Lost Era 05_ Deny thy Father - Jeff Mariotte [121]
“When are you supposed to be on duty?” Marc asked him as they watched the parade of humanity pass by.
“Not until tomorrow morning,” Will said. “I was to report to the ship today, but my first shift is tomorrow.”
“That’ll give you some time to get acclimated,” Marc said.
“That’s what I was thinking too. When do we push off?” He had boarded the ship at Starbase 10, after shuttling there from San Francisco the day before.
“Push off?” Marc echoed. “We’ve been under way for the last hour.” He swiveled and led Will back to the observation lounge, but this time he opened the door and they went inside. Will peered through the large windows and saw the starscape drifting past them.
“Indeed we are under way,” he observed. “Smooth.”
“Nothing’s second-rate on the Pegasus,” Marc told him. “Tomorrow morning it’ll be your turn to fly smooth. Think you can do it, Babyface?”
Will swallowed once. He wouldn’t have been assigned the job if Starfleet hadn’t had faith in his abilities. Unless, he thought, Superintendent Vyrek just wants me far away from her.
“I can do it.”
Marc Boylen nodded. “That’s good. You keep thinking that way.” He drew back one of the chairs and sat down at the long, shiny table. “Have a seat, Ensign.”
Will did as he was told. Marc looked serious again. Will had only known the man for a short time, but he knew these serious moments were rare and should be taken, well, seriously. He waited.
“You’re going to be on this ship for a long time, Ensign Babyface,” Marc said. “Years. You ready for that? That’s the hardest part of the job, for some.”
Will had given a great deal of thought to this aspect of the job. What was he leaving behind on Earth, though? He had no family, except a father who had abandoned not only him but also, apparently, his career and everyone who had depended on him. He had no girlfriend, and the few friends he had left that he felt close to were all scattered on their own postings. Of the class that had graduated with him, there were only two other cadets he knew who had wound up on the Pegasus with him, and neither were especially good friends.
“I’m ready,” he said finally.
“You won’t miss Earth?”
“Sometimes, I guess. Not a lot.”
“Where’d you live, before the Academy? I’m from Vermont. Stowe. Not much skiing around here, except on the holodeck.”
“Valdez, Alaska,” Will said. “So I guess we’re both used to plenty of snow.”
“You ski?”
“Cross-country,” Will said. “Downhill’s okay but it’s not really my thing.”
“We’ll have to go out sometime,” Marc said. “What else are you going to miss? Got a lover?”
Felicia’s face flashed through Will’s mind but he forced the image away. Ancient history. “No, not now.”
“Family?”
“No.”
Marc scrutinized him. “You have a life at all, outside the Academy?”
“I guess not much of one,” Will admitted. “I’m kind of career-oriented, I guess.”
“You’ll do fine, then, on this ship. Just remember, there will be times when you’ll get homesick, no matter what kind of home you left behind. There’ll be times when you miss having terra firma under your feet. If it gets bad, you can talk to the ship’s counselor, or you can talk to me.”
“What will you do about it?” Will challenged.
“Laugh in your face,” Marc said. “Won’t do much for you, but it’ll make me feel a whole lot better.”
“I appreciate that, Marc,” Will said, chuckling. “It’s nice to know you’re looking out for me.”
“I’m a tactical officer,” Marc reminded him. “I look out for everyone. I’m only looking out for you because you’re such a rookie, and because I don’t want you to run us into anything when you’ve got the helm.”
“I’ll try not to,” Will promised.
Marc pushed back his