The Sky's the Limit - Marco Palmieri [8]
“There’s another reason why I can’t be the captain you need,” Thomas said, deliberately neglecting to address Satie’s remark directly. She would have to understand his point eventually.
“Is there.”
“Yes. It’s my family. Everybody I talk to keeps saying the same thing: the Enterprise could be out there for at least a decade, perhaps even two! I don’t want to be separated from them for so long.”
Satie just stared at him. “But you can take them with you, can’t you? The ship’s supposed to be big enough. And you should know, you practically built it.”
“I do know, and passenger capacity is not an issue. Rather, it is my wife who doesn’t want to leave the Sol system behind. She wants to raise our children here, on Mars or maybe somewhere else. We’ve talked about moving to Luna, maybe.”
“Can you not persuade her? If she loves you, she’ll be open to your point of view,” said Satie, still trying to keep him from making an apparent mistake in her eyes. It was likely that the good admiral had a wrong image of him, that she thought him capable of accomplishing greater things than he himself knew to be the case.
“But that’s just it,” said Thomas. “I’m not sure my point of view is any different from hers. Sure, our personal reasons might be different—she’s neither in Starfleet nor a scientist who could find work on the ship, and so she would essentially be a passenger on a twenty-year cruise with no chance of doing what she is trained to do—but the end result is the same. Neither of us thinks that we should be aboard the Enterprise when she begins her mission.”
“I see.” Satie scratched the side of her nose. “Isn’t there anything I can do to make you stay on?”
“No, Admiral, I’m afraid there isn’t.”
“You’re not going to threaten resignation, are you?”
Thomas shook his head. “I’ve no intention of going that far…at least not yet. I love Starfleet, and I love my work. I will do the job I’m assigned to do. But I feel as though it would be a mistake to assign me the job of commanding the Enterprise on a long-term mission of exploration. For myself and for Starfleet.”
“Well…that leaves me with no other choice, then.” Satie looked down at her hand, which held a padd Thomas hadn’t noticed before. “I was hoping I wouldn’t need this, but at least my preparations weren’t in vain. On this padd here I have the personnel file of someone Admiral Quinn has persuaded me is the ideal man to follow in your footsteps as the captain of the Enterprise. He is a true explorer, a man born to bring light into the darkness, as it were. Your ship will be in good hands.”
That was a surprise, to say the least. Thomas took a while to form a response, as he hadn’t expected to win so easily—although “win” was perhaps not the best word for what had just happened. “You aren’t angry?”
“No. I am disappointed, which is an entirely different thing. I understand your reasons, I assure you. They’re perfectly valid, and nobody will hold your decision against you. I thought you were the perfect man to command this ship, but there are others who can do almost as good a job. Here, take this,” she said, holding out the padd, “and have a look at the man’s file. I think you’ll agree with me that he’s a good choice. A single man, he has no commitments, is extensively experienced with long-term deep-space missions, and what’s more, he’s ready to get back out there. At ease, Captain Halloway, you’re off the hook!” With that last comment, her expression had changed considerably, and now she was almost smiling. It certainly made for a very reassuring sight, and Thomas allowed his abdominal muscles, which had involuntarily contracted earlier on during their conversation, to relax.
Taking the padd, he quickly grabbed her outstretched hand and shook it, to seal the deal as well as to thank Satie for being so understanding. She really was a marvelous person, that was certain, and Thomas was grateful to