Every star is a destination, but the void between them is where we grow.

Empires rise on new worlds. Civilizations rise on the journeys to them.

We often imagine humanity's first steps to other stars, beginning with a lone ship, a brave arc leaping to the void.

And that part is true, but the real story begins

after the landing. When the engines fire up again, the settlers wave farewell, and the ship

adds onward into deeper space. Nine years ago we followed Unity, humanity's first

interstellar arc as it left Earth, crossed

12 light years to Tau Ceti and helped found our first extrasolar settlements. Those early episodes,

60, 61, and 62, or episodes 1, 2, and 3 of life in a space colony, were not meant as the

start of a saga, but Unity took on a life of its

own. It cameoed in later episodes, even resurfacing hundreds of thousands of years in the

future at the galaxy's edge, because its mission was never really about one star. Unity was built

to raise explorers, builders, and dreamers, and carry them onward. And after years of fan requests,

and because our arc swarms episode never quite captured the human side of roaming between the stars,

it's time to revisit the ship. Today we begin the next chapter. Fleet Unity, Humanity's

first interstellar armada.

Back in episode 3 of the series, we explored how a colony ship might arrive at its first destination, or we'd realize the journey must continue, leaving settlers behind, refueling

taking on new crew, and setting off again to sow the world.

In Unity's case, that meant departing Taosetti and heading

for 82G Irodani, another 12 light years farther on. Families grew aboard the ship during the

transit, new colonial gear was manufactured in flight, and Unity even began assembling the modules

that could become additional ships. So today we return to unity during this long

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