the same time. His left hand brushed her fingers, and
suddenly she was back in his arms on Europa, on Qo’noS,
in the moonlit steam of the physio centre. Her stomach felt
like it was filled with nanobots. She’d thought two years
would have been enough time. She’d been kidding herself.
“See you tomorrow,” she told his feet, because if she
looked at those blue eyes now she might lose it completely.
She could feel him watching her as she hurried away.
The commander’s uniform felt strange to him now,
restrictive, heavy, like he was wearing someone else’s
Halloween costume and it didn’t fit properly. He adjusted
the black headband around his forehead and made sure his
moustache was laying straight. It was a good parody of the
man he’d used to be – would he be able to convince his
team that he was still that man, that Starship Ranger?
Would he be able to convince himself?
He felt for the compact mirror lying in his pocket, and
with one last look at the commander in the bathroom
mirror, left his room. He didn’t have anywhere to go, or
anywhere to be, not yet. But he didn’t feel like staying put.
Starship 15A-2 was a fast ship, built for deep-space
travel and capable of traversing distances in days Up could
have only dreamed of in his early career. The colonists he
was responsible for had been loaded onto the ship months
ago from Farm Planet, frozen in cryotubes, and so the
ship’s hallways were quiet despite its significant size. A
small complement of Rangers were accompanying them, of
course, but Up was hoping he wouldn’t run into any - he
wasn’t quite ready to meet them yet. Just lifting off into
space had sent his system into shock after two years on the
ground. He was still trying to slow his pulse.
Keep it together, Up. Remember what Dr. Renley said.
Breathe.