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findings. He didn’t realize it, his back being turned to the heads-up screens, but O’Connell was helping him out by displaying side by side comparisons of his plans with the original course plotting. The captain’s face betrayed no emotions, positive or negative, during the entire conversation. Again, the young ensign had to wait agonizing minutes as his superior mulled over the information and made a decision. Finally the captain nodded in agreement. “Very good, Ensign. You will enter this new course into the plot. Superb work, really superb.” He stood and patted the young man on the shoulder. “Carry on, Ensign.”
    Hidden in her chair, Maggie grinned. Her heart swelled with happiness for young Nate. The captain might be an arrogant ass where she was concerned, but at least he’d made that young man’s day.
    An hour later Lieutenant Price relieved Maggie, taking over as both officer of the watch and the pilot on duty. She made sure he was aware of the new course before heading back to her quarters. She’d been thinking about what she would do during her captain-mandated vacation. The idea of curling up in her bed and sleeping for twelve hours straight didn’t seem so bad after all.
    ***
    Alone in his quarters after his shift on the bridge, Tony Price took a step back to admire his handiwork. He’d been living in his quarters on the Hudson for nearly two months but, until this moment, he hadn’t considered himself “moved in”. The high resolution repeating image field of Holly, even with the scratch on the screen, was his most prized possession. No room was complete, could even come close to being home, without Holly.
    Tony met Holly his final year at Oxford, before he transferred to Sandringham for his military training. Petite, slim, and graceful, with long wavy blond hair and sky blue eyes, she was his feminine ideal. With a wry grin, Price thought that the only thing he had gained from Dr. Young’s second-year literature course was the understanding of a “feminine ideal”. It was the best description of what Holly meant to him.
    She was studying to be a ballerina with the Royal Ballet Corps when they met. He’d been the suave ladies man, fond of fast planes and even faster women. Dating Holly was like throwing the engines in full reverse while pulling a gravitational arc turn. He still spent hours a day thinking about their future together.
    Thoughts of the future brought Tony back to the lonely present. Holly sent him digital messages and videos nearly every day. The framed screen on the wall showed a montage of images and short videos from their favorite vacations. Holly frolicked on a Thai beach wearing a pink bikini, then glided down an Aspen slope on her skis before the image changed to a still frame of her fine boned face. He’d taken that last picture right after he’d proposed. The look of joy on her face still made his chest constrict.
    He flipped his arm over and checked the time on the chip implanted at his wrist. He had a few hours before his next shift. Ensign Robertson’s new course had skirted them past the Jupiter asteroid clouds. They were back on the straight-shot course to Neptune with nothing in the way but small exploration satellites and communications buoys. It would be a boring flight until they reached Neptune. O’Connell and he would trade off for the next few weeks in a grueling repetition of monotony. Price almost wished for something exciting to happen during his shifts. He was anxious to prove that he had the training to handle the Hudson in a crisis. The commander was heralded as the better pilot, but he intended to give her a run for her money. By the time they returned from Dremiks, he intended to be the best pilot in the fleet.
    Tony flipped off the lights and stripped down to his boxers before stretching out on his bunk. He watched a simulated Holly wave to him before she pranced back into the lapping waves. He dreamt of home.
    ***
    When Price arrived on the