energy shielding, fighter wings, automated repair drones, ten escort vessels consisting of Mulsanne-class light frigates.”

My brain barely kept up but the words weren’t what hit me. It was the sight.

The ship and the sheer presence of it.

Peter pressed a small remote which caused a champagne bottle mounted near the dock wall shot forward and shattered against the hull.

The glass burst like fireworks.

“Congratulations everyone,” Peter said. “You’re attending the maiden voyage.”

A ramp extended toward an airlock.

We boarded and suddenly I understood how enormous this ship was.

Inside… it was a city.

Hallways wide enough for trucks, ceilings tall enough to fit buildings, bullet trams raced through transit tunnels.

We stepped inside one and the train accelerated silently.

Through massive windows I saw fighter bays, repair docks and hangers the size of stadiums.

Miles pressed his face to the glass. “Dude… this thing could invade a planet.”

Peter nodded casually. “Preferably not.”

The tram slowed, doors opened and we stepped onto the bridge.

It was breathtaking.

Panoramic windows stretched across the entire command deck. Consoles formed a semicircle around a central captain’s chair.

Peter sat down on the command chair like he’d done it a thousand times. He leaned back and tapped the armrest.

“Melvin.” He said.

A soft voice answered instantly. “Good evening, Captain Parker.”

The lights brightened and holographic displays filled the air.

“Introduce yourself.” Peter said.

The AI spoke again. “I am Melvin, the primary operational intelligence of the UNSC Infinity.”

Miles whispered. “That’s a kid’s voice.”

Peter nodded.

“Melvin is based on the neural architecture of a real boy.” The room turned toward him. “His parents were engineers working on the hyperdrive systems in the Voodoo Works division of Parker Industries.”

Inspector Singh frowned. “You turned a child into an AI?”

Peter shook his head. “No.”

“Melvin is alive and healthy. The AI was grown from a mapped neural template with no consciousness transfer involved.”

Relief rippled through the room and Peter leaned forward. “Melvin. Initiate undocking sequence.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Outside the window, the massive docking clamps released.

The ship moved with quiet authority. Like a mountain deciding to walk.

The Infinity drifted free from the dock and Jupiter filled the horizon.

A storm larger than Earth spun across its surface and I felt something strange in my chest.

For just a moment… I imagined myself sitting where Peter was.

Captain’s chair, commanding a ship like this. Like Captain Thomas Lasky.

Responsible for thousands.

My hands tightened on the console beside me and Peter glanced at me.

Then he turned back to the stars. “Melvin.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Prepare hyperspace jump.”

Coordinates filled the air. “Destination: Alpha Centauri.”

Margo gasped. “That’s four light-years away!”

Peter didn’t look worried and continued. A brilliant tear of green-white light opened before the ship causing reality itself to peel apart.

Melvin’s voice echoed across the bridge. “Hyperspace corridor forming.”

My pulse hammered. “Jump sequence in three…”

The tear widened into a tunnel of impossible geometry.

“Two…”

The stars began stretching into streaks.

“One.”

And suddenly... Space became blue and white lines.

The ship surged forward.

And just like that… We were gone.