Europa, 2085

This Blender project was one of my earliest attempts at creating a full scene, as opposed to just having a single spacecraft in the middle of nowhere. It also represents a departure from the usual setting, as this image takes place in the late 21st Century, as opposed to the rest of my setting, which occurs in the early 2600s.

Depicted is an early space combat vessel, outdated even by this time, launching from a hidden silo on the surface of Europa. The engines currently firing represent the boost stage, which would be jettisoned after reaching a stable orbit. In order to drive home just how outdated this spacecraft is for the time, there are no radiators present, indicating the lack of any onboard reactor. Furthermore, although it is concealed by the boost stage, the vehicle is derived from the SLS Exploration Upper Stage, which is currently in development for later missions in the Artemis Program in real life. As such, this spacecraft does not even have a nuclear thermal engine, instead using standard cryogenic chemical rockets for both stages. 

The lore behind this image is continually evolving, but the basic facts remain the same: During the late 2070s and early 2080s, corporate developments in the Jovian system begin to infringe with the scientific operations on Europa, who are concerned with finding and preserving the potential subsurface biosphere. The Europan ice is prized by the Jovian corporations, who can use it to not only provide water, but also split it into hydrogen and oxygen to fuel spacecraft and provide breathable air for habitats respectively. As such, covert shipments of outdated space combat vehicles make their way to the Europan settlements, who quietly prepare for rebellion. Although managing to secure some early victories against largely-automated security platforms in Europan orbit, the rebels would be soundly defeated in what would become known as the Europan Last Stand. Ships like this one would be scrambled to prevent the arrival of a joint corporate security fleet intent on the obliteration of the revolt. The resulting orbital bombardment would set back Europan science for decades, and the Last Stand would galvanize the nascent anti-corporate sentiment throughout the inhabited solar system, leading to further rebellions and eventually unification in the early 2100s.